# Ancient Mastodon Tooth Found in California Creek > Scientists discover rare 50,000-100,000-year-old mastodon tooth in San Mateo Creek. - Title: Ancient Mastodon Tooth Found in California Creek · Fox News - Summary: Scientists discover rare 50,000-100,000-year-old mastodon tooth in San Mateo Creek. A California creek survey revealed a well-preserved ancient mastodon… - Keywords: pacific mastodon, california creek, midpeninsula regional open space distric, balance hydrologics, california red-legged frog, alder trees, carbon dating, 3d scan, news, politics, Ancient, Mastodon - Source: Fox News — https://foxnews.com/travel/strange-rock-catches-scientist-eye-creek-search-leading-rare-discovery - Author: Andrea Margolis - Published: 2026-09-17T00:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: pacific mastodon, california creek, midpeninsula regional open space distric, balance hydrologics, california red-legged frog, alder trees, carbon dating, 3d scan, news, politics ## Mastodon tooth discovery A scientist surveying a California creek found a tooth from an ancient Pacific mastodon during habitat improvements for threatened California red-legged frogs. > As a geologist, I've gone out and seen stuff in the field but definitely nothing as exciting as this ## Tooth age clarification Wayne Thompson, CEO of Pacific Paleontology, stated the tooth is 50,000-100,000 years old, not 10,000 years as commonly reported. > Most of the reports out [there] are saying it's 10,000 years old, but it's not 10,000 years ## Tooth preservation The tooth is in 'immaculate condition' with most roots preserved, suggesting it recently separated from the skull. > Mastodon teeth are, the roots are extremely fragile, and this one had the majority of the roots of the molar still preserved with it intact ## Possible animal remains Paleontologists believe the rest of the mastodon may still be buried at the discovery site. > It probably recently came out of the skull and the skull, along with the rest of the bones, are still buried out there ## Future research Researchers from Stanford University plan to carbon date the tooth and create a 3D scan for a replica. > Researchers will also create a 3-d scan of the tooth, which will be used to produce a replica ## Habitat connection Alder trees line the creek where the tooth was found, matching mastodon food preferences. > Even today, when we went out to the site to inspect where the biological monitor was surveying, there were still hundreds of alders along the stream ## Key takeaway A California creek survey revealed a well-preserved ancient mastodon tooth that may be 50,000-100,000 years old, with researchers planning carbon dating and 3D scans.