Dino2033 Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 I am about 84.9% sure that this is a fragment of a mosasaur tooth. However I have been wrong when trying to id Mosasaur teeth before so I just wanted a few more opinions. It is from Big brook New Jersey and was found in May 2023. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 Looks like it, to me. 1 3 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Posted June 5, 2023 Share Posted June 5, 2023 Yes. I recognize that enamel pattern anywhere. It is a mosasaur tooth crown fragment. Likely from a large crushing tooth of Prognathodon. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino2033 Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 5 hours ago, Praefectus said: Yes. I recognize that enamel pattern anywhere. It is a mosasaur tooth crown fragment. Likely from a large crushing tooth of Prognathodon. Based on this website http://www.njfossils.net/reptile.html it appears to be from one of three likely candidates that appear at Big brook with Prognathodon being the least common. I was wondering if there were any clues that were leading you to believe that it could be from a Prognathodon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 I agree with mosasaur tooth. Better to refer to it as a 'fragment,' which is a broken piece of something, whereas a 'segment' is one of several pre-existing divisions of something. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Posted June 6, 2023 Share Posted June 6, 2023 13 hours ago, Dino2033 said: Based on this website http://www.njfossils.net/reptile.html it appears to be from one of three likely candidates that appear at Big brook with Prognathodon being the least common. I was wondering if there were any clues that were leading you to believe that it could be from a Prognathodon? The wrinkled pattern to the enamel and the generally convex shape of the outer surface of the fragment point Prognathodon. Mosasaurus has pyramidal teeth with flat facets along the surface and "beaded" enamel. The other species found in the area are all smaller. In general, Prognathodon is among the more abundant Maastrichtian mosasaurs and this is true for New Jersey. Mosasaurus conodon is poorly understood and only tentatively IDed as present in the North Atlantic Coastal Plain. Mosasaurus hoffmannii (=maximus) is present, but more distinctively shaped. Halisaurus is also known from the area, but it is rarer and its teeth are much smaller. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dino2033 Posted June 6, 2023 Author Share Posted June 6, 2023 Thank you so much! That makes a lot more sense when looking at this fragment. This info is going to be so so helpful for me whenever I am trying to id other mosasaur fragments in the future, once I decide that it is one. Thanks! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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