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Hello everyone, I have gotten really into meg diving this last year to the point where I am driving down to Venice from Orlando twice a month to dive for teeth. I have started to look into getting black water diving and I am not really sure where to start. Does anyone have any rivers that are good for black water diving? I have heard talk that people do it in the Peace river and the St. Marys and I didn't know if that is where most people go or if there are other rivers people dive that hold a good amount of teeth. I don't want to sound like the guy who is asking for your super secret spots but I'm just trying to find out where I should start to get into this. If anyone does black water diving and ever needs someone to go with I would be very interested in going with you and I would certainly throw in for gas money. I also have my own boat so we cold take it out also if that is an issue you have. Thank you for any information you can give me, Parker

Out with my most frequent hunting partner. With the cold weather turning warmer, and the river dropping, we have been prospecting sites that proved productive in previous seasons. It does not always pay off.. sometimes the locations have been covered by feet of sand or the gravel we were digging in last year has been carried downstream to parts unknown. Today was sunny and warm, we checked one location for 90 minutes followed by another and both were good (lots of small shark teeth) but not great.. We moved to a third location that we had hunted extensively in previous years and once again it has some real potential for finds that are new and rare.... This was my first hint.... I have found 1 equivalent and 1 better in 15 years.. They tend to be fragile in the churn of the Peace River... This was next, once again rare for the instance. I believe it is an Osteoderm, but what mammal and where on the body is it positioned? Then this Cetacean ear bone, I need some time to try and ID but more likely , I need @Boesse to validate any ID I make.. Then , while I was thinking about Cetaceans... This showed up in my sieve... There were many Hemis, Aduncus/Contortous, half a shark vert, many in good shape. I will sort them tomorrow. My partner found a fish tooth, very small Armadillo edge vert, and at the end of the day contributed this rarity... I am jealous. At 3 inches, I think it may be from a big toothed whale.... One of those great days on the Peace River... I am indeed fortunate...

So finally getting around to posting my finds from my last trip 2 weeks ago. All of this comes from a 12 foot by 8 foot section of gravel, which is… pretty mind blowing to me. To start off the finds… Tortoise! I grabbed 1 chunk of shell - there were multiple others that were equally as big and I just didn’t have the room for all of them. Found 30 tortoise spurs and 2 claws as well: (Also included with the claws are an earbone and a deer distal phalanx/claw core) Next up… 9 Glyptodon osteoderms, including 1 spike osteoderm and 2 juvenile osteoderms: Other armadillo stuff - 1 Holmesina sp. osteoderm, 1 P. Leiseyi, and 6 D. Bellus: 32 Gar fish scales: A gorgeous and large snake vert, as well as the Puma concolor thoracic vert that I had posted for ID: 4 Equus horse teeth: 2 Deer teeth, a Peccary tooth, a rodent jaw, a Cormohipparion ingenuum upper premolar, a raccoon canine, and a racoon jaw with 2 teeth: And finally, a gorgeous Meg, 2 tapir teeth, a tapir incisor, a wrasse mouth plate, and an unerupted piece of mammoth molar: Overall a pretty awesome haul!

Out again yesterday... A little cool ... 85 and overcast, starting at 65 degrees. Better choice than today high of 71. A 5mm wetsuit took care of that. A little deeper that makes many locations unavailable or cause you only to dig the top 6 inches... Not many out hunting, likely waiting for better conditions. With Hurricane Ian, lots of change, trees down, sections of the river cleaned out, sand and gravel moved around. My finds.. Not all that impressive until you look at a couple of my favorites in lower right..... I really enjoy marine mammal fossils like Whale teeth, Odd exterior pattern on this one... and a broken Dolphin tooth that has me wondering... Is this a long beaked Dolphin tooth or something else.... The one from 2017 is 23 mm in length. My find yesterday.. This is rare for me, maybe once every 2-3 years...

Found this small mammal thoracic vert this weekend - its 1.1 inches/28mm tall without the process - 2.3 inches/60mm tall with the process. It’s kinda similar to canid, and very similar to felid, but that’s as close as I may have gotten, and I could be way off. Any help would be appreciated! @digit @Brandy Cole @Shellseeker

