This week I have a toothy object for you to identify, that I took some photos of for comparison against an enquiry I received from a colleague:
Any idea what this is from?
As usual you can leave your thoughts, questions and suggestions in the comments box below. Enjoy!
Canine tooth, not very recurved. Found locally?
I believe it was found in Ireland.
Ah, thanks. In that case perhaps M.m?
Or, given its age and possible rarity, C.l. (from the lower jaw)?
Canine, yes, looks like a human cuspid? From the color it looks very old. Could also be sheep canine?
On first glance it looks like a cave bear incisor to me… but I wouldn’t like to be quite that specific without some more comparisons.
Hyena incisor, cave deposit such as Kent’s Cavern?
if i wager a guess, i’d say aquatic at best,
Rather uncouth, so phallic a tooth,
Not tiger or bear, the third of the scare,
Don’t tell me i’m lyin’, if seen to be crying,
Rather just clueless and wrong
It seems to be either not a canine, or…
One that has been well used and then spent a long time aging.
How many hollow canines does one encounter anyway?
Jennifermaccaire–
Fairly complex shape to the crown: pointed, with a sort of ridge on the ??lingual?? side. So maybe your first suggestion? I think the (lower) canines of bovids (and cervids) tend to be flatter, more incisiform. So if it is a canine from a mammal common in Ireland, I’d prefer your first to your second suggestion.
Now I never said it was common in Ireland…
how about a canine incisor? coyote teeth have that little flare.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Friday was the 31st of March, not the 1st of April, I might have suspected Paolo of giving us a human tooth to identify, laughing the while as we flounder around…
To me, this certainly looks like an incisor.