historianmichael Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I found this tooth several years ago in the Ramanessin Brook in Monmouth County, NJ. I initially thought it was from a mosasaur, but now I am having second thoughts. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Most likely mosasaur. What is it that is making you question it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 +1 for mosasaur. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Yep mosasaur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilsAnonymous Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I'm on the Mosasaur team. On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Looks mosasaur to me too - nice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 That's a very nice mosasaur tooth. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Another vote for mosasaur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Want another mosasaur vote? You got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Like everyone else said, it's Mosasaur. The only other thing they can be confused with when they are complete is Croc teeth. Juvenile Mosasaur teeth have the same shape as some of Croc teeth here - they are cone-like and average under a half inch in size. 1 “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 29 minutes ago, The Jersey Devil said: Like everyone else said, it's Mosasaur. The only other thing they can be confused with when they are complete is Croc teeth. Juvenile Mosasaur teeth have the same shape as some of Croc teeth here - they are cone-like and average under a half inch in size. There's an even more easily confused tooth you find in the brooks: Pachyrhizodus (a fish). After I learned to recognize it I went back to all my mosasaur teeth and found 3 or 4 Pachyrhizodus teeth hiding in there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I have several thousand croc teeth but only a couple of mosasaur teeth so I don't know a lot about mosasaur teeth. But I'm curious how so many TFF members can make an id on a very worn tooth where cutting edges and striations are not visible and the pictures are taken at an angle where you really can't see the shape of the base of the tooth clearly or the tooth cavity. What diagnostic features are you seeing in this tooth @Carl @The Jersey Devil @Jeffrey P @Bone guy @frankh8147 @FossilsAnonymous @Troodon @Fossildude19 @Rockwood that clearly confirm a mosasaur id? Marco Sr. 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bone guy Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 5 minutes ago, MarcoSr said: I have several thousand croc teeth but only a couple of mosasaur teeth so I don't know a lot about mosasaur teeth. But I'm curious how so many TFF members can make an id on a very worn tooth where cutting edges and striations are not visible and the pictures are taken at an angle where you really can't see the shape of the base of the tooth clearly or the tooth cavity. What diagnostic features are you seeing in this tooth @Carl @The Jersey Devil @Jeffrey P @Bone guy @frankh8147 @FossilsAnonymous @Troodon @Fossildude19 @Rockwood that clearly confirm a mosasaur id? Marco Sr. I would think a crocodile tooth would have a round cross section. You can see with this tooth the cross section is not perfectly round but a bit 'flattened' which is something's I've seen in other Mosasaur teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 29 minutes ago, Carl said: There's an even more easily confused tooth you find in the brooks: Pachyrhizodus (a fish). After I learned to recognize it I went back to all my mosasaur teeth and found 3 or 4 Pachyrhizodus teeth hiding in there. Pachyrhizodus teeth are more easily distinguished from Mosasaur teeth than Croc teeth are in my opinion. They usually don't have growth cracks or striations and have an asymmetrical appearance. “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 14 minutes ago, MarcoSr said: I have several thousand croc teeth but only a couple of mosasaur teeth so I don't know a lot about mosasaur teeth. But I'm curious how so many TFF members can make an id on a very worn tooth where cutting edges and striations are not visible and the pictures are taken at an angle where you really can't see the shape of the base of the tooth clearly or the tooth cavity. What diagnostic features are you seeing in this tooth @Carl @The Jersey Devil @Jeffrey P @Bone guy @frankh8147 @FossilsAnonymous @Troodon @Fossildude19 @Rockwood that clearly confirm a mosasaur id? Marco Sr. It's easy to make this ID with NJ teeth of this size. The Croc teeth pretty much have a maximum size of a bit over a half inch and the Mosasaur teeth get way larger. The juvenile Mosasaur teeth usually have an oval cross-section and are erect, while the Croc teeth usually have some bend and are normally more circular in cross-section. There's a chance that Deinosuchus can be found here, but so far there haven't been any definitive ones. 5 “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 8 minutes ago, Bone guy said: I would think a crocodile tooth would have a round cross section. This is true for most teeth, but the more posterior teeth are much more oval at the base. 11 minutes ago, Bone guy said: You can see with this tooth the cross section is not perfectly round but a bit 'flattened' which is something's I've seen in other Mosasaur teeth. Some species of Mosasaur and also pterygoid teeth can have circular bases. 2 “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 1 hour ago, MarcoSr said: that clearly confirm a mosasaur id? nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 I'm 90% sure it's mosasaur but a pic of the inside of the tooth would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 1 hour ago, The Jersey Devil said: It's easy to make this ID with NJ teeth of this size. The Croc teeth pretty much have a maximum size of a bit over a half inch and the Mosasaur teeth get way larger. The juvenile Mosasaur teeth usually have an oval cross-section and are erect, while the Croc teeth usually have some bend and are normally more circular in cross-section. There's a chance that Deinosuchus can be found here, but so far there haven't been any definitive ones. For those of us not familiar with the fauna at Ramanessin Brook in Monmouth County, NJ your explanation is very helpful to understand that you used the size of the specimen in this post as a basis for your id. Since I have so many croc teeth this size from other sites and that look like the specimen in this post I would not have thought to use size as a discriminator. I have croc teeth with circular bases but have others with more oval bases (as you mention in another reply) depending on their jaw position so I don't find base shape a reliable single discriminator. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historianmichael Posted August 17, 2018 Author Share Posted August 17, 2018 Thank you all so much for your help. I am glad you all could confirm my belief. As one of the above posters mentioned, my confusion stemmed from the potential for it being a crocodile tooth. I had recently looked at some of the online identification pages for teeth found in Big Brook and it raised some suspicions. As requested, here is also a photo of the base of the tooth. It is ovular. 1 Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatinformationist Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Ovular and size clinches it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 5 hours ago, The Jersey Devil said: It's easy to make this ID with NJ teeth of this size. The Croc teeth pretty much have a maximum size of a bit over a half inch and the Mosasaur teeth get way larger. The juvenile Mosasaur teeth usually have an oval cross-section and are erect, while the Croc teeth usually have some bend and are normally more circular in cross-section. There's a chance that Deinosuchus can be found here, but so far there haven't been any definitive ones. http://collections.peabody.yale.edu/search/Record/YPM-VPPU-019472 http://collections.peabody.yale.edu/search/Record/YPM-VP-000274 : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Go YPM ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 58 minutes ago, Trevor said: http://collections.peabody.yale.edu/search/Record/YPM-VPPU-019472 http://collections.peabody.yale.edu/search/Record/YPM-VP-000274 The Deinosuchus IDs (especially on the tooth) are most likely wrong. The tooth is likely Mosasaurine. It doesn't say where the bones came from, but they seem pretty fragmentary and I don't know how they narrowed that down to a genus. “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted August 17, 2018 Share Posted August 17, 2018 Note for anyone new to this sort of discussion: Museums are not always assumed to be correct. Identifications are always subject to revision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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