Degraded Peace River Horse Tooth - Equus Or Three Toed?

[GarethGP]

Hey so I have this very degraded fossil tooth from the Peace River. I'm assuming it's horse of some kind but can't tell if Equus or some kind of three toed horse. I think it's partially broken too so I don't know if we're even able to ID it. Sorry for the poor quality pictures. Camera isn't great and the tooth is only an inch long. 

[SawTooth]

Picture quality is not great, but based off of size I would say 3 toed horse.

[val horn]

This is above my pay grade.  @Shellseeker, @Harry Pristis.  There are some really experienced people on the forum who can provide expert opinions 

[Shellseeker]

2 hours ago, GarethGP said:

Hey so I have this very degraded fossil tooth from the Peace River. I'm assuming it's horse of some kind but can't tell if Equus or some kind of three toed horse. I think it's partially broken too so I don't know if we're even able to ID it. Sorry for the poor quality pictures. Camera isn't great and the tooth is only an inch long. 

Gareth, 

It is rare to find a Tridactyl  horse tooth in the Peace River.

You have a lower tooth.  Upper teeth are difficult to Identify to species.  Lower teeth are even more difficult. Here is a picture from Harry Pristis that shows a lower Tridactyl horse tooth.

 

The MOST important measurement is not the length of the tooth, but the length of the chewing surface. You have not yet provided that measurement ... please do. 

[GarethGP]

18 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

Gareth, 

It is rare to find a Tridactyl  horse tooth in the Peace River.

You have a lower tooth.  Upper teeth are difficult to Identify to species.  Lower teeth are even more difficult. Here is a picture from Harry Pristis that shows a lower Tridactyl horse tooth.

 

The MOST important measurement is not the length of the tooth, but the length of the chewing surface. You have not yet provided that measurement ... please do. 

 

I really appreciate your expertise on all of this Peace River material. I'm learning a lot! The length I'm measuring is ~12mm and the width ~5mm. And I'm looking at what remains of the chewing surface from my tooth and comparing it to yours, and they're similar. 

Edited May 22, 2022 by GarethGP

[GarethGP]

Here is maybe a better picture oriented I the same way as yours.

[Shellseeker]

2 minutes ago, GarethGP said:

 

I really appreciate your expertise on all of this Peace River material. I'm learning a lot! The length I'm measuring is ~12mm and the width ~5mm. 

12 mm ??? It is Tridactyl,  predates Equus. My feeling is that only Nannippus can get down to that range.

 

You can read about Nannippus. The most common ones  are N. peninsulatus, and N. aztecus.  If you search TFF for those two terms peninsulatus and aztecus,  you will find numerous examples.  aztecus is smaller is  chewing surface length than peninsulatus. 

 

Congratulations !!!! You have a VERY rare tooth,  especially one found in the Peace River

[GarethGP]

3 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

12 mm ??? It is Tridactyl,  predates Equus. My feeling is that only Nannippus can get down to that range.

 

You can read about Nannippus. The most common ones  are N. peninsulatus, and N. aztecus.  If you search TFF for those two terms peninsulatus and aztecus,  you will find numerous examples.  aztecus is smaller is  chewing surface length than peninsulatus. 

 

Congratulations !!!! You have a VERY rare tooth,  especially one found in the Peace River

 

I seem to have lucked out a few times with this bag of Peace River material I bought! Thank you for pointing me in a direction for potential species. I'll do my research and take good care of the tooth. Thank you!

[Shellseeker]

You should submit clear photos of your find to

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/amateur-collector/fossil-id/

 

It is a Florida fossil Identification service,  and they will be interested in your find.

 

Here is a PDF that will help you understand Nannippus.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254313835_Late_Miocene_Nannippus_Mammalia_Perissodactyla_from_Florida_with_a_description_of_the_smallest_Hipparionine_horse

[GarethGP]

2 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

You should submit clear photos of your find to

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/amateur-collector/fossil-id/

 

It is a Florida fossil Identification service,  and they will be interested in your find.

 

Here is a PDF that will help you understand Nannippus.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254313835_Late_Miocene_Nannippus_Mammalia_Perissodactyla_from_Florida_with_a_description_of_the_smallest_Hipparionine_horse

 

I'll do that for sure! And thank you for the information on Nannippus.