folsom2012 Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Hello everyone. Just trying to see if I can get some idea of what this may be. Top of the fossil seems to be a tooth but the lower part looks more like bone material than tooth. I know it’s well worn, and I don’t expect any kind of classification. Just trying to figure out if it’s actually a tooth or something different. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Hmmmm....maybe a dolphin/cetacean tooth? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val horn Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Size would be helpful, photographing on coco’s cm paper is easy. I think it maybe a sawfish rostral spine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 Mammal tooth I think. In this condition someone more experienced will need to confirm it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
folsom2012 Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 Total length is about 8cm. The tip area being about 3cm. Don’t have it handy to measure so just a rough guess but, should be close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
folsom2012 Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 (edited) Now that I’ve looked up some other Rostral Spines I believe that may exactly be it. Very similar looking and size seems about right too. Thanks everyone! Edited March 10, 2022 by folsom2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 The roots of sawfish rostral denticles that I'm familiar with are hollow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val horn Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I hope this helps, it is from fossils of new jersey http://fossilsofnj.com/skates_rays/sawfish.htm. whenever i see a fossil with a short enamel tip and a clothpin shape I think sawfish rostral spines. I have never seen (or recognized) a hollow one because I rely on that odd apical shape, but as you see if you break the end it is hollow. IITHE SAWFISH Ischyrhiza mira (Leidy) Age Cretaceous - Occurrence Common The sawfish is not a shark but a skate. These somewhat common “teeth” that are collected in the streams of NJ are really the rostral spines that lined the elongated and flattened bill of the skate. These spines are unique and and easy to identify. Not nearly as distinctive are the oral teeth of Ischyrhiza mira. These are common, but their small size (3 mm) requires the use of a fine meshed screen when collecting. The Cretaceous sawfishes (order Sclerorhynchiformes) are not related to the modern sawfishes (Pristiformes). They differ from modern sawfishes in a number of ways, the rostral spines have an enamel coating and are not set into sockets. Instead, the spines are connected to the rostrum via connective tissue and are continually replaced (rather than continually growing but never replaced as in the modern sawfishes). http://fossilsofnj.com/skates_rays/sawfish/i_mira_plate_1_web.jpg Plate 1 Ischyrhiza mira rostral spine. Monmouth County, NJ http://fossilsofnj.com/skates_rays/sawfish/i_mira_example2_web.jpg The rostral spines can get large, examples up to 6 cm have been reported. This specimen is one of my largest at 3 cm or about 1 1/4 inches. http://fossilsofnj.com/skates_rays/sawfish/ar3_fish_scale_web.jpg Plate 2 Identified as a I. mira posterior rostral spine by Dr. Earl Manning. The base of the root has broken off exposing the hollow interior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
folsom2012 Posted April 1, 2022 Author Share Posted April 1, 2022 Thanks ValHorn. This is exactly a match to those to steal spines. Great info, I would’ve never thought about looking for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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