Incredibly Rare Complete Fossil Uncovered in New York Backyard

Imagine digging up something worth millions in your backyard. That actually happened to this New York homeowner.

Chances are you went looking for fossils or ancient relics when you were a kid. Who didn't hope to find an arrowhead or a triceratops horn out in the woods?

That dream became a reality for an Orange County resident, who saw something peculiar hiding behind a plant.

A Scotchtown man, who was not identified, began digging with his fingers to find out what it was. That's when his hands brushed against a huge set of teeth.

He kept digging and realized he had found something magnificent - so he called the experts.

The homeowner said in a press release from the New York State Museum:

When I found the teeth and examined them in my hands, I knew they were something special [...] I'm thrilled that our property has yielded such an important find for the scientific community.

Experts from New York State Museum and SUNY-Orange descended upon his humble home and told him the amazing news... he found a complete mastodon jaw.

Mastodons are the ancient, but distant relatives of modern day elephants that roamed the earth 23 million to 11,700 years ago.

Their fossil remains were first discovered in 1705 here in New York State. A mastodon tooth and other bone fragments were uncovered in the Hudson River Valley.

As for this latest discovery, this marks the first time in 11 years that a fossil of this importance was unearthed in New York State.

The complete jaw wasn't the only fascinating discovery in Scotchtown.

Experts kept digging and found even more remains in the homeowner's backyard, which were identified as a rib fragment and toe bone.

Dr. Cory Harris Chair of SUNY Orange’s Behavioral Sciences Department said further excavation will be done in the surrounding area to see if there are other surprises waiting to be discovered.

Next steps will include research and carbon dating to determine how old the fossils are. The jaw will also help scientists figure out this ancient being's diet during the Ice Age.

Dr. Robert Feranec, an expert from the New York State Museum, raved about the rare find. "Fossils like this help us learn about ancient ecosystems and give us clues about how the world has changed over time," he said in a press release.

The bones will be preserved with the intent of them being showcased to the public starting sometime next year.

To date, over 150 mastodon fossils have been found across the Empire State - but a majority of them have been found in the Hudson Valley.  About one third of all of these fossils were dug up in Orange County alone.

Because of this, the southern tier has been dubbed "New York’s premier hotspot for these ancient relatives of modern elephants."

Those interested in checking out these fascinating fossils can see them for free at the New York State Museum, which is the oldest and largest public museum in the entire country.

Read More: Find One of America's Oldest Bridges in Upstate New York

Their address is 222 Madison Avenue in Albany and their visiting hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 in the morning until 5 at night.

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