foundsomething Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I found this on a Florida beach after weeks of storms and cold. It's huge! The picture is taken on a full-size dinner plate. I don't know if its a fossil or even a tooth for sure but it looks like a huge (almost 7 inches long) tooth. It appears to have a tooth root followed by a long spear-like tooth. I assume that if it is a tooth it must be a fossil because I don't know of any animal alive today with teeth that large (though I'll admit I'm not gifted in biology). Does anybody know what this is? Thanks! Confused in Florida. PS. I tried to attach a photo, don't know if it worked or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kauffy Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 pic worked fine, certainly looks like a tooth to me! :huh: "Turn the fear of the unknown into the excitment of possibility!"We dont stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorman Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 Welcome to the forum, not sure what you have there, a larger more detailed picture would help and a few of different angles would also be great. It doesn't appear to be a fossil or a tooth, at least not to me from the picture provided. Maybe someone else will know, was this on the east coast or west coast of Florida? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggerdan Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 It looks like the dorsal fin spine from a Gaff Top Sail catfish to me but I have never seen one that large. Pretty cool!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 I concur, probably a fish spine, perhaps dorsal (which would have bilateral symmetry) or a pectoral (which is unlikely to be bilaterally symmetrical). It's possible that this is a neural process from a vertebra of a large fish (which would be bilaterally symmetrical). More images are necessary to say just what it is. -------Harry Pristis 1 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...
foundsomething Posted January 23, 2008 Author Share Posted January 23, 2008 Dorsal fin spine? Hmm...maybe. Probably more likely than some unknown animal with giant tooth, I suppose I'm on the east coast of Florida, Anson. Thanks for the input guys. Unfortunately I only have my cell phone camera so pics are probably not going to get much better. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 Dorsal fin spine? Hmm...maybe. Probably more likely than some unknown animal with giant tooth, I suppose I'm on the east coast of Florida, Anson. Thanks for the input guys. Unfortunately I only have my cell phone camera so pics are probably not going to get much better. Thanks again! You didn't say what sort of symmetry the item has! Can it be divided in half along any plane through the length of the object so that both halves will be identical?? 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...
Guest Cris Posted January 23, 2008 Share Posted January 23, 2008 I don't know, guys.... That is still WAY too big to be a catfish spine. I suppose the neural process from a large vertebra could be that size... But we're talking a huuuuge fish.. It's too bad there's not a way to get better pictures.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggerdan Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Could be a dragon tooth!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffAddicted Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 Could be a dragon tooth!! Could it be cat canine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foundsomething Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 it's not perfectly symmetrical. I'm still not sure what it is. Anybody familiar with Brevard County, Florida and know of somewhere I can take it to be identified? Also what do you think about me putting somekind of gloss on it? It's probably not a shark tooth but it's the closest thing I could think to look up on how to treat it and some websites said if you find a shark tooth to soak it in bleach and water and then spray some kind of clear paint gloss on it to seal it and keep it sanitary and from smelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 If you do "coat" it with something, just make sure it is not varnish, urethane, or lacqueur. Those are organic compounds that invite micro-organisms to "munch away". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorman Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 You could take it to an ichthyologist at a local university if they have one or a marine biologist may know Its from a fish most likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foundsomething Posted January 29, 2008 Author Share Posted January 29, 2008 Thanks Solis, I didn't know that. Anson, I probably will end up having to take it to one of the local colleges. To be honest I feel a little silly going onto an unknown college campus with a giant tooth looking for someone to identify it but maybe I can find a prof through e-mail that will look at it. Anyway, thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Its the ventral spine of a petrified human brain -- Sorry, I just read everything from the beginning of the forum up to here. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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