Tooth fossil, shark, sea mammal, baby saber-tooth?

[MrR]

Greetings, fossil folks. After posting an ID question the other day, and getting all excellent responses, I figured I had done my single"drive-by" post, as I just don't have any other fossil material to share. Then I flashed on a fossil that has been residing in the same place, my mom's walkway, for what may amount to a mere 1/500,000 of its life, or approximately 50 years.

 

My folks bought their house back in the early 1970's. I was 15 or 16 at the time. The hardscaping was done with a lot of flagstone. Exposed on the surface of one slab, was a tooth of some sort, with more than 1/2 of its enamel intact. I recently showed it to my girlfriend, who thought it was pretty cool, and wondered why nobody had liberated it from the flagstone. I guess nobody had ever really thought about it. Anyway, I'm curious as to what type of creature it may have been from. My GF was thinking shark, but I have always thought it must be something else, as it looks rather canine to me, and doesn't seem to have any serrations on the edges like shark's teeth I've seen. That said, the base does seem more shark-like. So, my friends, what is it? Many thanks in advance for your help.

 

My apologies for not including a scale reference in the image, but the length is ~30mm and the width of the base is ~27mm. I hope that helps.

 

BTW, if folks here think it's worth saving, please offer advice on what to do to preserve it. Cheers.

[Miocene_Mason]

It’s definitely a shark tooth fossil, hard to tell as the enamel on this side has worn off but it looks very similar to Isurus planus commonly found near Bakersfield, CA. I think it’s pretty cool but it doesn’t have much left. You could put some consolidation on it and it would probably stay as it is for many many years. This tooth is at least 7 million years old. You could pick out the tooth, if you would like. It’s up to you.

[jhw]

+1 for Isurus planus. Always cool to find fossils in unexpected places.

[indominus rex]

Your girlfriend guessed right, it is a shark tooth. Not all shark teeth have serrations, even though it doesn't seem to be in the best condition it's still a nice tooth, congrats.

[MrR]

So, WhodamanHD, what exactly is "consolidation"? Is it something specific, or a type of something? Treating it with such a thing to preserve it, is a nice idea. If I had gotten to it when it had more enamel present, I'd probably pop it out and replace the stone. Thanks.

[caldigger]

I really wouldn't bother trying to safe it now. Way too much sun damage at this point.

You might try to pop it out and have that neat imprint in the stone though.

[Miocene_Mason]

6 hours ago, MrR said:

So, WhodamanHD, what exactly is "consolidation"?

You take some sort of consolidant, usually a plastic like vinac, butvar 17, or pva, and dissolve it in acetone. Then you apply it, wait for it to dry and reapply (repeat a few times) and in the end that thing will stay there for a VERY long time. It’s a lot for a worn blade, but it is up to you. Could be practice for when you get into fossil hunting and find a large bone at Shark Tooth Hill...

[MrR]

17 hours ago, caldigger said:

I really wouldn't bother trying to safe it now. Way too much sun damage at this point.

You might try to pop it out and have that neat imprint in the stone though.

Any tips on "popping it out", as far as technique and amount of matrix (?) to take with it? A link to a description/tutorial/video would be great, if you don't feel like 'splainin'. Otherwise, I suspect that I can find something on my own. But if you have a good one at your fingertips...Many thanks.

[ynot]

Being in a stepping stone I think the matrix (rock) is fairly hard. It may be hard to remove without damaging it.

You can try picking the matrix away with a dental tool (or some thing like it). Dig around it but do not try to pry it out. Once You dig deep enough it should come free.