Сан-Франциско хотын ойролцоох байгалийн нөөц газарт хийсэн судалгааны явцад 10,000 орчим жилийн өмнө мөхсөн, нэн ховор Pacific mastodon буюу номхон далайн мастодонтын чулуужсан соёо олдсон байна.
Калифорни мужийн Сан-Матео тойрогт ховордсон зүйл болох Rana draytonii мэлхийг хамгаалах төслийн хүрээнд судалгаа хийж байсан геоморфологич Бригид Линч уг олдворыг голын гольдролоос илрүүлжээ. Эхэндээ энгийн чулуу гэж андуурсан уг олдвор нь үнэн хэрэгтээ мөстлөгийн үеийн хөхтөн амьтны бүрэн бүтэн хадгалагдсан соёо болох нь тогтоогджээ. Палеонтологич Уэйн Томпсоны тэмдэглэснээр, энэ нь тус бүс нутгаас олдсон хамгийн бүрэн бүтэн, маш ховор олдвор юм.
Pacific mastodon нь 2019 онд тусдаа зүйл хэмээн албан ёсоор хүлээн зөвшөөрөгдсөн бөгөөд хойд Америкт амьдарч байсан Mammut americanum-тай ойрын төрөл юм. Эдгээр амьтан нь Плейстоцений эринд Мексик, Калифорни, Орегон болон Роки уулын баруун хэсгээр тархан амьдарч байжээ. Тэдгээр нь өвөг төрөл болох American mastodon-оос нарийн соёо, бүдүүн хойд хөл болон доод эрүүний соёогүй байдлаараа ялгаатай.
Одоогоор уг чулуужсан олдворыг Стэнфордын их сургуульд шилжүүлэн өгч, нүүрстөрөгчийн шинжилгээгээр нарийвчлан судлахаар төлөвлөж байна. Мөн олон нийтэд таниулах зорилгоор уг шүдний 3D загварыг бүтээхээр ажиллаж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
An exceptionally well-preserved fossilized molar belonging to an adult Pacific mastodon has surfaced in a nature preserve near San Francisco.
Upon first glance, the ancient tooth looked like an “oddly shaped rock” to geologists who were conducting fieldwork in the area, according to a statement from the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space (Midpen), which runs the preserve. But the find was quickly unmasked as a valuable fossil from the last ice age and was sent to scientists at Stanford University for carbon dating.
“The tooth itself is in immaculate condition,” Wayne Thompson, a paleontologist and the CEO of Pacific Paleontology, a consulting firm that carried out a preliminary analysis, said in the statement. “It’s the most complete mastodon molar from our area, and the most spectacular mastodon molar that I’ve ever seen. I had chills and shivers up and down my spine.”
Brigid Lynch, a geomorphologist with the California-based hydrology consulting firm Balance Hydrologics, found the molar this summer while surveying a creek bed. “As a geologist, I’ve gone out and seen stuff in the field, but definitely nothing as exciting as this,” Lynch said in the statement.
Lynch’s team was working on a habitat enhancement project to support the threatened California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) inside the preserve, which is located on the San Francisco Peninsula in San Mateo County. The fossil was a complete surprise and dates to at least 10,000 years ago, when the Pacific mastodon (Mammut pacificus) is thought to have gone extinct.
The Pacific mastodon was first recognized as a species in 2019. It was closely related to the American mastodon (Mammut americanum). Both elephant-like creatures lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago), but the Pacific mastodon inhabited regions farther west than its cousin, roaming parts of present-day Mexico, California, Oregon and the northern Rocky Mountains of the western U.S., according to the statement.
Pacific and American mastodon fossils reveal slight differences between the species, including a narrower third molar, thicker hind-leg bones and occasionally absent lower-jaw tusks in the Pacific mastodon, according to the Royal Alberta Museum.
The newfound tooth is “another puzzle in the Ice Age saga that we can put into place,” Thompson said. To get a precise date for the fossil, Midpen donated it to Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability in July, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Researchers will produce a 3D copy of the molar that Midpen plans to use for public outreach and education, according to the statement.
