Uncertain ID of fossil Sand Tiger Shark tooth

[Dino9876]

Hello everyone,

 

I recently bought this tooth on the Internet. Unfortunately, I don't know where the tooth came from or what species it is. Since I'm more interested in extant species, I'm not too familiar with fossils. I think it's a sand tiger shark, but unfortunately I don't know which species.

So I hope someone of you can help me with the ID 

 

Many thanks in advance and best regards from Germany

[hemipristis]

It is a 'sand tiger', one from Morocco based on the coloration.  I will posit Striatolamia striata

[digit]

Wow! The coloration on this tooth really resembles a modern tooth. I'm assuming that is matrix around the center of the root and not dried cartilage. Probably feels heavy and mineralized in hand but it does look amazingly fresh.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Dino9876]

1 hour ago, digit said:

Wow! The coloration on this tooth really resembles a modern tooth. I'm assuming that is matrix around the center of the root and not dried cartilage. Probably feels heavy and mineralized in hand but it does look amazingly fresh.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that. I originally bought the tooth thinking it is a recent tooth (I actually collect these and the article photo wasn´t the best) and even when it arrived I wasn't 100% sure if it was a fossil tooth 

Edited March 20, 2022 by Dino9876
misspelling

[Darktooth]

Looks modern to me. There is no characteristics what so ever that lead me to believe it is a fossil. It is not just about the color. The overall look of the tooth. Blades can be tricky. But in my experience( which I am not an expert) usually the roots are easier to see some sort of mineral replacement. That root has a very modern look to it. Just my 2 cents.

[Dino9876]

3 hours ago, Darktooth said:

Looks modern to me. There is no characteristics what so ever that lead me to believe it is a fossil. It is not just about the color. The overall look of the tooth. Blades can be tricky. But in my experience( which I am not an expert) usually the roots are easier to see some sort of mineral replacement. That root has a very modern look to it. Just my 2 cents.

I'm a bit confused too. The weight is also no heavier than a comparable modern shark tooth. The root of the tooth is also very light. Do you know some examples of modern shark teeth that are a little darker? I really don't have any similar teeth in my collection, they are all white. Although this has a white root, the tip is rather light beige.

Edit: But it's true, also other animals sometimes have lighter and sometimes darker teeth. That's why I'm really unsure... The root doesn't exactly feel like stone either, it's relatively smooth

Edited March 20, 2022 by Dino9876

[digit]

The simple test it to get a flame (a lighter works best) and pass the fossil/modern item through the flame a couple times not too quickly. Modern teeth will still have collagen (protein) in the structure--especially the root--and will emit a foul stink like burning hair. If the tooth is completely mineralized (old enough that the collagen in the root has degraded and the spaces replaced with minerals) then you'll not get any funky stink from this test. It may be a modern tooth and so you don't really want to hold it long enough to give it a full blackened char but a somewhat brief pass through the flame will volatize any surface collagen and give you the telltale smell that this is modern. Shark teeth are held into the jaw with cartilage attachments and so this would be a good place to test for the burning protein smell. The enameled crown would be more mineralized even in modern teeth so the test will be less sensitive there.

 

Let us know what you find (smell). It is a curious tooth and we'd all be interested to find out the results.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Darktooth]

I believe there is a topic or post from a few years back that discussed modern teeth sometimes having other colors. It has also been discussed in other topics of light color fossil teeth. Morocco sometimes produces extremely light color teeth. I have found some from my own hunts. There is a possibility that your tooth is fossilized, I very well could be wrong, but judging from that root I don't think so. 

[digit]

I can't decide from the photo if the material near the nutrient groove in the middle of the root is adhering matrix or cartilage. A flame test directed at this point would surely give a (possibly stinky) clue fairly rapidly.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Dino9876]

8 hours ago, digit said:

The simple test it to get a flame (a lighter works best) and pass the fossil/modern item through the flame a couple times not too quickly. Modern teeth will still have collagen (protein) in the structure--especially the root--and will emit a foul stink like burning hair. If the tooth is completely mineralized (old enough that the collagen in the root has degraded and the spaces replaced with minerals) then you'll not get any funky stink from this test. It may be a modern tooth and so you don't really want to hold it long enough to give it a full blackened char but a somewhat brief pass through the flame will volatize any surface collagen and give you the telltale smell that this is modern. Shark teeth are held into the jaw with cartilage attachments and so this would be a good place to test for the burning protein smell. The enameled crown would be more mineralized even in modern teeth so the test will be less sensitive there.

 

Let us know what you find (smell). It is a curious tooth and we'd all be interested to find out the results.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Hello, thanks for the good tip.  I tested the tooth right away and must have held it in the flame for a bit too long.  

It smelled extremely burnt and a black layer of soot formed.  I removed it with sandpaper and the tooth was simply burnt under it.  At the same time, I tested a normal stone, where I could simply remove the layer of soot and everything looked the same as before.  But the tooth was really burned.  I was also able to remove the surface of the tip with sandpaper and the tip was lighter under that.

So I would consider, that it is a recent tooth. Maybe the colour can vary sometimes and it's a really old tooth.

 

Thank you all for your answers!

Best regards

[digit]

Yup. That the reason for passing the tooth briefly through the flame (sometimes multiple times) but not really "holding it to the flame". If it is modern then it doesn't take much to char it.

 

You've got your answer (possibly learning a new technique) and hopefully didn't ruin a nice modern tooth. This would seem to be from an extant species then (Carcharias taurus) as it is really quite "extant".

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken