Fish vs mammal tooth fossil

[Susan Slater]

Hi to all. I found this tooth on a beach in Madison, Ohio in 2007. A wave had washed it onto the shore and I was quite surprised. I saw that it was a fossil tooth as half of the enamel showing was agatized. I suspect it is a fish tooth but not sure. It is a great specimen! Can anyone help with identification? It is 2 inches long.

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

I'm not as familiar with fossils from Ohio, but this looks like a worn horse tooth. An incisor. (or something along those lines)

 

Here is an example from a different position in the mouth. 

 

 

Maybe someone will swing by with a more definitive ID.

 

Cheers,

Brett

[Coco]

I agree with a herbivorous incisor.

 

Coco

[Harry Pristis]

Brett has it right -- a horse incisor which is seriously ground down by wave action on the beach.

 

 

[Susan Slater]

Are you saying that this not a fossil but a real horse tooth?  What about 1/2 of the enamel being agatized. How old would that make it?

[Harry Pristis]

20 hours ago, Susan Slater said:

Are you saying that this not a fossil but a real horse tooth?  What about 1/2 of the enamel being agatized. How old would that make it?

 

There's no reliable way to know, Susan.  The probability is that this is a tooth from a "real" horse.  Tooth enamel is very dense and takes a high polish -- beach polish, it's called.  The tooth is not agatized.

[Susan Slater]

Thank you Harry, I was so hoping it was something Pleistocene, ice age. Oh well I’ll keep it in my collection. Are you a paleontologist? Where? Sue