Giant tooth found in wreck of paleontologist's home Found in debris following hurricane Ike, tooth is thought to be that of a Columbian mammoth from 10,000 years ago
A giant tooth was found by two paleontologists in the wreckage of a Texan home destroyed by Hurricane Ike.
Dorothy Sisk, a scientist at Lamar University, had returned to her beachfront home in Caplen, on the Bolivar Peninsula, with her colleague Jim Westgate to assess the damage following the hurricane when they found the football-sized fossil tooth amid the debris.
Westgate, who is a paleontologist and research associate at the University of Texas Memorial Museum, said they were looking through the scraps of concrete and splintered pilings in the front garden when he saw the tooth.
"It was while we were looking at the house, or at least what was left of the foundation, that I saw it lying there with lots of shell debris in what had been the front yard,'' he said.
The six-pound tooth is said to resemble slices of bread stuck together.
''This is the first one I've found in 19 years,'' he said. ''People bring in pieces and parts off the beach for me to identify, and I haven't seen one in this good a condition.''
It is thought that the tooth probably belonged to a Columbian mammoth, which was common in North America around 10,000 years ago.
It is expected the tooth will be sent to the Texas Memorial Museum in Austin.
Labels: Great Discoveries