So it’s been a while since I’ve made a trip report! Been out plenty, just never sat down to make one, and by the time I was ready, I had already sorted away the finds. Decided to keep out my best finds from my last 2 trips, so… The first trip I had gone out looking for new spots. Found one, but hadn’t spent a ton of time there before I had to leave. The hour or two I did spend there resulted in a Holmesina claw, N. Aztecus p2, a partial posterior Meg, and a canid jaw, which while matching coyote, is heavily fossilized and could be any number of similarly sized canids, especially given the other finds in the same place dating the area to early Pleistocene at the latest. The next trip I was planning to continue hunting the new spot and check out more spots farther upstream, but it rained heavily 2 days before, and the water hadn’t dropped enough for me to even hunt the new spot, let alone look for more. So I stopped at an old spot that had been resulting in little gravel and not producing small shark teeth and not much else… I was then very excited when I found a dire wolf p2 in my first 10min there, followed by deer teeth, a horse incisor, tortoise claw cores, a large mammal vert, and plenty more. I will definitely be returning on my next outing, though probably going to continue searching for new spots. Hopefully the water has dropped enough by then… Anyway, the real reason people read these, the finds! Holemsina back foot claw core and the 2 tortoise claw cores I found: The myriad of armadillo osteoderms… Top row is Pachyarmatherium (found my 2nd and third normal Pachy osteoderms finally - I had only been finding edge ones before!) and then a single Holmesina, the rest are all Dasypus Bellus: Gator teeth, 2 posterior partial Megs, 2 deer teeth, a partial tapir, and a complete tapir tooth: The smallest tortoise spur I’ve found at 1cm on the dot: And finally my fav finds, a horse incisor, N. aztecus p3, the canid jaw with a p4, and the dire wolf p2:

So yesterday I also found this vert. Wanted to wait till it was dry to take pics. I know it’s mammalian, and I think it’s lumbar? But not sure on the type of vert or from what animal. The centrum is 2.45 inches/61mm long, and 1.87 inches/47.6mm wide. Whole thing, although broken on top, is 2.3 inches/58.5mm tall. @Brandy Cole @Harry Pristis @Shellseeker

Last Thursday, I was hunting the Peace River watershed with a friend. When we returned to his home (close to the Peace River), he pulled out 2 small teeth. One he had found during out hunt that day and the other a couple of months back. He asked me to identify them and leverage the TFF community if possible. To me , this was obvious. While I can not explain the size and I have no idea what the species is, horizontal "banding" on a canine shaped tooth means one ID and one ID only: Whale. I underline that statement because I want to be challenged if my assumption is incorrect. In the experience of TFF members, have they ever found a tooth, other than whale, that shows this telltale banding? Here is a marine mammal tooth I found 8 years ago in Horse Creek, a tributary of the Peace River. Horizontal banding and an enamel tip!! I know better than to ask for an ID below the level of "whale" on these teeth. As far as I can tell , no one has done a scientific study in the state of Florida on fossil whale material. I was fortunate, almost exactly a year ago to host a TFF member and fossil hunter to a couple of Florida fossil hunting trips. @JBMugu found some really nice Florida fossils but he gifted me something I valued much more. STH Whale teeth See the telltale banding close to the root? Maybe these small Peace River whale teeth are in the same family as Aulophyster. Maybe not... I would love to have Bobby comment on this, but I think he is busy with his day job. Next best thing is an old Bobby comment on the same topic of Small whale teeth. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/95733-sharktooth-hill-teeth/ What I read from this is that Bobby thinks "small kogiid sperm whale" is an option!!!! Harry has a great picture_photo of Kogiopsis .sp Whale teeth, and I myself have found many at the 3-5 inch size. So, what is this thread about beyond small Florida whale teeth that can not be identified by anyone? There are numerous TFF members who hunt in Florida, hunt on the east coast of the US, find whale teeth while hunting worldwide. Please attach photos of any whale teeth under the length of 50 mm and around a diameter of 10 mm. I am trolling for whale teeth that look like these, and the names of whales like Aulophyster who had small teeth. Thanks for any contributions , Jack

Found these 3 spike osteoderms today, and I was wondering if anyone knew if they are Glyptodont or Holmesina - and how to tell the difference! @Harry Pristis @Shellseeker Thanks in advance!

So I forgot to ask for an ID on this when I found it last weekend - so I’m asking for one now! The area of interest on this bone chunk is the pocked marked hole and surrounding area. It’s got wrinkles and folds so I’m 99.9% certain that it’s not caused by a barnacle. @Shellseeker I know you know your ears! Does this look like one to you?

Okay so apologies in advance for how many ids I need… Toe bones first: 1 - no clue, they’re all pretty much the same size. Raccoon? 2 - Deer proximal? 3 + 4 I have no clue but I’m assuming carnivore. Verts: I know these are all mammal but no clue what: Astragaali: Thanks in advance! @Harry Pristis @Shellseeker

Shorter trip report today - but I caught my white whale! Or in this case - blue shark. Finally got a Meg over 3 inches, and it is perfect. Anyway: Megs and Frags: 3 Hemis 1.5” or over and a lower Mako: A pathological, double-tipped bull shark tooth (First ever pathological tooth I think.): And a really pretty piece of turtle shell, chunk of tusk, a tarpon scale, an Equus astragalus, and a tridactyl horse ectocuneiform (pretty sure on that last one, tentative ID):

