Meg tooth damage

[snolly50]

I recently purchased on impulse the 3.98" meg pictured below. Its taupe coloration is different from the dark gray to black teeth I am used to seeing from SC. This tooth was ocean recovered off NC. However, the color was not what prompted the whim to acquire this piece. Oddly, it was the damage present that attracted me. I have read Forum member's reference to "feeding damage." I wondered, if this wrecking of one half of the blade fell in that category. If so what are the diagnostic signs? What is the mechanical process that allows the damage to occur? Any comments will be appreciated.

Nikon D600 with 105mm Nikkor micro lens

[Troodon]

I don't know and think it's very subjective. The deep chip and all the missing enamel on the right photo leads me to believe it occurred after it was fossilized.

Attached find a paper on smaller teeth that can shed some light on your question.

geosciences-02-00109.pdf

[sdsnl]

I also have one I wanna ask about. Impulsive buy from NC as well... It's well preserved but has a large part missing. The cut is clean, even the serration right next to it isn't affected. I suppose it shouldn't be post-fossilization weathering? But the angle seems odd for feeding damage?

[Auspex]

My favorite 'self-inflicted' sharks' tooth damage is being bitten when it comes loose while feeding. On serrated teeth, the tell is parallel gouges. Teeth can also be found that were 'digested', showing signs of etching by stomach acid.

...What is the mechanical process that allows the damage to occur? Any comments will be appreciated...

Biting down hard on bone can 'crush' the tip; post-depositional impact is like ly responsible for most other forms of damage.

... I suppose it shouldn't be post-fossilization weathering? But the angle seems odd for feeding damage?...

This was almost certainly broken after the fact.

[jcbshark]

I've read that evenly spaced chips running down the tooth could indicate it was bitten by teeth in the file waiting to rotate in front row. I've got 1 or 2 teeth that look like that may be the case. I'm sure with all the power behind those teeth when they were in use that they could be bitten and broken in any number of ways. I've dug teeth from the layer they were deposited in and looked as though they were lost yesterday and still broken in all sorts of ways

[non-remanié]

A lot of meg teeth tend to have jagged ripped edges, most likely from biting down on itself. If a tooth does have that type of damage to begin with, exposing the core of the tooth under the enamel, even if fairly minimal, it could easily be magnified many times by the type of reworking and mechanical abrasion that this tooth exhibits. It would be my opinion that this was likely the case with this specimen, but considering the reworking, this would amount to nothing more than an unconfirmable guess.

[isurus90064]

Very hard to say what caused the damage to your tooth, although I have seen one or two teeth that showed scraping serration marks leading to a triangular chip on the edge. What seems plausible is that a shark may lose a tooth during feeding simply because it gets lodged in the prey which provides the mass and resistance against subsequent bites sometimes causing the marks seen on some of these teeth.

[RickNC]

I have always felt the term "feeding damage" is thrown around too casually.

[Auspex]

I have always felt the term "feeding damage" is thrown around too casually.

Sometimes it is a palliative for a broken tooth; I personally like to see more evidence of pre-depositional damage (as difficult as that is to quantify).