Mystery NC Dinosaur, Mosasaur, or Croc Tooth and Bone

[fossil_lover_2277]

Hi all! So I recently posted regarding a bone ID on a mystery mosasaur/dinosaur vertebra (I’m leaning towards it being a mosasaur vert.). The vert. came out of either the Cretaceous Bladen or Tar Heel formations of North Carolina from a marine site that yields dinosaurs, crocs, mosasaurs, turtles, and fish (including sharks). 
 

Well, I went back through the material I had collected (from the same site as the vert.) and found what I believe are a worn tooth and a fragment of what I believe to be the proximal end of a femur (although I could very well be wrong on that). The tooth I would have thought to be croc or mosasaur, but it is not conical (it’s more “chisel”-like), and I haven’t seen anything quite like it. The “femur”, as far as I can tell from looking up images...appears to be dinosaurian, but I’m not sure. Any help would be greatly appreciated as my knowledge of zoological anatomy is limited 

 

**Update: I checked the “femur” under a microscope, I don’t see any bone histology, I think it’s just a concretion of some sort. Wasn’t sure because so many of the bones from this site are worn down. But of course the tooth is definitely a tooth. No idea on the ID still.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Lando_Calrissian_4tw

[Captcrunch227]

The black thing is definitely just a tricky rock. Mother Nature can be a cruel trickster at times. Your tooth is interesting. Some of the pictures it looks like a croc tooth, and others it doesn’t look toothy at all. If pressed to say, I’d guess croc tooth, Mosasaur teeth usually have somewhat of a recurve to them that I’m not seeing in this picture. 

[fossil_lover_2277]

8 minutes ago, Captcrunch227 said:

The black thing is definitely just a tricky rock. Mother Nature can be a cruel trickster at times. Your tooth is interesting. Some of the pictures it looks like a croc tooth, and others it doesn’t look toothy at all. If pressed to say, I’d guess croc tooth, Mosasaur teeth usually have somewhat of a recurve to them that I’m not seeing in this picture. 

Absolutely right on the rock, I wasn’t sure because many bones from this site are highly worn, but yep, definitely see what you mean after viewing under a microscope  the tooth is definitely a tooth though, you can for sure see bits of the enamel left on it, and it has sort of that ridged texture of a crock tooth, like you mentioned. I think you’re spot on

[Captcrunch227]

We’ve all been there man. It’s embarrassing how many times I have texted people pictures of a rock thinking it was something way cooler 

[sixgill pete]

If this tooth came from where I think it did, I would say it is  very worn Deinosuchus tooth. They are relatively common at the site I am thinking of.

[fossil_lover_2277]

10 hours ago, Captcrunch227 said:

We’ve all been there man. It’s embarrassing how many times I have texted people pictures of a rock thinking it was something way cooler 

Thanks, I feel ya, we all make mistakes. Even experts I’m sure might initially ID something wrong on occasion

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

On 10/8/2021 at 4:42 AM, Lando_Calrissian_4tw said:

The tooth I would have thought to be croc or mosasaur, but it is not conical (it’s more “chisel”-like), and I haven’t seen anything quite like it.

 

I think the shape of the tooth is just an artefact of the piece having been rolled/weathered a long time, and I don't think it's representative of the original shape of the specimen.

 

On 10/8/2021 at 7:28 AM, Captcrunch227 said:

Your tooth is interesting. Some of the pictures it looks like a croc tooth, and others it doesn’t look toothy at all. If pressed to say, I’d guess croc tooth, Mosasaur teeth usually have somewhat of a recurve to them that I’m not seeing in this picture.

 

The worn state of the tooth makes it difficult to validate the find against the usual diagnostic features, such as ornamentation (although residual ridges appear to be present), carinae and even (at least in my opinion) curvature. However, I do agree that this appears to be a crocodile tooth. The way to tell is that, if you look at the base of the tooth, the dental cavity is much wider and deeper than it would be on a mosasaur.

 

On 10/8/2021 at 4:42 AM, Lando_Calrissian_4tw said: