New York, United States

In a surprising incident, a New York state resident found a complete mastodon jaw while gardening in his backyard when he noticed two large teeth protruding from the ground. The discovery was in late September this year.

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The mastodon jaw, along with some other bone parts were found in Scotchtown, a hamlet about 70 miles (112 kilometres) away from New York City, according to the New York State Museum.

There have been several discoveries of mastodon remains in the region Including a 13,000-year-old skeleton that was found in Hyde Park, New York in 2000. Mastodons, extinct elephant relatives, roamed the northeast region of the United States during the Pleistocene epoch.

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The owner of the house first thought that it was baseballs that he spotted, according to Robert Feranec, the state museum’s director of research and collections, according to news agency AP. “He picked them up and realized they were teeth.”

The researchers from the museum and the State University of New York’s Orange County campus visited the house and excavated a full, well-preserved jaw of an adult mastodon. A piece of a toe bone and a rib fragment were also found at the site, museum officials said.

“While the jaw is the star of the show, the additional toe and rib fragments offer valuable context and the potential for additional research,” said Cory Harris, chair of SUNY Orange’s behavioural sciences department. “We are also hoping to further explore the immediate area to see if there are any additional bones that were preserved.”

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While mammoths were known to eat grasses, mastodons were believed to consume twigs, leaves, and other parts of trees and shrubs using their large teeth to crush them.

According to the museum officials, this was the first complete mastodon jaw unearthed in New York over the last 11 years. Over 150 fossils of the extinct species have been found in the state, a third of them being discovered in Orange County, similar to the recent one.

The newly found jaw of the animal provides “a unique opportunity to study the ecology of this magnificent species, which will enhance our understanding of the Ice Age ecosystems from this region,” said Feranec.

Researchers are hoping to carbon-date and analyse the fossil to determine how old was the mastodon. They will also be working to discover the animal’s diet and habitat. The fossil remains are expected to be put on public display sometime next year, according to the museum.

(With inputs from agencies)