Rauv Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Hello everyone, I’m a newbie to fossil hunting. I found this yesterday, my first time out since taking up this hobby. I found it along a creek in Shawnee, Kansas, USA. Some of the rock in the area had clearly been trucked in and some was from the area so I don’t know how this particular fossil arrived at the location. The fossil is about 28 mm in diameter. There are clear pores that are on the outside surface. Where it is broken, you can see the pores extending inside the specimen. My first thought is a coral or some kind but I’m not sure what kind. Any ideas? If you need any information, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 That’s a sharks tooth! Something related to Deltodus I believe (or deltodus itself), nice find! 1 “...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...
ynot Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Welcome to TFF! My first thought is a partial ptychodus tooth. Wait for more replies. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Yes, the crown of one of those sharks that crunch up molluscs and things! Really pretty specimen. Hello, and a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rauv Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Wow. I never would have figured it was a tooth! Really cool. Thank you all for your help IDing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Rico Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Very cool tooth welcome to TFF from Leicestershire UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazfossilator Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 That’s a sweet find, welcome to TFF from Vermont! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 With those ridges, it's Ptychodus, me thinks. A Cretaceous origin fits better than a Mississippian one, too. 1 "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 It’s really not my area, but the few ptychodus teeth I have don’t have the dots and the ridges are much stronger. Perhaps that’s just positional or species differences. 2 “...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...
Ludwigia Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 It's a crusher tooth partial at any rate. I'll join the Ptychodus camp. Welcome to the forum. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Shawnee Kansas is Pennsylvanian, too old for Ptychodus. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 1 hour ago, WhodamanHD said: It’s really not my area, but the few ptychodus teeth I have don’t have the dots and the ridges are much stronger. Perhaps that’s just positional or species differences. It is probably because of the amount of wear on this tooth. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 Just now, Al Dente said: Shawnee Kansas is Pennsylvanian, too old for Ptychodus. It was stated that there was a dump pile near the location, so it may not be local. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 The nearest Cretaceous is about 250 miles away, too far to be profitable to truck in. Ptychodus teeth aren’t covered with pores, this is a feature that some Paleozoic teeth have. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 4 minutes ago, Al Dente said: The nearest Cretaceous is about 250 miles away, too far to be profitable to truck in. Ptychodus teeth aren’t covered with pores, this is a feature that some Paleozoic teeth have. Good point! (I try). 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 4 minutes ago, Al Dente said: The nearest Cretaceous is about 250 miles away, too far to be profitable to truck in. Oops, I was thinking Cretaceous in Kansas, if you go North it is closer but probably too far to be economical. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 16 minutes ago, ynot said: Ptychodus teeth aren’t covered with pores, this is a feature that some Paleozoic teeth have. You would know! This confused me: Source: Oceans of Kansas 1 "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 10 minutes ago, Auspex said: You would know! This confused me: Source: Oceans of Kansas Those are strange. I wonder what’s going on that gives them a pitted surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 16 minutes ago, Al Dente said: I wonder what’s going on that gives them a pitted surface Maybe badly weathered? There was a Calvert Fm. tooth posted recently where the enamel had become etched, revealing its structure of deposition. Do you know whether Ptychodus grew the enamel shell first, then filled them, like more modern sharks do? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 How about Petalodus, found this one online: “...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...
Bullsnake Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Maybe @Archie can help. I know he's on the other side of the pond, but his paleozoic teeth are much like ours here. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Welcome to the Fossil Forum from Texas. It is a beautiful little gem of a piece. The preservation of detail is impressive. I don't think I can't help with the ID, but those are some impressive pictures. I love them. Really. The composition, the lighting and quality are amazing! What kind of camera did you use? I am just about as clueless as to what this is as anyone can be, but when I saw it I thought coral, chain coral. Does this not look like coral to anyone else, but me? I just googled chain coral and found this. It doesn't look like the same colony pattern, but the chains do have a strong resemblance. It has to be a coral of some sort. I am pretty sure about it, but I have been known to be wrong. Maybe we can find it in the "show us your coral" posts on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 @Tidgy's Dad aren't you into corals? I seem to remember @Nimravis having some too. I know a lot of members are into it, but I can't remember who. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rauv Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 I used a Canon 6D with a macro extension tube between the lens and camera. I was trying to quickly snap a few photos of it, otherwise they would have been sharper. I set the fossil on the kitchen table so it was lit by the lights above and I used the flashlight on my iPhone to light it from the front. As for the ID, it’s looking more like a shark tooth. I saw a cross section of one with clear dentin tubules and it looked very similar to this one. The shape, however, is different from any I can find elsewhere online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Awh, that explains the picture quality. That’s a pretty nice camera. I am familiar with ptychodus tooth they are talking about, but I don’t believe the pits or pores in the teeth will have a nucleus like what yours has in the chain. Also, I don’t believe the pores and pits would be shaped with the same degree of regularity as is seen in your specimen. I still think it is coral, but I’ve been wrong before. @Herb and I think @Bobby Rico may have corals too maybe they have thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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