Overview
- A geomorphologist working for a habitat-restoration survey in mid-September found an oddly shaped object in a creek in a Midpen preserve that was later identified as an adult Pacific mastodon molar.
- Paleontologists confirmed the fossil is an exceptionally complete upper left third molar with only minor wear, and experts say its intact condition raises the possibility that other skeletal remains may be nearby.
- Midpen donated the tooth to Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability, where researchers have begun curation and plan formal carbon dating along with high-resolution 3D scanning.
- Stanford will produce a replica of the tooth for education and outreach while Midpen withholds the exact find location to prevent disturbance and protect potential additional material.
- Pacific mastodons were browsing megafauna that lived in western North America until roughly the end of the Pleistocene, and this local find may offer new evidence about Bay Area ecosystems and climate at the time.