msantix Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 (edited) Hi, I wanted to ask if this is an Ichthyosaur tooth? or whether it could be Pliosaur instead? it comes from Cambridgeshire in the UK and is 5.7cm in length. The seller listed it as an Ichthyosaur tooth, but to me it looks more Pliosaur due to the striations, size and how robust the tooth looks. I'm hoping I can get some confirmation about what it could belong to. Thanks! Edited November 10, 2021 by msantix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 How did I miss this again?!? I mean, I check this vendor daily. And on the day that I miss checking them due to my kids having trouble sleeping and me having subsequently forgotten, these (see below) get posted? Wow! It makes all the other effort invested consistently checking their site feel so senseless Anyway, to answer your question: the sharp/angular striations and variation in their distribution around the circumference, as well as the large size of the specimen definitely mark this as a pliosaur. Seeing as the Cambridge Greensand deposits are Cretaceous in age, it would be a brachauchenine. The below specimen, also identified as Platypterygius by the same seller, is an even clearer example of a pliosaur tooth, with more prominent striae that are spaced further apart, and, moreover, don't all terminate at the same height below the tooth apex. 3 1 '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...
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Just for completeness, this is what a platypterygiine tooth from the Cambridge Greensand would look like (also from an old Victorian collection): 2 '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...
Manticocerasman Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 I agree with Pachy-Pleuro, the striations are to pronounced to be Ichthyosaurus. Also 5.7cm in length looks way to big for an Ichthyosaur. to compare, this is a Ichthyosaurus: Pervushovisaurus ( former Platypterygius ) tooth from the cenomanian of France: 2 1 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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