New Members telligmant Posted March 27, 2013 New Members Share Posted March 27, 2013 My coworker swears he found a dinosaur tooth in his back yard. We live in southern Indiana. Is it at all possible he actually has a tooth from a dinosaur? If so how could we tell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snolly50 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 To the best of my knowledge Indiana is not a locale which typically yields dinosaur material. Other fossil remains are found there. A photo posted here of the mystery tooth would no doubt provide an answer. Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, also are remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. - Douglas Adams, Last Chance to See Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 (edited) I'm gonna go out on a limb here,and say he probably found a Horn Coral.Just a guess, but they can look kinda toothy to an untrained eye.Like Snolly50 said, ...best to post some pics to be sure.Regards, EDIT: to add link. Edited March 27, 2013 by Fossildude19 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I am going to agree with fossildude and bet on horn coral, which is likely to be found in Indiana. And I will take snolly's point one step further and argue that it is 99.9% certainly not a dinosaur tooth. here are a few things you can look for... does it have a shiny surface? Almost all teeth have an enamel surface which fossilizes into a shiny, usually dark veneer, and there is often a zone near the base (esp on a complete tooth) where the enamel is not there, so you can see a contrast between shiny enamel and lack thereof. Is the fossil quite conical.... dino teeth are not, but horn corals are. that's your lesson for today... gotta go back to work.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boneman007 Posted March 29, 2013 Share Posted March 29, 2013 I am going to agree with fossildude and bet on horn coral, which is likely to be found in Indiana. And I will take snolly's point one step further and argue that it is 99.9% certainly not a dinosaur tooth. here are a few things you can look for... does it have a shiny surface? Almost all teeth have an enamel surface which fossilizes into a shiny, usually dark veneer, and there is often a zone near the base (esp on a complete tooth) where the enamel is not there, so you can see a contrast between shiny enamel and lack thereof. Is the fossil quite conical.... dino teeth are not, but horn corals are. that's your lesson for today... gotta go back to work.... These guys are right. A picture will confirm they're diagnosis.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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