bthemoose Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 (edited) I found this perfect little tooth today along the Potomac River in Maryland (Paleocene, Aquia Formation), which I think may be an Otodus obliquus parasymphyseal. The root isn't as oversized as megatooth shark parasymphyseals I've seen posted elsewhere on the forum, but it sure looks like an Otodus, is laterally compressed, and is quite tiny compared to other Otodus I've found. @MarcoSr, @siteseer, @Al Dente, and others, what do you think? This tooth bears similarities to another I found from this location several weeks ago (tooth on the right below). Edited June 5, 2021 by bthemoose 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 I've only seen three Otodus obliquus symphyseal/parasymphyseal teeth from the Maryland/Virginia area, so they are very rare. All three teeth are from the Eocene of Virginia. Two uppers that my friend Mike F. found with really nice pictures below from Daryl and a 17mm lower that I found with a crappy picture from me below. Your tooth looks much more like an A1 or A2 tooth to me. Marco Sr. 3 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthemoose Posted June 5, 2021 Author Share Posted June 5, 2021 Thanks, @MarcoSr! So I guess mine would just be an A1/A2 from a fairly young Otodus then. I wonder if this could be from a newborn shark’s first teeth or if those would have been even smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 43 minutes ago, bthemoose said: Thanks, @MarcoSr! So I guess mine would just be an A1/A2 from a fairly young Otodus then. I wonder if this could be from a newborn shark’s first teeth or if those would have been even smaller. Because of the similarity, it is very difficult for me to tell the difference between some positions of Cretalamna and Otodus. If your tooth is a Cretalamna A1, its size isn't really that small. If your tooth is an Otodus A1 or A2, it came from a small Otodus. I have an A1 or A2 from an O. megalodon that is .56 inches but don't have any A1 or A2 O. obliquus teeth that small. An adult O. megalodon was a lot bigger than an adult O. obliquus so a .56 inch tooth had to come from a really small, young megalodon. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 Nice specimen. I agree with A1 or A2 drifting toward Otodus just because it looks like it had more of a bourlette. Jess 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 6 hours ago, siteseer said: Nice specimen. I agree with A1 or A2 drifting toward Otodus just because it looks like it had more of a bourlette. Jess Jess I also lean toward an Otodus. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthemoose Posted June 5, 2021 Author Share Posted June 5, 2021 Great, thank you both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthemoose Posted October 23, 2022 Author Share Posted October 23, 2022 @MarcoSr, I found a tooth along the Potomac (Aquia Formation) today that I think might actually be an upper Otodus obliquus symphyseal/parasymphyseal this time. What do you think? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted October 24, 2022 Share Posted October 24, 2022 2 hours ago, bthemoose said: @MarcoSr, I found a tooth along the Potomac (Aquia Formation) today that I think might actually be an upper Otodus obliquus symphyseal/parasymphyseal this time. What do you think? I think your tooth is definitely an upper symphyseal/parasymphyseal tooth. Based upon the size, I would lean toward Otodus versus Cretalamna. Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthemoose Posted October 24, 2022 Author Share Posted October 24, 2022 54 minutes ago, MarcoSr said: I think your tooth is definitely an upper symphyseal/parasymphyseal tooth. Based upon the size, I would lean toward Otodus versus Cretalamna. Marco Sr. That’s great—thanks for taking a look! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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