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Hi everyone, I have been going through my finds from Monmouth Country, NJ (mostly Big Brooks and Ramanessin Brook) and I am struggling to properly differentiate between Enchodus and Xiphactinus. I attempted to sort them into E. gladiolus, E. petrosus, X. vetus, and X. audax, which I believe are the main types that occur there. But especially for X. vetus vs X. audax I find it hard to find reliable information. I attached a couple of images: Image 1: I believe those are all from E. gladiolus due to their characteristic sigmoidal shape. Image 2: I think those are all Enchodus dermopalatines. I'd guess mostly petrosus but quite unsure about this assignment. Images 3 and 4: Mostly (broken) E. petrosus fangs? Not sure if there's something else mixed in. Images 5 and 6: Xiphactinus? I am fairly sure a)-c) are Xiphactinus because I can see the typical conical indent at the root. In fact, @Carl and @Al Dente had already identified c) as an X. vetus in an older post of mine. b) looks very similar so I'd wager it is an X. vetus as well. a) is much slimmer and more straight, so maybe that's an X. audax instead? For d)-h) I can't see the conical indent at the root and I am not sure whether that's because they are too broken or actually Enchodus fangs. Happy to take pictures of other angles, I just wasn't sure which features to focus on...

The jaw is pictured here- the enamel on the teeth does glint as expected, and there are fragments of shell throughout the matrix. Partially obscured portions of the left side of the jaw also show it was crushed as it fossilized, which all to me indicates the matrix is real. The jaw was sourced from Morocco by my aunt from a trusted seller she works with frequently, so i’m not SUPER worried about its authenticity. That said, if you think something is up, do tell! I’m led to believe it belongs to genus Enchodus, but the angle of the frontal tooth alongside the shortness of the jaw has me really unsure, and is leaving little inklings of doubt about it being real. i also attached a photo of an ammonite i am 100% sure is real but am hoping for a second opinion on my ID as an Agadir ammonite.

Some days ago a new friend came up, a really really hugh and full covered ?Enchodus. Has around 44 cm, approx. 17". Rare and hard to get..., but I am happy to have one now Hope to find the time to prep it in winter times

I took off early last Wednesday morning and drove to the North Sulfur River. I hadn't been there since early in the year and wanted to see it again, even though I knew that after such a long dry spell, it might be tough finding much. That thought proved to be right. The stretch of river bed I walked was completely dry, and had obviously seen lots of visitors. I hiked quite a distance, slowing down in all the areas that had been productive in the past, but picked up nothing. So I put on the kneepads, and began searching for smaller fossils. I've always had a tough time hunting NSR for small stuff. There are Hamulus worm tubes everywhere, and I always have to pick up some, but finding anything else small is always hard for me, and Wednesday was no exception. It was slim pickings. But I did have questions about a couple of the things I did find, so I'll post this report. Here are some in situ photos.

Hello Can somebody help with determination of this tooth please ? (see down) The tooth was bought as tooth of plesiosaur from Asfla, Goulmina region, Morocco which is Turonian and Akrabou Formation. The question is: Is this tooth from some polycotilid plesiosaur e.g. Libonectes atlasense, or Manemergus anguirostris or Thililua longicollis ? or is from Enchodus libycus fish only ? If is the tooth from polycotilid somebody determine it to species or genus as the minimum ? The tooth is 1,69 inch long. Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi All, Thought I'd share some of my finds from a couple hour trip to Big Brook Preserve in Monmouth County, NJ (Monmouth group). Started off the trip stumbling upon a living fossil, who I let do his thing and swim on by! Found some pretty amazing non-living fossils as well. A mix of shark (Crow and Gobblin), Enchodus, Belemnites, few crustacean bits (likely Ghost Shrimp) and a few types of mollusks (Exogyra, Pycnodonte). Thanks for looking, and feedback good/bad is always welcome. Scale - Coin is 2cm/21mm or 7/8".

Hey all, Could I get another set of eyes on this (circled tooth)? I found this probably 2 years ago at this point in the cretaceous exposed Big Brook. I have had this labelled as "Enchodus" but relooking at it it seems a little off with my other Enchodus teeth. Is this just a weathered Enchodus? Is it simply a different tooth than the fang and curved tooth pictured along side it? Or am I off by what fish this came from? Appreciate the second set of eyes!

