CrittercatcherMeg on TikTok found this mastodon tooth!

Posting here because I find Tumblr’ers to be a little less likely to shout completely misinformed comments than TikTokers, who mostly think it’s fake because they either don’t know bones (which is inherently fine!) or are jealous (hell I’m jealous too!)

It’s ok if you don’t know stuff about animal remains! But here is some info before making false claims:

This is not fossilized (meaning it’s not replaced by rock, but you can call it “a fossil”)

Florida rivers are actually quite good at preserving ancient bones

People find like, six of these a year in FL

A museum probably wouldn’t care for this because they have enough

Many have insisted that “it’s plastic from Amazon” but no one has been able to find a remotely similar replica. If you look, compare the wear, the length and angles of the roots, and the sharpness of the second root. Or even just the color and texture, damn

And if you don’t believe me or OP here is a Florida paleontologist confirming.