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Whale shark tooth
Images: 
By ThePhysicist
Taxonomy
Whale Shark
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Orectolobiformes
Family: Rhincodontidae
Genus: Rhincodon
Species: Rhincodon cf. typus
Author Citation Smith, 1828
Geological Time Scale
Eon: Phanerozoic
Era: Cenozoic
Period: Neogene
Sub Period: None
Epoch: Miocene
Stratigraphy
Pungo River Formation
Provenance
Acquired by: Purchase/Trade
Dimensions
Height: 6 mm
Location
Lee Creek Phosphate Mine
Aurora
North Carolina
United States
Comments
Identification:
Ray, Clayton E. and Bohaska, David J. 2001. Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810266.90.1
From Page 99 & 100:
"The crown of the Lee Creek Mine tooth (Figure 15o) is sharp, slightly curved lingually, and has a perfectly smooth surface. It is compressed laterally, and the cutting edges are distinct but dull. A narrow and relatively long apron descends onto the lingual face of the root.
The roots of these teeth are bulbous and are wider at the mesial and distal sides than at the crowns, and they possess a well-marked central foramen and transverse groove. A pair of prominent lateral foramina are located high on the mesial and distal sides of the root, and the basal area of the root is marked by small, irregular vascular openings. These teeth are identical to those of the extant species, Rhincodon typus, Smith."Whale shark teeth are very obvious, with a tall, bilobate root, and a narrow crown. More on ID.
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