Shark tooth found at Calvert cliffs

[JoseM]

Hello , I found this tooth at Calvert cliffs park in Maryland a week ago . It was different from the rest of the teeth and I’m having a hard time Identifying it , maybe y’all can help me .

[Thomas.Dodson]

Looks like a worn Carcharhinus sp., possibly C. leucas.

[Praefectus]

+1 for Carcharhinus sp. Nice find!

[hemipristis]

based on the size and the notches on either side of the blade in the transition to the shoulders, I think it is a C. falciformis upper anterior

[debivort]

44 minutes ago, hemipristis said:

based on the size and the notches on either side of the blade in the transition to the shoulders, I think it is a C. falciformis upper anterior

What do you make of this line from fossilguy.com: "Fossil specimens are uncommon in the Miocene of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and probably South Carolina. They are also uncommon in Pliocene deposits of North Carolina and Florida." 

[hemipristis]

2 hours ago, debivort said:

What do you make of this line from fossilguy.com: "Fossil specimens are uncommon in the Miocene of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and probably South Carolina. They are also uncommon in Pliocene deposits of North Carolina and Florida." 

Fossilguy's website is more for education and presentation than scholarship.  He's good at instruction and presentation, but I would not use his web page as a serious reference.

 

In this case he is incorrect. C. falciformis is common in the Calvert Fm and abundant at LC the Pungo River Fm, both Miocene, per The Smithsonian Guide to fossils at LC Vol. III  and from elasmo.com, with authors whose work was thoroughly researched, referenced, and peer-reviewed. It was and remains a circumglobal species. I possess dozens to hundreds from both the Chesapeake/Calvert and LC.

 

From elasmo.com re C. falciformis:

"The Carcharhinus falciformis tooth-design is fairly common in the Miocene of the Chesapeake and Carolinas. Müller (1999: 49, pl 6, fig 12) include these teeth from the Calvert and Pungo River Fms. as C. priscus (AGASSIZ 1843). Purdy et al (2001: 151) reported five teeth from Pungo River units 2-4 and attributed them to the extant taxon. The teeth are usually fairly small and closely follow the above description of Recent individuals. It should be noted that Recent teeth tend to have a broader cusp relative to height and the distal shoulder meets the main cusp more apically than seen in Pungo examples."

 

"

C.