Toaster-sized mastodon molar unearthed in San Mateo Creek, reshaping Ice Age Bay Area lore
TL;DR Summary
A Pacific mastodon molar, about the size of a toaster, was found in a San Mateo County creek in March 2026 on Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District land; hailed as one of the Bay Area’s best-preserved mastodon fossils, it’s now in Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability collection for dating and study to learn more about Ice Age fauna and the region’s ancient landscape.
- ‘Immaculate condition:’ Rare mastodon fossil found in San Mateo County creek The Mercury News
- Scientist makes jaw-dropping fossil discovery in Bay Area KRON4
- 'Oddly shaped rock' found in San Mateo County turns out to be huge ice age tooth SFGATE
- She was looking for frogs in the San Mateo hills. Then she stumbled upon an Ice Age mystery San Francisco Chronicle
- Massive Ice Age-era mastodon tooth found in California creek KTLA
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