Jed Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Help! this Ammonite (Oxytropisoceras so?) is about 8 inches across, its from Texas, does this look like a bite mark? any idea what would have done the biting? I've done some searching but just don't seem to be finding this "type" of bite (maybe my daughter's 4 year old?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macrophyseter Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 I'm no expert, but it looks more like some sort of crack from erosion to me. If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Doesn't look like a bite to me either, unless somewhere out there zigzagosauruses bones are waiting to be found. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Your ammonite is a steinkern which means the shell dissolved away leaving the lithified sediment inside. It is the sediment that has the "bite mark" not the ammonite. The damage occurred after the ammonite died and filled with sediment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Looks to me like parts just fell apart from erosion? RB 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Your daughter's four year old would have to have some very sturdy teeth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 Ha, ha, oh well! Thank you all for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted August 12, 2017 Share Posted August 12, 2017 Most teeth either crush, slice or puncture their prey so I'm inclined to agree it's not a bite mark but it is also unlike typical breaks or erosion either, at least in my limited experience. It would be great to know what would cause that pattern. I'm guessing we will never know but maybe someone has experience with this break pattern they will share. Did this oxy come from Flat Creek? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Ammonites do happen to have bite marks but they definitely affect the shell only and don't reflect on the matrix which fills the shell afterwards. The shell itself is thin and hollow 2 My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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