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I'd love a spot of help with a couple of teeth that have been vexing me lately! Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Below are photos of several teeth that all seem to have some of the same characteristics. The first two are from the base of the Calvert Formation. The next three are from the Old Church formation, which directly underlies the Calvert Formation through parts of Central Virginia. I am assuming they are crushing type teeth based on what looks like attachment characteristics on the base and smooth, worn surfaces on the top. The scale box is 5mm per side. Tooth one, top, Calvert Formation: Tooth one, bottom, Calvert Formation: Tooth two, top, Calvert Formation: Tooth two, bottom, Calvert Formation:

Yesterday I found this piece of vertebra near the Calvert Formation at Calvert Cliffs Maryland. It seems to be a "cookie" but is taller than online pictures show and haas a strange belly button shape with a pattern in the middle. It is roughly 3-4 inches wide and 1 inch tall. Does anyone recognize this fossil?

Here is a brief report from one of our latest forays into Calvert County, MD. The well-known stretch of shoreline along the western Chesapeake Bay is loaded with Miocene fossils, with the Calvert, St. Mary's, and Choptank formations progressively exposed along a ~24 mile stretch of beach and cliffs. We found an Airbnb in Lusby, MD which was not too far from Matoaka Lodges, which seemed the best bet since the nearly 2 mile walk to the beaches at Calvert Cliffs State Park is impractical for our family at this time. Covid-19 and Maryland's onerous private land regulations can make it tough if not impossible to access some of the other municipal beaches along the coast. For example, Brownies Beach, Dares Beach, Cove Point, and Flag Pond are all restricted in some way to town or county residents only. Matoaka Lodges however will grant day-pass access for a small fee, and the beach is from my experience very diverse and productive in its fossils. We spent a total of 5 hours there, employing an 1/8" sieve and also simply walking the surf line. The largest tooth pictured here actually washed up at my feet as I was surreptitiously bending over at the same time. Most of the rest were found with the sieve. Most of these are shark or sting ray teeth and a few turtle shells plus some of the smaller items I could not identify. A local told me that porpoise teeth can be found there also. This lot comprises the smallest fossils found; in addition to these (mostly) teeth and shell fragments were found a large and diverse sample of vertebrate fragments, corals, miscellaneous other fossils (snails, mollusks, etc.) which I will post in the follow-up report to this one. Having spent some time at some of the other sites along Calvert Cliffs this summer, I would say based on the diversity, number of fossils, and time spent collecting, that Matoaka is definitely worth the return trip.

Dear TFF members, Ive taken a photo of all the shark teeth that I am having trouble identifying. Could anyone help point out if I got any ID's wrong? These were all found at Calvert Cliffs, MD. Top 3 rows near Choptank and St Marys Formation and bottom half underneath Calvert Formation. 1. Snaggletooth (serrations are similar on both, the first one has a strange enamel color) 2. First two are white sharks, probably plicatilis? Third, I have no clue 3. Requiem shark tooth (just suspicious because I've never found a tooth in the area with that color) 4. Posterior tiger shark teeth 5. Worn down tiger shark? 6. Snaggletooth front tooth piece 7. Cow shark (is this pathological? ive found a couple of other cow shark teeth and none of them have opposing edges) Thanks for the help, James

I know it has been said before, but anyone collecting along Calvert Cliffs, always be careful. I was out yesterday and saw 2 different falls. One was giving warning of it coming, with a number of small clods trickling down. I did not hang out in that area and kept well away from the cliff. About 45 minutes later I heard the sound of a fall and saw it come down. As I was kayaking home I saw another section, about the size of 2 minivans, come down. That was in an area that sees a lot of collectors. Also, when I was out yesterday the bay was absolutely full of sea nettles. It looked like the scene from "Finding Nemo" with the jellyfish swarm. Those actually sting, and they were so thick anyone in the water would encounter dozens of tentacles very quickly.

Yesterday (January 2nd) was only my second trip to Calvert Cliffs. I'm pretty new to fossil collecting, but thanks to the wonderful advice and reading the greatly informative posts from members such as @Darktooth @FossilsAnonymous @WhodamanHD @racerzeke @KimTexan and @paxhunter I had a lot of success and it was a much more productive trip than my first. Below is a brief summary and some pictures of what I found: I woke up, put on a few layers clothing, and had my coffee at 3:45am. After my morning pipe (tobacco...I actually make briar tobacco pipes as a hobby) I got in my pre-loaded truck and headed south at 4:45am. I made good time on the drive down as I hit 695 and got around Baltimore before the morning rush. At 7:10am I arrived at Brownies Beach and pulled in to a parking lot with only two other cars in it. After putting on my full waders, I grabbed my sifter and headed towards the beach. I planned this trip so that I could arrive midweek and get there early enough to catch some of the low tide (tides times were not friendly this week, but I start teaching classes next week so it was this week or wait until spring). Sunrise was at 7:24, but there was more than enough light to see...and what a sight it was. When I entered the beach area the tide was way, way out. I couldn't believe how far out it was, as it was past two small sandbars (if I get my GoPro video edited I will post it). Once I was on the beach I headed south towards the cliffs. I hurried through the beach area because I wanted to be by the cliffs with the tide so low. I know I missed teeth along the beach, but I wanted to get to the cliffs with the tide being so far out where I could hopefully find some larger teeth than what are common at the beach area. As I neared the end of the beach I ran into one woman who was there just to relax and walk on the beach. We said good morning and I knew who one of the two cars in the parking lot belonged to. Once I went around the point and turned my eyes close to shell line and started looking. Because of all the wonderful advice from this forum I had a much better idea of what I was looking for and how to best look. After a few minutes I had some ray plates, very small teeth, and my first ever vert. It wasn't even 7:30 and I knew it was going to be a good day. As I made my way down the shore line that I figured had been pretty well picked over from people being off over the holidays, I remembered a forum member saying 'you need to look in the places that others don't'. I approached a fallen tree that I remembered from my first trip a few weeks ago, and with the tide being so low almost the entire tree was exposed so I got down on my hands and knees and started looking at some of the gaps between the tree and sand...then it happened. You know when you day dream and picture yourself finding a great tooth or fossil? Well that's what happened as my eyes saw a pristine Mako just laying there (pictures below). I know its not a huge tooth or a meg, but to me being new to the hobby this was completely awesome and a trip maker. I think I still have a smile on my face from finding it. As I continued down the beach I collected many more teeth from various sharks. I couldn't believe it when I found an awesome cow shark tooth (my second trip maker) laying out in the open about 8 feet up the beach. Beside it was another good tooth as well that went in my pouch. Around 10:30 I ran into a very friendly gentleman and we chatted a bit. We talked about the weather and the cliffs, what he had found (a few hemis), and he told me a story of a fall he had witnessed a few years ago that was too close for comfort. A chunk of clay the size of a car fell and nearly crushed him, but luckily he heard some soil falling and he ran straight out into the bay right before the cliff fell. Although the clay chunk did't hit him, the water threw him up into the air when the clay hit. His friend who was a down the cliffs said he heard it and it sounded like a car crash....I didn't get this gentleman's name but I feel like I read his cliff fall story on here, so if you know who it may have been please let me know. I continued south until the tide started coming in pretty far and I thought it best to head back towards the beach since I didn't know how far it would come in or how high the water would get. I continued my search along the way back and made it to my truck around 2pm. I took a short break, ditched my sifter, texted my wife, checked email, watched a truck with two high school kids pull in to smoke a pipe (although this one wasn't filled with tobacco), and headed back out for one more quick trip down and back as the tide started to go back out. It wasn't until about 3:30pm when two more local fossil collectors came up behind me and we said hello and chatted. All in all, I only ran into 3 other collectors during the day so there was not a lot of competition (although I do like the interesting conversation). After finding a few more teeth and interesting fossils dusk approached and I headed back to my truck. After putting my gear away and changing into some dry clothes I started my trek north after a fantastic start to 2019. Below are some pictures of my finds from the day. I know what many of the teeth and other fossils are, but if you can ID something that a newbie like me probably wouldn't know then please do so as it will help me get better with this hobby. Thanks!

Hi All! I'm camping in the Chesapeake area of Southern Maryland and am trying to plan out a little Calvert Cliffs trip. It seems like COVID has closed off almost all the access points to the Cliffs except for Matoaka and Calvert Cliffs State Park--a bummer, but I'm new to this so it will take very little to make me happy... Should I take my kayak? I've never been to either location but saw that the hike from parking to the beach area at the state park is 1.8 miles, so I'd hate to get the kayak all the way down there and find out I didn't need it after all. Any general advice would be most welcome too. Thanks!

