Bachelor Party Finds Stegomastodon Skull and Tusks at New Mexico State Park

Posted on June 14, 2014

A group of campers celebrating a bachelor party at Elephant Butte Lake State Park in New Mexico discovered a very well-preserved fossilized stegomastodon skull. The stegomastodon's tusks were attached to the skull and were found curved deep into the ground. The Albuquerque Journal reports that water was released from a dam about two weeks ago, which lowered water in the lake by several feet. This enabled the campers to spot the rare fossil.

Gary Morgan, curator of paleontology with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, tells the Las Cruces News, that the stegomastodon died about 3.2 million years ago. He says it was about 50 years old when it died based on its upper molars. He also estimates the stegomastodon weighed about 500 to 1,000 pounds.

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