TXV24 Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Hi, I've just got back from one of my collecting trips to Bouldnor Cliff and picked up an odd mammal tooth crown that I was hoping I may be able to get some help with. The specimen constitutes part of the crown and the roots of an as of yet unidentified tooth (possibly molar?). What struck me about it upon picking it up is that the morphology of the tooth and it's roots do not resemble the usual (and common) dental material from Bothriodont anthracotheres which constitute the vast majority of mammal finds from the upper Hamstead Mbr. I've compared it to the Bothriodon teeth and jaws in my collection and can't find a match with either upper, lower or anterior dentition. The specimen (although partial) is also considerably bigger than the anthracothere teeth, so all in all I feel fairly secure in eliminating them as a possibility. I was wondering if it's possible this may be a piece of entelodont tooth. The Entelodontidae are represented in the upper Hamstead Mbr. by Entelodon magnum, although the material is restricted to isolated teeth and very rare. Unfortunately the occlusal surface is missing which makes it impossible to determine whether the tooth was bunodont or not, however the crown does seem to be quite "bulbous" at it's boundary with the roots, which is a feature I've seen in some entelodont teeth before. That said I don't want to rush to conclusions. If anyone has an experience with entelodont teeth or material and is able to help it would be much appreciated, as this would be a particularly exciting find! Thank you, Theo 1. Lateral view showing contact between crown and roots 2. Lateral view showing the surface where the tooth has been broken revealing inner dentine 3. Occlusal view 4. View of the partial roots on the underside of the specimen 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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