frankh8147 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Hello everyone! I found this conical tooth last weekend in the Big Brook area of Monmouth County, NJ; it is a shade under 1 inch long. My best guess on it is Plesiosaur but I wanted to see what everyone had to say on it before I labeled it as such. As always, all help is greatly appreciated. Happy collecting! -Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 one more.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Definitely plesiosaur and a nice one! I think you can eliminate xiphactinus based off of the curve in the blade (even though Xiphactinus teeth can be curved slightly) and the relatively strong striations. Joseph “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesuslover340 Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 Nice find! "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."-Romans 14:19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 It looks like it has carinae near the tip. That would rule out plesiosaur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Might be plesiosaur, might also be enchodus. I have an enchodus or two from there, and they have pretty strong striations on them. 1 For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone2stone Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Croc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 Thanks for the responses so far! I did find some pictures online of Plesiosaur teeth that appear to have that edge (both New Jersey sites) but that doesn't mean they weren't misidentified too. I think I can (almost) rule out fish. I have dozens of enchodus teeth and they really don't match, plus this tooth looks reptilian to me. As per crocodile, I havent seen any that looked like from New Jersey before but I believe there were some similar found in Cretaceous deposits in the southern US. So I guess everyone everyone is split right now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 If you read the NJ fossil plesiosaur page it describes them without carinae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 I'm also leaning towards plesiosaur but agree that there should be no trace of carinae. If so, I would lean towards Xiphactinus. I don't see a croc there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 35 minutes ago, Carl said: I'm also leaning towards plesiosaur but agree that there should be no trace of carinae. If so, I would lean towards Xiphactinus. I don't see a croc there. Thats pretty much where I'm at. Of course that side had to be the one that is broken so it's hard to tell. It kind of looks like the one on the fossilsofnj website (I do see a distinct line on that one but it doesnt look like carinae). I couldnt figure out how to download that picture to this site, sorry about that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 (edited) I'm looking around the forum and found this one which is a very nice match with enamel and striations...although this doesn't really help with that troubling carinae. Edited - I may be able to rule out Xiphactinus; the New Jersey sites say Xiphactinus teeth have two cutting edges (double carinae). On this tooth, only that broken side shows what may be carinae. Do all Xiphactinus teeth have two cutting edges? Edited October 4, 2017 by frankh8147 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 One more picture for comparison sake. The tooth in question is on the right; on the left is a confirmed xiphactinus tooth that I found very close to this tooth. Like the others I have seen, the Xiphactinus has two cutting edges. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Frank, sorry to bring this back up again, but I am interested in knowing whether you have an ID for the specimen. I am torn between Xiphactinus. That recent Xiphactinus I found only has one cutting edge. So, 2 cutting edges is not a guarantee for Xiphactinus. 1 : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 No problem Trevor! I showed this to the NJSM and a few local collectors we know and we do believe it to be a Plesiosaur tooth. I would like to see yours sometime in the future - that's a cool tooth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 This is where a key would be a good thing if anyone had the gumption to make one! The key could include all of the teeth we confuse including mosasaur, croc, plesiosaur and any bony fish found at Big Brook for instance. Perhaps keys are archaic as I haven't seen a new one in a while. They sure do work well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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