It's been awhile since I've posted...but the good news is that I've been able to make many trips to Calvert Cliffs since my last post. Yesterday was my most recent trip down. The predicted tide and swell forecast looked good and I had visions of megs dancing in my head during the 2.5 hour trip down. I arrived by 6am and after a nice nature walk I was beach-side by 6:30. The tide was high as it usually is during the summer, but it never really went down at low tide (~11:00). That being said, there was very little beach to search and not much being kicked up. However, it was great weather and I spent about 6 hours enjoying the Chesapeake Bay before I called it a day (I usually stay until 5:00ish, but with no beach to search I decided to skip the traffic jam on 695 that is inevitable between 4:00-7:00). I found about 50 small teeth, some bay glass, half a cookie, and saved a few fish & horse crabs. My find of the day and total trip maker is below. Besides some large (for the area) meg frags, it is my largest tooth to date. I couldn't believe it when I saw it sitting along the high tide line, and even forgot my phone in the water when I examined it after snapping a few pics and filming an uncovering video (thank goodness for waterproof cases). Anyway, below are a few pics as found, unearthed, and dried. Although I didn't score any megs, it was a great day to enjoy nature by myself without seeing another person other than a family on a boat that anchored and was enjoying the bay themselves. Any help on ID and scarcity would be great. I'm thinking either lower isurus oxyrinchus/desori (mako), carcharodon hastalis, or possibly carcharodon plicatilis. The exposed formations at this location are Calvert and Choptank, with possible wash from St. Marys.

Hi all, I found this strange vertebra today in a small creek that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. If it's a fossil, it is from the Calvert Formation. It's unlike anything I've seen before, and certainly not a cetacean vert, so that begs the question: what is it? I have not done the burn test on it yet to confirm it as a fossil, but can anyone identify it based on morphology? I believe it to be from a large terrestrial animal, but I'd like an expert/experienced opinion. Thank you in advance!

Hello Everyone! Seems to be a good bit of interest in this topic, so I thought I’d make a little summary on what types of crocodilians you may find along the Calvert cliffs. Most of this information is gleaned from Dr. Robert Weems’ “Crocodilians of the Calvert Cliffs” in Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA, available freely by clicking the underlined portion. I encourage you to read that for more detail. If you have anything to add or you notice any mistakes, please let me know! Thecachampsa This genus is the only described genus along the cliffs, of which two species are described in this area. Among extant (living) creatures, it is most closely related to the false gharial. All large non-shark coprolites along the cliffs are assumed to be produced by Thecachampsa. Their vertebrae, like all reptile vertebrae, have a convex side and a concave side, making their vertebrae look like they have a ball and a socket. Their osteoderms are distinctive, with thick, blunt sections between the pits. Osteoderm associated with T. sericodon, from “Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology of Calvert Cliffs, Maryland, USA”

Hi everyone, I would like to ask about some brownies beach shells and corals from a while back. I think the first 3 pics including the corals and Scaphopod are modern, but I want to make sure before I discard them. The last two pics seem like fossils - is there an ID? Thanks! Modern??: Fossil??:

Hi everyone, I would like to ask about these ray teeth from Calvert Cliffs. All I know is that some of them are Aetobatos I think. Thank you.

Wondering what this is on this ecphora gardnerae germonae gastropod from st marys formation. Possibly barnacle related but doesn't resemble normal barnacle base from the area.

Last year I discovered a baleen whale fossil along the cliffs of Calvert cliffs park. Tomorrow it will be getting excavated. However I broke my leg just before Christmas so I am looking to see if anyone can video the excavation for me as I cannot attend. I’m hoping to get a video and some good pictures I can share on here. Please feel free to message me as I’m anxious to see the excavation process. I just wish I had better luck so I could attend and assist in the excavation of what I found. Anyone willing to help is super appreciated !!! Thank you

Found on the eastern shore of the bay.