(Decided to do a bit of a different trip report this time - actual story to it, so it’s a bit longer. If you want to just see the finds, skip to the end!) So @Done Drillin and I had been individually exploring a certain tributary and sharing spots along it, and decided we should meet up and explore together yesterday. So as I’m bringing some of the stuff down to the water to load into the kayak, I see a little something poking out of the water. Should’ve taken a pic, but it ended up being this: A partial, left P4 Dire Wolf tooth. So I’m already thinking… well, that’s by far the best find of the day, may as well call it here! So we set off, passing by a 6’ gator (Having never seen any gators in this tributary before - just the “slides” they leave), and eventually reach the spot I had been hunting a couple weeks back. A Tapir must’ve died there - cause I found a senile incisor and some partial teeth, and Ron finds a complete tooth and a couple more partials - this after the rooted complete tooth and the canine I found 2 weeks ago. Ron also found some Mastodon frags, but it seemed like the spot was mostly tapped out, so we headed upstream to the spot he had last been checking out - where he’d found tons of associated mammoth molar frags and mammoth tusk, as well as some Megs. His finds from the last time he was there - tusk top right, mammoth on the left. The tusk pieces fit together: So we spend a while digging, finding more tusk and molar frags, Ron finding some pretty Megs, before I then find this: Another Dire Wolf tooth - this one ALSO a P4, but from the right side, and nearly complete too. I’ve never found Dire wolf before - so finding 2 teeth in the same day was crazy. Ron’s digging about a foot away from me too this entire time - on the other side of a log, and watched me also find a canine from something, another Pachy osteoderm (A “flex” osteoderm/Imbricating band… which they shouldn’t have. But I’ll cover that later.), a pretty, small, posterior Meg, and what I later learned was a Glyptodont tooth (At the time I thought it was more Mammoth). Finally we decide to head back to my spot a bit longer, and I find a pretty Equus m3 spit tooth before calling it a day. So finally the finds - starting with @Done Drillin‘s, all in one pic - plenty more tusk and mammoth frags, some very nice, almost complete Megs, a Tapir tooth and some partials. And for mine: Dire wolf teeth: Equus m3 spit tooth: Meg, partial tapir, tapir incisor, and Ray mouth plate that was really nice: The canine from something (Most likely Peccary tusk): First ever glyptodont tooth: A D. bellus osteoderm and a “Pachyarmatherium” flex osteoderm (So story here - Pachy info is based mostly off a 75% complete carapace in a private collection, since Pachys are super rare finds. Said carapace doesn’t have flex osteoderms, it was believed to have 2 layers of immovable shells. But I’ve now found 2 “flex” osteoderms that are far too thick to be D. Bellus, and far too small to be Holmesina, so it’s either Pachy or an as-of-yet undetermined species. Rachel Narducci at the FLMNH has confirmed Pachys don’t have imbricating bands - she’ll be checking the collection to see if she can figure it out soon): Snake verts, claw cores (nice ones this time!) a small gator coprolite, and some gator and croc teeth: And finally, my own tusk and mammoth fragment finds: Anyway, sorry for how long this ended up being! Hope you all enjoyed!

So couple ID’s needed from today… 2 partial carnassials that I’m 99% certain on but would like confirmation, and 1 partial canine that I’ve got no clue on. Partial carnassials - Dire Wolf, right? It’s gotta be: And the canine - found in the same spot as one of the above teeth, but I don’t want to make any assumptions, so… @Shellseeker do you think THIS one could be smilodon? But really - big cat? Seems too blade-like for ursid or canid, but I could be totally wrong.

So was sorting some older fossils and came across this one - originally I had it in my “random bone bits” drawer - but it looks relatively complete albeit somewhat worn. My initial thought was something similar to an astragalus - some kind of joint. Wondering if an ID might be possible. @Harry Pristis @Shellseeker @Brandy Cole

Last IDs needed for the day - 2 claw cores, a bone I’m not sure on, what I originally thought was a broken armadillo osteoderm but now is looking deliberate (especially since I found 2 similar ones), and a chunk of a vertebrae 1) Starting with the armadillo osteoderm/ear bone: 2) Then the bone: 3) The vertebrae: 4) Claw core 1: 5) Claw Core 2: Thank you very much in advance! @Harry Pristis @Shellseeker @Brandy Cole

Just found this canine - really bad at IDing canines, and it’s decently worn. My only guess is Tapir? It’s about 30-35mm by the looks of it.

