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Hi everyone,

 

I found this tooth yesterday at the beach in Wilmington, NC. I initially thought it was broken, but then saw that it was actually very warped with all of the serration remaining. After some googling I've found that they are known as pathologic teeth. If anyone has any information about pathologic teeth I would be super interested to learn more! Also would be interested to hear opinions on ID. Angy?

pathologic1.thumb.jpeg.dad4ea923ad3ec52246bc6e92187d27e.jpegpathologic2.thumb.jpeg.452ce47a4d2d6e7e0549631328a41379.jpegpathologic3.thumb.jpeg.347eb3e316a8c89de9b5b1b2382ad0d1.jpegpathologic4.thumb.jpeg.05e53f97a2d25541a51eac13c3ad0d4a.jpegpathologic5.thumb.jpeg.fbbd83a3101e953dc8e0ef30f922e2f3.jpegpathologic6.thumb.jpeg.41c345579a501ed6d9f6e08c90df6cf5.jpegpathologic7.thumb.jpeg.c94a44e60acb18c45bb267bcf9399176.jpeg

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Very cool looking tooth! Pathological teeth are teeth that are deformed for one reason or another. Either disease or genetics.Your tooth appears to be either, Otodus angustidens or Otodus auriculatus.

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Just now, Darktooth said:

Very cool looking tooth! Pathological teeth are teeth that are deformed for one reason or another. Either disease or genetics.Your tooth appears to be either, Otodus angustidens or Otodus auriculatus.

Thanks! Is there a way to tell between angustiden and auriculatus? I have been wondering that for a while. 

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There probably is a way but I don't have any hands-on experience with these teeth. There are members here who can shed some light on this subject. Maybe @sixgill pete or @Brett Breakin' Rocks can help. That is a really neat find BTW.

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That’s a sweet one you’ve found there, congrats:fistbump:

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

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I don't know anything about the area you found that in, but it is either an Otodus auriculatus or Otodus angustidens. Knowing the age and/or formation would help differentiate between the two species. Auriculatus is the ancestor of Angustidens and existed during the Eocene. Angustidens lived during the Oligocene. They look very similar. Rics have more ragged serrations, larger cusplets, and a smaller size on average, but there is a lot of variation. A good way to distinguish them is by the age of the deposit they came from.

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6 minutes ago, josephstrizhak said:

I don't know anything about the area you found that in, but it is either an Otodus auriculatus or Otodus angustidens. Knowing the age and/or formation would help differentiate between the two species. Auriculatus is the ancestor of Angustidens and existed during the Eocene. Angustidens lived during the Oligocene. They look very similar. Rics have more ragged serrations, larger cusplets, and a smaller size on average, but there is a lot of variation. A good way to distinguish them is by the age of the deposit they came from.

He stated that this is a beach find and when it comes to the North Carolina beaches, I believe many different time period fossils wash up on their shores. 

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What an epic patho:envy:

The serrations are pretty regular and it just gives me a more angustidens feeling, but I feel like this is a topic @MarcoSr might be able to elaborate on.

“...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

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   Hi there .. like everyone said before it really depends on the age of the formations available to the depositions being made on the beach.  auriculatus is a short lived  chronospecies and sometimes you can prop two teeth next to each other that look almost identical in their morphology but have come from two distinct time periods and are considered different species .. with the auriculatus usually having more pronounced serrations at the base and on the larger cusps.  The root is usually more rounded and has less recurve when it is headed back into the blade ... but sometimes I really can't tell the difference.  The age of the deposits available is key. 

 

  I'm not familiar with that area in particular but I do know that North Carolina boasts some pretty extensive older marine deposits. I did find one mention of an identified (Otodus) Carcharodon auriculatus tooth from the Wilmington Inland Waterway Fill if that helps steer you in one direction or the other.

 

I wonder if @sixgill pete is familiar with the area...

 

https://www.idigbio.org/portal/records/6db81055-3201-46eb-9c8d-7ecd4125c569

 

Cheers,

Brett

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10 hours ago, Darktooth said:

Pathological teeth are teeth that are deformed for one reason or another. Either disease or genetics.

