Iskandar Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 SARAWAK FOSSIL SHARK TOOTH Hope somebody help me to finding their ID. I found them while beach combing in Kg Sebakau, Bruit Island, Sarawak, Malaysia. Sarawak only known for its amber (fossil resin with insect) before but now the other fossil were recently being found on beach by me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Hi Iskandar Very nice. I think the teeth in the first pic are Cosmopolitodus escheri. In the second, you have partial Ray tooth bars, see Aetobatus or Myliobatus, etc, for examples. KOF, Bill. Welcome to the forum, all new members www.ukfossils check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sharks Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Welcome to the forum. The serrated shark teeth look like Great White's to me. The other two could be Mako lowers, Lemons or Sand Tigers. Do they show any signs of having small cusps at the base of the crown. Also, what are the sizes of them. Nice finds from a place I don't see many teeth from There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskandar Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 Welcome to the forum. The serrated shark teeth look like Great White's to me. The other two could be Mako lowers, Lemons or Sand Tigers. Do they show any signs of having small cusps at the base of the crown. Also, what are the sizes of them. Nice finds from a place I don't see many teeth from Thanks Bill and Northern Shark for commenting. Is it the Upper picture (24mm root-tooth/ 24&21mm tooth) really are the Cosmopolitodus escheri or C. megalodon or else? It looks like the lower picture (29mm root-tooth/20mm tooth) similar to the Mako but they have 'wings' on the tooth tips. They is no sign of cusps at the base of the crown detected on both non-serrated tooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sharks Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 There are no megalodons in your picture. I did see what I thought might be what you called "wings" on one of those narrow teeth, but thought it may be a chip. If indeed that is the natural shape of the tooth, I think it could only be Glyphis glyphis, the Speartooth shark, which is known from Malaysia as a modern shark anyway. I could find no fossil record of this species. The narrow teeth are lower jaw and the serrated teeth in your pic may be upper jaw teeth from the same species. The question now is whether you have true fossil teeth, or discolored modern teeth http://www.elasmo.com/selachin/slides/ss_dentition.html?sp=sharks There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskandar Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 Thank you - So I know the true species of the tooth. If these were own by the Modern Speartooth shark so it is great too. One of the tooth attached in the red and white sandstone matrix but I removed its from the matrix. What is the possible age for these tooth? Holocene or Pleistocene or Pliocene or Miocene? The deposit is on the South China Sea beach on Kg Sebakau, Bruit Island, Sarawak. The exact tooth soil site ; calcareous silica sand on the muddy marine silt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sharks Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 If it was coastal, I'd think Quarternary (Holocene/ Pleistocene). I can't find too much, but I did find this: http://books.google.ca/books?id=aYRup5mRcGsC&pg=PA528&lpg=PA528&dq=malaysia+fossil+age&source=bl&ots=wuTXkegtmk&sig=I4JMdGbVBk7DEi6v-1slbAQfeoY&hl=en&ei=qODISvHvIoiulAeX8piSAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=malaysia%20fossil%20age&f=false There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskandar Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share Posted October 4, 2009 If I know how does the dark coloring formation on the tooth and how the shark habitats and the maximum tooth sizes. Perhaps I can guess the best age too. The Quaternary period is very convincing!!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted October 4, 2009 Share Posted October 4, 2009 Nice teeth (and amber in the other post). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hybodus Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Everyone sure those are GW? Look a little Carcharhinus sp. to me...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 (edited) Everyone sure those are GW? Look a little Carcharhinus sp. to me...? I agree with you, Hybodus. Looking at the first tooth on the top row of the first photo, a great white that symmetrical of that size would not have such distinct heels. It would have a narrower, taller crown relative to its width. I think it is some species of Carcharhinus. We don't have an idea of the age but I would say it is at least Miocene as Carcharhinus does not reach that size until at least the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene. The second tooth of the top row is a Carcharhinus upper anterior. Given the locality, I wouldn't know offhand but it looks similar to a Bone Valley form (perhaps Late Miocene-Recent). The middle row tooth looks like a tiny Carcharocles angustidens with one lateral cusplet (missing on one side but it does not appear to be because of damage) which indicates a Late Oligocene to perhaps Middle Miocene age. That tooth seems out of place with the others (perhaps washed out of an older bed The bottom two teeth (apparent lower anteriors) are unusual with the incomplete cutting edges stopping so close to the tip (sort of an arrowhead shape). The modern gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) has lower teeth with incomplete cutting edges very similar to those (see Johnson, 1978: p. 104) and it is known from the Indian Ocean. I'm not sure it has a documented fossil record. Gordon Hubbell has teeth of Glyphis from the Pliocene of Indonesia (a Java site). He gave me an upper tooth of some years ago (very much like a small Carcharhinus with fine serrations). I don't know what a lower looks like and would have to yield to Northern Shark on that point. The first tooth of the second photo is a partial Aetobatus tooth. The second tooth I'm less sure of. It resembles a worn Heterodontus lateral with that central ridge being the transverse crest. You would need to consult some references on the geology of that island. Certainly, I would continue beachcombing in the area as a diversity of teeth (and some complete bones, or even a well-preserved bone end, if you find any) may narrow down the age considerably. Johnson, R.H. 1978. Sharks of Polynesia. Les Editions du Pacifique. Edited October 6, 2009 by siteseer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sharks Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Glyphis is a carcharhinid shark and as such, it has the "typical" carcharhinus style upper teeth. The distinctive lower teeth are where it gets it's name, the speartooth shark. Granted, I didn't look too hard, but the best photo i could find was the extant dentition pic on Elasmo, but it doesn't show a close up of a lower There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 There are no megalodons in your picture. I did see what I thought might be what you called "wings" on one of those narrow teeth, but thought it may be a chip. If indeed that is the natural shape of the tooth, I think it could only be Glyphis glyphis, the Speartooth shark, which is known from Malaysia as a modern shark anyway. I could find no fossil record of this species. The narrow teeth are lower jaw and the serrated teeth in your pic may be upper jaw teeth from the same species. The question now is whether you have true fossil teeth, or discolored modern teeth http://www.elasmo.com/selachin/slides/ss_dentition.html?sp=sharks Glyphis is known from the "Lower Pleistocene" of Java (see von Koenigswald, 1978) under the name Eulamia gangeticus. The two lower teeth would be quite large for the genus as the teeth are generally 10-20mm (admittedly based on teeth I have seen). The teeth Iskandar showed are 29mm and 20mm with the latter being incomplete. von Koenigswald, G.H.R. 1978. Selachia from the Black Clay of Sangrinan, Central Java. Proc. of the Konin. Neder. Akad. van Weten. Series B. Palaeont., Geology, Physics, and Chem. Vol. 81. pp. 364-369. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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