I was finally able to take a trip to the NSR in 2023. We had a good 11 foot rise so I was optimistic. My whole goal this trip was to find a point, I couldn't find one to save my life, I however did find a few cool fossils. I don't know if i just don't have the eye for it or if i am just looking in the wrong places. The last two pictures are of an item im not sure about anyone have an idea? Possibly a set of fused vertebrae with the two end ones broken off? The haul The vert The mosasaur thing The in-situ And the I don't know what this is

A few of my favorite, smaller, non-dinosaurian Campanian (Cretaceous) finds from last fall on the east coast. Enchodus petrosus fang, Xiphactinus vetus teeth, plesiosaur teeth, mosasaur teeth, Deinosuchus rugosus teeth and osteoderms, Ischyrhiza mira rostral spines and vertebra (I think it’s a vert to I. mira anyways), Cretolamna appendiculata teeth, Archaeolamna kopingensis teeth, Serratolamna serrata tooth, Trionyx spp. carapace plate, Flemingostrea shell, Hybodont cephalic clasper and dorsal spines and teeth, Scapanorhynchus texanus teeth, and Squalicorax pristodontus and kaupi teeth.

Took another trip out to explore the other half of the Pawpaw site about a week ago and came away with some great finds I will be posting soon. Most of the things I brought back weren't too hard to pin an ID on. This little guy has been giving me some trouble though. I know that pterosaur teeth are found in the Pawpaw a bit more often than other formations around here. This preconception may be clouding my judgement a bit, but I have a suspicion that this could be a pterosaur instead of a fish tooth (enchodus). I haven't found many teeth in the Pawpaw so far, so I'm not well acquainted with how enchodus or other fish are preserved in this formation. Some of the photos below come from my new stereomicroscope which seems to work pretty well, but I am still figuring it out (like how to get rid of the messed up timestamp). I've ruled out protospyraena as I believe they have two edges around their circumference whereas my specimen has only one. This specimen is 13mm and brown. It has one non-serrated edge and is smooth the rest of the circumference. There is some natural wear on the tip. The bottom of the tooth is fragmented which allows us to take a look a bit in the interior. It seems the tooth is hollowed out where I believe the pulp cavity once was. Not sure if this feature aligns with pterosaur or fish. The base of the tooth that is present seems to gradually flatten. If y'all know any pterosaur experts on here, feel free to ping them. Without further ado, here are some pics: Thanks!

I always have trouble telling if jaws are real or manufactured. As far as I can tell this looks real (but incomplete). Let me know if I'm missing something. Looks like there's some bonus verts in the matrix as well.

