Werner_In_NZ Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Hi, I have found this in New Zealand close to Orere Point on the North Island on a beach. Can someone please help me ID this? I believe it could be a tooth or a fossilized barnacle, or maybe a fancy rock :), thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Welcome to TFF from Austria! Its a tooth, probably not very old, not a fossil. Possibly cow or sheep. Other members are able to give a definitive ID. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werner_In_NZ Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 2 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said: Welcome to TFF from Austria! Its a tooth, probably not very old, not a fossil. Possibly cow or sheep. Other members are able to give a definitive ID. Franz Bernhard Thank you for the feedback, I also thought it could be more recent, the thing that puzzles me a bit is the rock that encapsulates it, it is very hard and it is almost part of the tooth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranzBernhard Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 1 minute ago, Werner_In_NZ said: the thing that puzzles me a bit is the rock that encapsulates it I have noticed that stuff. This can happen very fast, even within some years, in the right environment. Franz Bernhard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werner_In_NZ Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 Great stuff, thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 Bacteria are often cited in the first steps of the fossilization process. It is also thought to be instrumental early in the process. Remember, a short time to a paleontologist might not match that of most folks. It could have been in the ground for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDiggs Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 8 hours ago, Werner_In_NZ said: the thing that puzzles me a bit is the rock that encapsulates it, it is very hard and it is almost part of the tooth It looks to me like a horse molar and the stuff on the outside isn't rock but cementum which is a part of the tooth. If it is a horse molar it couldn't be any older than 1814 when horses were first introduced to New Zealand. 2 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 41 minutes ago, CDiggs said: the stuff on the outside isn't rock but cementum Ah. So it's not a mater of adding rock, but subtracting jaw. That makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werner_In_NZ Posted January 14, 2023 Author Share Posted January 14, 2023 Ok, that makes sense. I think it was in the sea / surf for quite some time, some of the colouring might be minerals in the seawater interacting with the cementum. Onwards to find my first fossil then . Thank you all for the feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val horn Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 With all the odd creatures in new zealand i think i wiuld take it to a local museum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Cole Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 I agree that it looks like a horse molar. I'd add that the biting surface is the most useful in identification, and although I appreciate you providing photos from multiple angles, none of the photos quite get a great shot of that. The best view of it is in your second photo, at the bottom of the photo. If we could get a straight on view of that surface, it could be helpful. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Cole Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Here's an example of the view of the part of the tooth I'm talking about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 15, 2023 Share Posted January 15, 2023 Such severe wear! Here's my guess -- a bovid p1 . . . maybe. I don't have one this worn, so this required some imagination. 1 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...
Brandy Cole Posted January 16, 2023 Share Posted January 16, 2023 Here are rotated pictures that show why I have leaned toward a senile equus tooth. I may be reading too much into the views that we have here. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werner_In_NZ Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share Posted January 17, 2023 On 1/17/2023 at 6:04 AM, Brandy Cole said: Here are rotated pictures that show why I have leaned toward a senile equus tooth. I may be reading too much into the views that we have here. Thank you for the feedback Brandy, you are correct, it is a equus tooth. I am out of town for a while, so cannot take another pic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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