November 1966 



COMMERCIAL FISHERIES REVIEW 



31 



Cretaceous age is possible. After it has been 

 thoroughly analyzed, the specimen will be 

 placed in the permanent paleobotanical coUec - 

 tions of the U. S. National Museum in Wash- 

 ington, D. C. 



WALRUS TUSK 



The fossilized anterior portion of a walrus 

 skull ( Odobenus rosmarus ) with tusk attached 

 (fig. 5) was found in April 19 65 by Magnus Is- 

 aksen, master of the commercialfishing drag- 

 ger Aloha . This specimen was discovered 

 about 50 miles south of Long Is land. New York — 

 40°01.4' north latitude and 72°36.3' west lon- 

 gitude --at a depth of 32 fathoms. The tusk, a 

 canine tooth from the upper jaw used by the 

 walrus for grubbing moUusks and crustaceans 

 from the ocean bottom, is 15 inches long and 

 3 inches wide. The outer surface of the tusk 

 is roughened by uneven exfoliation of a few 

 thin flakes from the sides. 





Fig. 5 - Fossil walrus tusk attaclied to the anterior portion of Uie 

 skull. 



Walruses now inhabit the open waters of the 

 Arctic Ocean around the edge of the polar ice, 

 moving southward in winter. Although it pres- 

 ently does not migrate south of Labrador in 

 eastern North America, the southernmost rec- 

 ord for this species during historic times is 

 Massachusetts (42° N. latitude). Judging from 

 the fossilized condition of this specimen and 

 the geographic location from which it was re- 

 covered, this walrus probably lived during the 

 late Pleistocene Epoch, perhaps 20 to 50 thou- 

 sand years ago. 



MAMMOTH TOOTH 



A beautiful specimen of a fossil molar tooth 

 (fig. 6) from a mammoth, tentatively identified 

 as Mammuthus jeffersoni , was also collected 

 by the Aloha' s master. It was dredged June 

 29, 1965, during fishing operations 46 miles 

 east of Cape Henry, Virginia. The position de- 

 termined by Loran-A b e a r i ngs is 36°51.5' 



Fig. 6 - Oblique view of a fossil molar tooth from a mammoth 

 f Mammutlius jeffersoni) . 



north latitude and 75°02.0f west longitude, at a 

 depth of 19 fathoms (114 feet). 



The mammoth tooth is 122 inches long, 6 

 inches deep, about 2 to 5 inches wide, and 

 weighs ?! pounds. It is widest near the mid- 

 dle and tapers toward each end. In cross sec- 

 tion it is also widest midway between the top 

 and bottom; the grinding surface and roots are 

 narrowerthan the center portion. It is mostly 

 dark brown mixed with various shades of gray. 

 The tooth is in ex c e 1 1 e nt condition. A few 

 bryozoans occurring together near the anterior 

 end were the only fouling organisms found liv- 

 ing on this specimen. This limited growth in- 

 dicates that, when collected, the tooth was 

 probably buried in bottom sediments with only 

 part of the a n t e r i o r end exposed to water. 



Now extinct, mammoths were large, ele- 

 phant-like beasts with very long curved tusks 

 turned upwards at the tip. They migrated to 

 North America by way of the Alaskan-Siberian 

 land bridge thousands of years ago. Because 

 of their enormous body weight, they required 

 vast quantities of food. In keeping with their 

 dietary needs, their molar teeth were large 

 and had broad, flattened crowns, well adapted 

 to the grasses they ate. 



Much remains to be learned about the mam- 

 moths that inhabited eastern North America. 

 Bones, teeth, and other skeletal parts of these 

 interesting creatures from offshore waters on 

 the Atlantic Continental Shelf are exceedingly 

 rare. The tooth shown in Fig. 6 is being stud- 

 ied by paleontologists at the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution, Washington, D. C. 



PREHISTORIC MAN 



Approximately 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, 

 primitive human beings inhabited much of the 

 United States and parts of Canada. Evidence 

 of these early cultures stems largely from 

 fluted projectile points interbedded with char- 

 coal and animal bones (Haynes 1964). Clovis 



