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RARE LARGE COMPLETE LOWER MASTODON TUSK FROM NORTH AMERICA Undisclosed River - South Carolina, U.S.A. LATE PLIOCENE TO LATE PLEISTOCENE PERIOD: 1.8 million - 10,000 years ago This RARE juvenile Mammut americanum or 'American' mastodon lower tusk is a fossil that you will rarely find even in the finest museum collections. It is complete and unbroken as found. A pronounced set of growth lines can be seen where the tusk emerged from the lower jaw. Natural wear, tusk surface striations and a completely solid base are indications of rare preservation. Even the cross-section of the ivory patterns can be seen in the close-up image of the base. Color is a natural black with very minor crack filling near the tip and along some of the sides. This is a rare tusk and far more scarce than full size tusks of Woolly Mammoths. If you display any fossil proboscidean specimens, this lower tusk will be the most fascinating and uncommon addition to any collection regardless of how advanced and would look perfect alongside a fine grade baby Mastodon tooth or alongside fossil Woolly Mammoth or Mastodon tusks of full size just to show the size range. INTACT and COMPLETE WITH NO REPAIR. Only young Mastodons possessed lower tusks as well as upper tusks. These were very small vestigial tusks when compared to the prominent uppers. The lower tusks were permanently lost once the animal reached adulthood. They are highly uncommon in fossil collections and often damaged or fragmented when discovered. 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. MOST ROBUST COMPLETE LOWER MASTODON TUSK WE HAVE OFFERED - SOLID BLACK FOSSIL IVORY - RARE! 4.75" long SOLD LM15-038 Actual Item - One Only |
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Florida 'American' mastodon |
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Comparison of the skeletal structure and body types of a Florida 'American' mastodon (left) and a Florida 'Columbian' mammoth (right) |
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