Eagle Ford Reptile(?) Tooth

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Greetings.  Working through my prep pile, I got around to putting the scribe to this tooth.  I assume it is a plesiosaur/pliosaur tooth as opposed to some kind of fish, but I'm not sure.  I'm curious if someone more knowledgeable could assign this tooth to a genus, if there are sufficient diagnostic features showing.  Eagle Ford Group, Balcones Fault Zone, Texas.  Thanks

 

[Jared C]

Wow! Afraid I can’t tell you more than what you already know, but cool find! If you found this in Turonian Eagle Ford, then I assume it’s one of the Pliosaurs in Brachaucheninae, as they held out in the Turonian a little longer than other Pliosaurs. 
 

Edited April 20, 2022 by Jared C

[Carl]

I'm getting a plesiosaur vibe here, too.

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

I agree with the consensus in this thread of this being a pliosaur tooth and, by extension, more specifically that of a brachauchenine pliosaur (still the primary, if not only, subfamily of pliosaurs recognized from the Cretaceous). For, although the tooth is rather small, which always makes identification a bit trickier; is exposed by its buccal side on which, in many pliosaurs, the density of striations is less; and the tooth is not exposed far enough to fully exclude it having carinae, the type of root and lack of plicidentine enamel-folds excludes ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs as candidates, thus leaving only crocodilians and pl(es)iosaurs as possible candidates. Now I don't think I've heard of crocodiles being found in the Eagle Ford Formation; the striations are very sharp and crisp, more alike plesiosaurian striae than crocodilian ones, including in the way they stop halfway up to the tooth apex; and the tooth seems too robust to be polycotylid, and is not an elasmosaurid. What's left is indeed pliosaur, no matter its small size. Awesome find!

[Uncle Siphuncle]

15 hours ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

I agree with the consensus in this thread of this being a pliosaur tooth and, by extension, more specifically that of a brachauchenine pliosaur (still the primary, if not only, subfamily of pliosaurs recognized from the Cretaceous). For, although the tooth is rather small, which always makes identification a bit trickier; is exposed by its buccal side on which, in many pliosaurs, the density of striations is less; and the tooth is not exposed far enough to fully exclude it having carinae, the type of root and lack of plicidentine enamel-folds excludes ichthyosaurs and mosasaurs as candidates, thus leaving only crocodilians and pl(es)iosaurs as possible candidates. Now I don't think I've heard of crocodiles being found in the Eagle Ford Formation; the striations are very sharp and crisp, more alike plesiosaurian striae than crocodilian ones, including in the way they stop halfway up to the tooth apex; and the tooth seems too robust to be polycotylid, and is not an elasmosaurid. What's left is indeed pliosaur, no matter its small size. Awesome find!

Thanks to Pachy and all who looked and/or responded.  As an experienced generalist, I know when something is a bit out of the ordinary, can often get ID within the ballpark, and in many cases can quickly get images in front of the right specialists.  Didn't realize pliosaur was on my bucket list, but this tooth checks that box.  Good times.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Bumping into a couple of these same day didn’t hurt my feelings either. 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

1 minute ago, Uncle Siphuncle said:

Bumping into a couple of these same day didn’t hurt my feelings either. 

 

snarge! Those are nice! And here I thought finding a pliosaur tooth couldn't be beat! 

[Jared C]

1 hour ago, Uncle Siphuncle said:

Bumping into a couple of these same day didn’t hurt my feelings either.