Lucky Fossil Hunter Found Something Incredible

I went solo camping, looking for Megalodon teeth, and I found something I had never expected to find. Join me on the river to find out what these prehistoric canines belong to and see how we found them!

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About Digging Science:
Digging Science focuses on scientific communication through educational programs, YouTube, and embodied hands on learning in the fields of paleontology, geology, and archaeology. We enjoy learning about our planet and bringing natural history to you!

Citations in this video:

Boessenecker, Sarah J., Robert W. Boessenecker, and Jonathan H. Geisler. "Youngest record of the extinct walrus Ontocetus emmonsi from the Early Pleistocene of South Carolina and a review of North Atlantic walrus biochronology." Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 63.2 (2018).

Geraads, Denis, Jean-Paul Raynal, and Fatima-Zohra Sbihi-Alaoui. "Mammalian faunas from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Casablanca (Morocco)." Historical Biology 22.1-3 (2010): 275-285.

ICZN 1999. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

Leidy, J. 1859. Remarks on Dromatherium sylvestre and Ontocetus emmonsi. Proceeding of the Academy of Natural sciences of Philadelphia, 1859:162.

Post, Klaas. "Marine mammals North Sea." Staringia 17.1 (2022): 128-135.

[chuckjenkins]

I am so glad to see you back. Not sure of the reasons behind your absence but I am just so happy to see you back again and at my age I don’t get this happy about to much these days. Thank you for the return you was highly missed by many.

[robmikell]

I am from Florida. I live near the Suwannee. Years ago I worked at the phosphate mines.I worked on the washer. This 18 story monster separated the phosphate " beans" from the rest. Late at night I would monitor the mud ball belt. It clogged with clay so we watched the chutes. You could stand next to the belt and snatch teeth & bones off before it was pumped back to the field. The process broke most of the fossils but now & then you would get lucky. In retirement I look for agatized coral and oyster shells. There are tons of it. After tumbling the softer elements away, unique shapes remain that I process on a very small scale to supplement my income. I make necklaces and such I sell at the local flea market. There are some dry drains in the area that have fossils on the ground. These are remote and hard to get to die to the the river depth of a foot or less. Enjoy your videos immensely.

[Kirindor]

Perfect timing. School starts on Thursday. I use your videos as a reward for completed work.

[denisecintas]

I'm 75, a grandma, and I love your channel. It's very educational. 😊

[paleo]

It's been awhile my dude. Welcome back!

[Reneelwaring]

I purchased for my daughter a 5.64-inch Megalodon tooth for Christmas a few years ago. Got it for a great price and no, it is not restored. She and her husband were so happy with it. Bought a whole collection of teeth and called it "Moster's of the Deep". Something to share and educate the grandchildren with.

[stephanieyee]

Oh Jonathan, I am so happy for you finding the walrus tusks. What a fantastic find. Thank you for walking us through the science behind categorising the walrus tusks and their characteristics.

Your Meg teeth are beautiful.

[richconroy]

The fact that you found both of those tusks down there is amazing. I'm surprised he didn't leave his wallet as well

[jmethy]

Honestly one of the paleo youtube GOATS

[HAM-sbns]

One of my favorite fossil hunting channels, glad to see you back!

[bassomatic]

So good to see you again! Missed the content. Hope you and family are well.

[marco-lsfm]

I wish there were more IRL archeology and paleontolog youtubers like you!

[ericlombardini]

Jonathan, I've been watching and loving your enthusiastic videos for years. So awesome to see how they've evolved and how you're bringing the science behind your finds to life! Well done and thank you for the joy you bring to paleontology!!!

[Curt-L-]

Love the red megs... awesome colors Jon... great finds it is amazing to think that a walrus would be living along the Eastern seaboard... with all their blubber it had to be cold I would think.

[simonphoenix]

it amazes me that this stuff can just be lying on top of the water for this long without being broken into pieces during storms or eroded away my gradual movement of particles over them.

[zcurtiss]

Walrus tusk find was out of this world! Finding two back to back? That tells me you are living your life right! So awesome! I hadn’t even considered that walruses might accompany the other mammals of the time and that they were in the realm of possibilities to find fossils of. Glad to see your video. I know you have a lot going on, but I hope to keep seeing videos as you are able to squeeze them in.

[ack]

What a way to come back, those are some killer fossils! This new formula for this video is really nice, like an elevated version of the content you've become known for. Planning a trip to Florida here in about a month, initially for other things, but you've inspired me to squeeze in a bit of time hunting for some of these ancient pieces of history myself!

And of course, I'll be sure to get a permit for it during my trip, I certainly don't want to be a part of that toxic kind of paleontology lol. Theft of potentially valuable historical resources is not cool!

[ithitsthefan]

One channel I have really been missing. So good to see you back!

[arnoldhillbillygrizzlyputm]

Finally a vid from from one of my top 3 fossil channels . You an your lady are so missed on here . Great finds as always

[kaya.r]

Welcome back! Absolute amazing finds. Love the walrus tusks and the amazing artsy coloration on the teeth!