Help ID my north Myrtle shark tooth!

[Arit85]

Hey everyone! I found this tooth in North Myrtle Beach while vacationing with my family. It washed up during high tide while I was playing with my kids in the surf. 

 

I’m interested in what type of shark this may have come from - my own internet searching leads me to think it is a great white tooth, though I’m unsure of the exact species (there seems to be a few different great whites). 

 

I want to know all I can find out about this tooth! I was absolutely ecstatic to find this thing, it is far different than all of the other smaller, black teeth I have found over the years.

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited June 9, 2018 by Arit85

[Jazfossilator]

Great white tooth, and a nice one though it looks modern.

[Arit85]

Here is what it looked like when I found it, wet.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Looks like a modern Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) to me as well.

[Miocene_Mason]

Wow, that’s nice! Modern great whites shark teeth are just as rare as fossil ones.

[sixgill pete]

31 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said:

Wow, that’s nice! Modern great whites shark teeth are just as rare as fossil ones.

I would think modern ones are much more rare. 

[Al Dente]

A very nice find.

[caldigger]

5 hours ago, sixgill pete said:

I would think modern ones are much more rare. 

On the beach yes, not so much at the taxidermy shop. 

[The Jersey Devil]

Yep, looks like a juvenile lower anterior Carcharodon carcharias.

[ynot]

The light peach color of the blade and the tan color of the root make Me think it is a fossil.

Also wondering if it is a trait of great whites to have uneven serrations like this tooth does. (Transitional?)

 

@MarcoSr, @Al Dente, @sixgill pete, @caldigger

 

[KimTexan]

Welcome to the Fossil Forum from Texas. Thanks for sharing your find with us.

 

Beautiful tooth! Looks “pristine” if you can say that about a shark tooth. I’m sure you wouldn’t say it if you had been bitten by it.

I am curious what the more knowledgeable and informed will say.

[caldigger]

2 hours ago, KimTexan said:

Welcome to the Fossil Forum from Texas. Thanks for sharing your find with us.

 

Beautiful tooth! Looks “pristine” if you can say that about a shark tooth. I’m sure you wouldn’t say it if you had been bitten by it.

I am curious what the more knowledgeable and informed will say.

I can just hear the medics in the ER saying

" My what a pristine shark bite".

[Arit85]

Thank you all for your thoughts! 

 

The stretch of beach I found this tooth on has recently (over the last year) undergone some rejuvenation, sand was brought in to the shore and placed on/near the beach. We noticed a TON of shell deposits which weren’t along the beach in previous years. Maybe the beach rejuvenation encouraged the tooth to wash up, too.

 

Is there any need to store the tooth in any particular way? I don’t want it to deteriorate.     However, since it’s been washing around in the ocean for ages, I figure it’s pretty durable 

[caldigger]

I would say your tooth looks to be quite stable and shouldn't worry about special storage needs.

Just handle it with care. No dropping it or giving it to a three year old to play with. 

[The Jersey Devil]

A way to check if it is a fossil or not would be to drop a little bit of acid on it. However, that would damage it a little if it is modern.

[MarcoSr]

17 hours ago, ynot said:

The light peach color of the blade and the tan color of the root make Me think it is a fossil.

Also wondering if it is a trait of great whites to have uneven serrations like this tooth does. (Transitional?)

 

@MarcoSr, @Al Dente, @sixgill pete, @caldigger

 

 

Tony

 

Modern White (Great White) shark teeth can have very uneven, irregular serrations especially the teeth from juvenile sharks.  Some juvenile teeth are only partially serrated, some have cusplets, and some have very irregular serrations.  So to me the serrations on this tooth does not make it transitional.

 

I definitely believe this tooth is modern.  Modern teeth can discolor very quickly.   I find modern horse and deer teeth, which are probably less than a few hundred years old, in the rivers and creeks of VA/MD all the time that are beautiful shades of blue, red, orange etc. from chemicals in the rivers and creeks. So the slight discoloration of this tooth could have happened very quickly.  Also I see a good number of modern shark teeth with tan roots.

 

Marco Sr.

[ynot]

5 minutes ago, MarcoSr said:

Modern White (Great White) shark teeth can have very uneven, irregular serrations especially the teeth from juvenile sharks.

Thank You for answering My doubts.

Tony

[caldigger]

Another point on this is the root was only tan when wet. Showing it still absorbs water. If it were fossilized, this shouldn't be happening.

[Andy B]

Sick tooth! Congratulations on a fantastic find!

[Coco]

The first time when I wanted to prepare a jaw of current shark I did not know how to make. I had the bad idea (because ants ate the cartilage and scattered teeth) to bury the head of shark in my garden. Six months later I found only some teeth, but they had quite the root of an attractive brown color whereas the rest of every tooth had remained white !

 

Coco