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Showing results for tags 'cliffs'.
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Hi Everybody, Last week, I decided to go to the cliffs for my birthday, and I resolved to get up earlier in the morning to get something I had not found before. My equipment was the standard loadout, sifter, shovel, waders, sunshirt and hat. Along with a one strap bag that I would wear for the 1st and last time. (The strap would slide in front of my chest and neck everytime I leaned over and ducked down. it also broke halfway through my hike) When I arrived I didn't find much to write home about save for a whole shark vert. But when I waded out into the decently clear water I managed to find a vert and a couple ribs. After a couple hours and a ton of smalls, the tide came up. I noticed how high it got and realized it would be a slog to wade back, so I elected to wait an hour before the long haul back. I noticed a bunch of wildlife while I was out, I saw frogs, a weaver spider, herons and a Bald eagle with some osprey. On my way back, I felt discouraged by how choppy the water was and the lack of stuff I was finding ( Pro tip: the choppy water will help you find more stuff after it passes). That and the strap falling off of my bag was annoying. But midway through my Slog, I saw it: out of the corner of my eye I saw something bluish Grey and bigger than a shell. "There's no way" I said as I leaned over and saw the fragment of a tooth bigger than any other I found so far. I was tired, exhausted, and shaking. But here it was, my White whale, the tooth I was looking for after 3 years in the palm of my hand. It just turned dark as I arrived to my car. I think I pushed past being tired. My gear was soaked, I was soaked, but I did it. I Finally got my Meg. Breakdown of the finds below: 297 specimens in total. Starting with teeth, I think this is Hammerhead. Next up is the Meg. Measures 1.74 on the diagonal. Which I estimate would be a 2 inch tooth if whole. I'm excited bc this tooth is unmistakably a megatooth, there's nothing else it could be! Rib bones, this one looks interesting to me bc there looks to be a possible blood vessel groove, and a dissension on the middle right. Could that be a muscle attachment scar? Longer rib Whale vert
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I found mostly mollusk remnants on this last trip to Calvert Cliffs, but I did find this more intriguing find. I'm a former Austin, TX fossil hunter, so the switch over to Maryland hasn't been all that different (considering both were shallow oceans) except that in Maryland it's a lot more difficult getting access to fossil areas. What do you guys think? Eurhinodelphis? I did see a while back a full skeleton was removed from the cliffs. Thx
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These are from multiple trips between 2022-2023. all from Calvert cliffs, each trip has something unique I would like assistance in identifying so for convenience's sake, I will refer to the items in alphabetical order relative to the numerical trip order. 1A 2B etc. Trip 1 1A pretty sure it is a crocodile tooth, Thecachampsa sp? 1B this is a bone that i found on the beach, im not sure if it's a cetacean atlas or skull fragment. but it's got this weird hole in it on one side. 1C clearly a cetacean vert. probably a juvie dolphin. i think so bc it doesn't have any fused epiphysis. id like to know what part of the spine this would have been on the animal. 1D maybe the wing of a vert? 1E is this anything? or just concretion 1F biggest fossil I've found yet by far! this massive chunk of whale jawbone. I am going to make a separate post in fossil prep to see about the best ways to clean it. 1G maybe a rib? i believe its a bone of some sort. i need to paleobond this one back together. Trip 2 2A definetely a tooth of some sort. not sure if its a croc or a cetacean since the enamel is worn 2B maybe a rib? or vert wing? 2C I think this might be a turtle shell, because its texture is not pronounced enough to be a cookie fragment. 2D maybe a skate osteoderm? 2E 2F 2G Sand tiger shark 2H crab claw with some sort of borehole? any other comments or ideas are as always, appreciated!
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- baleen whale jaw section?
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Hi all: First, thank you for this forum! I really appreciate the responses. If anyone can help identify this I'd appreciate it. There were huge storms in California that brought down a lot of fossils from the cliff. I think this is one. Thank you!
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In late August, I went fossil hunting in Maryland, near the Calvert Cliffs formation, and found this tooth. I am wondering what type if shark this tooth would have come from. It measures around an inch long.
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Lucky to have lightening strike twice on the Potomac… 4.25/5.25
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
Also not part of the Crackington formation, but is nearby -
Hi All, It's been a while since I have posted, let alone gone collecting but I just had a really good trip down to the Matoaka Beach Cabins in St. Leonard, MD. Here you can pay $5 ($10 on weekends) to access their beach which gives you about 1/3 of a mile to explore. I went down on Tuesday the 14th since I had some time off from work. It coincided with an extremely slack tide which directly led to many of my best finds. No shark teeth unfortunately, except for two pieces that were just roots with the toothy part broken off. I did however clean up on Ecphora sp. and Cetacean bones as well as a couple of mollusks that are hard to collect. A view of the beach with a fall from last year. It's about 1/2 the size it was last year and will likely be even further reduced by this time next year. Such is the life cycle of the cliffs. A view of the cliffs straight on. I'm not positive but I believe the shell bed exposed is the Shattuck zone 18, Drumcliff member of the Choptank Fm. Above that is zone 17 which is the St. Leonard Member. Both are Miocene in age. I'm still digging into the ID of what I found so please correct me as needed. A specimen of Dosinia sp. with some of the original shell coloring preserved. I'm not yet sure who this is, but they are hard to collect intact as the matrix is very crumbly and so are the shells. I suspect this is from the St. Leonard Member of the Choptank F,. This is a small razor clam and is another tough one to collect because the shell is very thin so it doesn't erode out intact. Typically it just falls apart. Ecphora sp. in the water that you could see thanks to the slack tide. I found a bunch of these in different sizes and surprisingly intact. I found 3 Cetacean vertebrae in the shallows of the low tide with the largest one about 4" across (6" of you include the "wings") Oh yeah, then there was this odd limb bone, but I posted more pics of that over in Fossil ID. I also managed to get over to the Potomac and walk along the banks at Purse Creek Park. Nothing spectacular, but it was still fun. Maybe if the weather cooperates I can get another trip in before it gets too cold. Thanks for viewing! Dave
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First I suspect is a worn ray tooth but am a bit thrown by the shape. The second I really have no clue on. Would be very grateful for any help with these. Thanks!
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When I tap this with metal tweezers, it feels at least partially mineralized, but it has also changed color to a chalkier, lighter tone since it dried, which leads me to think it can't be fully mineralized. Would this be the case with a very young fossil (say Pleistocene)? Is there any Pleistocene material at calvert cliffs?
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Tiny curved, translucent, conic tooth found at calvert cliffs, MD
TRexEliot posted a topic in Fossil ID
Found this today at calvert cliffs. The only things I could think of that it could be were a juvenile porpoise or crocodile tooth. Anyone have any thoughts?
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Made my second ever trip to Calvert Cliffs - did much better than my first time
TRexEliot posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Made my second ever trip to Calvert cliffs (went to Calvert cliffs state park). The first trip last year was fun, but I didn't really find any of the big shark teeth that I couldn't find near home at Big Brook in New Jersey. This time I did much better. Stopped on the way home from a family vacation and finally got some of the things I'd been hoping for. Still no megalodon teeth, but maybe next time! Got only a small handful of shark teeth, but was lucky to get two very nice hemipristis teeth, one of which was in absolutely stunning condition. Also got so many stingray teeth I started giving some away to other hunters on the beach, and a large pile of bone fragments. Most interesting find was probably a very small, curved, translucent, conic tooth that looks like either a juvenile crocodile or perhaps porpoise tooth to me.
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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?
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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
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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.
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
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From the album: Coastline of the Crackingon Formation.
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