fossilnut Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Hi I would like to get an id on this beautiful tooth that I just found in NMB,SC. One side of the root is significantly longer that the other side. The blade curves "in" near the tip. In my limited experience, it looks like a short finned mako lower tooth. It is 2 1/16 in slant height. The center of the root protudes out. What distinquishing factors will lead to an identification for this tooth? Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilnut Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilnut Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilnut Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 (edited) Looks more like a sand tiger Edited November 24, 2019 by The Jersey Devil (Because of the nutrient groove) 1 “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Looks like it could be a worn Carcharias cuspidata. The root is well worn, cusps missing 1 Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilnut Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 1 hour ago, The Jersey Devil said: Looks more like a sand tiger Thanks to both of you for your replies. Nutrient groove is informative. Thanks for that info. Sixgill pete you helped me realize the amount of wear on this tooth. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 First let me state that it is always difficult to id shark teeth from pictures. Seeing the tooth first hand might change what follows. That said, the tooth looks like a lower Isurus desori (mako) tooth to me. I'm not really seeing a nutrient groove which I would expect to see in a sandtiger tooth. What I'm seeing in two pictures is root damage/erosion where a lower mako tooth would have nutrient pores. I'm also not seeing evidence of broken off cusplets in the pictures which I would also expect to see (although there is at least one fossil species of sandtigers that have anterior teeth without cusplets). The teeth of the extant shortfin mako Isurus oxyrinchus are very similar to fossil Isurus desori teeth. So similar that some researchers think that desori should be synonymized with oxyrinchus. The crowns of lower anterior teeth of desori/oxyrinchus recurve. I don't have any pictures of my lower fossil desori teeth so I'll post for comparison a picture of a lower a1 oxyrinchus tooth from one of my shortfin mako jaws and another picture of a lower oxyrinchus tooth from e-bay. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 If I had found this tooth, I would have no hesitation labeling it Isurus desori. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 32 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said: If I had found this tooth, I would have no hesitation labeling it Isurus desori. My hesitation in the Isurus desori id is because of how close the cutting edges of the posted tooth get to the root. Look closely at the cutting edges of the a1 I. oxyrinchus tooth in my posted picture above of my jaw. Neither cutting edge goes close to the tooth root and one cutting edge ends a good distance from the tooth root. I need to dig out my fossil I. desori to look at the cutting edges. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark57 Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 I agree with Marco. I don't think this tooth ever had cusplets. I have never seen a 2 inch cuspidata. If anyone has one, I would like to see a picture of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 1 hour ago, shark57 said: I agree with Marco. I don't think this tooth ever had cusplets. I have never seen a 2 inch cuspidata. If anyone has one, I would like to see a picture of it. +1 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 11 hours ago, MarcoSr said: My hesitation in the Isurus desori id is because of how close the cutting edges of the posted tooth get to the root. Could be some variation between modern and extinct forms. Shape just screams desori to me. No prominent nutrient grove or evidence of cusps, more robust than I’d expect for a cuspidata. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 4 hours ago, WhodamanHD said: Could be some variation between modern and extinct forms. Shape just screams desori to me. No prominent nutrient grove or evidence of cusps, more robust than I’d expect for a cuspidata. I agree. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilnut Posted November 26, 2019 Author Share Posted November 26, 2019 Thanks to everyone for your helpful responses. Especial thanks to @MarcoSr for the pictures and the descriptions for deciding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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