Pilot Randy Prickett and scientist Steven Haddock, researchers with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), discovered a Columbian mammoth tusk 185 miles offshore and 10,000 feet deep in the ocean in 2019, the institution said in a news release. "You start to 'expect the unexpected' when exploring the deep sea, but I'm still stunned that we came upon the ancient tusk of a mammoth," said Haddock. The researchers said the cold, high pressure environment helped to preserve the tusk, so it can be studied in greater detail. The scientists believe it could be the oldest well-preserved mammoth tusk recovered from this region of North America, and the UCSC Geochronology Lab estimates it is more than 100,000 years old after analyzing the radioisotopes. This story was first published on CNN.com Mammoth tusk recovered from an unlikely place: the bottom of the ocean

Source: CNN November 24, 2021 01:57 UTC