andy_mnemonic Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 Hello again forum! I found this tooth eroded out of a cliff on the coast in Santa Barbara county, California. I'm fairly certain it is an upper m3 molar of an Equus but have been unable to determine the species or age of it. There is some matrix cemented onto the tooth face that I tried picking off but it is quite hard and wasn't being cooperative so I stopped to not damage it. Anyone have any leads that could point to it being either a Pleistocene or just older modern tooth? Or tips on how to remove the tooth face matrix without giving it a root canal? Thanks very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manticocerasman Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 it is a Horse tooth, but I can't tell from the picture if it is fossil. a little trick we use to see if the bones or tooth we find are modern or fossil: we try to burm a little piece of it with a lighter. fossilised bone is mineralised, so it doesn't burn. Recent bone on the other hand... well you will smell it directly when it start to burn of course only use this method on a small part of the bone/tooth 1 growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted April 21, 2019 Share Posted April 21, 2019 A 'burn test' or 'match test' will indicate only whether there is collagen remaining in a BONE -- scorched collagen has an awful smell. Briefly apply an open flame (I prefer a butane lighter) to an inconspicuous area of the object . . . you cannot keep a pin hot enough long enough to scorch collagen. Tooth enamel contains hydroxyapatite, but doesn't contain much collagen, so the 'burn test' on tooth enamel would be a waste of time. The 'click test' - tapping a putative fossil against your teeth - was a joke that caught on. There are plenty of other things in the environment against which you can click a bone. Don't put the remains of dead, decomposed animals in your mouth. I think you could give this equus upper cheek tooth a soak in vinegar to loosen the cemented matrix, assuming the cement is calcite. The enamel and dentine of the tooth should not be affected by the acidic vinegar. 1 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_mnemonic Posted April 22, 2019 Author Share Posted April 22, 2019 Well I got the tooth face nicely cleaned up with your vinegar suggestion and some toothpicks. Is it possible to narrow down an Equus species by the pattern on the tooth face? I haven't tried a burn test yet... Thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 On 4/21/2019 at 10:17 PM, andy_mnemonic said: Well I got the tooth face nicely cleaned up with your vinegar suggestion and some toothpicks. Is it possible to narrow down an Equus species by the pattern on the tooth face? I haven't tried a burn test yet... Thanks for your help! This is more or less of an educated guess, but I think this is a fossil, the surface looks like it's fossilized, but as I said that's just a guess, I would go through with the burn test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 3 hours ago, RyanDye said: I would go through with the burn test. Does not work well for teeth. 1 Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_mnemonic Posted April 27, 2019 Author Share Posted April 27, 2019 I tried doing a burn test on the little piece of root that was remaining and it didn't darken or smell bad. It certainly appears to have at least partially mineralized... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanDye Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 19 minutes ago, andy_mnemonic said: I tried doing a burn test on the little piece of root that was remaining and it didn't darken or smell bad. It certainly appears to have at least partially mineralized... Sorry I suggested the burn test, it most likely wouldn't have an effect with enamel, since it contains no collagen (what makes it smell bad when burnt). Dentin (other material teeth are made out of) contains collagen but not like bones do. I still vote fossil, but more opinon would help; good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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