Help identifying Shark tooth found in NJ

[Lgallagher]

Hello, I found this shark tooth today at the Jersey shore (Sea Isle City). Can someone please help me identify it and possibly let me know how old you think it might be? Thanks in advance!

[Thomas.Dodson]

That's a great white tooth and a nice one at that. I can't speak to the age since I'm not familiar with the age of the deposits around that area and how mixed they are but it would be late Miocene at the very earliest as that was when they first appeared in the fossil record.

[Lgallagher]

Wow, thanks for the quick response! That’s very cool! Do you happen to have any suggestions for where I could find out how old it is? Thank you again!

[Thomas.Dodson]

Typically the easiest way to age fossils is by pinpointing the geological formations they come from. This is usually done by finding geologic maps of the area in question and sometimes examination of bedrock characteristics. However, beach finds often can't be pinpointed to the source bedrock. Dredge material from operations, for example, cut through multiple formations and ages. Offshore deposits can have similar problems with material from different sources mixing at their eventual resting place, the beach. There's also foreign fill material used to raise the elevation of some areas.

 

That being said, going on geologic bedrock alone, I'd say it is late Miocene in age, probably the Stone Harbor Formation. See the linked geologic map of the Sea Isle City Quadrangle.  https://www.nj.gov/dep/njgs/pricelst/Bedrock250.pdf Someone more familiar with the area in question might know if the preservation of your specimen is consistent with the formation or area.

[Lgallagher]

That’s great information and very helpful. Thanks so much for your input. I really appreciate it!