New Jersey - Partial tooth? Fossilized jaw?

[BrettCo124]

Hey all,

 

i found both of these in Big Brook, New Jersey. Cretaceous period. I am still new, and I just wanted to know if the first two pics could be a possible piece of a tooth? Dino fossils have been found here before, although I'm not going to get my hopes up. 

 

I was also wondering if the third pic is first off, fossilized, and if so, what did it come from?! I'm going to post more photos in the next message. 

 

thanks all. 

 

BrettCo

[BrettCo124]

[BrettCo124]

[pinkus]

The first pic looks like a chunk of Cretaceous crab claw to me. The bones appear to be modern.

[Darktooth]

I agree

[TNCollector]

Cretaceous crab claw and what appears to be a modern dog jaw.

[BrettCo124]

Thanks all. Thought I may have had a tooth there for a moment...

 

should I just throw away the jaw then? Haha I don't know what to do with it. It looked fossilized when I picked it up but then again, I have no clue what a modern one would look like out in the elements like that. 

 

[TNCollector]

2 minutes ago, BrettCo124 said:

Thanks all. Thought I may have had a tooth there for a moment...

 

should I just throw away the jaw then? Haha I don't know what to do with it. It looked fossilized when I picked it up but then again, I have no clue what a modern one would look like out in the elements like that. 

 

I usually throw out the modern stuff personally, but there are many folks here who collect modern jaws and bones. They make good comparative study material.

 

It is completely up to you then, if you do keep it I would clean it up with a toothbrush to polish it up a bit.

[BrettCo124]

That is GREAT advice. I should hang on to it so I can begin comparing finds. 

 

So, I actually am stumped on another find... every shark tooth I find is the usual shiny black, however this one in the pic (next to the beautiful crow shark tooth I also found) is white... i assumed it was a goblin shark tooth but I'm second guessing it now. Any ideas? These were all found in big brook, New Jersey. 

[TNCollector]

Generally teeth become white like that after being exposed to the Sun for a good deal of time. It tends to bleach the tannins off of them.

 

Also, many fossil shark teeth that are black are not really fossilized that way, they become like that after ageing in the creekbeds for a while. The tannins in the water infiltrate the microscopic pours on the surface of the teeth and turn them black.

 

Most likely, the tooth has been sitting in the Sun for a while and the tannins have been bleached off. UV rays are very powerful and destructive, which is why fossils should preferably be stored in a dark or dimly lit area.

[Darktooth]

 

26 minutes ago, BrettCo124 said:

That is GREAT advice. I should hang on to it so I can begin comparing finds. 

 

So, I actually am stumped on another find... every shark tooth I find is the usual shiny black, however this one in the pic (next to the beautiful cow shark tooth I also found) is white... i assumed it was a goblin shark tooth but I'm second guessing it now. Any ideas? These were all found in big brook, New Jersey. 

To answer your question if is goblin or not, your pic is a little out of focus but there appears to be striations on the tooth that is characteristic of goblins. I believe it is a goblin lower tooth.

[BrettCo124]

I didn't see my last post show up after submitting it,  but I said:

 

Thanks for the responses. I thought the white tooth might be enchodus after researching what they look like, but now I know about the sun affecting the colors. 

[calhounensis]

The jaw is from an Opossum.

[Fossil-Hound]

The second photo you revealed appears to be a Crow shark tooth on the left and the on the right appears to be a lateral or anterior Goblin shark tooth and white due to prolonged sun exposure. Here's some info on the Big Brook, New Jersey site that reveals some similar finds:

 

http://www.fossilguy.com/sites/bbrook/bbrook_col.htm

 

Excellent finds.

 

 

[Micah]

If you want to see if your bone and jaw are fossilized you could try the lighter test. Hold a flame to an edge and if you smell burnt bone it isn't a fossil.