First Mastodon Jaw in 11 Years Found in NY Backyard

Govind Tekale

A mastodon is an extinct animal that belongs to the broader order of mammoths and modern day elephants; they existed in late Miocene and early Holocene periods.

Photo Source: James St. John (CC BY 2.0)

Recently, in a backyard at Orange County in Scotchtown, a complete jaw of the extinct animal of a mastodon has been unearthed.

Photo Source: New York State Museum

This area is quite rich in fossils, especially mastodon fossils, the area’s rich soil is responsible for preserving the age old fossils quite nicely.

Photo Source: Ken Lund (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The residents who found the remains of the mastodon jaw took them to SUNY Orange, a community college in New York, and it was further taken to New York State Museum for carbon dating for comprehensive analysis.

Photo Source: Cottonbro Studio (Pexels)

This unearthed jaw would give a new insight on the ecology, the diet, lifestyle and so on of this animal, mastodon, that belonged to the ice age era.

Photo Source: James St. John (CC BY 2.0)

Not only a fully preserved adult mastodon jaw was unearthed, but also other parts like a toe bone and a rib fragment.

Photo Source: New York State Museum

Experts have explained that the area of Orange County has always been a good spot for animals and later also for human civilization.

Photo Source: Ken Lund (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The first ever mastodon fossil was unearthed in the early eighteenth century at Claverack, with more notable findings later discovered in Hudson.

Photo Source: Daryl_mitchell (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Interesting and insightful findings like this mastodon jaw would enrich what is already known about the age and the animal, thus more findings like this have been urged to be reported for research.

Photo Source: New York State Museum

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