sharko69 Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Well found this interesting Ptychodus in my matrix last night. It is in great condition but I am not sure if anyone can ID it. It is flat as a pancake and has a very large root. Looks like it might be from the lateral side. No real grooves to speak of. Just flat. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoRon Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Upper symphyseal P. mortoni? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Very cool I love those irregular ptychodus. I thought mortoni as well. North Central Texas Eagle Ford Group / Ozan Formation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharko69 Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 Mortoni 2 all others 0. Thank you for your responses. Anyone of a differing opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone2stone Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Make that three. Jess B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 The Welton and Farish book on the Cretaceous sharks and rays of Texas identifies a very similar tooth (same root with a flat crown other than the little bump of a cusp) as P. whipplei. I also received a tooth like that in a trade and it was labelled as P. whipplei. Complicating the matter, however, is that I have a couple of teeth like that from the Del Rio Clay which would be too old for P. mortoni. I never really thought about the symphyseal teeth being identifiable to species but I see on oceansofkansas.com that P. martini symphyseals are absolutely flat and apparently rounder and bigger than your tooth. Where is your matrix from? Ptychodus ranges from the Cenomanian to the Campanian with species existing for certain intervals with some overlap when a few lived at the same time. Mortoni 2 all others 0. Thank you for your responses. Anyone of a differing opinion? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharko69 Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 Eagle Ford. Post Oak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharko69 Posted April 18, 2015 Author Share Posted April 18, 2015 I believe the mystery may be solved. I did not even look at P. whipplei due to the lack of the high cusp, but I see the tooth you are referring to and it does indeed appear to be a ptychodus whipplei symphyseal tooth. Almost identical. How rare is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted April 19, 2015 Share Posted April 19, 2015 It's not common. Even collectors looking for micros don't find a lot of them though a worn one might just look like a pebble or bone bit. There seem to be only a few in a jaw and I think some individuals may not have had the file at all. These teeth are almost nonfunctional (perhaps just aiding in the interlocking of a few teeth) but they are apparently what's left of a once-functional file. The first time I saw Ptychodus symphyseals was when the late Mike Harrell showed me two from the Del Rio Clay. This was a couple of years before the Welton and Farish book was published so I wasn't sure they were even shark teeth. I believe the mystery may be solved. I did not even look at P. whipplei due to the lack of the high cusp, but I see the tooth you are referring to and it does indeed appear to be a ptychodus whipplei symphyseal tooth. Almost identical. How rare is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharko69 Posted April 19, 2015 Author Share Posted April 19, 2015 Thank you so much for the information and the ID. The knowledge I gain through this forum is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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