COLUMBIA, S.C. _ In the bank of a salty river near Beaufort rests the skeleton of a mammoth that died thousands of years ago.
That's the story from John Taylor, a Charleston shark-tooth hunter who said he stumbled onto the rare mound of bones while diving. If what Taylor says is true, the finding could be of historical significance, state scientists say.
But there's a hitch.
Taylor won't tell state officials where he says he found the skeleton.
Taylor, a former Navy diver who sells fossils and shark's teeth on the internet, said he isn't talking until the state gives him a binding legal document that provides him rights to half the value of the mammoth bones. He worries that the state will take the fossil, estimated to be worth $500,000, without treating him fairly. He said the state is pressuring him to reveal the location by refusing to re-issue state licenses that he needs to dive for fossils.
For nearly three years, Taylor has kept the mammoth's location secret from the State Museum Commission and the University of South Carolina's archaeology institute. "They just aren't open to negotiation or compromise."
State Museum Commission officials said they would like to see what Taylor has found. According to state law, anyone finding fossils while diving must report the discovery to the Museum Commission.
"The South Carolina State Museum has been made aware of the discovery and is looking forward to collaborating with the individual to identify the location of the reported find," the agency said in a statement.
Finding a mammoth skeleton or a large collection of mammoth bones would be a rarity in South Carolina, experts say. Only scattered mammoth bones and teeth have been found thus far in the Palmetto State, scientists said.
Mammoths were hairy, elephantlike creatures that became extinct in North America more than 10,000 years ago. Some species were about the same height as modern elephants, growing as tall as 11 feet at the shoulder. Others approached 14 feet in height. Mammoths weighed 6 to 10 tons and sported curving tusks.
Mammoths were found almost worldwide, including South Carolina, where legislators have designated one species of the creature as the official state fossil.
Taylor, 47, said he found the remains while scouring a murky river in Beaufort County three years ago.
Taylor said he first found two teeth. Later, he ran across a knee bone, a leg bone, a jaw and a tusk in the mud, he told The State, adding he is sure the bones are those of a mammoth.
"It could only be a mammoth," he said. "The teeth are a dead giveaway. I've been doing this for 25 years. I've found teeth before."
Some scientists are skeptical.
They want to know if Taylor mistook the bones of another animal for a mammoth. If the bones are from a mammoth, a key question is whether they are parts of a full skeleton or just scattered fragments.
"To my knowledge, we don't typically get whole skeletons" of mammoths, said Sean Taylor, an archaeologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. "I've heard of this fellow and what he's claiming. Nobody can confirm what he's got. It's just his claim."
Chris Moore, a USC archaeologist who works at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, said he also wants to know more about the find to determine its significance.
"On places like Edisto Beach, people find unassociated, washed up fossil bones all the time," he said. "But this claim is something different."
Rudy Mancke, a widely known naturalist with the University of South Carolina, said a large collection of mammoth bones _ or a full skeleton _ would be of great scientific interest. That would be particularly true if there is evidence that humans killed the animal, which would place people and mammoths in the state at the same time, he said.
"A complete skeleton is different than just finding a bone," Mancke said. "It would be very important."
Taylor's dispute with the S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology and the State Museum Commission surfaced at the State House in March. Taylor, who has hired lawyers to represent him, was there to argue for a bill that would loosen state regulation on shark-tooth collecting by divers.
"They don't want to give me a commercial license, and they want me to tell them where the location of it is," said Taylor, referring to the mammoth. "They're blackmailing me to find the location."
The State Museum said in an email it hopes to work something out. Officials noted, however, the fossil isn't Taylor's to keep, if it exists. By law, the State Museum Commission has first rights to any fossils, such as mammoth skeletons, found in the state. Significant finds are important to keep for the public, the Museum Commission said.
"The Museum Commission is to be the custodian of the mammoth fossil," the agency said in an email from spokesman Jared Glover. "We are hopeful that this reported find can be used to preserve and encourage the scientific and recreational values ... for the benefit of the people of the state."
