Found on Jersey Beach

[Markdelch]

Fossil or Rock? Thinking it may be a fossilized crab claw??

[Brevicollis]

This appears to be a very erodet mammal tooth fragment, the enamel looking pattern suggest it. But without more pictures from top and bottom, i cannot tell for sure. But I find these lines mostly in mammal teeth, so this might be one. Here a picture of one of my teeth to compare the lines.

 

Edited April 26 by Brevicollis

[Fossildude19]

Looks more like part of an oyster shell, to me.

 

Would also make a bit more sense, given it was found on a beach.

 

[Ivaldir]

I think oyster or partial tooth are both possible. The upper and under sides will hopefully clear this out

[Brevicollis]

It could be an oyster shell too, I just saw now the layer like construction. I saw at first a tooth in it, but now, oyster shell is also a possibility. Maybe I should look more for deatails in the pictures, so something like that wont happen so fast again.

[Brevicollis]

15 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Looks more like part of an oyster shell, to me.

 

Would also make a bit more sense, given it was found on a beach.

 

Yes, thats true. I dont like to contradict an expert, but mammal teeth like that I've shown can be also found on beaches, but are less common than oyster shells.

I've found that one that I've shown for comparison on a beach. So its still a possibility for me. But without the right pictures, I think no one of us can be 100% sure.

Edited April 26 by Brevicollis

[Fin Lover]

+1 for oyster shell

[Fossildude19]

23 minutes ago, Brevicollis said:

Yes, thats true. I dont like to contradict an expert, but mammal teeth like that I've shown can be also found on beaches, but are less common than oyster shells.

I've found that one that I've shown for comparison on a beach. So its still a possibility for me. But without the right pictures, I think no one of us can be 100% sure.

 

 

But not really likely on a beach in New Jersey, USA.

Location of the beach matters, as well.

Possible? Yes. Not as likely, though.

[Elmo]

I agree with shell. I see a lot of them at my stomping grounds and sometimes they can be pretty deceiving. 

[Brevicollis]

Thanks Tim ! (And Elmo)

Again, I've learned something new today.

But this was a tricky shell. Maybe I should look more for details, rather than the whole thing.

Edited April 26 by Brevicollis

[Markdelch]

On 4/26/2024 at 2:48 PM, Brevicollis said:

This appears to be a very erodet mammal tooth fragment, the enamel looking pattern suggest it. But without more pictures from top and bottom, i cannot tell for sure. But I find these lines mostly in mammal teeth, so this might be one. Here a picture of one of my teeth to compare the lines.

 

 

[Markdelch]

Here is the view from the top.

 

I lived a block from the beach for 63 years. I am confident it is not an oyster shell. (watch it be an oyster shell)

 

Thank you for your input!

[Ludwigia]

I'm also in the partial oyster shell camp.

[Tidgy's Dad]

5 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

I'm also in the partial oyster shell camp.

Oysters do have camps, apparently.

[Coco]

Hi,

 

1 hour ago, Markdelch said:

 I am confident it is not an oyster shell. (watch it be an oyster shell)

If you had any idea how many different species of fossilized oysters there are... and not all of them look like what you’re showing. I still believe that it is the heel of an oyster, and certainly not a crab claw or a horse tooth whose streaks have nothing to do with those of your specimen.

 

Coco

[Elmo]

On 4/27/2024 at 3:29 PM, Markdelch said:

Here is the view from the top.

 

I lived a block from the beach for 63 years. I am confident it is not an oyster shell. (watch it be an oyster shell)

 

Thank you for your input!

Here’s a random fossil oyster for the internet, notice the layer lines.

 

 

Looks like a pretty good match up.

I’ll be out on Monday collecting matrix, I’ll take a few minutes to scan both sites and see if I can find a match. 

[Elmo]

Here’s some sample pics of some oyster shells I picked up today, I hope they help.