Alligator tooth?

[jbenn57]

Found this on Jones Island, SC. Appears to be an Alligator tooth without the root. Anyone have any thoughts?

[Al Dente]

15 minutes ago, jbenn57 said:

Appears to be an Alligator tooth without the root. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

Looks like gator or croc.

[Troodon]

Agree

[digit]

Yup. Agree with above that this is a (rootless) gator tooth from a more posterior position--the anterior teeth tending to be a bit more elongate and pointy. From my experience with Florida gator/croc teeth finds, the gator teeth have two very distinctive carinae (ridges) running down from the tip of the tooth on opposite sides. They make gator teeth look like they've been popped out of a 2-part mold. Croc teeth tend to have a larger number of these thin ridges running down the tooth from the apex. This difference may not be universal in all localities and all species but it is a way for Florida fossil hunters to differentiate the much rarer Gavialosuchus americanus (croc) teeth from the more common gator finds.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[jbenn57]

4 minutes ago, digit said:

Yup. Agree with above that this is a (rootless) gator tooth from a more posterior position--the anterior teeth tending to be a bit more elongate and pointy. From my experience with Florida gator/croc teeth finds, the gator teeth have two very distinctive carinae (ridges) running down from the tip of the tooth on opposite sides. They make gator teeth look like they've been popped out of a 2-part mold. Croc teeth tend to have a larger number of these thin ridges running down the tooth from the apex. This difference may not be universal in all localities and all species but it is a way for Florida fossil hunters to differentiate the much rarer Gavialosuchus americanus (croc) teeth from the more common gator finds.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

I definitely see the ridges you mentioned. Thank yall for the help!

[Meganeura]

I’ve also noticed that croc teeth are more narrow/thinner while the gator teeth are more rounded/robust, which would make me think this is a gator!

[digit]

Yup. I've found that to generally be the case but I do believe there is quite an overlap of the more blunt croc teeth and the more elongate gator teeth. Shape is an initial hint but I believe the difference in two distinct carinae in the gators vs. the much more striated crocs to be more reliable.

 

From Mark Renz's website (gator on the left--croc on the right):

 

https://www.fossilexpeditions.com/aligator.htm

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Troodon]

1 hour ago, Meganeura said:

I’ve also noticed that croc teeth are more narrow/thinner while the gator teeth are more rounded/robust, which would make me think this is a gator!

 

Too much of a generalization since the dentition of all Crocodyliforms are different. If you look at the Hell Creek Fm, late cretaceous, the anterior teeth of both its croc and gator are caninforms while the gator has molarform posterior teeth.

Here is a more recent gator Thecachampsa and shows the positional variation of its teeth