Texas Cretaceous shark teeth

[bthemoose]

I have here two shark teeth from the Cretaceous of Texas that I'm hoping to ID.

 

#1: Dwardius ?woodwardi?

 

The first tooth below is from Dallas, TX, from a buffer zone between the Eagle Ford and Woodbine formations (i.e., late Cretaceous, ~90-96 mya). I previously posted this tooth in the mailbox score thread and the @ThePhysicist tentatively IDed it as Dwardius (woodwardi?) but recommended posting it in the ID forum. I'm finally getting around to doing that!

 

This tooth measures 25 mm on the slant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#2: Cretoxyrhina ?mantelli?

 

I don't have as much info on the next tooth below. I acquired it last year from the estate of a Dallas, TX, fossil collector. I don't have any other details, but it was most likely collected from a site in North Texas. I've tentatively IDed this as Cretoxyrhina mantelli teeth; if that's the correct ID, it would be the first one in my collection with cusplets.

 

This tooth measures 29 mm on the slant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

[Darktooth]

The first tooth sure looks like Cretodus  crassidens to me.

[bthemoose]

23 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

The first tooth sure looks like Cretodus  crassidens to me.

 

Thanks -- the tooth lacks visible crenulations on the labial and lingual faces of the crown, which I would typically expect with Cretodus. Given the condition of the tooth and the enamel, it's hard to be sure, but I don't see any remnants of them when examining with my loupe.

 

Also, the small vertical lines on the labial surface of the root look more like root pores than crenulations/wrinkles in person.

Edited July 8, 2021 by bthemoose

[Anomotodon]

Cretoxyrhina mantelli indeed did not have cusplets, however the second tooth matches well with Cretoxyrhina vraconensis, which was described from the Albian of Texas.

[bthemoose]

3 minutes ago, Anomotodon said:

Cretoxyrhina mantelli indeed did not have cusplets, however the second tooth matches well with Cretoxyrhina vraconensis, which was described from the Albian of Texas.

This is great — thank you!

[ThePhysicist]

On 7/8/2021 at 10:02 AM, Anomotodon said:

Cretoxyrhina mantelli indeed did not have cusplets, however the second tooth matches well with Cretoxyrhina vraconensis, which was described from the Albian of Texas.

Well, some specimens of C. mantelli have been found with vestigial cusplets (Shimada 1997), but I agree with C. vraconensis. 

 

As for the first tooth, thanks for the additional pictures. Cretodus is tempting, especially given the erosion is obscuring some features. I've seen several Cretodus with subtle striations that would easily be invisible without close inspection. However, I'm more convinced that it's indeed Dwardius woodwardi. The pictures below are from Welton and Farish, then known as Cretolamna woodwardi at the time of writing.

 

 

Cretodus teeth have a significant shelf-like lingual root protuberance especially in anteriors, which I'm not seeing here. The cusplets also more closely match D. woodwardi. Very cool teeth you've got here, @bthemoose. 

 

Side profiles of Cretodus anteriors for comparison:

Edited July 9, 2021 by ThePhysicist

[bthemoose]

Thanks @ThePhysicist! These were a couple of lucky acquisitions—the potential Dwardius tooth was an extra thrown in by a seller and the Cretoxyrhina tooth came from a great collection of Texas Cretaceous shark teeth I lucked into at the auction site last year. I wish there were more details on where those teeth came from, but I also acquired Paraisurus, Leptostyrax, Cretodus, Squalicorax, Cretalamna, and possibly Protolamna (I need to post that one for ID too at some point) teeth in that lot.

Edited July 9, 2021 by bthemoose

[ThePhysicist]

On 7/9/2021 at 3:42 PM, bthemoose said:

Thanks @ThePhysicist! These were a couple of lucky acquisitions—the potential Dwardius tooth was an extra thrown in by a seller and the Cretoxyrhina tooth came from a great collection of Texas Cretaceous shark teeth I lucked into at the auction site last year. I wish there were more details on where those teeth came from, but I also acquired Paraisurus, Leptostyrax, Cretodus, Squalicorax, Cretalamna, and possibly Protolamna (I need to post that one for ID too at some point) teeth in that lot.

An update to this ID: The "Dwardius" is a Cretalamna. The Welton/Farish guide misidentified those larger anteriors. At present, no Dwardius has been described in N. America.

[bthemoose]

1 hour ago, ThePhysicist said:

An update to this ID: The "Dwardius" is a Cretalamna. The Welton/Farish guide misidentified those larger anteriors. At present, no Dwardius has been described in N. America.

Interesting. Thanks!