LowcountryGals Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Hello. My girls and I found this tooth along the banks of the Cooper River in Charleston, SC, USA, while fossil hunting. I've seen pics of horse teeth, but this appears to be more flat than the squarer horse teeth I've seen. I found a few shots of llama or camel teeth online. You can see a bit of serration on the top of pic 3 which makes me think it definitely is a tooth, but a camel in SC? Edited January 15, 2017 by LowcountryGals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramon Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Well, camels existed in all of north america during the pleistocene or about 2 million-10,000 years. But got extinct at the beginning of the Holocene. 1 "Without fossils, no one would have ever dreamed that there were successive epochs in the formation of the earth" - Georges Cuvier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Can't see the occlusal surface clearly, but I'm going with horse posterior lower. 2 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 It appears to be a lower equus third molar from which all cementum has been eroded. A horse posterior lower, as Dan says. 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...
LowcountryGals Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 Thanks for taking a look! The idea of Camels roaming old South Carolina is quite intriguing! Was hoping that's what it was But an ancient horse is still pretty cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowcountryGals Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) For all the newbies like me, here is a brief glossary from which to translate the pros answers above Thanks so much for taking the time to help us learn what we've found guys! It makes the hunt so much more fun! Hol·o·cene ˈhäləsēn,ˈhōləˌsēn/ adjective GEOLOGY relating to or denoting the present epoch, which is the second epoch in the Quaternary period and followed the Pleistocene. occlusal surface of tooth. Definition: the surface of a tooth that occludes with or contacts an opposing surface of a tooth in the opposing jaw; Synonym(s): denture occlusal surface. The cementum is the surface layer of the tooth root. Rather than being a passive entity like paint on a wall, cementum is a dynamic entity within the periodontium. It is attached to the alveolar bone by the fibers of the periodontal ligament and to the soft tissue of the gingiva by the gingival fibers * see note from Harry Pristis below Equus is a genus of mammals in the family Equidae, which includes horses, , and zebras. .... grazing; they have large incisors that clip grass blades and highly crowned, ridged molars well suited for grinding. Edited January 15, 2017 by LowcountryGals 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Just an amplification here, 'Gals: The definition of cementum you've taken from the I'net is true enough for most mammals, including human beings. However, some groups of animals (taxa) like horses and bovids have cementum that enshrouds each molar. Even mammoths have this wrapping of cementum. This cementum is not as dense as the other tooth components (enamel and dentin) and is often lost from fossils. You can see the cementum on this newly erupting equus tooth: 2 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...
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