Large Root, What Size Do You Think The Tooth Might Have Been?

[fossiljunkie]

hey everyone,

i was just curious if anyone besides me is ever curious when they find large broken roots from sharks teeth. sometimes i find pieces that make me cringe in disappointment that the teeth weren't intact. when i find those roots sometimes i try to imagine the size of the tooth. of course i know there is a lot of variables such as position, species, etc. just curious how many other people find themselves wondering about what size it was when intact.

below is a photo of a root that makes me wonder. it is about 4 inches wide and was just wondering, any thoughts at what the intact size was to that tooth. appears to be either a meg or an angustidens with worn off cusps.hard to tell for sure. i do know that if it were an angy it would be a large one for sure or just a medium sized meg. any guesses?

[Foshunter]

I think it is Angustidens, what a heartbreaker. The tooth pictured is 4 1/4 inches with a base of 3 1/2 inches so you can estimate from there what your tooth would have been, I guess about 4 1/2+ inches but noone will ever know. What a shame.--Tom

[fossiljunkie]

I think it is Angustidens, what a heartbreaker. The tooth pictured is 4 1/4 inches with a base of 3 1/2 inches so you can estimate from there what your tooth would have been, I guess about 4 1/2+ inches but noone will ever know. What a shame.--Tom

tom,

i knew when i found that root that it looked like it had a cusp on one side. i was searching an area with both oligocene and miocene/pliocene formations. when i realized it might be angustidens i knew it would have been a very large tooth judging by the root size. an angy over 4" would have made me a very happy camper. but we all know we can't always get what we want, right. wow i can't imagine an angy that may have come close to the 5" range. it's hard enough finding megs that big. at least for me. thanks and happy hunting.

[RickNC]

I really hate when I find stuff like that. I've found several large megs, but they are never whole. I have one that measures over 5.5" but is missing exactly half. It is literally broken right down the middle.

[fossiljunkie]

I really hate when I find stuff like that. I've found several large megs, but they are never whole. I have one that measures over 5.5" but is missing exactly half. It is literally broken right down the middle.

rick,

i have a bunch of those vertical halves of megs. but this root looks to be from a really unusually large angustidens. usually even the real nice size angustidens i find here will average 2-3" this tooth would have been very large for the areas i search. almost makes you cry when you see something like that right?

[bear-dog]

hey everyone,

i was just curious if anyone besides me is ever curious when they find large broken roots from sharks teeth. sometimes i find pieces that make me cringe in disappointment that the teeth weren't intact. when i find those roots sometimes i try to imagine the size of the tooth. of course i know there is a lot of variables such as position, species, etc. just curious how many other people find themselves wondering about what size it was when intact.

below is a photo of a root that makes me wonder. it is about 4 inches wide and was just wondering, any thoughts at what the intact size was to that tooth. appears to be either a meg or an angustidens with worn off cusps.hard to tell for sure. i do know that if it were an angy it would be a large one for sure or just a medium sized meg. any guesses?

Place the root on a piece of paper.Trace the root on the paper,then use a ruler to trace the missing sections by following the angle of the pieces available.This will give you a guesstimate.

[fossiljunkie]

thought i'd add another photo for comparison. since we think it's an angustidens. the tooth on the right is a 2 1/4" tooth pretty nice size for this area with the root measuring less about about 1 1/2- 1 3/4 in width.

now the other root on the left is 4" wide. definitely a huge angustidens. wish i found that one intact. keep kicking myself wishing i had.

Edited November 17, 2010 by fossiljunkie

[fossiljunkie]

Place the root on a piece of paper.Trace the root on the paper,then use a ruler to trace the missing sections by following the angle of the pieces available.This will give you a guesstimate.

clayton,

thanks. i traced the root and connected the gradual curve on one side and the slant on the other and they met at quite a surprising masurement. 6". can you imagine a 6" angustidens. looks like i followed the correct angles i'm just shocked with the final measurement.

[Terry Dactyll]

fossiljunkie.... Great exercise, Is 6 " possible? ...I would imagine its frustrating but you never know, if you collect the same area over and over after rain etc... you could drop on the other bit....stranger things have happened... I've crossed my fingers for you...

