How small does a tooth have to be, to be a Micro? - Micro Fossils

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How small does a tooth have to be, to be a Micro?

10/7/2011 11:04 AM

bebeblews

Joined: 8/3/2011

Posts: 16

How small does a tooth have to be, to be a Micro?

This may be an odd question, and it may not even belong in this part of the forum, but I've wondered for some time now.

What is the line between micro and average?

Recently I have found a Mako, in perfect condition I might add (rare for me) that is around an inch and .8 long, and around an inch and .2 wide (at the root), and it is my biggest yet, but it makes me wonder how big they have to be to no longer be considered a micro.

Any opinions?

10/8/2011 7:54 PM

Govinn

Joined: 1/14/2009

Posts: 648

Re: How small does a tooth have to be, to be a Micro?

We, as fossil hunters, use the term VERY loosely. We should be referring to them as macro-fossils, but micro-fossils just sounds cooler... the term "micro" comes from microscope. Don't get me wrong... some of the teeth we find deserve the term micro-fossil. A buddy sent me some material from New Mexico and let me tell you... It was hard to see the teeth even with 18X magnification. I didn't know that teeth got that small...

I posted a trip report under Alabama called "microfossils"... check it out and you will see some small teeth (but nothing like I mentioned above).

Here's a definition from Wikipedia...

The term macrofossil stands in opposition to the term microfossil (a.k.a. "micro-fossil"). Microfossils, by contrast, require substantial magnification for evaluation by fossil-hunters or professional paleontologists. As a result, most fossils observed in the field and most "museum-quality" specimens are macrofossils.

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How small does a tooth have to be, to be a Micro?