Fossilized Tooth Points the Way

[OroGrande]

Found this weekend here in South Central NM. Pickers were approximately 2 feet from tooth. Pickers found with my MXT in a 4' radius. Be back again this weekend if its not too hot. Wonder what kind of tooth it is? T-Rex baby tooth, lol.

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

It's not a tooth. It's a horn coral (aka "Rugose Coral")

Teeth don't have radial "spokes"

http://www.nearctica.com/paleo/inverts/miscinvs.htm

CNIDARIA (Corals, Jellyfish, Sea Anemones)

The Cnidaria are primarily represented in the fossil record by the corals. A few fossils interpreted as jellyfish have been found, but the corals have the external skeleton necessary for common fossilization. Corals have a hard, calcareous skeleton, and may be solitary or colonial. We tend to think of corals as been colonial with small individuals, but many Paleozoic species are fairly large and solitary such as the horn coral in the picture on the left. Colonial corals are composed of many polyps living together. The skeletal parts formed by polyps are called corallites. Each corallite is a small (several millimeters to several centimeters in diameter), roughly circular or hexagonal opening, with internal radial partitions called septae in the Rugose and Scleractinian corals. Tabulate corals lack septae. Corals are represented in the fossil record from the late Precambrian (Proterozoic) to Recent for the Cnidaria and the Cambrian to the present for the corals.


CLASS ANTHOZOA (corals and sea anemones)

SUBCLASS RUGOSA

Most rugose corals are solitary and conical (shaped like cones) and septae are visible in the circular opening of the cone. The picture on the left is a rugose coral. A few rugose corals are colonial, having hexagonal corallites with septae The rugose corals are all extinct and lived between the Cambrian and the Permian.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Well . . . even though I'm a Republican I still believe truth and honesty is the best policy.

Hey! He got the gold! Nothing wrong with a nice horn coral fossil, neither.

 

[artemis moon]

Thanks for clearing that up! I found a fossil just like that one when I was 6 years old in North Texas. I too was convinced that it was a dino tooth, nevermind the striations in it..I guess I thought that dinosaurs just had bad dental hygene. Now I know the truth (trooth)

 

[RUDY2003]

Great Oro bud....
Do you find a lot of those in NM?

Keep diggin'...

 

[piggman1]

Looks to me like it was a gold tooth. I've spent many moons looking for those little nuggies. Excellent find!

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Awesome finds and welcome to the forum! That MXT is a great all around machine. HH and good luck on those gold fields, Mike

 

[House]

Way to go with the pickers.
Man....I'd love to find that! Wonder if there are any here in Alamogordo?

Hope you find more.

 

[OroGrande]

Thanks for the info Charley, I wanted to find out what it was and you showed the way. Very interesting, Appreciate it. HH House i'm in Alamo.

 

[House]

Thats cool. There is alot of history here for small town. AirForce1 and I have been doing some research. Mostly him; however I don't know much about the town of Oragrande . Everytime I pass by it I see the old school house and say to myself that would be a cool place to check out.

Great finds again!

 

[OroGrande]

Lots of interesting "stuff" in and around Orogrande. Jarilla's are loaded with minerals and low grade turquoise. Check it out! Fun weekend outing.

 

[House]

Who would I have to get in contact with about MDing there?

 

[CarolinaDigs]

neat !!