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Crocodile/mosasaur tooth with root? Big Brook, New Jersey


TRexEliot

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My brother found this tooth years ago at big brook. It looks reptilian to me, and seems to have the root preserved as well.

 

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Nice find!

 

I could be completely wrong, but it looks like a sawfish rostral tooth to me. Croc and Mosasaur don't have that bulge at the base of the enamel I don't think. And the base that is there doesn't look like croc or Mosasaur roots, but does look like a broken sawfish base.

Here's a pic of Sawfish teeth from Big Brook from fossilguy.com who has a bunch of Big Brook examples. Then a Mosasaur tooth (Thalassotitan atrox) and a croc tooth (Elosuchus) for comparison (those two are from me).

ischyrhiza_nj_2009.jpg.7e99716b0e86a0859b36549f0447266f.jpgIschyrhiza mira from Big Brook

IMG_7051.thumb.JPG.ccf8fd0babe75588c01931d3ce18dc37.JPGThalassotitan atrox from the Moroccan Phosphates

IMG_1278.thumb.JPG.9662b25f11a9832be7e79ccbe9f30acf.JPGElosuchus cherifiensis Kem Kem Beds (technically a Crocodylomorph but same characteristics)

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Rostral tooth crossed my mind, but why is it so curved and round? I've never seen one this shape

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9 hours ago, TRexEliot said:

Rostral tooth crossed my mind, but why is it so curved and round? I've never seen one this shape

It could be from a different species besides mira or from a different position than the typical long and flat ones since mira had multiple shapes and sizes. As far as that I have no idea.

 

Hey @ThePhysicist @Al Dente you guys are really good with Cretaceous Chondrichthyes. What are your thoughts?

 

 

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I'm leaning towards mammal (most likely modern) on this one.

It doesn't look reptilian and doesn't look like any sawfish rostral I've seen. Here are some of mine, for comparison.

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I have to go with Ischyrhiza on this one. It's beat up and not a typical shape but it has the acrodin tip and the slight rim at the base of the enameloid. Not seeing a reptile or mammal.

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I'm on team weathered sawfish rostral tooth.

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"Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman

 

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