Shawn022 Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Hello all! First post here. I have lurked in the past. I am a avid shark tooth hunter in Virginia. Today I picked up a small shark tooth and then about a foot away I found this. I don’t have a clue and have searched online to no avail. Originally I believe I was looking at it upside down. I was thinking canine. But I now believe what I thought were the teeth are actually the roots. Any info is greatly appreciated. This came from the rappahannock river in the tappahannock area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas.Dodson Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Looks to me like a Canis sp. carnassial. The first two pictures show it upside down. Carnassials are supposedly specifically diagnostic within Canis but I don't know how to tell the species. Some other members should. Dimensions of the tooth will help. @Harry Pristis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn022 Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 (edited) So maybe I wasn’t looking at it upside down? It just seems like the where I have it in the first two pictures the bottom has enamel. Edited March 7, 2022 by Shawn022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas.Dodson Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 I believe your tooth is a lower carnassial (m1) which would be in the lower jaw. The bottom of your first picture is where the enamel is because it is upside down. Looking at it in other terms, the top portion of your first picture is the root. The bottom portion is the crown. Top and bottom depends on being upper or lower jaw. In this case it appears to be a lower m1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 This is a coyote m1 on the right compared to modern coyote tooth on the left, You have a canid (wolf, coyote, dog) tooth. All look the same... Please do not make us guess, line up tooth to the measure, and state the length exactly. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn022 Posted March 7, 2022 Author Share Posted March 7, 2022 It looks 7/8” in the picture but it is 15/16” Out of about 800 shark teeth and two possible crocodile teeth this is the first canine tooth we have ever found. On another positive note, I believe I found my first partial arrowhead today. Thank you for the replies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 Thank you, too big for Coyote, Next up is Dire Wolf, lower jaw m1 position. It is always nice to find a tool shaped by humans hundreds of years ago. Many times it is difficult to be sure. 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 I always have a problem separating terrestrial mammal carnarsials from primitive whale teeth. Am sure there's a rule of thumb but I don't know it. If I found the tooth in a marine environment of sedimentation I would assume of course. Not a good way in a gravel bed situation where age is suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted March 7, 2022 Share Posted March 7, 2022 It's a dog or coyote lower carnassial. Canis latrans (avg. of 22 Western individuals)……….………... 23.13 mm http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn022 Posted March 8, 2022 Author Share Posted March 8, 2022 Thank you all very much. It was a pretty neat find at the river. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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