Kris D Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Found this today at Purse State Park, MD. Is this an ichthyosaur tooth? A whale tooth? I have nooooooooo idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Whales had not evolved and ichthyosaurs had been dead for a while during the late paleocene, can we have pictures of the ends? This could be a concretion, but I’m suspicious we might be looking at a coprolite. “...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...
Kris D Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris D Posted August 5, 2018 Author Share Posted August 5, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kane Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 I'm getting a concretion vibe from this as well. I'm not seeing anything distinctly diagnostic to suggest a tooth, either in texture or in shape. 1 ...How to Philosophize with a Hammer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 Its crazy how much this looks like a tooth, but id have to agree this is a concretion. If I were you I would still keep this just because of how much it looks like a tooth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 I'll tip iron nodule, but maybe @GeschWhat could confirm or deny coprolite. It's not a tooth at any rate. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted August 5, 2018 Share Posted August 5, 2018 After the pictures of the ends I’m thinking concretion as well. “...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...
Kris D Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 Thanks a bunch, everyone. I really appreciate the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 Yep, I would say concretion or possibly weathered burrow. Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris D Posted August 6, 2018 Author Share Posted August 6, 2018 So...I had to look up "weathered burrow", and now I know a bit more than I did before. Here's a close-up of the flat end, which doesnt show the detail as well as a magnifying glass. The center is very "spongy" looking. I don't know if that tips the ID toward burrow or concretion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeschWhat Posted August 6, 2018 Share Posted August 6, 2018 I could be wrong, but the interior seems more granular (less compressed) than the exterior. This could account for the somewhat spongy appearance. Most burrows found in the fossil record contain backfill or material that washed in after it was abandoned. I can't be sure, but yours looks like siderite. While I don't profess to know all that much about that mineral, I often find it coating coprolites from in prehistoric floodplains. In those areas, I imagine it would be similar to the mud coating on everything when floodwaters recede. With your specimen, I picture that same iron-rich mud perhaps filling an existing burrow. Only guesses. Lori www.areallycrappystory.com/fossils www.facebook.com/fossilpoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 +1 for weathered burrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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