Mammoth And Sloth Material

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Guys

Check out this mammoth tusk and proximal sloth femur from last weekend. The tusk is 15" long x 7" diameter x 24 LBS. My buddy and I almost tripped over it while walking side by side right after we got out of the boat. Tom saw it first but somehow (???) I ended up with it. Actually he was rewarding me for doing all the research and deploying my boat on this exploratory trip into the Texas outback. We must have logged 25 river miles. The sloth femur came from very close by. I've never seen one this nice. Looks like a fresh break too. Not sure of genus as I can't tell a Megalonyx from a Paramylodon or Nothrotheriops femur. Any ideas?

[Gatorman]

Great find Dan :Thumbs-up:

[Ronbo]

Now that is awsome....

[Roz]

Afraid that I can't help with the ID, but what some really cool finds. Do you mind if I ask what river you are hunting in? I have hunted the Trinity River just a few times and the same with the Sulphur River.

[worthy 55]

Sweet !!!!!! Great finds Dan! :cool:

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Roz

Since the Pleistocene fossils here aren't as concentrated as in FL, my only option is covering absolutely as much exposure as possible, typically clipping off 15-35 miles per day. I concentrate on areas mapped as Pleistocene terrace deposits. I hunt about every river you can think of including the NSR (downstream of the Ben Franklin RR tracks can be good after a flood) and SSR near Commerce. The Trinity, Brazos, and Colorado can be good as can their many tributaries although competition can be stiff on the major rivers. I don't know of any rivers where gold mines stretch for miles. Results are always spotty, but small localized areas can be consistent producers once located. I still need to explore the Pecos and Canadian rivers. I've found some good stuff in coastal areas too, generally from beaches and spoil islands. Sometimes I find stuff in big creeks as well. Recently I found a defunct gravel pit on the edge of a housing development in San Antonio and it too spit out horse teeth and such. I generally find one super cool honey hole per 4-6 twelve hour days of exploring, so I'm pretty deeply invested in the few good sites I've found. Best finds seem to come from areas nobody talks about or seemingly collects. One of my favorite stretches has no intersecting roads for 30-40 miles. I guess you have to want this stuff pretty bad to lay hands on it in TX unless you have a good relationship with gravel pit operators (or know a hole in the fence).