PachytheDino Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 yup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PachytheDino Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 Are they usually this small? Or does it all depend on the species like shark teeth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 2 hours ago, PachytheDino said: Are they usually this small? Or does it all depend on the species like shark teeth? To answer your first question, yes, it is from the jaw of a ray. In regards to this question, please see the photo below. The piece that you have is the tip/end of only one row. Rays use a battery of such rows to crush up the shells of their prey. There are many species of ray, of varying sizes, and of course, of varying age ranges as well. So no, they're not all that small. 2 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drbush Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 It looks like a ray tooth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 It looks like a Aetobatidae tooth plate fragment, rather than a Myliobatidae. " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 3 hours ago, abyssunder said: It looks like a Aetobatidae tooth plate fragment, rather than a Myliobatidae. I agree. It's a piece of an aetobatid tooth. The teeth fit tightly together in life to form an effective grinding surface in the upper jaw and lower jaw. After the animal dies, the teeth start to separate from each other and can each break up as they are subjected to wear from bumping around or getting bumped into in currents, often wearing down to smooth bits becoming increasingly unrecognizable. It's uncommon to find teeth still connected as a fossil, but because there were millions of individuals since the Eocene at least, partial tooth plates are found. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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