Out Hunting the Peace River. Very unusual low water levels for summertime. Went back to a location that I have not visited for years, with a good friend. He found some good things.. a snake / reptile vert with processes each as wide as the centrum. 2 teeth that could be pre_equus horses, a bunch of little colorful shark teeth. I have 4 finds that I both find interesting and can not identify. 1) A dolphin jaw bone (pretty special even without teeth)... Questions: Which Florida fossil Dolphin? Very small teeth on edge of jaw. What is the brownish indention line paralleling the alveoli line? Tooth impressions from the opposite jaw? @Boesse 2) Another jaw, much smaller, possibly a family pet ? 3) An Earbone....Not Llama, not Horse, (although similar in size), Not Mammoth/Mastodon. I have lots of Equus ear bones. These are very hard to identify because few people collect them... Odd fossilization, if fossilized. Given the huge number of South Florida Fossil hunters, it is odd that this is the first time I have seen an ear bone anything like this. 1st photo is 30 x 30 millimeters. 4) and last... A bone with a facet and minimal breakage. Seems like it should be identifiable... It is 60 x 45 mm, rather thin.... feels marine mammal or alligator... As normal, I will be searching the internet for clues over the next couple of days

So yet another 3 days straight of fossil hunting… I may be a little addicted. Went out with @Done Drillin and his wife on Friday, to a decent bit of success, back out on Saturday to the same spot with much better success, and then out to Payne’s creek today for more success again! So the finds: Starting with what may be my all-time fav find, a piece of deer jaw with 4 beautifully preserved teeth in it: Next from today are 2 Manatee teeth - pulled them up in the same shovel, I wonder if they’re associated? They both still have parts of the root - and are my first manatee teeth: Next is the top half of another right M1/M2 Equus molar. Funny story - if you go to my post titled “Peace River tributary - July 17th and 18th” - you’ll see I found fragments of a horse tooth. This was in the exact same spot. Probably the tooth I found fragments of, if I had to guess! Next is a deer tooth: Then my Megs and frags as always - the middle Meg is from Paynes Creek and has stunning serrations, and the bottom right fragment is still partially in limestone: 2 C. Hastalis and 1 Thresher shark teeth: A partial long beaked dolphin tooth and partial whale tooth: Tiny Sloth? Claw core: Medial deer phalanx: Armadillo scutes, in order is a D. Bellus, a Pachyarmatherium Leiseyi (Which is apparently incredibly rare - Paynes Creek is one of the few places they’re found), and then a Holmesina Floridanus: Huge chunks of turtle shell: Surprisingly, coral! More ear bones and then dolphin jaw: And finally, mammoth/mastodon frags and tusk:

Found this distal phalanx from something just now - camera lens is foggy so apologies for the poor pics. Wouldn’t have known it was a distal phalanx had I not seen the picture @Harry Pristis posted yesterday. It’s about a half-inch in length - 17mm or so.

Hunting right now - found this tooth. I’m 95% sure it’s fossilized despite the color - it’s heavy and the root is solid instead of hollow. no clue what it is though - so any help is appreciated!

Found this today - has a weird pattern and has what looks to be bone texture. Anyone have any ideas?

I know I’ve been making a lot of these lately, so apologies for the trip spam. I’m having lots of time to go hunting, and while the water level remains low enough to hunt, I had to take advantage of it. There’ll be one more on Friday and then I’ll probably be done for August, lol. Anyway! This was another trip to find more spots to hunt, and I definitely came away pretty successful overall. Nothing too crazy, but given most of the day was spent looking for spots I’m not too mad. Now I can go right back to the spots on Friday. So to start off, Megs, as always: The nicer Frags - The big one and the small corner piece actually match. Would’ve been 3” on the dot had it been full. A Gomph or Mastodon milk tooth cusp, horse incisor, tooth from something that I still don’t know, and a very large gator tooth: More dolphin jaw bones + one that may be from something else (The one on the bottom): Various finds including burrfish mouth plates, Ray dermal denticles, catfish spine, ray barbs, antler, shark vert, gar scales, cuda and Sawfish teeth, a sea Robin skull piece, and whatever the vert in the top right is from. I don’t think it’s modern: These next 2 pics are all from the same hole - definitely going to be going back there on Friday if the water allows it: Mammoth tooth frags: Tusk: This is (sadly) modern but I’ve wanted a complete gator osteoderm for a while: Ear bones - periotics are Pomatodelphis I believe, no clue what the bigger one is - sperm whale? Haven’t seen that shape before: And finally the nicer teeth including a half of a C. Hastalis in the bottom left:

Bunch of ID’s needed today! 1) More of a confirmation than anything else - cusp of a Gomph/Mastodon milk tooth? 2) It’s a tooth, I just… don’t know what from. 3) Not a clue. I don’t think it’s pet wood, but I might be wrong? 4) I think this is a whale ear bone. 5) These are all jaw pieces, and I think most are Dolphin, but I wanted confirmation. 1) Milk tooth cusp: 2) Tooth: 3) No clue: 4) Ear bone: 5) Jaw bones: