Possible Otodus from Alabama

[Mtskinner]

I came across this tooth in a scud box that a friend of mine had. He hunts the same creeks in SE Alabama that I do and the creek that he stated that the tooth was found in cuts through the middle of the Blufftown formation. The only thing I can think that it could be is an Otodus and Im flat out curious what y'all think. It's definitely a one of a kind piece from our area though, regardless of what it is! It's 1-7/16" long and 1-1/8" wide. Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

[PaleoRon]

It looks like an Otodus. I have found similar specimens in Maryland and Virginia.

[FossilDudeCO]

I would agree.

That looks VERY similar to an Otodus.

[FossilDAWG]

I would suggest that you PM forum member MikaelS to have a look at this thread and your photos.  He is a paleontologist who has published extensively on this lineage of sharks (Cretalamna/Otodus).  

 

Don

[Harry Pristis]

Hmmm.  I thought that the Blufftown Formation was Cretaceous in age, with dinosaur remains even.  Has that calculation changed?  I've hunted the Blufftown in Georgia where the shark teeth were uniformly black.

[FossilDAWG]

Harry, you are correct that the Blufftown is Late Cretaceous (Campanian).  The teeth are often black, but I know of localities where the roots are light grey and the blade a darker grey but not close to black.  The color on the tooth Mtskinner shows would be unusual for the Blufftown in my experience, but I'm sure Mtskinner is a better judge of that as he collects the same creek that supposedly produced the specimen.

 

Presumably the Cretalamna/Otodus transition occurred some time around the very late Cretaceous or very early Paleocene, as Otodus is well known from the Paleocene.  The tooth does not seem like any I have seen from the Blufftown, but I am not expert in sharks by any means.  I gather from your response that you also would find this tooth to be surprising in a Cretaceous deposit?  That is why I think MikaelS should be consulted.

 

Don

[siteseer]

4 minutes ago, Harry Pristis said:

Hmmm.  I thought that the Blufftown Formation was Cretaceous in age, with dinosaur remains even.  Has that calculation changed?  I've hunted the Blufftown in Georgia where the shark teeth were uniformly black.

 

Hi Harry,

 

Yes.  I'm wondering if this tooth actually came out of the Midway Group (Paleocene).  I'm away from my references but Otodus has been found in the Midway (sites in Texas and maybe Alabama).  I'll check when I get home.

 

Jess

 

[FossilDAWG]

Otodus obliquus is known from the Midway in Alabama (reference) although it is rare.

 

Don

[Mtskinner]

Thanks guys for the comments...as you can imagine this is why I was stumped. I asked him several times if he was sure of the location found and he was adamant about the exact location found. As far as us finding material like this in our area...it's rare but as you can see by the pictures they do occur. The pictures listed show a range of the colors we find from the same creek system. 

[sixgill pete]

The colors on those teeth are awesome. I really like the white colored / speckled Scapanorhynchus. As far as the Otodus, and that is what it looks like to me, I recall seeing one found from a hill of PeeDee material at a martin marietta mine a few years ago. The PeeDee is late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian. 

[siteseer]

On February 22, 2017 at 0:35 PM, FossilDAWG said:

Otodus obliquus is known from the Midway in Alabama (reference) although it is rare.

 

Don

 

 

Hi Don,

 

Coincidentally, Fossilselachian sent me a link to that article as well.  The article does not mention that Leriche (1942: p. 14-15) also reports an occurrence of Otodus obliquus in Alabama erecting the name "Lamna mediava" for it ("mediava" being a latinization of "Midway," the Midway Formation which is now the name of a group of formations exposed in the region)

 

Here is a translation of the section on "Lamna mediava" in Leriche (1942):

 

Genus Lamna Cuvier

 

Lamna mediavia, nov. sp.

 

Pl. 1, fig. 12-19.

 

[synonymy provided in the original]

 

The teeth are large and robust.  The crown is smooth with a flat lingual face; labial face quite convex.  Thick at the base, it tapers toward the tip.  In the lower teeth the crown follows a slight sigmoidal contour.

 

[the previous paragraph begins at the end of page 14 and continues onto page 15]

 

The lateral cusplets are well-developed and broad-based.  They become huge in the lateral teeth where they are often accompanied by a second pair of much smaller cusplets.

 

The root is quite thick with a very prominent lingual protuberance in the medial part.  At the end of the protuberance a slight depression is sometimes present - one or more nutritive foramina.  The ends of the lobes are compressed.

 

This species recalls Lamna obliqua L. Agassiz of the Early to Middle Eocene.  It is distinguished by: 1. its more narrow and generally less broad-based crown; 2. its relatively larger, more pointed lateral cusplets at least in the lateral teeth; 3. its more prominent lingual face.

 

Alabama.  Locality: Prairie Creek (Wilcox County).

 

The collected material in the Midway beds includes more small teeth of lamnids - Odontaspis and perhaps Lamna - too fragmentary or too poorly preserved to be named.  Some of these teeth belong perhaps to different species other than what I have just reported.

 

Finally, some fragmentary and worn fish teeth have been found in the Midway Formation six miles north of Lockhart in Caldwell County, Texas and among these a quite recognizable Corax tooth.  These teeth are obviously reworked from the Cretaceous.¹

 

^{[end of translation]}

 

Jess

 

P.S.  Lamna mediava is considered a junior synonym of Otodus obliquus now.

 

 

LERICHE, M.  1942.
Contribution à l'étude des faunes ichthyologiques marines des terrains tertiaires de la Plaine Côtière Atlantique et du centre des Etats-Unis. Les synchronismes des formations tertiaires des deux côtés de l'Atlantique.  Mémoires de la Société géologique de France, 45 (2–4): 1–110, 8 pl.

 

[siteseer]

4 hours ago, sixgill pete said:

The colors on those teeth are awesome. I really like the white colored / speckled Scapanorhynchus. As far as the Otodus, and that is what it looks like to me, I recall seeing one found from a hill of PeeDee material at a martin marietta mine a few years ago. The PeeDee is late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian. 

 

 

It's weird to see the Otodus from reportedly the same layer as Scapanorhynchus and those Cretoxyrhina teeth.  Cretoxyrhina is considered to have died out at least 5 million years before the end of the Cretaceous (most recent occurrences in the Campanian of Sweden and maybe Texas if I'm not mistaken).  I guess they all can be found as float in that spot?  I don't think it's possible that an Otodus of that form was present as early as the Campanian.  I believe the earliest occurrence of Otodus is in a Danian layer in Russia - not sure.

 

Jess

 

[FossilDAWG]

It is true that the Blufftown is Campanian.  There is also fossiliferous lower Maestrichtian Ripley Formation in the area (well exposed around Eufaula, AL), and above that is the Prairie  Bluff Formation (also Maestrichtian) at least in central Alabama which correlates with the Providence Sand around the Alabama/Georgia border.  However the very top of the Maestrichtian is missing.  The Paleocene Midway Group is exposed just south of the belt of Cretaceous formations, for example at the latitude of the dam at Fort Gaines.  So in short there are potential Maestrichtian sources in the area, and likely pockets of Paleocene not too far away.  Of course we do not know exactly where the tooth was found, but I'm assuming somewhere in the general vicinity of Eufaula Alabama.

 

Don

[Mtskinner]

5 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

It is true that the Blufftown is Campanian.  There is also fossiliferous lower Maestrichtian Ripley Formation in the area (well exposed around Eufaula, AL), and above that is the Prairie  Bluff Formation (also Maestrichtian) at least in central Alabama which correlates with the Providence Sand around the Alabama/Georgia border.  However the very top of the Maestrichtian is missing.  The Paleocene Midway Group is exposed just south of the belt of Cretaceous formations, for example at the latitude of the dam at Fort Gaines.  So in short there are potential Maestrichtian sources in the area, and likely pockets of Paleocene not too far away.  Of course we do not know exactly where the tooth was found, but I'm assuming somewhere in the general vicinity of Eufaula Alabama.

 

Don

Awesome info guys...Don you are correct in your assumption!

[Mtskinner]

11 hours ago, sixgill pete said:

The colors on those teeth are awesome. I really like the white colored / speckled Scapanorhynchus. As far as the Otodus, and that is what it looks like to me, I recall seeing one found from a hill of PeeDee material at a martin marietta mine a few years ago. The PeeDee is late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian. 

Thanks Pete! It's definitely one of my favorite Goblins as well! As far as the Ginsu's go they are by far the rarest of all teeth in my area regardless of color...well other than the questionable Otodus!