Columbian mammoth fossil unearthed in Mississippi

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Columbian mammoth fossil unearthed in Mississippi
Tommy West
WJTV Jackson
Fri, August 22, 2025 at 1:27 PM EDT
1 min read





NEWTON COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – An 18-year-old fossil hunter in Mississippi recently discovered a Columbian mammoth fossil.

According to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), Waylen Miller has found numerous marine fossils on his family farmer near Lake, Mississippi.

Fossil hunters discover American mastodon jaw in Yazoo County

On August 14, Miller searched a nearby creek that runs through the property and discovered something that looked like “petrified lasagna.” He contacted a MDEQ State Survey scientist about the discovery.

According to MDEQ, the fossil was a giant portion of a Columbian mammoth tooth from the Pleistocene epoch.


According to MDEQ, the fossil was a giant portion of a Columbian mammoth tooth from the Pleistocene epoch. (Courtesy: MDEQ)


Last year the evidence of Columbian mammoths occupying the Jackson Prairie was first reported on with the excavation of a complete tusk, excavated by our State Survey scientists in the loess bluff’s region of western Madison County. Waylen’s find is much farther east than the Jackson Prairie of the loess bluffs region. This has important implications on the broader landscape and ecology of the Jackson Prairie, not just during the ice ages of the Pleistocene epoch, but also how we understand it today.

MDEQ

According to the agency, Mississippi was home to three Proboscideans during the last ice age: Mastodons, Gomphotheres, and Columbian mammoths.

Officials said Mastodons are the most common Proboscidean finds in Mississippi. Mammoths, which were related to modern elephants, are far less common finds in the state.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/columbian-mammoth-fossil-unearthed-mississippi-172759357.html