Help me identify this!
- Thread starter tastycake
- Start date
tastycake
Member
It certainly is a tooth and a good looking one at that - I'd just like to know who/what it came from! Maybe a trip to the Marine Museum is in order. Thanks!
somdshootnet
New Member
Has to be a land dweller, fish don't have teeth like around Southern Maryland. Probably in the cow / deer clan.
tastycake
Member
I have sent the picture to the Calvert Marine Museum. They were pretty interested in it due to it having 5 roots. They asked for clearer pictures whic I am trying to get but a very, very preliminary guess was perhaps an extinct sea cow. My luck it's probably some deer tooth from an animal that died two years ago!
somdshootnet
New Member
Not a chance, it's old whatever it is, the color alone tells us that. the 5th root really doesn't mean much though, it is very possible that's just a "sticker" some folks have had teeth pulled with 5th roots.
There's millions of sharks teeth to be had here on the Potomac banks in Indian Head, but, I never seen nothing like that before here.
I found one like that, not as nice as your's though, at Flag Ponds about 4 years ago. Someone else was out looking for for fossils too and looked at it and said it was a boars, (pecury-not sure of the spelling) molar and very rare. The guy seemed very knowledgeable but I've never verified it.
tastycake
Member
I sent some clearer pictures to the Museum but haven't heard back. Thank you all for your input, it is kind of exciting! I'll post the results once I hear back.
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Why does the first pic look so different? So much lighter?
aps45819
24/7 Single Dad
Better lighting, it also has a shadow
tastycake
Member
It took me quite awhile to figure out how to work my macro. I think the first one was taken with the flash on and then I turned it off.
tastycake
Member
Well the identification is in, directly from two sources at the Smithsonian (I'm serious!). It's a pig tooth from the colonial era....... There goes my retirement. It does make for a fun story though! I get a couple hundred year old tooth is better than nothing..... maybe.
Cowgirl
Well-Known Member
That's awesome!!!
tastycake
Member
From what I gather, the Calvert Museum guy was thrown off by the color. I guess it had been in the water long enough to turn it that black color that he thought indicated it was from the Miocene era.