Minnesota - possible fossil tooth?

[Detritiboer]

Searching the gravel driveway for a missing piece of a telescope (at night...), I pocketed an odd rock. In the light of day it looked to me like it could be a tooth.  I'm located in McLeod Co., Minnesota, not at all known for fossils, but the glaciers have brought us a few surprises that show up from time to time. Fossil Forum members helped me ID a piece of petrified wood from the same gravel drive 2 weeks ago. Or maybe it's just a rock.

 

It has several cracks or grooves that run most of the way from the potential "crown" to the "root."

 

Thoughts?  BTW, that's a marshmallow I used to stabilize the rock to display the possible "crown" and "root."  Later I ate the marshmallow.  

 

 

[Fossildude19]

I took the liberty of editing your photos.  (By the way, great use of the marshmallow!)

 

 

 

 

  

 

   

 

 

Unfortunately, when resized up, detail was lost, as the photos are a bit fuzzy. 

Try to get a bit closer to the item to get some detailed photos.

Try to make sure that the photos only include the item and ruler, and not so much background.

Also you may want to try a darker background, as light backgrounds tend to mess with focusing and lighting of the item.

(Reflection of light.)

Tim

[Detritiboer]

Thank you, Tim, for the editing and the advice.  Using a black background is a great idea.  Here are some better photos that get much closer to the actual color of the item.

 

 

 

[Fossildude19]

These photos are much better! Thanks for taking the time to take them.  

 

Unfortunately, I am still unable to determine much about this item. 

It could be a very worn, broken piece of a tooth. I would say if it's a tooth, it may be a mammal. 

 

However, it could just be a deceivingly weathered river rock.   

 

This photo looks a bit like a broken piece of tooth.                                                                 While this one puts me in mind of a piece of a pig molar. (Sus scrofa)

 

                                          

 

 

This is what I'm thinking about: 

 

 

Image from here. 

 

All in all, this is beyond my abilities to confidently ID. 

 

Maybe some other members will weigh in. 

 

[Harry Pristis]

Your find appears to be an unerupted horse tooth, a lower cheek tooth.  In the image below, some cementum has been worn from enamel high-points.

 

[Shellseeker]

On 7/20/2020 at 9:34 PM, Detritiboer said:

I'm located in McLeod Co., Minnesota, not at all known for fossils, but the glaciers have brought us a few surprises that show up from time to time. Fossil Forum members helped me ID a piece of petrified wood from the same gravel drive 2 weeks ago. Or maybe it's just a rock.

Hmmm, "maybe it's just a rock.", I have said that numerous times, but generally I do not believe it. Thanks to those Fossil Forum members who are working on getting you more addicted to fossils. @minnbuckeye

I am fortunate to live in Florida which tends to preserve fossils, much better than glaciers.

1st I agree with all that Harry said because he knows lots about small horses. We are very unlikely to identify yours because it is very worn and unerupted.

However , I can show a similar sized lower jaw horse tooth in much better shape, found in March in Florida. Once "used" for a while you can see the detail of the chewing surface. You have a very small horse tooth at the lower end of size. If it were in Florida 11-12 millemeters would translate to few species. Nannippus .sp is one of those species.

Nannippus is an extinct genus of three-toed horse endemic to North America during the Miocene through Pliocene, about 13.3—3.3 million years ago (Mya), living around 11.1 million years.

Nannippus lived as far south as central Mexico (N. peninsulatus) to as far north as Canada (N. lenticularis)

 

 

[minnbuckeye]

@Shellseeker, wish I could help. I live and hunt in the  "driftless area". A special piece of SE Mn, SW Wi and NE Ia. that all of the glacial advances missed!!  So we have virgin Ordovician rock at the surface which is good for sea life, no glacial deposits, and NO TEETH!

 

 Mike