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Shark Tooth Embedded in Bone?


HoppeHunting

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If this is truly what I suspect it is, it could be the most extraordinary fossil I've found to date.

 

This was found at Bayfront Park, which is Calvert Formation. It appears to be some kind of bone, probably from a marine mammal. When I first found it, that's all I thought it was: a bone. It was only when I was back home from my trip and sorting through all my finds that I noticed something peculiar. There was something protruding from the bone. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a fossilized shark tooth. I have always thought it would be incredible to find a fossil with tooth marks or even an entire tooth embedded in it, but I never thought it would actually happen! My best guess at the moment is that this is an ear bone from a small whale or dolphin that fell victim to a lemon shark, and when the shark bit the animal, its tooth was jutted into the bone. When the animal died, its bone fossilized with the tooth still inside it. My question for you is not whether or not the object protruding from the find is a lemon shark tooth; that is fairly clear. I am looking for confirmation that the fossil is indeed a bone, and would like to know what type of bone it is and from what animal. Since I believe this to be an extremely uncommon find, I am considering bringing it to the Calvert Marine Museum to be inspected by the experts there, and if they want to keep it I will gladly donate it. Thank you in advance. 

 

~David

(P.S. The tooth is only fully visible in the last picture)

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The Hunt for the Hemipristine continues!

~Hoppe hunting!~

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Looks like an ear bone to me but I’m no expert. I think the poor animal was attacked and survived, looks like it has healed around the tooth. This is not unheard of, here’s a picture below of a vertebra from Plum point with an Isurus desori embedded in it that someone I know found, but it’s strange from a lemon. Must’ve felt ambitious. Awesome find!

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“...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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David

 

I hope the Calvert Marine Museum seeing this specimen in person gives you a different opinion than what I see in the pictures.  Your specimen does not look like any ear bone that I have seen before but that could be good news.  The bad news is seeing the root of the tooth also embedded in the specimen without any kind of groove above the root lobe makes me think the tooth did not get into the specimen through a shark feeding.  I've seen lots of shark tooth tips and crowns embedded in bone before.  I've never seen a root lobe embedded in bone before.  I don't see how that could happen based upon shark feeding mechanics.  Also unfortunately the pictures don't allow an id of the tooth itself.

 

Marco Sr.

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"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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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2 hours ago, HoppeHunting said:

~David

(P.S. The tooth is only fully visible in the last picture)

 

33 minutes ago, MarcoSr said:

Your specimen does not look like any ear bone that I have seen before but that could be good news.

Yeah, I'm not seeing an ear bone here either, but not an expert. That being said it is a cool piece ! ... and uncommon.  

 

Another option that I will toss out is that it could be a tooth embedded in a phosphate nodule. There was a fairly well covered local story about a tooth being found embedded in a 'coprolite'.  Definitely some discussion locally (ie. a strong disagreement) with the finding that it was a coprolite and was instead a tooth embedded in a phosphatic nodule.

 

A nice discussion of the find. The discussion is in-depth and offers -just the facts- I think personally it is a great rebuttal.

https://www.chsfossiladventures.com/single-post/2018/01/26/Step-aside-Megalodon-this-fossil-is-raising-quite-a-stink?fbclid=IwAR3Y7S8uhtVR1L_-HbbWYAqtdX_27BvDQI1M39QCSMLzUdsJF6Frc7t_l18

 

The original story run in the Post and Courier .. a local publication in Charleston, SC that did not consult either of the museums in town before running the story.

https://www.postandcourier.com/news/ancient-shark-tooth-in-fossilized-poop-found-in-cooper-river/article_534b3f18-01e7-11e8-8427-e3cbf2350924.html

 

2018_01_19_shark_tooth_coprolite.thumb.jpg.6a61edee6dd210005d4d877f3f0f4ba0.jpg

 

Here is an image of a similar fossil in their collection in Charleston.

 

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Either way .. some cool stuff. Thanks for sharing.

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7 hours ago, Brett Breakin' Rocks said:

 

Another option that I will toss out is that it could be a tooth embedded in a phosphate nodule.

I agree. Looks like a phosphatic nodule.

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This reminds me of an awesome find i've seen from museum online. An ichthyosaur vert with a ichthyosaur tooth in the center. It must have been scavenging the body and lost it.

 

 

 

 

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Yorkshire Coast Fossil Hunter

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5 hours ago, LiamL said:

This reminds me of an awesome find i've seen from museum online. An ichthyosaur vert with a ichthyosaur tooth in the center. It must have been scavenging the body and lost it.

 

 

 

 

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:drool:

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56 minutes ago, HoppeHunting said:

@MarcoSr @Brett Breakin' Rocks @Al Dente Thank you all so much for your inputs. Do you think it’d still be worth it to bring the specimen to the CMM next time I’m out in Calvert County?

 

Yes, bring it to the CMM.  Pictures can be very deceiving and the CMM can give you an opinion on what they think it is.

 

Marco Sr.

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"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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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6 hours ago, HoppeHunting said:

@MarcoSr @Brett Breakin' Rocks @Al Dente Thank you all so much for your inputs. Do you think it’d still be worth it to bring the specimen to the CMM next time I’m out in Calvert County?

Definitely .. never a bad thing to get a trained pair of eyes on the fossil.  It's definitely a conversation piece and not something that occurs naturally very often no matter what the process.

 

Good luck !

 

Cheers,

Brett

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