My friend found a mammal molar at Ramanessin Brook yesterday, can anyone help to ID? Any chance it could be Pleistocene?

[TRexEliot]

Edited June 24 by TRexEliot

[TRexEliot]

I'm doing some poking around now, and I'm strongly leaning beaver, but input would still be greatly appreciated as I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to mammals. I am curious if it could be a pleistocene giant beaver tooth or if modern ones are just bigger than I realized.

Edited June 24 by TRexEliot

[Jaybot]

1 hour ago, TRexEliot said:

I'm doing some poking around now, and I'm strongly leaning beaver, but input would still be greatly appreciated as I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to mammals. I am curious if it could be a pleistocene giant beaver tooth or if modern ones are just bigger than I realized.

We'd need measurements to be sure, but from your photos it looks about right for modern beaver in my opinion

[Ivaldir]

Is the light brown thingy sand or stuck to the tooth? If it's stuck, it probably is tooth cement which points to modern beaver and not Trogontherium

[TRexEliot]

13 minutes ago, Ivaldir said:

Is the light brown thingy sand or stuck to the tooth? If it's stuck, it probably is tooth cement which points to modern beaver and not Trogontherium

It's sand. Not sure what you mean by "tooth cement." All that comes up when I googled that phrase is a compound used in dental medicine... Also, Castoroides is the North American giant beaver. Trogontherium lived in Eurasia.

Edited June 24 by TRexEliot

[Sebassie]

I think it must be a castor canadensis molar, which is the extant North American beaver. 

[Ivaldir]

2 hours ago, TRexEliot said:

It's sand. Not sure what you mean by "tooth cement." All that comes up when I googled that phrase is a compound used in dental medicine... Also, Castoroides is the North American giant beaver. Trogontherium lived in Eurasia.

Woops, my bad

[Harry Pristis]

4 hours ago, TRexEliot said:

Not sure what you mean by "tooth cement.'

Cementum is one of three notable hard parts of teeth (enamel, dentine, cementum) in some taxa (not noticeable in beaver fossils, though).  e.g. horse, elephant, and bovid teeth have a prominent cementum component.

 

For comparison: