ozarkdiver Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 OK, so we were out on the Missouri river this past weekend (east of Kansas City, MO) looking for bison bone on the sand bars (the MO is very low right now). I have found bison/bovine teeth (both whole and fragments) in the past, but this looks very different... It looks more like a broken carnivore tooth? If it is a tooth? Any guesses? Thanks in advance.... Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 I think it's a pig (Sus scrofa) incisor. 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...
ozarkdiver Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 Yes, I could see that.. But the white material is very hard and glassy. Almost like a ceramic porcelain. Could it just be a Pseudofossil? Some bit of slag washed down the river? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cris Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 If it is Sus scrofica, it is definitely not a fossil. They were artificially introduced to the Americas by humans quite a few hundred years ago. The white portion of the tooth is enamel, it's rock hard and glossy from the day it's lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozarkdiver Posted December 11, 2012 Author Share Posted December 11, 2012 I could be wrong, but it appears to be fossilized (mineralized) to me. Would that not eliminate pig? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashcraft Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 The lines on the last picture, of the end are very odd., in a way they remind me of horn coral, haven't seen growth patterns like that on bone or tooth. Brent Ashcraft ashcraft, brent allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Teeth are highly mineralized to begin with, so using the degree of mineralization determining age is a problematic metric. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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