John Hamilton Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 Have I finally found a Cetorhinus sp — Basking shark tooth? I found this tooth in my reject material from Aurora, NC. Thanks in advance for looking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsessed1 Posted June 29, 2013 Share Posted June 29, 2013 (edited) Nice find! I have some Cetorhinus sp. shark teeth from STH and they all have a more narrow root. With the width of the root on your tooth I am leaning towards a symphyseal or an extreme posterior tooth of some type. Here is a photo of mine from STH to compare. Edited June 29, 2013 by obsessed1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Cetorhinus have cutting edges on the cusp. I don't see any in your photos. Are there cutting edges? The general shape of both the root and cusp in photos one and two also doesn't look quite right. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hamilton Posted June 30, 2013 Author Share Posted June 30, 2013 Cetorhinus have cutting edges on the cusp. I don't see any in your photos. Are there cutting edges? The general shape of both the root and cusp in photos one and two also doesn't look quite right. Marco Sr. Marco, It appears to have cutting edges to me but I don't have the skill or equipment to photograph micros to the same detail that you do. I have taken some shots and posted at a higher magnification. Please let me know what you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hamilton Posted June 30, 2013 Author Share Posted June 30, 2013 Nice find! I have some Cetorhinus sp. shark teeth from STH and they all have a more narrow root. With the width of the root on your tooth I am leaning towards a symphyseal or an extreme posterior tooth of some type. Here is a photo of mine from STH to compare. STH - Basking shark.jpg Thanks for looking. I'm still not 100% sure it is a Cetorhinus tooth but I haven't given up hoping. Your STH teeth are awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 John, sorry but I don't think it is. The root is definitely to wide as obsessed1 said, and as Marco said no cutting edges. Cetorhinus are extremely rare from Lee Creek. I have one that has been confirmed and I only know of 1 other. Cookiecutters are common compared to Cetorhinus. I believe that the tooth is a type of parasymphyseal Carcharhinus. Here are a few pics of mine for comparison. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 John Cetorhinus are pretty rare on the East Coast and extremely common in the Bakersfield CA area. I have almost 100 from CA and maybe three from the East Coast. I have two from the Aurora reject piles which are questionable like your tooth. Below are some pictures for you to compare your tooth to. Here are three Cetorhinus from CA. Here are three views of a Cetorhinus from MD. The root on your tooth does appear to be too large in diameter compared to the blade. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 John, sorry but I don't think it is. The root is definitely to wide as obsessed1 said, and as Marco said no cutting edges. Cetorhinus are extremely rare from Lee Creek. I have one that has been confirmed and I only know of 1 other. Cookiecutters are common compared to Cetorhinus. I believe that the tooth is a type of parasymphyseal Carcharhinus. Here are a few pics of mine for comparison. Cetorhinus maximus2.JPG Cetorhinus maximus.JPG Don There was a woman who used to display micros from the reject piles at the Aurora Fossil Festival a few years back who had a tooth in one of her displays that looked like a Cetorhinus. She had said that Bob Purdy had confirmed the Cetorhinus id. Is that the other tooth that you are aware of? I'm only aware of that tooth, yours and two that I have which are questionable because root damage makes a positive id very difficult. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Here are three views of a Cetorhinus from MD. . Marco- This is a nice tooth. What formation is it from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 John, it is a woman that I am speaking of, I do not know her name. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted June 30, 2013 Share Posted June 30, 2013 Marco- This is a nice tooth. What formation is it from? The tooth came from fine gravel that I brought home from a small stream bed in MD. The area has Miocene Calvert Formation overlaying Eocene Nanjemoy Formation. I found both Miocene and Eocene teeth in the stream bed. I had assumed though that the tooth was from the Calvert Formation until I saw a very similar tooth that a collector found in situ in the Nanjemoy Formation of VA, which the Smithsonian confirmed as Cetorhinus. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted July 1, 2013 Share Posted July 1, 2013 John, sorry but I don't think it is. The root is definitely to wide as obsessed1 said, and as Marco said no cutting edges. Cetorhinus are extremely rare from Lee Creek. I have one that has been confirmed and I only know of 1 other. Cookiecutters are common compared to Cetorhinus. I believe that the tooth is a type of parasymphyseal Carcharhinus. Here are a few pics of mine for comparison. Cetorhinus maximus2.JPG Cetorhinus maximus.JPG Don, I have a Basking Shark tooth from Lee Creek that I found in a bucket of material I took out of the mine some years ago. I'll try to find it tonight and post a pic of it for comparison. Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 Cool Daryl, I would love to see a pic of it. That would make all of three. Remade plans to head up your way in the fall sometime. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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