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Alligator or barracuda tooth?


familyguy16

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Apologies for the makeshift ruler aka chapstick, which is used for reference to size. We're on vacation and have limited resources, can't even locate a quarter in this house! Can someone please help me identify this tooth which I believe looks similar to alligator or possibly barracuda?All help is appreciated thanks! 

20181014_172537.jpg

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Gator a or croc. Barracuda teeth are flat and shaped sort of like a spear head.

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right, alligator are round, barracuda are flat

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I can see why its not barracuda..I went down that path awhile back and went into my preverbial incorrect ID ditch and I learned some cool stuff. But the curiosity thing about others finds keeps killing me...so...

 

Is that tooth really round in cross section in the 2nd photo? that view angle is throwing me....You all are probably going to educate me on this one as the gator teeth I have dont seem to delaminate/fracture that way and the roots from what I thought I remember seeing elsewhere had more of a smooth surface like the teeth themselves and did not have that coarse rough looking texture.  My untrained eye/brain wants to make it some kind of whale tooth or something else...Am I all wet again? 

Regards, Chris 

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5 minutes ago, Plantguy said:

I can see why its not barracuda..I went down that path awhile back and went into my preverbial incorrect ID ditch and I learned some cool stuff. But the curiosity thing about others finds keeps killing me...so...

 

Is that tooth really round in cross section in the 2nd photo? that view angle is throwing me....You all are probably going to educate me on this one as the gator teeth I have dont seem to delaminate/fracture that way and the roots from what I thought I remember seeing elsewhere had more of a smooth surface like the teeth themselves and did not have that coarse rough looking texture.  My untrained eye/brain wants to make it some kind of whale tooth or something else...Am I all wet again? 

Regards, Chris 

The tooth is round by evidence from pic #2 which is a view of the bottom of the root. Truth be told the tooth itself is pretty beat up. So it could possibly be something other then gator/croc. But definitely not barracuda. Whale is a good possibility.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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11 hours ago, Plantguy said:

.....  My untrained eye/brain wants to make it some kind of whale tooth or something else...Am I all wet again? 

Regards, Chris 

Nice catch, Chris

11 hours ago, Darktooth said:

The tooth is round by evidence from pic #2 which is a view of the bottom of the root. Truth be told the tooth itself is pretty beat up. So it could possibly be something other then gator/croc. But definitely not barracuda. Whale is a good possibility.

 

I would favor whale (kogiopsis) or large dolphin over gator. I have seen many similar concave root ends in whale and gator and not so much in any other fossil. The tip versus root fossilization is also similar to some of my whale teeth.

IMG_2913Whalerootkogiopsis.thumb.jpg.0a4b82c7d38d07c9da1bd3de49182bf6.jpgIMG_08872ndWhale.jpg.cfb58fc6b058805ec55f64f5354a313e.jpg

Even so, this fossil is pretty beat up. My 2nd choice is unknown...

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3 hours ago, Grimlock said:

+1 cetacean tooth

After enlargement, I am now pretty sure... Horizontal bands imply whale..WhaleHorizontalBanding.JPG.b52c64a0d1b3fccfcba3432b08b2a1d9.JPG

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Can I just you guys are awesome and I am so glad this forum exists! I have found fragments of whale and dolphin teeth before but I guess the size was what made me think gator or other. I could tell it was beat up but wasn't quite sure how much. We have some other finds I will definitely be posting soon for help identifying. For future reference, what are some of the distinguishing factors in whale vs dolphin tooth identification? 

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4 minutes ago, familyguy16 said:

what are some of the distinguishing factors in whale vs dolphin tooth identification? 

Size for the most part, but there is some overlap.

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On 10/15/2018 at 2:26 PM, familyguy16 said:

For future reference, what are some of the distinguishing factors in whale vs dolphin tooth identification? 

Take a look at Harry's photo above (Kudos to Harry for fantastic and illuminating photos) of Kentriodontidae dolphins. By the way, I love finding both whale and dolphin teeth.

1) The shapes of dolphin enamel are somewhat unique.

2) There is a "groove" between enamel tip and root obvious on dolphin but not so obvious on whale.

3) Dolphin tend to be smaller, 2-3 inches, but there is an overlap between small whale and large dolphin,

4) Whale teeth have horizontal bands circling the tooth. This 1st photo of a bone valley whale tooth makes the banding obvious.  In the others, it is there but a little harder to see.

BVWhaleToothTXT.thumb.jpg.cd06d7212f863ccd9cac324f0daa4dd9.jpgpost-2220-0-19802800-1427745291.jpg.3f799a88c07e671c8b8aada42e6c7753.jpgpost-2220-0-78152800-1448988330.thumb.jpg.2b5476a36b584ca17e1a8e66c69135ba.jpg

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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