Mastodon Skull

Mammut americanum
Pleistocene
Gilchrist County, FL

This beautifully preserved mastodon skull was found in a spring fed river in Florida. All of the teeth are natural and unrestored. There is only 1% restoration on the entire skull, mostly to fill some cracks and small gaps.

The worn teeth indicate this was an old individual when it died. Interestingly, the rear part of the right molar broke during life and repositioned itself in the gum tissue. The different wear pattern on this section of tooth indicates that the animal lived for some time with this 'toothache'. The broken section of tooth was still in the abcess in the skull when it was recovered from the river. It will be included, but was not with me at the time the pictures were taken.

The skull stands on the occipitals on a lightweight, custom aluminum stand to efficiently display this large specimen. It only requires 32" of width and 23" of depth to display.

THIS FOSSIL IS UNAVAILABLE (display purposes only)