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Posterior Meg?


PalaeoArt

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I found this at the weekend in a creek off the Peace River in Florida. It's pretty worn, but you can still see the serrations along the edge of the crown. My initial reaction was that it was a tiny posterior megalodon. It's only 0.5" wide however. Any thoughts? The bit that confused me was that it curls up slightly when laying flat (see third photo)

 

IMG_6094.jpg

IMG_6095.jpg

IMG_6096.jpg

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I am wondering if this may be a really really worn Ginglymostoma? 

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Doesn't fit my image of a Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma) tooth and at 0.5 inch it would be a huge shark.  This is Jack's find from the Peace River which (at 10mm) is the largest I think I've seen.

 

NurseSharkMergeTxt.jpg.7359f3bb16b61eb5e5ccb43296f13a69.jpg

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/81589-2-identifications-for-sharks/

 

If the tooth in question has fine serrations and a heckuva large root for its size so I'd be more in the posterior meg camp. I know that Jeff @jcbshark and Jack @Shellseeker have both seen their share of posterior megs so they might have a comment.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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5 minutes ago, digit said:

Doesn't fit my image of a Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma) tooth and at 0.5 inch it would be a huge shark.  This is Jack's find from the Peace River which (at 10mm) is the largest I think I've seen.

 

NurseSharkMergeTxt.jpg.7359f3bb16b61eb5e5ccb43296f13a69.jpg

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/81589-2-identifications-for-sharks/

 

If the tooth in question has fine serrations and a heckuva large root for its size so I'd be more in the posterior meg camp. I know that Jeff @jcbshark and Jack @Shellseeker have both seen their share of posterior megs so they might have a comment.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

The angle of the blade from the root does not say meg to me. I am not saying it is or is not, but looking at my posteriors ( i have 35 or so) it just does not fit. The tooth is extremely worn. This photo here IMG_6096.jpg  is the one that really does not say meg to me. Look at the blade in relation to the root.

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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I hear you. It is not a "normal" easily identifiable tooth and there are things about it that puzzle. I'd like to know more about the serrations. I've seen Nurse Shark teeth that have the side cusps/serrations worn down quite a bit but never to the point of being that smooth edged.

 

I wonder if we are thinking about the wrong part of the jaw here? Could this be a worn tiny symphyseal? Those teeth are often curved extensively and much smaller than the rest.

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/collections-database/chordata/sharks-rays/megalodon-symphyseal-r714/

 

 

I'm well out of my depth with atypical shark teeth so I'll look forward to being schooled once some of our shark tooth experts on the forum weigh in. @Al Dente

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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While it is an oddball with the size of the root compared to the blade I am thinking posterior meg as well. Possibly pathological with the bend in the blade maybe @MarcoSr can shed some light as well

Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!

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10 hours ago, jcbshark said:

While it is an oddball with the size of the root compared to the blade I am thinking posterior meg as well. Possibly pathological with the bend in the blade maybe @MarcoSr can shed some light as well

 

With the condition of the tooth it is really hard to tell.  Meg teeth don't have this much of a bend normally (they are flatter) in their crowns.  That makes me think it is not a meg posterior tooth but a Carcharhinus sp. tooth.  However I wouldn't completely rule out a posterior meg.

 

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

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My thought is posterior Meg, mostly because of the root... but like others, I leave open the possibility of pathological bull, dusky, nurse, etc... This one seems the closest...

BabyMegAtZolfo.thumb.jpg.930a557460a627745e0f9be6dbd8a236.jpg

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Thanks everyone @Shellseeker @MarcoSr @ynot @jcbshark @digit @sixgill pete. This tooth, due to it's wear and damaged root, is not an easy one to place. There are definitely fine serrations all the way up the blade which although a little worn, don't look like they would have originally been nurse-shark-like serrations. I spotted the photo below on Instagram this morning of a very small posterior meg which shows some upwards angle to the blade. This looks to be the closet tooth I've found. It also has a very narrow (even nonexistent) dental band or bourlette.

IMG_6113 (1).PNG

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