Huge Weird Moroccan Shark Tooth ID help. I am stumped.

[jikohr]

Hi everyone!

 

I got this beauty in a batch of big Moroccan Otodus teeth and I am completely stumped. At first I though it was a weird Otodus but it has no cusps and the areas where there would be cusps are intact and there's no break there so they didn't break off. The root is very large and thick with a relatively stout enamel compared to typical Otodus. There is a bit of restoration on the distal root lobe, but the rest of the tooth is pristine so I don't think that's effecting my perception, but you never know. I considered Symphyseal but at over 7.5 cm slant length and 2.5 cm thick I don't think it's that.

It kinda reminds me of Parotodus teeth from the Miocene but this was in a batch of Otodus obliquus from the Ouled Abdoun Basin so the youngest this could be is Eocene. Was Parotodus even around then?

Any insight would be really appreciated as always!

 

Front View

 

 

Back View

 

 

Mesial edge. This side is completely natural. The enamel terminates at the root without any signs of there ever being a cusp.

 

 

Distal edge. Root lobe is restored but enamel and surrounding root is natural. Like on the Mesial edge, no sign of there ever being a cusp.

 

 

[Newbie_1971]

I am not a specialist by any means, but I would say it is correct.... otodus. 

[shark57]

I have seen Otodus obliquus without cusplets. They are extremely rare and this might be considered a pathology. Let's see what some of the other experts think.

[hemipristis]

That's quite a honker!  I can definitely see why you mention Parotodus.

 

Is the root natural?  Looks chalky.

 

There are a few Moroccan specialists in the membership. I hope they chime in

[dries85]

I'm thinking the cusps of this Otodus obliquus have actually broken off, they aren't usually attached to the crown. Afterward the root has been reshaped to make it look like Parotodus, it seems like it's also made thicker. Just a theory, but i wouldn't buy..

Something like this?

[Newbie_1971]

[jikohr]

16 hours ago, hemipristis said:

That's quite a honker!  I can definitely see why you mention Parotodus.

 

Is the root natural?  Looks chalky.

 

There are a few Moroccan specialists in the membership. I hope they chime in

 

2 hours ago, dries85 said:

I'm thinking the cusps of this Otodus obliquus have actually broken off, they aren't usually attached to the crown. Afterward the root has been reshaped to make it look like Parotodus, it seems like it's also made thicker. Just a theory, but i wouldn't buy..

Something like this?

 

 

Thanks for chiming in everyone! Let me answer some questions.

 

I've had this tooth in my possession for months and have looked at it under a black light, microscope, and and applied acetone to several areas in order to check for funny business.

The only restoration is on the distal root lobe. Below are front and back pictures showing where it it with a red line. I also included some microscope shots of the root and the area around where the cusps should have been as well as some shots with the UV on it (the best my camera could pick up at least).

 

Now what's interesting is the restoration on that one lobe does go right up to the enamel. So if the cusps and enamel aren't connected it is possible that that side had a cusp and it broke off with that piece of root, but the other side definitely didn't have a cusp and is natural as is the bulbous area in the middle.

 

No one else but me has brought up Parotodus with this specimen, it was in a big wholesale batch of Otodus teeth, I just brought up Parotodus as something that crossed my mind when I saw it (and still kinda does) even though the chances of it being that are very slim. Although it is nice to see someone else say that they at least kinda see what I'm seeing (thanks Hemi!). 

 

 

At this point I guess my question is, has anyone seen an Otodus obliquus with this morphology before? That being

1. Exceptionally large 7.5 cm+,

2. No cusp on the mesial side,

3. Large bulbous root

 

Has anyone seen a pathological morphology like this? Is there a position in the jaw that can produce teeth like this, like a posterior tooth from a monster size Otodus? Or is there another large but really rare shark species found in the Ouled Abdoun Basin that this matches better?