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2nd Large Shark's Tooth found in Sarasota, FL need ID


bblack4jc

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This is the second large shark's tooth. It was found by my father who lived in Sarasota Florida. No more information on where he found it. Was given to me upon his passing. The measurements are: 1 ½ inch (3.81 cm) wide, 2 ¼ inch (5.715 cm) long, ¼ inch (.635 cm) height. Here are some pictures as best as I could take them.

Unidentified_Top sm.jpg

Unidentified_Left Side sm.jpg

Unidentified_Right Side sm.jpg

Unidentified_Tip sm.jpg

Unidentified_bottom sm.jpg

Unidentified_Width sm.jpg

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25 minutes ago, ynot said:

Welcome to TFF!

Looks like a great white shark tooth. Carcharodon sp

Looks nice.

Serrations? Looks like a “white shark” Carcharodon hastalis, if it did have serrations, would be Carcharodon carcharias (AKA Great White Shark)

“...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

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1 minute ago, WhodamanHD said:

Serrations? Looks like a “white shark” Carcharodon hastalis, if it did have serrations, would be Carcharodon carcharias (AKA Great White Shark)

Looks like it has worn serrations to Me, but My eyes are not so good any more.:headscratch:

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.

 

 

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Just now, ynot said:

Looks like it has worn serrations to Me, but My eyes are not so good any more.:headscratch:

Perhaps the OP can tell better, but to me it looks like the edge has just been worn, giving it a bumpy texture in the side

“...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

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Thank you for your responses. What do you mean by serrations? Where can I go to see a picture of Great White's teeth and a White's teeth? Maybe I can tell by them.

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Like ynot and Whodaman said, the tooth is defiantly in the genus Carcharodon. I do see some faint notches and crenulations especially a little below the tip of the crown, which I think are signs of worn serrations (best view at 4th picture)

Here's an example of a great white tooth with very worn serrations (the right one).

Image result for worn great white shark tooth

 

If these notches and crenulations are indeed worn serrations, then the tooth is that of the extant great white shark Carcharodon carcharias. Otherwise, if these marking are simply caused by geological damage or feeding damage and not serrations, it is that of its direct ancestor C. hastalis.

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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It looks more like the one on the right. Does anyone have a picture of a white shark's tooth to compare?

 

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1 minute ago, bblack4jc said:

Thank you for your responses. What do you mean by serrations? Where can I go to see a picture of Great White's teeth and a White's teeth? Maybe I can tell by them.

In shark teeth (actually any teeth in general), serrations are a feature in some species where the cutting blades are jagged at a certain pattern like a saw. Also like a saw, this trait is used to help the shark more efficiently tear through things, in this case flesh.

 

The obsession about serrations in this case is because the only noticeable trait that differentiates C. carcharias and broad-form C. hastalis (Narrow-form variations are easily different in shape) is that the former has serrations, while the latter completely lacks them.

 

Here is an image of a C. carcharias tooth. Notice how the cutting edges are jagged with a pattern- those are the serrations.

Image result for worn great white shark tooth

 

 

Now here is an image of a broad-form C. hastalis tooth.  In this case, the edges are completely smooth, lacking serrations. You can also notice that the general shape between the two sharks are completely identical.

Related image

 

 

 

(Note: the genera taxon for C. hastalis is disputed. Currently, two genus names the are the main contenders for this shark and that is Cosmopolitodus and Carcharodon. Both genera names are used by scientists as "the correct one", but it's all about whether or not the species' tooth morphology is too similar with C. carcharias to warrant a separate genus. I usually prefer Cosmopolitodus as the narrow-form variation of the species seems to be different enough, but it's up to you to decide whether or not the two sharks are too similar. The synonym Isurus is also commonly used for the user's convenience, but this is invalid)

 

 

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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Ninja'd again! :ninja:

 

7 minutes ago, bblack4jc said:

It looks more like the one on the right. Does anyone have a picture of a white shark's tooth to compare?

You don't say? The picture you just pointed out are great white shark teeth, as I said before the tooth on the right has very worn serrations. :P

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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Macrophyseter, it looks more like the C. carcharias tooth. It has a smooth rounded top, not a wide triangular crown as the picture of the  C. hastalis tooth. They are both so much alike it is hard to tell, but the marble like look of the C. carcharias tooth is a lot like the one I have.

 

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Also, it does feel a bit ridged on the sides like the 4th picture shows. Does anyone know how to go about finding the value of this tooth?

 

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1 minute ago, bblack4jc said:

Macrophyseter, it looks more like the C. carcharias tooth. It has a smooth rounded top, not a wide triangular crown as the picture of the  C. hastalis tooth. They are both so much alike it is hard to tell, but the marble like look of the C. carcharias tooth is a lot like the one I have.

 

The smooth tip shown in that picture is merely a wear, and is not a trait. The only trait that differentiates the two sharks is that one has serrations and the other doesn't

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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Wow. That's hard to tell. Whether the serrations were worn or whether the ridges are from wear. I guess I would need to have someone look at the actual tooth to tell. Now I am baffled. I am assuming this would affect the value of the tooth, whether it is a great white or a white? Would making it into a piece of jewelry decrease it's value?

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1 hour ago, bblack4jc said:

I am assuming this would affect the value of the tooth, whether it is a great white or a white? Would making it into a piece of jewelry decrease it's value?

Public appraisals are against the forum rules, so I'm not allowed to tell you. But such shark teeth are quite common in the south-east coast. 

 

1 hour ago, bblack4jc said:

Also, which one would be most likely to be found in the Sarasota, Venice, Florida area?

Both species are quite common throughout Oligocene-Miocene-Pliocene sediments in the east coast.

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_skull_schematic.png

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6 hours ago, Macrophyseter said:

Both species are quite common throughout Oligocene-Miocene-Pliocene sediments in the east coast.

both species are from Miocene the Miocene, C. hastalis went to the Pliocene and C. carcharias is of course extant.

 

7 hours ago, bblack4jc said:

I am assuming this would affect the value of the tooth, whether it is a great white or a white? Would making it into a piece of jewelry decrease it's value?

Does a buyer want to buy a C. hastalis or do they want to buy a C. carcharias, or do they want a specimen or a piece of jewelry? Depends on the buyer. Fossils are worth what someone is willing to pay. 

“...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

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@bblack4jc I suggest looking them up on auction sites to see how much they sell for. People have a bad habit of calling C. hastalis a Mako (it was formerly placed in the genus Isurus) so they may be labeled as such.

“...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

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Okay. thank you all for you help with this. Is there any way I can give you all a positive whatever you call it on this forum?

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4 minutes ago, bblack4jc said:

Is there any way I can give you all a positive whatever you call it on this forum?

Yes. On the bottom right of the desired post.

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.

 

 

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Okay, so I was looking online at different shark's teeth and I am wondering...how can you tell the tooth that I have from a Mako Shark? They look very similar. Of course as WhodamanHD pointed out, some people have a bad habit of calling this a Mako. 

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1 hour ago, bblack4jc said:

Okay, so I was looking online at different shark's teeth and I am wondering...how can you tell the tooth that I have from a Mako Shark? They look very similar. Of course as WhodamanHD pointed out, some people have a bad habit of calling this a Mako. 

The difference between C. hastalis (broad toothed mako) and C. carcharias (great white) is the mako is smooth edged and the great white has serrations.

There are different species of  Issirus (mako) sharks with varying shapes to their teeth.

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.

 

 

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hastalis on the left, carcharias (great white) on  the right, you can see they are same except for the serrations:

 

GWLB1small.JPG

GWLB2small.JPG

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