Bison tooth? Shark’s tooth and one complete unknown

[Kbsib]

Found these three things on the beach over the past couple of days From what I’ve read, the larger tooth looks like a bison tooth. Were they in this area? The shark’s tooth has a grey silver coloration. It looks like there were serrations but they are worn down. The third item may be a rock. I am curious because of the black inclusions. I would love any feedback about these items as I am fairly new at this and I always learn from this site.

[ThePhysicist]

If the shark tooth appears to have serrations, my vote is great white.

[Al Dente]

5 hours ago, Kbsib said:

The third item may be a rock. I am curious because of the black inclusions.

It is a crustacean coprolite. The little canals in each rod are diagnostic. Nice piece.

 

Here’s an example from the Cretaceous, from this sitehttps://notablesdelaciencia.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/handle/11336/144149/CONICET_Digital_Nro.145a82d8-45f0-475e-8442-6c05aa758738_Ab.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y

 

 

Edited March 5, 2023 by Al Dente

[Meganeura]

30 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

It is a crustacean coprolite. The little canals in each rod are diagnostic. Nice piece.

 

Here’s an example from the Cretaceous, from this sitehttps://notablesdelaciencia.conicet.gov.ar/bitstream/handle/11336/144149/CONICET_Digital_Nro.145a82d8-45f0-475e-8442-6c05aa758738_Ab.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y

 

 

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat THAT'S what that is? I've thrown so many of those away thinking they were man-made asphalt or something... 

[Meganeura]

Your mammal tooth does look Bison to me! It's an upper molar. It's 100% bovid - and I believe big enough to be Bison and not cow. @Harry Pristis should be able to confirm, though I think we will need the crown length (The width of the tooth).

[Kbsib]

The bison? tooth measures around 4cm in width and tapers toward the broken root end to about 3.5cm. 

[Kbsib]

This is all fascinating and will keep me researching and learning. Is there any way to determine age of these fossils? 

[Meganeura]

16 minutes ago, Kbsib said:

The bison? tooth measures around 4cm in width and tapers toward the broken root end to about 3.5cm. 

Yup, seems like that's bison to me. Stealing @Harry Pristis's picture here, which is for a lower 3rd molar, but given the size difference between cow and bison, seems bison is whatcha got!

 

[Meganeura]

8 minutes ago, Kbsib said:

This is all fascinating and will keep me researching and learning. Is there any way to determine age of these fossils? 

Bison were last in SC in the Pleistocene, which ranged from 10,000 to 2.5 million years ago. So... somewhere in that time frame. I'm sure there's a more specific range if you dig enough, though, but it'll still be a very large range (Relative, anyway. Somewhere in the few hundred thousand year range, if I had to guess. Which is a small range on the earth's time scale.)

Note this is taken from wikipedia, so grain of salt, but:
"During the later Pleistocene epoch, between 240,000 and 220,000 years ago,^[10][11][12] steppe wisent (B. priscus) migrated from Siberia into Alaska across the Bering Land Bridge. Bison priscus lived throughout North America from Alaska to southern Mexico^[13] throughout the remainder of the Pleistocene. In western North America, B. priscus evolved into long-horned bison, B. latifrons, which then evolved into B. antiquus."

Edited March 5, 2023 by Meganeura

[ClearLake]

4 hours ago, Al Dente said:

It is a crustacean coprolite. The little canals in each rod are diagnostic. Nice piece.

Just so I am clear, the little black fragments in the piece are coprolites, the whole item (maybe a little under an inch in diameter) is a lithified burrow filled with coprolites and sediment?  Is this the correct interpretation?  Thanks

[Al Dente]

2 minutes ago, ClearLake said:

the whole item (maybe a little under an inch in diameter) is a lithified burrow filled with coprolites and sediment?

Yes. The smaller rods are the coprolites.