Teeth from an old collection.

[Justin Blake]

This is my first endeavor into fossil identification and I find it fascinating! I am going through an old collection here at the nature center in Marshall County, Iowa. The collection all seems to have come from Lower Snake Creek in western Nebraska. Most of the fossils in the collection are various horse teeth but these three are different and I need some help figuring out what they are.

 

#1

Length: 43mm

Width: 23mm

Height: 27mm

 

#2

Length: 35mm

Width: 20mm

Height: 26mm

 

#3

Length: 23mm

Width: 13mm

Height: 16mm

 

 

[GeschWhat]

Welcome to the forum! Sorry I can't be of help, but others that can will be along shortly. 

[Fruitbat]

Welcome to The Fossil Forum!

 

The Lower Snake Creek Fauna is considered to be Barstovian age (Miocene).  Interestingly, the teeth in your pictures remind me a lot of some Eocene/Oligocene tapir teeth (Protapirus) that I found in the White River badlands in South Dakota:

 

 

-Joe

[Justin Blake]

I see why they are reminiscent of the tapir teeth but they are also very different. #1 and #3 are distinctly crescent shaped with two crescent shaped ridges defining the entire the surface of the teeth. #2 is not crescent shaped and might be something completely different. Due to the crescent shape, I've been comparing them to selenodont teeth but I have yet to find anything all that close.

Can you or someone else point me in the right direction?

[Justin Blake]

After finding some previous posts about Menoceras and Teleoceras I am favoring a rhino right now for #1 and #3, which would fit with the Miocene epoch of Lower Snake Creek as Fruitbat pointed out.

[Justin Blake]

I am rethinking my assumption that #2 is a tooth. I believe it is actually the distal end of a tibia. I'm thinking maybe a camel tibia? Procamelus?

[Justin Blake]

Thanks GeschWhat & Fruitbat for your responses. Can anyone confirm or give another suggestion for #2? 

[abyssunder]

I'm guessing the teeth are fossil rhino teeth, especially the first one. (maybe something close to Oligocene-Eocene Hyracodon?)

... or maybe Subhyracodon

Edited July 18, 2018 by abyssunder

[Justin Blake]

Does anyone have a picture of a Procamelus or similar tibia for comparison?

[fossillarry]

The upper tooth is from a lower rhino tooth, probably a baby tooth. The second is a horse tooth, most likely a Hypohippus lower molar based on one of my dollars.