PLEISTOCENE PERIOD:  1.8 million - 10,000 years ago

This impeccable Mammut americanum or 'American' mastodon tooth came from a very young baby mastodon.  Baby mastodon teeth are rare fossils of this magnificent animal and while worn caps, spit teeth and fragments of teeth can be found, rarely do divers discover a super quality BABY tooth WITH THE ROOTS and complete crown.  

The crown on this baby mastodon tooth is in the finest condition and most of the roots are present.  It is not a cap nor a spit tooth and was in the mastodon's jaw when the animal died.  The enamel is perfect and complete in a stunning mix of black, white, yellow, RED and orange with a bright lustrous shine emanating from the entire crown.  Red mastodon teeth are amongst the most demanded and costly fossil teeth of any prehistoric elephant.  The tooth is complete and exhibits light feeding wear on the cusps.  Its very small size indicates it came from little baby mastodon less than the size of a horse.  For a very rare display set, do check out the rare baby mastodon lower tusk we are listing at the same time - LM15-008.  Both would make an incredibly rare display set rivaling what most museums in the world have to offer.  It is INTACT and WITH NO RESTORATION AND NO REPAIR. 

Emerging 55 million years ago, the group of mammals called proboscideans are identified by the presence of tusks and a trunk and comprise three families: Mammutidae, Gomphotheriidae and Elephantidae.  In Florida, the mastodon, a member of the family Mammutidae (mammoths are members of Elephantidae), represents one of two of the oldest known proboscideans first dating back to the Miocene.  They became extinct 11,000 years ago along with all other proboscideans in Florida.  

When standing aside a mammoth, the mastodon looks just like a Neanderthal version of the proboscideans.  The body form is shorter, more stout and robust and lends itself to a much more muscular physique in contrast to the more graceful and taller mammoth.  The cheek teeth of mastodons are also more primitive with sharp crests and a dramatic lobed surface in unworn examples compared to the flat and fine ridged surface of mammoth teeth that resemble the sole of a boating sneaker.  These differences tell us about the types of food that both types of creatures ate.  The mastodon was more suited for forest environments with teeth that were well adapted for chewing tougher vegetation like twigs, leaves, shrubs, fruits, pinecones, pine needles and mosses.  The mammoth with its smoother teeth, was best suited for the open plains feeding on a variety of grasses.  

A mastodon, like all proboscideans, has a system of horizontal tooth replacement whereby new molars erupt from the rear of the jaw and move forward.  The most worn teeth at the front, are pushed out of the jaw.  Sometimes while still in the jaw, the anterior portion of a worn front tooth is broken off.  These partial teeth are found as fossils along with complete specimens.  

A baby proboscidean at age 6, will have already had three sets of teeth.  By 13 years of age, the fourth set emerges followed by a fifth set at age 27 years.  The final set of teeth come in around 43 years of age and as it wears away, the animal eventually starves to death and dies on average between 60 and 80 years of age.  Interestingly, the animal's life is limited by the fact that after the sixth set, no new teeth grow in to replace the final worn down set and the animal is no longer able to chew its food.  This characteristic is still true of modern elephants.  

TEETH LIKE THIS ARE RARELY OFFERED FOR SALE AND USUALLY KEPT BY THE DIVERS

THAT ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO FIND THEM - INVESTMENT SPECIMEN!

SOLD     LM15-009      INCLUDES STAND     Actual Item - One Only

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER MASTODON FOSSILS FOR SALE

Florida 'American' mastodon

Comparison of the skeletal structure and body types of a Florida 'American' mastodon (left)

and a Florida 'Columbian' mammoth (right)

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