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Scientists hope ancient Tomales Bay mammoth molar holds clues to prehistoric environment The Press Democrat, October 11, 2019 https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/10135759-181/paleontologists-hopes-ancient-mammoth-molar Mammoth molar found on bay beach holds clues Point Reyes Light, October 16, 2019 https://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/mammoth-molar-found-bay-beach-holds-clues ACR family member makes mammoth find on Tomales Bay. ACR Conservation in Action https://www.egret.org/acr-family-member-makes-mammoth-find-tomales-bay Tomales Bay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomales_Bay Ice Age clues near Bodega. Scientist thinks mammoths rubbed coast rocks 12,000 years ago By Peter Fimrite, SF Gate, December 3, 2006 https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ice-Age-clues-near-Bodega-Scientist-thinks-2466058.php Mammoth Rocks, California https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23566 https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23822 Yours, Paul H.

Are any of those mammoth "fossils" around actually fossils? Wouldn't they still be natural bone? I know that the remains found in colder northern area, the remains are still original dead tissue, because they're regularly found with soft tissue and hair, but they're found other places too, along with all other animals from the more recent periods, where freezing isn't a factor, but Is there even enough time for fossilization to occur for those animals? Is there a general point in, or period of time, after which it's just not old enough for fossilization to occur? I know any such point, or period, would vary depending on the regions environmental conditions, but I would imagine there are places where there is such a point before which geologically, remains are fossilized, and after which remains are still actual bone.

Researchers sequence complete genomes of extinct and living elephants, McMaster University, February 26, 2018, https://phys.org/news/2018-02-sequence-genomes-extinct-elephants.html The paper is: Eleftheria Palkopoulou, Mark Lipson, and others, 2018, A comprehensive genomic history of extinct and living elephants PNAS 2018; published ahead of print February 26, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1720554115 Yours, Paul H.

Barker, Chris and Nielson, R. LaRell, "Oysters and Mammoths: Fossils in Central Texas, Texas Academy of Science, 2017 Field Trip. Faculty Publications. 16. http://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/geology/16 Also, there is: Bongino, J.D., 2007. Late quaternary history of the Waco Mammoth site: environmental reconstruction and interpreting the cause of death (Doctoral dissertation). https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/baylor-ir/handle/2104/5047 Yours, Paul H.

This past Saturday, my family treated me to a nice day out to celebrate my birthday. My lovely wife asked what I wanted to do. I took the opportunity to ask to visit a museum I have been wanting to visit. We packed ourselves into the Corolla, and headed to Springfield Massachusetts, to pick my son up from college. 50 minutes later, he was getting into the car. Off we went. Our destination was the Beneski Museum of Natural History, at Amherst College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, USA. This museum, which is free to the public, houses the Hitchcock Ichnology Collection, one of the largest collections of dinosaur footprints anywhere. Edward Hitchcock is considered a pioneer in, if not the father of, Ichnology. He started collecting the footprints in 1835, 7 years prior to Sir Richard Owen naming the taxon, Dinosauria. A minister, then a geologist, and the third president of Amherst College. He wrote several papers about the footprints, laying groundwork for the paleontological study of ichnology. Quite the Gentleman Scholar. While the museum does have many other fossils and casts, and quite an impressive mineral collection, ... the Hitchcock Ichnology Collection is the cornerstone of the museum. The museum is free of charge to the public. You can park anywhere on campus on the weekends. I highly recommend this place to anyone interested in fossils, or minerals. So without any further ado, ... on to the pictures. First the drawers -