Paul-the-yardworker Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Hi all, This is a great forum, very glad to have found it. The reason I was looking for a good source of information on fossils is: I found this today while picking weeds. The teeth appear to be deer, but the "gumline" is wood, or at least something very similar to wood, so I imagine these teeth are fairly old? I would say each row of teeth is about 5 inches long. I can take more pics if anyone likes. Anyone have an estimate of age? Sorry for name of pic, but I found these teeth fascinating and repulsive at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Hi, and welcome to the forum. I'm not one of the mammal specialists on this forum, so I'm not going to try to id this specimen. I can tell you, though, that those guys will probably want to see the top of the chewing surface of the teeth. One thing I can tell you is that this is not a fossil, but the remains of an animal that died probably within the last few years, I would guesstimate about 5 to 10. There should be two more teeth lying about where you found these. I agree, in Illinois they are most probably deer teeth. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Welcome from Germany. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 The "wood" like portion below the teeth is merely very dried out/ sun bleached bone. I must agree, this looks quite recent. I'll bet you found it on the surface correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Moved to FOSSIL ID. Welcome to the Forum. 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...
Rockwood Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 12 hours ago, Paul-the-yardworker said: I found this today while picking weeds. Sunny spot with damp fertile soil ? I'd say it died less than two years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osteobyte Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 I see the White-Tailed Deer is the Illinois state animal! If you mean age at death, the animal appears quite young. See attached for estimating dental age at death. White tailed ageing.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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