dbrake40 Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 (edited) A friend found this on a gravel bar on a Southern Minnesota river. It is porous and feels like bone. Geologically there is a ton of glacial deposit materail in the area but also some cretatious outcrops. I have my suspicions of what it is but I wanted to get some opinions here based on the photos only. Have not seen it yet in person myself. Edited August 4 by dbrake40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fin Lover Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 I'm not familiar with that area, so I could absolutely be wrong, but it doesn't look like bone or a tooth to me. Fin Lover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 Looks like it may be agate or petrified wood, but need better close up pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 Looks to me like a very worn mammoth tooth section. Closer pictures would be needed but given what I can make out it looks like two other specimens I’ve had the luck to hold. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrake40 Posted August 5 Author Share Posted August 5 (edited) On 8/3/2024 at 10:01 PM, Fin Lover said: I'm not familiar with that area, so I could absolutely be wrong, but it doesn't look like bone or a tooth to me. Zoomed-in photos are 50x scale. Edited August 5 by dbrake40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 2 hours ago, dbrake40 said: Zoomed-in photos are 50x scale. Need some better (more detail) pictures than what is provided. Some good quality close up pictures would be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 I stand by my initial id. Very worn mammoth tooth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 (edited) 14 hours ago, dbrake40 said: Zoomed-in photos Thanks for the additional close up shots. This looks like a very nice dendritic agate or opal. Not seeing any wood, bone, tooth or ivory features to make me think it is a fossil. Would make some beautiful cut slabs and cabochons.. Edited August 6 by ynot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 @dbrake40 is your scale in inch or mm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 33 minutes ago, ynot said: @dbrake40 is your scale in inch or mm? MM/CM 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...
Titan Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 Here's a few pics of the last specimen I worked on. I could be wrong but I see similarities in what I can see in your pictures. Without seeing it in person it'd be hard to confirm. @ynotmay very well be correct. If it is a mammoth tooth it is very worn down. You can kind of make out the ridge lines and this picture to me is the most indicative. Cutting/surface of tooth would be oriented up: Here are mine: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 19 minutes ago, Titan said: I see similarities in what I can see in your pictures. The similarities are superficial and the size is way off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrake40 Posted August 8 Author Share Posted August 8 An update here. I work a lot with the folks at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Have donated a lot of specimens over the years. My friend and I presented this specimen to the Paleontologist there and upon visual inspection he indicated he believes it is a partial molar, most likely proboscidean. It has been donated so that he and staff can study it further with better techniques/magnification. If species is ever determined I will update this thread further. 3 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 @dbrake40 That's fantastic! Thanks for passing on the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybot Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 2 hours ago, dbrake40 said: An update here. I work a lot with the folks at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Have donated a lot of specimens over the years. My friend and I presented this specimen to the Paleontologist there and upon visual inspection he indicated he believes it is a partial molar, most likely proboscidean. It has been donated so that he and staff can study it further with better techniques/magnification. If species is ever determined I will update this thread further. Neat! Thanks for the update. Anything proboscidean is very cool in my books. -Jay “The earth doesn't need new continents, but new men.” ― Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbrake40 Posted August 8 Author Share Posted August 8 Confirmation already from the Science Museum of Minnesota: "After getting it under a microscope, I've concluded it is indeed a mastodon tooth. Albeit a heavily worn one, but it does line up pretty well from the features that can be seen." I told my buddy that's one off the bucket list. Now on to the giant ground Sloth..! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fin Lover Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 I'm glad I was wrong! 1 Fin Lover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now