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Is this an alligator or mosasaur tooth?


Deb RL

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We found this tooth near 48th Ave in Myrtle Beach on Jan. 20, 2022. We have never found a curved tooth before. Any idea what it might be? We were thinking alligator or mosasaur.

Thanks!

Deb and Wayne Lien

 

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This is a crown from some lamniform shark. Can't say which species or family, it depends on the age (Cretaceous, Eocene and Mio/Pliocene I believe are all present in SC)

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The Tooth Fairy

 

 

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4 hours ago, Anomotodon said:

This is a crown from some lamniform shark. Can't say which species or family, it depends on the age (Cretaceous, Eocene and Mio/Pliocene I believe are all present in SC)

 

I thought sharks' teeth have a flat back? This fossil appears to have two convex sides...

 

27 minutes ago, Praefectus said:

Can you show the tooth from a few more angles? It is hard to get perspective on it. 

 

I agree... The specimen looks rather flat, but at the same time seems to have two convex sides, which, I believe, rules shark out. What we need to distinguish between crocodile and mosasaur are views from the top and each of the sides, preferably not straight facing the top/bottom/sides, but at a bit of an angle, as this will give a better impression of the overall shape of the piece than a straight-on photograph...

'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

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1 hour ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

I thought sharks' teeth have a flat back? This fossil appears to have two convex sides...

 

Slightly raised labial side is nothing rare among lamniform teeth, plus the tooth is curved lingually and has a very convex crown base which is why on the second picture the labial surface looks more convex than it actually is. It is very water-worn, so just the fact that the enameloid is still visible and noticeably thick indicates that this is shark tooth.

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The Tooth Fairy

 

 

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I completely agree this is a very worn lamniform shark tooth. It cannot be identified beyond that.

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I'm in the shark tooth camp.

 

Cropped and brightened:

 

 

20220122_153826.jpg.10c00c7338ec9fec8a6acf18f9bfbe8a.jpg

 

20220122_153850.jpg.55ba66e7312569e8a91c2172fd4a6ab7.jpg

 

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Yeah, these new pictures are undeniable. I'm now in the shark tooth camp as well...

'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

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