A farmer in the south of France stumbled across the skull of a giant, four-tusked ancestor of the elephant but failed to inform paleontologists for almost three years because he didn’t want any “bother” from fossil hunters.

The unnamed farmer struck scientific gold when he unearthed the remarkably intact skull - a unique specimen - of the Pyrenean mastodon, Gomphotherium pyrenaicum, a relative of elephants and mammoths that roamed the area millions of years ago.

The only previous proof of its existence was the discovery of four teeth belonging to one individual found in 1857 in an area near the farm, around 40 miles southwest of Toulouse.

Unsure what to do with the bones, he finally contacted the Toulouse natural history museum, telling them he had failed to call earlier because he didn’t want to be “bothered” by any fossil fans.

“Today, we are putting a face to a species that had become almost mythical. We now have a complete skull and this will allow us to clarify the anatomy of this species,” said Francis Duranthon, director and curator of the museum.