Help for ID please - Moroccan Plesiosaur tooth?

[Hawthorne0216]

Hiya guys! I'd like to ask help for ID. This tooth in matrix is from Akrabou Formation in Goulmima, Morocco, and I would like to know which polycotylid plesiosaur (maybe?) species can match this tooth🧐

 

 

[Hawthorne0216]

Buried in the matrix, its tongue surface cannot be displayed, which presents difficulties for ID. The wrinkles on the tooth root are interesting, which reminds me of mosasaur like Pluridens😂. At first I thought it might be Tethysaurus, but later it was discovered that it should be a plesiosaur, possibly some kind of polycotylid plesiosaur, but I am not sure if it is Manemergus anguirostris or Thillilua longicollis, or if there is a possibility of Libonectes atlasense(Elasmosaur)? IDK.

 

Edited February 14 by Hawthorne0216

[Brevicollis]

I"m not an expert, but it looks like a fish tooth to me. Fish are known from this formation, so maybe it could be one.

[Hawthorne0216]

19 hours ago, Brevicolis said:

I"m not an expert, but it looks like a fish tooth to me. Fish are known from this formation, so maybe it could be one.

Thanks for answer!😃There are many teleosts in this formation, and they seem to be mostly preserved by lateral compression in nodules, now there seems to be no species described based on their isolated teeth, but it's still a good direction😄

[North]

Tooth does have ridges that could be expected from plesiosaur teeth. I pesonaly don't know much about teeth from this formation, but I would ask @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon opinion.

Edited February 15 by North

[Hawthorne0216]

19 hours ago, North said:

Tooth does have ridges that could be expected from plesiosaur teeth. I pesonaly don't know much about teeth from this formation, but I would ask @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon opinion.

THANKS!😄tbh I tend to think Polycotylid plesiosaur Thililua might be a good choice🤔, cauz imo the tooth morphology of Libonectes is closer to Zarafasaura that found in Khouribga, Morocco, and these Elasmosaur teeth are densely striated rather than with ridges, as shown in the picture below. But for sure it requires experts to come to a conclusion👍

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

On 2/15/2024 at 5:08 PM, North said:

Tooth does have ridges that could be expected from plesiosaur teeth. I pesonaly don't know much about teeth from this formation, but I would ask @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon opinion.

 

The photographs aren't clear enough and don't show enough angles for me to make out the nature and positioning of striae, or the general shape and curvature of the tooth. If you can provide clearer images and from different angles, I might be able to help you out better...

[Hawthorne0216]

21 hours ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

 

The photographs aren't clear enough and don't show enough angles for me to make out the nature and positioning of striae, or the general shape and curvature of the tooth. If you can provide clearer images and from different angles, I might be able to help you out better...

@pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odonHello sir, here are some clearer images from different angles, I took photos from every angle it exposed as much as possible. I think there are still very few exposed parts, but perhaps we can roughly infer the ID?🤔

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

15 hours ago, Hawthorne0216 said:

@pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odonHello sir, here are some clearer images from different angles, I took photos from every angle it exposed as much as possible. I think there are still very few exposed parts, but perhaps we can roughly infer the ID?🤔

 

Thanks for the photographs! Still rather tricky to make out. However, in absence of indications for an acrodin cap typical for fish, as well as in light of the tooth being rather flattened, I do think the shape matches plesiosaur (certainly we can exclude Enchodus and Tethysaurus as candidates). It's just that the ridges seem rather thick for plesiosaur, almost more like the plicidentine enamel folds on an ichthyosaur tooth than anything else, though this may be due to the diminutive nature of the tooth. I think it's a small example of Manemergus anguirostris. Compare with the below tooth.

 

Edited February 18 by pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon

[Hawthorne0216]

2 hours ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

 

Thanks for the photographs! Still rather tricky to make out. However, in absence of indications for an acrodin cap typical for fish, as well as in light of the tooth being rather flattened, I do think the shape matches plesiosaur (certainly we can exclude Enchodus and Tethysaurus as candidates). It's just that the ridges seem rather thick for plesiosaur, almost more like the plicidentine enamel folds on an ichthyosaur tooth than anything else, though this may be due to the diminutive nature of the tooth. I think it's a small example of Manemergus anguirostris. Compare with the below tooth.

 

@pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odonOh, i get it! Thank you very much for the answer😄So for the sake of rigor, so "Polycotylidae indet.(cf. Manemergus anguirostris)" might be the best ID choice? Of course I believe it comes from a Juvenile plesiosaur individual, so it is difficult to make a definitive conclusion.

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

11 hours ago, Hawthorne0216 said:

@pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odonOh, i get it! Thank you very much for the answer😄So for the sake of rigor, so "Polycotylidae indet.(cf. Manemergus anguirostris)" might be the best ID choice? Of course I believe it comes from a Juvenile plesiosaur individual, so it is difficult to make a definitive conclusion.

 

Yes, I think "Polycotylidae cf. Manemergus anguirostris" (no "indet." needed when using "cf." as you're already indicating what to compare to, what would be the most likely identification) would be the correct ID for this. Thililua longicollis has, as far as I've been able to determine, subtrihedral teeth, whereas M. anguirostris doesn't...