STH Bone/tooth/tusk?

[JBMugu]

Hi everyone, I have what I thought was a mammal tooth until I cleaned the end off. From research online the end looks tusk like but I don't want to get over excited. Let me know what you think. Size is 1.8 inches

[JBMugu]

[JBMugu]

@siteseer any ideas?

[GPayton]

Is it broken on one end and hollow on the inside? If it is, it might be the tip of a tusk even though it doesn't really shout ivory to me. If it isn't broken on one end or hollow on the inside, then it could be a fossilized horse incisor. @Harry Pristis is something of the resident prehistoric mammal expert around here, so I'm sure he'd have a better shot at identifying this thing than me. Very nice colors though whatever it is. Congrats! 

[JBMugu]

It is hollow on one side, it is a conical shaped hollow that is flared on the end. The other end has some wear and tear as well.

 

@Shellseeker have you seen anything like this?

[siteseer]

I think it's one of the cusps of a large Desmostylus tooth.  What does the other end look like?

 

Jess

[JBMugu]

58 minutes ago, siteseer said:

What throws me off is the depth of the indentation it's 0.7 inches almost half the length of the fossil. I have not seen a desmo tooth that had that feature. Here are some additional pictures

 

[JBMugu]

Here is a better close up of the end

[Shellseeker]

I have not seen anything like it previously. A couple of your photos...

What is that line, going to the core.. A carina??

and in the 2nd photo, If this were whale, it would be the cementum flaking off the inner core dentin.

 

I do not think it is whale (because of the vertical bands up and down the side),  but I do think it is marine mammal...  Tusk is a somewhat confusing term .  I have a rhino tusk that is actually an incisor, and they tell me that the Narwhal tusk is actually and overgrown tooth.

 

So, a marine mammal tooth, found in Southern California.  I would really find a way to get @Boesse  Bobby's attention.  Append to his blog or send an email to College of Charleston.

I am interested in the multiple shavings on tooth tip.  Would imply carnivore who used this tooth. 

 

 

[siteseer]

I think that one flattened surface on the side marks where another cusp was pressed against it.  At the Fresno County site near Coalinga thousands of tooth pieces were found.  Back in the 70's, you had to do some digging to get complete ones and they were common if you put in the hard work.  In the STH Bonebed these teeth are quite rare.  In about 14 years of collecting a couple of weekends per year I found just one partial with an interesting gray color.  Bob Ernst might have found maybe 10 complete ones and some partials in the same space of time.

 

Jess

[JBMugu]

After doing some more online research and looking at some of my other desmo teeth, I agree with Jess that its a desmo tooth. I believe that it is one of the more front teeth similar to an incisor or K-9. I think that the chips off the side are due to wear but im not an expert and I could be wrong. I'll take it down to the museum next time and see if they have an opinion.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Jesse

[Boesse]

If this was Pliocene, I'd offer walrus tooth as another suggestion. But, I agree with Jess et al. that this is likely a desmo incisor.