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Information on shark teeth.


Joe Salande

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Greetings folks!

These are a few shark teeth my grandson and I obtained from creeks out of Alabama. About One hour due east of Birmingham. Just outside of Talladega Alabama. I the the bigger ones are Sand sharks, just a guess, but I'm not sure if the other ones are or not. And trying to figure out the age, I think may may be cretaceous period. Could someone please verify, or correct my thinking in these matters. Any information would be great. Thanks

 

 

 

 5c8bae58e7549_IMG_9025(1).jpg.294afd1334142bcc87210f422b19f74d.jpg5c8bae5840c12_IMG_9026(1).jpg.f39073e9b0bb37e5000bef4d19ec9eb7.jpg5c8bae5770a08_FullSizeRender-16(1).jpg.c5ff978cd8bdd9339724b598dfd6e122.jpg5c8bae56ceacc_FullSizeRender-17(1).jpg.12e189bd6344698c38e29a83e598b7fd.jpg

Joe

 

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And sorry about the poor photographic qualities. That's the best I could get with 

the camera that I have.

Joe

 

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I agree with Doren, maybe the uploader glitched?

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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I assume you didn’t find these teeth personally but rather bought/got them as a gift? I have some shark teeth from the  Eocene of Tallahatta formation and they are all dark colored/jet black (I’m pretty sure same is true for Cretaceous formations in Alabama). However the color and matrix is perfectly consistent with Eocene phosphates of Ouled Abdoun in Morocco, I assume this is where these teeth come from. 

 

As as for the ID you are correct for the leftmost tooth on pic 2, it is likely Carcharias sp. (sand tiger). Others though I would classify as Jaekelotodntidae indet. which is a different family from sand tigers (Odontaspididae). Not sure about second tooth from the left on a second pic though, might be something different.

 

In addition, Jaekelotodontidae seem to be far less common in the Eocene of Western Hemisphere which is another line of evidence for Moroccan origins of these teeth.

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The Tooth Fairy

 

 

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Wow Anomotodon, great call.  I received little response on this question, but your comments made up for it and  I appreciate your thoughts on this matter and my grandson will also.

You are correct that they were purchased while on vacation with my family by the location described above.  They made no statement relative to where these fossils were obtained, and I assumed incorrectly, that they were from that area. Neat little artifacts anyway.

Just one question for you if you don't mind.

you stated:  though I would classify as Jaekelotodntidae indet. which is a different .

I can't find what that term Jaekelotodnidae is. I assume it is a type of shark also, but just wanted to be sure.

THanking you in advance,
Joe

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10 hours ago, Joe Salande said:

I can't find what that term Jaekelotodnidae is.

Jaekelotodontidae is the name of a shark family. By saying "Jaekelotodontidae indet", you are saying that the shark in question is part of that family, but the precise genus (and hence speies) is unknown. The term 'indet" generally means "unknown", and if you include something before or after it you're essentially saying "it's something in this, but I can't be more accurate". 

 

Hope that clears it up for you :) 

 

Otherwise I agree with Anomotodon that these teeth look typically like those you get out of the early Eocene phosphate mines of Morocco. And the IDing, I'll trust him, because he's much more well-versed in shark IDing than I am ;) 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Thanks Max, that's helpful and a good explaination.

I'm learning something new everyday.

 

Joe

 

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