I saw a fossil jaw bone segment and teeth when I was in The Calvert Cliff area recently. Another hunter found a very dark colored section of jawbone about 4 or so inches long. It had a good 6-8 teeth in it (same dark color). He was claiming he had found an alligator/crocodile jaw section but it had thorn-sharp teeth. Not what I would have expected to come from a gator or crocodile. I wish now that I took a picture of it but I did not. The only other thing I can remember is that the teeth seemed various sizes, from memory. And were likely all on the side of the mouth where our pre-molars and molars would be. The front of the jaw was missing. I was just wondering what else might leave a jaw section like that. Thanks! Andy

As an early Christmas present, I ordered some waders and they came a couple of days ago. It was obviously time to fossil-hunt. We made it out to brownies pretty quickly. Fortunately, there weren’t that many people there, and we rounded the point after a quick search of the area near the entrance. We promptly found a couple nice fish verts and a couple broken shark verts in the spoil piles right near the cliffs. We continued along the cliffs, searching every crevasse for the elusive meg, checking the gravel for makos and the like. Pretty far down we turned around as the tide was coming in. As we walked back along the beach, I looked down to grab a nice tiger. Lo and behold, the “tiger” was actually a symphyseal cow! It was broken with some bits missing, but it was still the rarest thing I’ve ever found! Grateful to the fossil hunting gods, FA

Hello all, Today I was hunting at Brownies Beach (Maryland, Miocene) and found a rather strange piece of bone. To me it looks like the rostral portion of a jaw with false teeth but I’m honestly not sure about what it is. Maybe Wahoo material? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving. ~Zach

I recently moved some of my collection and noticed something loose on the bottom of the drawer under a barnacle. It's from a trip to the Calvert Cliffs in Maryland nine years ago. As I looked closer I noticed that they apparently came from inside two of the barnacles. Is this a fossil that I had dismissed as matrix, or is it a modern insect addition ?

Good afternoon. Are there any techniques that are useful in finding larger (3/4"+) teeth on MD/VA beaches? I've been teeth diving down in SC and NC, so I get the whole "if you want big teeth, look for big rocks, shells, etc." thing. Does that concept translate in some way to searching for shark teeth from local beaches? ex. Feel for 'x' type of material/muck/clay consistency? I've gotten fairly good at finding x < 3/4" teeth (ex. High tide line material, stuff at/near the "shelf"/drop off from the beach, etc.) . My last trip out...I found my first tooth in literally the first sifter load of material. I gave a few away to passersby and still ended up with 40+. I eventually got bored with it and just started experimenting with sifting through material from other areas of the beach, with varying degrees of success. Any thoughts/recommendations? I've got a spot that I'd like to hit again. Just curious on if there's a better/more efficient method of searching. Thank you.

Went to Brownie’s/Bayfront Park for the first time yesterday. Lots of tiny intact teeth. The smallest intact tooth was 0.23”. The largest was 0.67”. I was happy and surprised by the amount of teeth that I found. I gave a few away to curious people that happened by. One couple asked for pointers when I showed up. We talked for a few minutes, I ran one load of material through my sifter, and found a tooth right off. I handed it over to give them an idea of what to look for. I averaged 10+ teeth per hour. My best trip yet. In summary...LOTS of teeth here, a good time, pleasant & curious passers by, and lunatics in the parking lot. Get there early (I did) and with the summer heat...don’t be surprised if people are blowing their gasket in the parking lot. Witnessed one lady that was convinced someone stole her spot jump out of her minivan and proceed to curse at the “offender.” The summer heat, lol.

The title says it all.... And if you can't find them here, where can you? Thanks, FA

It's been a long while since I was able to fossil hunt. To go out today with a decent haul really made it rewarding. The location was on a private beach, and the weather was perfect. A bit of wind, around 78-80, warm water, and clear skies made the beach beautiful. We hunted for around two hours on the South side with minimal rewards, some really small teeth such as hemis, makos, and the like. The hunting started to pick up when we made our way over to the North Side. As soon as we arrived, a hemi around 1 1/6 washed up. I knew I was going to like this beach when a second only a little smaller washed up after a minute of hunting. We worked the beach for another hour, pulling a mako of around 1 1/4 inches (broken root) from the surf, and then another, really nice 1 inch mako in the same spot. We met a certain Steve Grossman on the beach, who invited me to the Calvert Marine Museum's sharkfest to help him set up, talk about, and look at his hundreds of megs. If any of you MD folks show up, i'll be there! The Beach