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Cretaceous Shark Tooth From Utah


ebrocklds

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A friend found this tooth in the Ferron sandstone member of the Mancos shale. cretaceous. ammonites, scaphites, placenticeras and prionocyclus, are the common fossils of the area. (even a few large placenticeres that have incredible ammolite preserved identical to that found in Canada) this tooth measures just under 1 inch. looking under the tooth the best i can it appears as if the blad thickens alot as it gets closer to the root, which i assume is also quite thick. the rooth probably also protrudes in the center of the lingual side, but this is speculation judging from the angle of the root on the front.

there is also crenulations at the top of the enamel, which i have tried to photograph in the second pic.

any ideas as to the identity/ rarity of this tooth would be great.

thanks

Brock

post-37-12747991494469_thumb.jpg

post-37-12747992064432_thumb.jpg

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I'll hazard a guess of Cretodus....and defer to the shark tooth studs around here.....

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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i just found a paper that shows Cretodus crassidens being found in this area. does that sound correct?

Brock

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It looks like a Cretodus to me as well, and if you have a paper saying they're in the area, I'd say you have your ID. As for rarity, they're more common in Texas, but still an uncommon tooth to find. I still don't have one for my collection (shameless request, I know)

There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else

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As previously suggested, I too would go with Cretodus and most likely C. crassidens. This is a really fine tooth from an unusual location. Someone made a great find :rolleyes: If you have a copy of A Collectors Guide to Fossil Sharks and Rays by Welton and Farish, check out pp 98-100.

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Cretodus crassidens would be my guess too. Nice tooth that is in really good shape! Looks like that stratigraphy is similar to the Kamp Ranch member of the Eagle Ford Group here in Texas. Not the most common find for me in that layer.

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I think they are relatively rare. I went out there a week ago with some people that were familiar with the area near Ferron, UT. I collected three different types of sharks teeth and a few fragments in Sandstone slabs within the Mancos shale there. I believe it was above the Ferron Sandstone but not too far. One of the three types was that which you have photographed here. Another appears to be Squalicorax, im not sure on the third but it might be Cretodus.

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