<p>A boy's misstep on a family hike in New Mexico has given the world a prehistoric wonder.<br /><br />Ten-year-old Jude Sparks was on a desert hike in Las Cruces in November when he tripped over what turned out to be the fossilized tusk of a 1.2 million-year-old elephant-like creature, called a stegomastodon.<br /><br />The family contacted New Mexico State University professor Peter Houde, and he and a team from the university spent a week digging up the skull in May after getting permission from the landowner.<br /><br />Houde estimates the entire skull ways about a ton. He expects the university to put the skull on exhibit after it's studied and reconstructed, which could take years.</p>
<p>A boy's misstep on a family hike in New Mexico has given the world a prehistoric wonder.<br /><br />Ten-year-old Jude Sparks was on a desert hike in Las Cruces in November when he tripped over what turned out to be the fossilized tusk of a 1.2 million-year-old elephant-like creature, called a stegomastodon.<br /><br />The family contacted New Mexico State University professor Peter Houde, and he and a team from the university spent a week digging up the skull in May after getting permission from the landowner.<br /><br />Houde estimates the entire skull ways about a ton. He expects the university to put the skull on exhibit after it's studied and reconstructed, which could take years.</p>