Jump to content

Greens Mill Run, NC Mammal Tooth ID Assistance


AshHendrick

Recommended Posts

Found two things at different times a while back in the creek that I am in need of direction on trying to ID. I find horse teeth some at GMR but am hesitant to assume that's what either is  - not just because of the small size but because the patterns are a bit different from the horse teeth I've found - though none 100% complete for me to say that is more than an armatures eye. Any assistance to ID this would be greatly appreciated! 


I copied the main concerns from FAQs on posting here, so hopefully I was able to provide enough detail for some assistance.

1- LOCATION Greenville, NC Greens mill Run. (Green Mill Run)

2- GEOLOGY/Formation Generally this location is part of the york town formation, Miocene-Pliocene-cretaceous

4- ASSEMBLAGE Shark teeth (mostly goblin, crow, makkos, tiger near by) Belemnites and whale bone.

 

Items are shown next to th e inch side of a ruler. 

 

1. 

IMG_4867.JPG

IMG_4868.JPG

IMG_4870.JPG

IMG_4871.JPG

IMG_4869.JPG

2. The other tooth

 

IMG_4860.thumb.JPG.453232ba421fa1c4cdcf033e9125c7c2.JPGIMG_4859.thumb.JPG.a78377148956fd2cc618e91d5010562c.JPGIMG_4858.thumb.JPG.5f5cecfece53831216adf5f8cd5ec7ab.JPGIMG_4857.thumb.JPG.02dfbe50154d8ffb6ad5496f8329ddb6.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks! Was hopeful it might be something more interesting but that's still cool! How difficult would it be to try and get an exact species out of these teeth? I have read that horse teeth can be difficult to ID to that level but I'm pretty anal about my cataloging and would be thrilled if it's possible to determine - willing to put in the leg work myself if need be, but with my limited knowledge figured I can at least get started in a direction from input here to narrow the list down! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your chances of getting an accurate species-level identification from isolated horse teeth (especially damaged ones) are practically NIL!  Many of the so-called 'species' of horse were originally established based on isolated teeth and a majority of them have been invalidated.  The enamel pattern of horse premolars and molars can change dramatically as the tooth becomes worn so what appears to be a diagnostic pattern often turns out to be the result of ontogeny and wear rather than differences between species.

 

However...if you are THAT anal-retentive about your labeling, the section on horses in my pdf library here on The Fossil Forum might be a good place for you to start.  Here's a link:  LINK. I hope you like to do a lot of reading!

 

Good luck!  You're going to need it!

 

-Joe

  • I found this Informative 2

Illigitimati non carborundum

Fruitbat's PDF Library

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really appreciate all of the information and at the least I will learn a good deal of useful info if I can't get a species out reading through all of that :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...