stellabear Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Hi again. I have another one for you. I think I could tell if it wasn't broken! Found in green mill run. It is 1.5 inches or 3.8 cm. There is a definite ridge on one side. I tried to get a good picture of its location, the cavity seems slightly oval. Thank you again! I really appreciate you all teaching and helping me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notidanodon Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Can’t really help with this one but if there is a ridge (I think it’s called a carina but please correct me) I would definitely lean towards croc 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellabear Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 @will stevenson I think it is a crocodile also based on what @Al Dente told me the last time when it was determined to be a mosasaur. But with inside the curve part being broken I am doubting myself also I think carina is the correct term! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantoraptor Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I think this is Coral and not a tooth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notidanodon Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 26 minutes ago, gigantoraptor said: I think this is Coral and not a tooth. i thought it looked like that from the outside as well but ive never seen corals have a hollow inside and i also havent seen a coral from GMR (not to say there arent) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 The striations on the outside would potentially suggest a horn coral if it came from a place where these were prevalent but the interior conical surface and the texture through the cracked surface are much more indicative of a tooth. Would be much easier in Florida as you only have gators and crocs to choose from (and then fossil or modern if the former). Our crocodilian teeth from Florida are pretty easy to distinguish as gator teeth have two prominent carina (ridges) on opposite sides of the tooth than make it look as if it was formed in a two-part mold. Crocodile teeth tend to me much more rare (in Florida) and are usually slimmer and more elongate with many ridges along the tooth from the tip to the base. In a location where you have Cretaceous age fossils you have to allow for mosasaurs as well and that is outside my (current) bailiwick so I'll defer to @sixgill pete or @Al Dente on this. The curvature and ridges do suggest mosasaur over crocodilian in my limited knowledge of mosasaur teeth based on what I've seen here on the forum from places like Texas and Morocco. Cheers. -Ken 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhysicist Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I agree with @digit, not coral. The base is definitely reptilian. Man that is a really worn tooth. It looks too round and conical to be mosasaur in my opinion. I don't think the curvature precludes the possibility of it being crocodilian. 1 "Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan "I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | Squamates | Post Oak Creek | North Sulphur River | Lee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone Instagram: @thephysicist_tff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I dont think its a tooth 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 The external surface looks like a horn coral. But hollow like that... I don't know. I also don't think it is a tooth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Deinosuchus teeth will break like this leaving a cone intact on the inside. Sometimes you can find just the inner cones. I’m not sure if mosasaur teeth will do that. I’ll have to look through my collection and see. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Here are some examples of very worn Deinosuchus teeth that I have collected. The one in the upper right has most of the enamel eroded away showing some septa-like grooves remain after the enamel is gone. The upper left is an internal cone from a Deinosuchus tooth. The lower two have broken in a way that shows an internal cone. I was able to find a mosasaur tooth (Maastrichtian) in my collection that broke in a way that exposed a similar cone. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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