Landowner Uncovers Mammoth Fossils in Lafayette
A university paleontologist is documenting the remains, which include lower jaws, teeth and likely tusks, as part of Louisiana's known megafauna record.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Geology
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Local landowner Curt Matte uncovered mammoth fossil remains in Lafayette, Louisiana, including portions of a skeleton, lower jaws and teeth, and likely tusks. He contacted UL Lafayette Science Museum director Dr. Jennifer Hargrave to identify and document the find. The discovery is a documented local find, not a research result.
Why it matters
Louisiana's fossil record already includes mammoths, mastodons, giant ground sloths and other large mammals, so the find adds to a known regional record. Documentation by a university paleontologist is how such finds become usable scientific material.
The evidence is a physical fossil find identified by a landowner and documented by a university paleontologist. Specimen age, measurements and final species confirmation are not reported in the source, and the recovery status is unresolved.
The players
Curt Matte
Local Lafayette landowner who uncovered the mammoth fossil remains on his property.
Dr. Jennifer Hargrave
Paleontologist and director of the UL Lafayette Science Museum, who was contacted to identify and document the find.
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Public research university whose science museum and paleontology staff are assisting with identification of the remains.
The details
Fossils form when remains are buried in sediment and mineralized over long periods, and paleontologists identify species from the shape of bones and especially teeth. Here, the find includes lower jaws and teeth, which are among the most diagnostic parts of a mammal skeleton. Dr. Jennifer Hargrave, a paleontologist at UL Lafayette and director of the university's Science Museum, was brought in to identify and document the remains.
Timeline
Recently, prior to publication: landowner Curt Matte uncovered the mammoth remains.
The Tech Race
Louisiana's fossil record already includes mammoths, mastodons and giant ground sloths, placing this find within an established regional body of megafauna evidence. Its scientific value will depend on documentation and identification by university paleontologists rather than on any competing research program.
Residents of Lafayette who find fossils on their land can contact local university museums for identification and documentation. The extraction does not state whether the remains will be displayed or what recovery steps follow.
The takeaway
Fossil finds on private land often become scientific records only when a landowner contacts an expert, as Curt Matte did here. Watch for the museum's identification and any formal recovery announcement, which would confirm the specimen's species and age.
Further reading
For more on how paleontologists read and date fossil finds, explore Geology coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by WNTZ - cenlanow.com.
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