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Mammal Molar - Texas Creek


Dantheman135

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I was out walking a gravel bar along the Brazos River today near Bryan, Texas. I was picking up several pieces of petrified wood and grabbed a small piece covered in mud, that I thought was petrified wood due to its shape. After cleaning it up a bit in the water, I now think it’s a mammal’s molar. I am not at all familiar with Pleistocene (?) teeth but I can see the enamel with ridges and the root.

The tooth is 1” long, 1.5” tall (root to top of enamel), and .6” wide.

 

I’ve attached several photos at different angles but let me know if you want any with more detail. The scale is in inches as I unfortunately do not have a metric ruler.

 

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Yep, an eroded Equus sp. (Ancient horse) molar.  Nice find!

 

 

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-Jay

 

 

“The earth doesn't need new continents, but new men.”
― Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

 

 

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10 minutes ago, Jaybot said:

Yep, an eroded Equus sp. (Ancient horse) molar.  Nice find!

 

 

 

22 minutes ago, C2fossils said:

Equus (horse)? @Harry Pristis @Jaybot @Shellseeker @Fin Lover and anyone I forgot.

 

Thank you both for the help!

Is there a way to tell if this is a modern horse or an extinct American species? From what I understand, modern horses only reached North America 500 years ago. How quickly would a modern horse tooth become mineralized? How could I tell if this is mineralized or still orginal bone?

 

I apologize for all the questions but I am fascinated with these more modern fossils as I've mostly only collected late Cretaceous or older marine deposits.

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3 minutes ago, Dantheman135 said:

 

 

Thank you both for the help!

Is there a way to tell if this is a modern horse or an extinct American species? From what I understand, modern horses only reached North America 500 years ago. How quickly would a modern horse tooth become mineralized? How could I tell if this is mineralized or still orginal bone?

 

I apologize for all the questions but I am fascinated with these more modern fossils as I've mostly only collected late Cretaceous or older marine deposits.

No solid way with a tooth that is not complete, but if it has pretty good mineralization odds are it's an ancient one. 

  • I found this Informative 1

-Jay

 

 

“The earth doesn't need new continents, but new men.”
― Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

 

 

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