A couple of weeks ago, @Jackito, his son, and I took a trip out to one of his favorite Eagle Ford sites. For those of you who are familiar with Carter's posts, this was once the famed location of the so-called "giving rock", so the bar was set high for the day. I've come across some of Austin's eagle ford material in the past, but it was always only the leftovers of what had been washed through miles of rushing creek water. This was my first time getting to poke through the source material, so I was eager to see what could be found. The water was low and the temperature mild. I was thankful I wouldn't have to suffer trudging around in soggy shoes. As we walked beside the creek, Carter explained the various layers and where the best stuff could be found. He pointed out the notable spots where things like pseudomegachasma and pliosaur teeth had been dug up. I knew to not get my hopes THAT high up, but it was certainly a good motivator to stay attentive and expect the unexpectable. It took me a while to get the hang of pinpointing which slabs were best to open and how. Carter was nice enough to share some of his finds, and I must admit, not everything pictured below was necessarily first spotted by me . I was quickly surprised by the sheer number of shark teeth we started finding. Being the completionist that I am, I would immediately try to excavate every tooth I found. Carter advised me that simply bringing the matrix home and processing it there would be the most efficient use of time which I have come to agree with. Every tooth had fantastic preservation and would often pop right out of the shale (though not necessarily in one piece). The Ptychodus teeth were the most mesmerizing. They basically broke off without a speck of matrix still attached and had a beautiful shine. Thankfully, they were also robust and rarely fell apart. A decently sized Ptychodus still in matrix The amount of Cretoxyrhina to be found was also staggering. Unfortunately, they required a little bit more delicate prep than what I had to offer in the field, so my ratio of broken to unbroken teeth was higher than I'd like to admit. In my defense, I managed to lower that ratio as the day progressed. Squalicorax was also a common sight along with various fish teeth. Carter's son managed to find some turtle material... that was still alive and may or may not have come from out of the stream . For most of the hunt, Carter and I had some nice discussions on things to be found here in Austin along with various chats about life. The hours seemed to fly by so fast, it wasn't long until Carter and Jack had to head on out. They'd been wanting to find some mosasaur material for a while, so I sent info on one of my favorite sites (the place where I came out with 4 mosasaur verts in a day). Hopefully we'll get to hunt together over there some time in the near future. I stuck around as I had a couple hours to kill before needing to drive to a friend's birthday. The rest of the time was spent doing more of the same. I managed to come across a huge Cretodus tooth, but the root was unfortunately nowhere to be found. I also started gathering some of the leftover matrix for later processing for microfossils. The layer was just so rich, how could there not be something cool to find? I filled up a couple Ziploc bags with the stuff and made my way out, thinking of ways I could clean this while residing in a college dorm. The richness of fossils in the matrix. This piece was a little too stony to break down though. Might try vinegar. Suffice it to say, I figured out a way to clean it without clogging the communal sinks, but it's a slow process. Though, I must admit, it's nice to come home each day to a cup's worth of dried micro matrix ready for screening. In only my first batch, I found something I think is pretty amazing. What was at first just a shiny little speck, upon closer analyzing, may, in fact, be a tiny coniasaur tooth! It has that characteristic bulging crown that is instantly recognizable. Hopefully I'm not jumping the gun on this one. A couple rounds later, and many many puny Ptychodus teeth, I managed to spot what appeared to be the tooth plate to a Pycnodont fish or something similar. After some delicate cleaning and lots of paraloid, it's still a little bit scuffed, but there are definitely some little round bulbous teeth in close association. The tooth plate before and after cleaning. Can anyone confirm if it's Pycnodont? There was plenty bony fish and shark material. Interspersed within them were some that eluded my identification (including mayyybe Paraisurus?). I've got plenty of matrix to still go through, so I will post updates if anything cool is found. For now, here are some pictures summarizing the finds: Please excuse the hand pics. It's just that the details come out better on a slightly darker surface as opposed to white paper. Closeups of Coniasaur(?) Tooth L to R: Bony bits, "Coniasaur" tooth, and "Pycnodont" tooth plate The best of the Ptychodus and a close up of the smallest one. The bottom left is smoothed over. Is this maybe feeding damage? Also, any ID for species is much appreciated : Cretoxyrhina mantelli. My favorite is the fat one on the left Best of the Squalicorax falcatus. Right two are a little strange. Possibly symphyseal? Best of Scapanorhynchus and huge rootless Cretodus (hard to see in pic, but its got the wrinkling): Paraisurus? I saw that genus mentioned in a Shawn Hamm publication on the Atco and thought it could be a match. The roots are very skinny on both specimens and the teeth seem vertically stretched. The larger tooth on the left initially appears to be missing half the root, but it is actually nearly complete. The only break is a tiny portion of the root at the very top. The right specimen is very fragmented. No signs of cusps nor nutrient groove on either one. Cantioscyllium orals and Sawfish Rostral Teeth: L to R: Enchodus, Protosphyraena, and Pachyrhizodus Some oddballs. The left is a fragment of some sort of multi-cusped shark tooth. The middle is a a segment of some barbed material that seems similar in appearance to the fishy bits found in the matrix. The right specimen is a shiny crescent shaped thing that I have found in other micro matrixes from Moss Creek and POC. Never kept them, but now I'm curious after finding them again: Thanks for reading!

Recently got back from a trip on Holden Beach, and just WOW. Words can't describe the uniqueness of being able to find Mosasaur teeth next to Megalodon teeth. The recent Hurricane brought in many new fossils and I had quite good luck. Here are some photos of the trip, I will post a picture showing all of my best finds shortly, but for now enjoy! First, here are some of the Squalicorax pristodontus teeth I collected. These were relatively common.

The North Sulfur River finally got some rain last week, and I headed out there yesterday morning to see what I could find. I was hoping there had been enough sun that it wasn't still a muddy mess, but that wasn't the case. It was a tough slog, hiking through all that mud. It made fossils tough to spot too, and I didn't find a lot. But I still enjoyed my day in the river. This photo shows what much of the riverbed looked like. Are those footprints from a large bird or small dinosaur?

