PLEISTOCENE MEGAFAUNA FINDS FROM THE MERRIMACK RIVER DELTA

In 2013, two Pleistocene mega-faunal remains, a single mammoth tooth and a partial juvenile mastodon mandible with teeth, from two separate locations, were recovered by a scallop-fisherman in the Merrimack River embayment off the coast of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. These well-preserved finds follow on previous finds by fishermen in the same locale over the last two decades, as well as numerous other offshore finds that have occurred in the Gulf of Maine for more than 50 years. This presentation will broadly discuss the provenance and scientific sampling potential of previously recovered mammoth and mastodon specimens in the Gulf of Maine, the seafloor and sub-seafloor characteristics at the approximate locations of the 2013 recovery sites, and the potential coexistence of late Pleistocene – early Holocene mega-fauna with the initial Paleoindian occupation in the region.