Water Caltrop or fossil? Or something else??

[Dbat]

Caltrop or ancient shark tooth? Has anyone ever seen this while detecting on the beach. My internet search says caltrop but Grok said fossilized great white shark tooth.

GROK:
“Bottom line: Yours isn’t a nut—it’s a legit ~1.5-inch fossil great white (Carcharodon carcharias or close kin like hastalis), probably 2-5 million years old, from a shark that could’ve been 12-15 feet long. ”

I fought Grok on this but he won’t change his mind.

You guys are the experts what do you say?

 

[Dbat]

I found it today at a Maryland beach.

 

[robertk]

I'm not sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not a shark tooth.

 

[Dbat]

I'm not sure what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not a shark tooth.

I didn’t think so either. I’d love to find one someday though.

 

[Red-Coat]

Definitely water caltrop, of which there are three species. Yours is Trapa natans

 

[Dbat]

Definitely water caltrop, of which there are three species. Yours is Trapa natans

Thank you!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

A very interesting find !

 

[Dbat]

A very interesting find !

Yes indeed!

 

[Gare]

On the caltrops one point is always pointing up so it will injure the horse's foot

 

[Dbat]

On the caltrops one point is always pointing up so it will injure the horse's foot

Yikes

 

[Gare]

Red coat isn't the Trapa natans a type of plant ? Not metal ?

 

[Dbat]

Red coat isn't the Trapa natans a type of plant ? Not metal ?

I didn’t find this with a metal detector, just setting on the sand. I don’t think it’s metal and it’s not magnetic.

 

[Red-Coat]

Red coat isn't the Trapa natans a type of plant ? Not metal ?

Correct. What @Dbat has is the hard leathery fruit of a non-native aquatic plant containing an edible seed. The fruits of the three Trapa species are also variously known as the buffalo nut, bat nut, devil pod, ling nut, mustache nut, singhara nut or water chestnut. The genus name Trapa comes from the Latin word for 'thistle'.

Trapa natans was introduced to Massachusetts around 1874 in the Harvard University Botanic Garden. Staff gardener Louis Guerineau illicitly threw seeds into Fresh Pond and other Cambridge waterways, from where it has spread to become declared as an invasive species or noxious weed in a number of US states.

 

[Dbat]

Correct. What @Dbat has is the hard leathery fruit of a non-native aquatic plant containing an edible seed. The fruits of the three Trapa species are also variously known as the buffalo nut, bat nut, devil pod, ling nut, mustache nut, singhara nut or water chestnut. The genus name Trapa comes from the Latin word for 'thistle'.

View attachment 2233681

Trapa natans was introduced to Massachusetts around 1874 in the Harvard University Botanic Garden. Staff gardener Louis Guerineau illicitly threw seeds into Fresh Pond and other Cambridge waterways, from where it has spread to become declared as an invasive species or noxious weed in a number of US states.

Great info! Thank you. Heading back to the beach for some more finds! Glad I didn’t step on it!