Vae70 Posted July 29, 2021 Share Posted July 29, 2021 Hi folks, Had this come up in my sifter at Ramanessin brook, i'm thinking to ID it as a Plesiosaur tooth due to the curvature of the tooth and the oval indent in the root, would love some thoughts from experts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted July 29, 2021 Share Posted July 29, 2021 Interesting. That's a pretty strong curve and a strong taper - things l don't think of for NJ plesiosaur teeth. Yet, that's what it most looks like. Can you post some sharp close-ups? It would be good to see if it has any carinae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 It would be nice to have better pictures and exact measurements. I'm thinking it's a Croc tooth. “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 I agree that better more in focus pictures are needed. From all angles and of the base / root. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 On 7/30/2021 at 2:11 AM, The Jersey Devil said: It would be nice to have better pictures and exact measurements. I'm thinking it's a Croc tooth. I agree that my first inclination is indeed crocodile tooth. The tooth appears too robust and the ornamentation too coarse for plesiosaur, especially if we're considering elasmosaur - which would need to be labiolingually compressed and would have anastomosing striae. I'm not seeing that here... 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 (edited) 2 minutes ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said: I agree that my first inclination is indeed crocodile tooth. The tooth appears too robust and the ornamentation too coarse for plesiosaur, especially if we're considering elasmosaur - which would need to be labiolingually compressed and would have anastomosing striae. I'm not seeing that here... Some plesiosaur teeth can be pretty thick. There doesn’t appear to be any ornamentation on this tooth, just missing enamel causing an illusion especially with the exposed growth cracks and stuff Edited August 1, 2021 by The Jersey Devil “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 1 hour ago, The Jersey Devil said: Some plesiosaur teeth can be pretty thick. There doesn’t appear to be any ornamentation on this tooth, just missing enamel causing an illusion especially with the exposed growth cracks and stuff True, some plesiosaur teeth do get pretty thick, depending on their position along the jaw, but those teeth are much less common in my experience than are the more slender ones, being located more towards the back of the jaw as they are. I'd therefore much more associate these stumpy teeth with crocodilians. Especially as there seems to be a bit of a bulge near the base of the crown on the lingual side of the tooth, which I don't believe would be present in plesiosaurian teeth - at least not those that I've seen. As to presence of ornamentation being an illusion, I'd have to take your word for it. To me it looks like ornamentation, but I haven't handled any material from this location, so have no idea what this type of preservation would look like in real life (although I agree that the patterning in the last photograph does look a bit weird). The enamel does look pretty beaten up, however... 'There's nothing like millions of years of really frustrating trial and error to give a species moral fibre and, in some cases, backbone' -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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