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RARE BONE VALLEY BLUE TAPIR MOLAR TOOTH - Bone Valley Formation - Central Florida, U.S.A. LATE PLEISTOCENE PERIOD: 125,000 - 10,000 years ago From the phosphate deposits of the Bone Valley Formation, this magnificent BLUE! tapir molar tooth cap is a true prize for any Pleistocene fossil collection. This remarkable example is from Tapirus veroensis, a species of tapir that lived in Florida in the latter Pleistocene. Enamel is PERFECT with stunning coloration of baby blue and white, a color ONLY found in this one fossil locality in the entire world! This specimen is remarkable in its immaculate and complete condition and cannot be improved upon. This is the first time we have ever offered a tapir tooth from Bone Valley and it is the ONLY specimen we have. This tooth is VERY RARE for its provenance as well as its state of preservation. Guaranteed NO REPAIR and NO RESTORATION. This beauty is AS FOUND!The Tapiridae family are members of the order of Perissodactyla or 'Odd-toed Ungulates'. Ungulates are hoofed mammals that represent the main group of large herbivorous animals alive today. Tapirs first appeared about 40 million years ago during the Oligocene Period. They are still alive today in Central and northern South America as well as Southeast Asia although they are considered endangered in all regions. They are bizarre creatures with heavy pig-like bodies, large odd-toed hoofed feet and long, flexible snouts. They have the ability to move and grasp small branches and leaves with their trunks. Today, tapirs remain unchanged in appearance since they first evolved millions of years ago, which is quite unusual. In Florida, the earliest tapir remains date back 22 million years ago to the Early Miocene. Only in the late Miocene though, do they become abundant. At least four species of tapirs lived in Florida but only one existed at any one time. Tapirus simpsoni was the first species to emerge with Tapirus veroensis being the last, surviving right up to the mass extinction marking the end of the Pleistocene. From the middle Miocene, 16 million years ago to the earliest Pliocene, about 4.5 million years ago, no other region in North America can claim a more varied and richer wealth of important vertebrate fossil finds than from the famous BONE VALLEY region in the phosphate mining district of Central Florida. During this time, thick forests and grassy plains covered a stubby peninsula that only went as far south to what is now Polk County. If you were to visit this area at that time, you would find six-foot tortoises, shovel-tusked mastodons, hornless rhinos, humpless camels, iguanas, gila monsters, and 30-foot crocodiles. The warm waters surrounding the area were filled with a rich variety of life as well, including long-beaked dolphins, bony fish, rays, sea cows and sharks including the notorious and now extinct giant killer shark, megalodon. Bone Valley fossils are rare and highly-priced specimens. Due to the unique geological characteristics of the phosphate-rich region, most of the fossils are beautifully preserved with amazing detail and color. Unlike the majority of southeastern U.S. fossils retrieved from rivers and streams, Bone Valley specimens are found in dry earth and are not stained with the typical cruddy black and brown muck from rivers. Because Bone Valley fossils comprise so much variety of both ancient marine and terrestrial creatures, along with their unique and rare beauty of preservation, specimens from this locality are very rare and of great value to any fossil collection. HIGHLY UNUSUAL AND RARE FOR THIS SITE! PERFECT AND IMMENSELY BEAUTIFUL - 100% GEM TOOTH SPECIMEN! 1" long $85 LM44-005 INCLUDES DISPLAY BOX Actual Item - One Only |
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