[FF7_Yuffie]

fossiljunkie.... Great exercise, Is 6 " possible? ...I would imagine its frustrating but you never know, if you collect the same area over and over after rain etc... you could drop on the other bit....stranger things have happened... I've crossed my fingers for you...

Didn't a guy on here post before that he found half a fossilised fish that matched up with the other half which he found a year before?

I'm sure I remember reading that, if not here then on another forum.

[fossiljunkie]

fossiljunkie.... Great exercise, Is 6 " possible? ...I would imagine its frustrating but you never know, if you collect the same area over and over after rain etc... you could drop on the other bit....stranger things have happened... I've crossed my fingers for you...

terry,

somehow i find even the thought of a 6" angustidens pretty wild. i know they get up to 5" but i don't know what he chances are for bigger than that. i'm sure even 5" would be hard to come by. crazy how the larger root dwarfs the 2 1/4" tooth in comparison though, right? anyway thanks for keeping your fingers crossed that i find the rest of it someday. i know that probably won't happen. lol - i could always listen out for someone finding the crown part of a huge angustidens missing the root and see if they match up. that would be pretty funny.

[Terry Dactyll]

Didn't a guy on here post before that he found half a fossilised fish that matched up with the other half which he found a year before?

I'm sure I remember reading that, if not here then on another forum.

FF7_Yuffie... It was on Brandon lennons site.... he runs guided fossil walks in LymeRegis...I cut & pasted the story and the link...

http://www.lymeregisfossilsforsale.co.uk/news.htm

A CHANCE conversation at a luncheon resulted in the reuniting of two parts of a 195 Million year old fossil fish.

The amazing Jigsaw came together in 2005 at the home of the famous author, the late John Fowles, who - with his wife, Sarah, was entertaining fossil hunters, among them Lyme paleontologists Brandon Lennon and David Sole.

It transpired that Brandon had led a fossil walk, on which a canadian geology student had found one section of the specimen, and David had discovered the other washed on the same area of beach a few days earlier. The segments fitted perfectly and were painstakingly cleaned and prepared over several months by Andy Cowap, of Charmouth, and David Costin, of Lyme Regis, before being presented to Greg Flude, of Toronto, father of student Lija.

Brandon, who has been leading fossil walks in the area for 20 years, said the late Mr Fowles and Sarah always took a great interest in the geology of the area. "It was a delight to have lunch with them," he said.

Many fossil collectors have been made welcome at their home. "All around the table were in awe about the fossil fish, with Sarah pondering the great coincidence of the parts coming together in such a way." The Larger portion of the fossil fish, a Dapedium from the Jurassic period, was found by Lija near Black Ven. While on the walk with Brandon, Lija (22), who is studying for a master's degree in palaeontology, also found part of the tibia of a scelidosaurus, a very rare herbivorous dinosaur on earth 200 million years ago. Only two nearly complete specimens of the creature, possibly an ancestor of the stegosaurus, have been found along with parts of six others.

These fossils have only ever been discovered between Lyme Regis and Charmouth and nowhere else in the world.

If by chance the rest never shows up you could always have the blade fabricated to re create the spectacular specimen...

[Angus Stydens]

I have been collecting here in S.C. for many years, and the largest angustidens I have ever seen, either personally collected or in someone else's collection is about 5 inches. And that is extremely rare. The best I ever found was an upper anterior that was 4-5/8" and flawless. I have found a few of those shamers, too, so I feel your pain.

[fossiljunkie]

I have been collecting here in S.C. for many years, and the largest angustidens I have ever seen, either personally collected or in someone else's collection is about 5 inches. And that is extremely rare. The best I ever found was an upper anterior that was 4-5/8" and flawless. I have found a few of those shamers, too, so I feel your pain.

angus,

that is what really hurts is that i know a tooth that size was a phenomenal one.the fact that the tooth was probably close to or possibly larger than 5 inches is really a mind blowing thought for this area. i'll be wondering about the total length that that tooth would have been for a long time. megs that size you get used to seeing if not found by yourself you see them posted. but an angustidens that huge must have really been something to see. that root dwarfs any tooth i have in my collection by a very long shot. all i can say over and over is "oh man!! wish it were intact." feel like i need some painkillers

Edited November 17, 2010 by fossiljunkie