Aguja Multituberculate Mammal Tooth

[PaleoNoel]

Right now you'll be seeing a lot more posts from me as I'm making a concerted effort to get some of my fossils ID'd which I've been slacking on for a couple months (between, college, work et.). Anyway, here's a cool little tooth I found searching through some Texan Aguja formation (Late Cretaceous, Campanian) matrix I got from PaleoTex. It was found with its roots still attached but unfortunately they've since broken off, however I've kept them in the same container so I don't lose track of them when I eventually try to reattach them. I'm confident it's a mammal tooth, and I think it's from a multituberculate. I'd be interested in reading some opinions on it and if it's possible to narrow down any ID, whether that be to order, family or genus level. It's about 2.5 mm in length and 2 mm in width. 

 

 

 

[jpc]

Yes, it is a mammal tooth.. upper molar but not a multituberculate.  This is either a marsupial or a eutherian.  A eutherian is a 'regular mammal', or more appropriately, a placental, which is what almost all modern mammals are except for opossums and other marsupials and the egg-laying monotremes (echidna and platypus).  In your photo, the left edge of the triangle is the cheek side (labial) of the tooth row, the point opposite that is the tongue side (lingual).  If there is a series of tiny cusps (bumps) along the very edge of the labial edge, then it is a marsupial.  Hard to tell in this view, but they might be those three spots where the light is reflected.  

 

The only triangular shaped multituberculate teeth are some premolars and they have three and only three cusps and no indentations (as seen from this chewing surface view).  

 

Good find. 

[PaleoNoel]

3 minutes ago, jpc said:

Yes, it is a mammal tooth.. upper molar but not a multituberculate.  This is either a marsupial or a eutherian.  A eutherian is a 'regular mammal', or more appropriately, a placental, which is what almost all modern mammals are except for opossums and other marsupials and the egg-laying monotremes (echidna and platypus).  In your photo, the left edge of the triangle is the cheek side (labial) of the tooth row, the point opposite that is the tongue side (lingual).  If there is a series of tiny cusps (bumps) along the very edge of the labial edge, then it is a marsupial.  Hard to tell in this view, but they might be those three spots where the light is reflected.  

The only triangular shaped multituberculate teeth are some premolars and they have three and only three cusps and no indentations (as seen from this chewing surface view).  

Good find. 

Thanks, that's very helpful!

[Tidgy's Dad]

Nice find! 

[Troodon]

Very nice find

Found this in an Aguja paper.  No idea if its the same "c"

 

[PaleoNoel]

On 1/29/2021 at 3:51 PM, Tidgy's Dad said:

Nice find! 

 

On 1/29/2021 at 4:03 PM, Troodon said:

Very nice find

Found this in an Aguja paper.  No idea if its the same "c"

Thanks! 

Looks like a match to me, I'll label it as cf. Alphadon sp.