what is this from

[Sue Gremlin]

It's always fun to find a skull! Did he identify it himself?

 

[maxwellandson]

It's always fun to find a skull! Did he identify it himself?

kinda sorta he had a clue to the right track.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

Ok, stuff like this plagues me. I have rethunk the original object. The ridge along the object as well as the shape of the base has been bugging me, it just does not seem right that it would be a shark's tooth. Almost, but...not quite. From the shape of it and given that ridge and its location, I now think what you have is a very worn-out and/or delaminated claw. Could be from a large cat or even a bear? What other large mammals might fit that bill? Probably not canine.
Here is a bear claw so you can see what I am talking about.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

By "delaminated", I mean the outer horny claw is removed, leaving just the bone. This graphic of a cat's claw illustrates what I mean. Maxwell's find would be the bony part of the "amputated distal phalanx".

 

[grendel]

how's this

 

[woodjin]

Grendel, that pic is a little too little to view and it won't enlarge.

 

[grendel]

Grendel, that pic is a little too little to view and it won't enlarge.

Don't worry too much, I was just searching images and that was the closest....trust me that is not it. Those teeth in the pic I posted are from an austrolopithicine fossil.

 

[andy1015]

I'm not sure what it is, but if it is a sharks tooth many kids have necklaces with them on the end. Maybe got ripped off?

 

[Windsor]

I used to find shark teeth all the time when I was a park ranger in Monmouth county. There were tons in this one section of a small neglected stream. I will find some of them and compare and report back soon. I'm pretty sure that is what it is (if not the Jersey Devil)

Jeff

I believe it. I guess about 25 years ago when my parents moved to a newly developed neighborhood of Blackwood, NJ. We'd find all kinds of seashells right in our new back yard. I really don't think it was all that long ago that New Jersey was under water.