Unusual tooth

[Jniederkorn]

I found this tooth a couple of years ago on the beach in North Topsail Beach, North Carolina.  At the time, there were quite a few fossils on the beach due to a beach restoration project.  I know it is a stretch, but could it be a raptor tooth? Dromaeosaur?  The tooth is water worn and if there were serrations, they have been worn down.

[Runner64]

Boy this one is tricky. It sure looks like a theropod tooth doesn't it? However it looks like North Topsail Beach is around 30 million years old. Looking back at past topics on this particular beach, I've found photos of auriculatus and other shark teeth that come from the Oligocene. Which would mean this fossil is much later than any dinosaurs.

 

im not particular sure what this comes from but am eager to find out.

[Troodon]

Its not theropod.  The base looks solid could what you have be a broken tip or the crown of a cetacean 

[jpc]

Are Oligocene whale teeth as skinny as this one?  Maybe a cat canine.  I know that would be rare, but hey....

[Macrophyseter]

4 hours ago, Troodon said:

a broken tip or the crown of a cetacean 

I doubt it. Like jpc said, its quite skinny to be a cetacean tooth, and plus, the tooth has a clean edge line, which whale teeth dont usually have. One more thing, is that whale teeth never have serrations (assuming it had serrations) outside the molars. I'm sure that it probably is a theropod tooth or a mosasaur tooth if there were no serrations in the first place, maybe an abnormal misplacement or some small pocket of cretaceous rock inside the formation, which is possible. But its definitely not a whale or shark tooth. A pretty strange find, probably needs more debating on to confirm.

[Al Dente]

Your photo showing the cutting edge looks very similar to the cutting edge of barracuda teeth. It has the thickened enamel that is very lightly serrated. I think this is one of the larger canine-like teeth of a barracuda.

[Jniederkorn]

I did find a few of the barracuda teeth at the beach that day.  This tooth just looks different.  (Third tooth to the right)

[Plax]

perhaps your questionable tooth rode through the pipe in a piece/lump of sediment and the others were not so fortunate. Everything I've seen from the beach was Oligocene and Pleistocene but that wouldn't rule out something older being reworked into one of the lags. Cretaceous though would be too much of a stretch; at least at this site knowing the geology.

[sagacious]

Nice find. Definitely looks like a fish tooth to me. I agree with Al Dente that it may be barracuda.