 

Add injury to disease or genetics.  Below is a modern great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran)  lower jaw with pathological teeth caused by a sting ray barb injury to the jaw.

 

The below picture shows a ray barb embedded in this jaw:

 

5b02ab8f4e0a0_Sphyrnamokarran(GreatHammerheadShark)1rayspinerightsidelowerjawLabialview.thumb.jpg.d44743eba73258d7383c230df9b2f8d3.jpg

 

 

The lower jaw teeth files just above the ray barb are crossed probably as a result of the jaw damage caused by the barb.

 

5b02ac1c88383_Sphyrnamokarran(GreatHammerheadShark)1lowerjawal7Ral8RLingualview.thumb.jpg.66120084b09aad337fda06fd5f1bbfb5.jpg

 

 

The lower jaw also has an obvious pathology in the symphyseal teeth as a result of the sting ray barb.  It looks like two rows of pathological alternate teeth (blue) with a single row of symphyseal teeth (red). Usually Sphyrna mokarran have only a medial tooth in the lower symphysis or sometimes two teeth. Three teeth like those shown below are really unusual. :

 

 

5b02ad3aba5e6_Sphyrnamokarran(GreatHammerheadShark)1lowerjawsymphysisaaslingualview1.thumb.jpg.610d84c95710e4cde717a096cf306b93.jpg

 

 

 

Some modern pathological teeth including bull and hammerhead.

 

 

 

5b02a9668e44a_PathologicalCarcharhinusleucasUpper20mm2.thumb.jpg.0d529f8c4b6bda5dc7c38997bf02f14b.jpg5b02a967c5997_PathologicalCarcharhinusleucasUpper20mm.thumb.jpg.dde8582fe6218760a9454f2a6a9b2d91.jpg5b02a96b69ad5_PathologicalSphyrnamokarran(GreatHammerheadShark)Lower18mm2.thumb.jpg.a05109ac63ef1b8a62071072ffb8f179.jpg5b02a96ca2b83_PathologicalSphyrnamokarran(GreatHammerheadShark)Lower18mm.thumb.jpg.15c4fd9f4f113ddc6ff7c36fd4d03d64.jpg5b02a96907929_PathologicalCarcharhinussp.lower13mm2.thumb.jpg.4a154e0056fda8d574eba2f922d979d2.jpg5b02a96a3d827_PathologicalCarcharhinussp.lower13mm.thumb.jpg.7776d9952e2e453546d6074490eb1240.jpg

 

 

10 hours ago, WhodamanHD said:

What an epic patho:envy:

The serrations are pretty regular and it just gives me a more angustidens feeling, but I feel like this is a topic @MarcoSr might be able to elaborate on.

 

I agree with what others have already said in this post that you need to know the age of the formation that this tooth is from for an accurate id.

 

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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Beautiful beach tooth.  One of the nicer and larger I've seen from the ocean.  They are usually so beat up from dredging etc...  Congrats on a very unique find.

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Nice patho! Theories on how this guy's teeth became like that? 

 

Theory 1: This Angie/Ric wasn't brushing his teeth right! :P

 

Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such.

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That is a fantastic pathology. The New Hanover county area; where Wilmington is located has a plethora of exposures of the Eocene Castle Hayne Formation. However there are lots of offshore Oligocene deposits of the River Bend Formation. Especially to the north off of the beaches in Pender and Onslow Counties. With that said, and from seeing the other teeth you have found, I would say your tooth is Otodus auriculatus. But, whether it is O. auriculatus or O. angustidens it is a fantastic tooth. One that anyone would be proud to display in their collection. 

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22 hours ago, sixgill pete said:

That is a fantastic pathology. The New Hanover county area; where Wilmington is located has a plethora of exposures of the Eocene Castle Hayne Formation. However there are lots of offshore Oligocene deposits of the River Bend Formation. Especially to the north off of the beaches in Pender and Onslow Counties. With that said, and from seeing the other teeth you have found, I would say your tooth is Otodus auriculatus. But, whether it is O. auriculatus or O. angustidens it is a fantastic tooth. One that anyone would be proud to display in their collection. 

Thank you very much!

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