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COLUMBIAN MAMMOTH TOOTH - Sarasota County - Florida, U.S.A. MIDDLE TO LATE PLEISTOCENE PERIOD: 700,000 - 10,000 years ago There are mammoth teeth on the market and there are mammoth teeth on the market. This tooth, without question, is the rarest we will probably ever offer based on the uniqueness of the site that is now closed and developed. This supreme and large specimen is from the giant Columbian Mammoth, Mammuthus columbi. Stunning preservation abounds in this rare fossil molar. This specimen was excavated from a unique site near Sarasota, Florida that has since been built on. Unlike most fossil mammoth teeth found in water, this was found in dry land which explains its superb tapioca and baby blue hue as well as incredible preservation. It is theorized that the site was once a spring that attracted large animals such as the mammoth which in turn, got trapped in the quicksand evidenced by the color of the fossils and the presence of several mammoth skeletons discovered.This is a massive tooth and features gorgeous detail and preservation, especially to the chewing surface which is usually destroyed or badly worn. The high resolution images above speak on their own merit. This molar boasts of no repair and no restoration. Even the animal's gum line is evident and well preserved as shown in the second to last image. Despite very minor damage to the leading posterior which does not detract or take away from the overall incredible appearance of this tooth, this specimen is of a color and standard that only a land find could produce. We challenge anyone to find a better or more rare Columbian Mammoth tooth on the market as this one. From an old private collection of one of the original excavators. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Emerging 55 million years ago, the group of mammals called Proboscideans are identified by the presence of tusks and a trunk and include mammoths, mastodons and elephants. The oldest mammoth remains have placed the beginnings of the beasts in Africa but eventually, they migrated to Europe and Asia. The Columbian Mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) is otherwise known as the American mammoth. This massive Ice Age beast was a descendent of Mammuthus meridionalis, an earlier species that migrated across the Bering Land Bridge into North America around one million years ago. The Columbian Mammoth ranged from Alaska to Florida and as far south as Mexico and Central America. While most think of the Woolly Mammoth to be large, it was not and especially when standing alongside the giant Columbian Mammoth. The Columbian Mammoth stood almost 14 feet at the shoulder as opposed to the Woolly Mammoth who stood only about 9 feet at the shoulder. The Columbian Mammoth weighed about 8-10 tons and could consume about 700 pounds of vegetation a day. The life span for a Columbian Mammoth was 60 to 80 years. The Columbian Mammoth was the first immigrant lineage of mammoths into North America. They became extinct 11,000 years ago along with all other Proboscideans in North America. Associated Paleo-Indian stone tools have been found at some fossil sites indicating these massive beasts were hunted by early North American Indians. Mammoths were herbivores. Their teeth were huge flat molars with a surface that was ideally suited to grinding up hard-to-digest foods such as tough grasses and other thick vegetation. The teeth of a mammoth are amongst the most bizarre teeth of any animal ever known. From the side, they resemble an extended accordion and are made up of a row of vertically oriented attached plates that when worn, create a washboard-like grinding surface. A mammoth has four teeth in its skull, two uppers (one on each side) and two lowers. Over the course of the life of the animal, six sets of teeth will grow, a worn set being pushed forward and out to make room for a new and unworn set. This characteristic is still true of modern elephants. A baby mammoth 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. Mammoth teeth can also tell us the age and species of the creature. Scientists can approximate age by comparing the length and width of the molars to corresponding age and tooth size charts from modern elephants. The species is determined by the number of ridges found in the first four inches of the flat chewing surface. MOST BEAUTIFUL AND RAREST MAMMOTH TOOTH WE HAVE EVER SEEN OR OFFERED! 10" long by 6" high by 3.75 " wide SOLD LM8004 INCLUDES STAND Actual Item - One Only |
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