Help With ID on Tooth from Eastern NC

[Pungofossils]

Found this today on the bank of the pungo river in NC.  I can't ID this one. Miocene Era, I believe. It's about 3/4" long. I am assuming it is a tooth, but not sure of what.

 

 

[gavialboy]

i am by no means an expert but it might be a squalodon tooth

[Pungofossils]

Looking at the pics online, it does look like one. Thanks. 

[gavialboy]

no problem that is a great find.

[Al Dente]

Do you have a larger image you can post? I can't enlarge this enough to see what it is.

[Pungofossils]

[SailingAlongToo]

@Boesse may be able to help. He will probably want clear, close up photos from all angles, with a scale for reference.

[Harry Pristis]

For comparison:

 

 

 

[Boesse]

Hi all, @Pungofossils's tooth is a bit worn and the photos are a bit blurry so it's difficult to make out. It's a posterior upper postcanine tooth of a heterodont dolphin, perhaps a waipatiid, xenorophid, or small agorophiid (judging from more complete specimens from the Oligocene of SC).

 

@Harry Pristis none of those are squalodontid teeth. Only one squalodontid is known from the Oligocene of SC - Eosqualodon - and its teeth are much larger than these. These teeth all probably belong to xenorophid dolphins - the double rooted tooth in particular is a good match for Echovenator sandersi, or something similar like Cotylocara.

[Plax]

Bank of the Pungo River would probably be Pleistocene but the canal dug to connect the Pungo and Alligator Rivers could have gotten into Pliocene I suppose. Older Pungo River Formation sediment could have been used as fill from the phosphate mine though. Or perhaps the OP was referring to Pungo River Formation sediment piles in Aurora?

[sixgill pete]

I agree that better more in focused pictures are needed. But the tooth does look extremely worn and broken. I would default with Plax on the Geology of the area, meaning if it was found on the banks of the Pungo River it is most likely Pleistocene. And, I agree with Bobby that it is probably dolphin. I have some teeth from Lee Creek that are very similar in shape.

[Boesse]

I'll weigh in again on this: double rooted cheek teeth are present only in dolphins older than middle Miocene. So, derivation from the Pungo (or an older unit, not that many are present locally) is certain. Within the mine a fair amount of Pungo-age cetaceans are found reworked into the Yorktown.