With time running out before the start of the school year, I decided to spread my attention across three DFW formations to get a little taste of what each has to offer. Instead of shooting out a handful of smaller topics, I've decided to combine my trips into a single larger post. I wouldn't say any individual find is a jaw-dropper or museum-worthy, but they, all together, give a nice glimpse into what each formation can yield. In order from oldest to youngest: Goodland This adventure took place in Oliver Creek with the Dallas Paleo Society. It's a regular spot for the group on private property. The site is well known for its plethora of echinoids and highly sought after Oxytropidoceras (still working on the pronunciation) ammonites. A huge crowd of hunters arrived in Justin for the meet-up. I was worried it would be too crowded for the creek, but there was plenty of elbowroom and something for everyone. I'd say about half of the people spent the morning scouring the gravel beds whereas the others got to hammering away in the limestone ledges. Once my brother and I found the good layer, we were nonstop working out urchins and ammonites. The echinoids (A) were literally everywhere and preserved in great condition. We came out with a baggie full of them, but left many more behind. It was pretty easy to find ammonite fragments too. However, finding a complete ammonite with at least a little structural integrity was a tougher challenge. Luckily, fortune was on our side and we came away with four decent Oxytropidoceras's (B). The two pictured below are the largest and prettiest ones. Prepping them will be a challenge though. They are too fragile for the hammer and chisel, but a little too tough for my new dental pick (I bent it a bit already ). Along with these, we also got a neat selection of gastropods and bivalves (C). The Society continued on to a second location, but we decided to call it a day early since my brother was a bit tired of the heat and rock dust. A). Several Holaster whitei from the Goodland Limestone. The ones straight from the ground have amazing preservation. One urchin is covered in oysters (Plicatula?). A coating of b72 gave them a nice sheen. B.1). An Oxytropidoceras ammonite. B.2). The best Oxytropidoceras of the bunch. Its got an interesting feature that I am curious about. There seem to be some fragments of the original shell still attached in a couple of locations. These "shell fragments" have reddish orange splotches on a white base and have a distinct texture to them (I'm not sure if porous is the right word). I wonder if the red coloration is just staining or if they could be indicative of the shells original coloration. When I first noticed them I immediately thought of the red striped shells of modern nautiluses... but I am probably getting ahead of myself . C). An assortment of bivalves and Tylostoma snail. The two smallest clams appear to be Protocardia texana while the scallop is, I assume, Neithea. The largest clam is smooth and difficult for me to ID. Denton Clay Took a trip to a construction site. Didn't find anything and then got my leg cut on a rusty post. Got a tetanus booster and no lockjaw thankfully. 0/10 would not come back! Pawpaw I've been poking around a couple of construction sites located on the Pawpaw formation west of Ft. Worth. They've both been decently productive, though I wish I could've had more time to really look through them thoroughly. It's a really interesting layer with some notable dinosaur finds and shares some visual similarities with the Woodbine in my opinion. The sites I went to cut through I variety of levels in the Earth. I think they are all still within the Pawpaw, but I am honestly not sure. In a more elevated cut, I found the specimens shown in (A). I was super excited when I pulled my first Coenholectypus only to realize that it was very poorly preserved and covered in lots of matrix. I tried some vinegar on it which cleaned it a bit, but the way it's shattered and degraded on the other side makes me think this is as far as I'll go with it. In a lower layer, I found some really interesting fragments of purple ammonites and a bivalve (B). I tried hard to find something complete, but the best I could come away with was the tiny purple heteromorph I added additional pics of. I think the sites needs some rain as many of the fossils were covered in dust and hard to spot. Definitely places I will check out again when I'm back home. Lastly, I decided to include an updated pic of the micro Engonoceras that is seen in my pfp (C). I only just recently acquired paraloid b72 and have been enjoying it immensely. After applying some to my micro ammonite, it has obtained that beautiful "wet" look that really brings out its color and details. I've got some older pyrite ammonite encased in paraffin wax that I may try replacing with b72. I have a feeling they will look much better. A). Bivalve and damaged Coenholectypus urchin. B). Purple fragments of typical ammonites, heteromorphs, and a bivalve. A complete ammonite of this nature still eludes me despite my efforts. C). My Engonoceras with a fresh coat of b72. Eagle Ford Despite the fact that I've been actively fossil hunting for about a year, my experience with the Eagle Ford is focused mostly on only a couple of brief visits to Post Oak Creek. I decided that now was a good time to finally jump in and try to figure this famous formation out. I hit up a few spots at a local creek with huge exposures of bluish shale. Despite the urban sprawl immediately surrounding the area, the tranquility of the creek made me feel like I was out alone deep in the wilderness. There was plenty of foliage and animals to populate it. Something about the place made me wonder if I had somehow traveled back in time. I was quick to get to work, scanning the shale and splitting open some slabs. The matrix was loaded with tons of fragile fish parts. Every slab contained a smattering of scales (I think) and other miscellaneous fish parts. Most of the small things were so delicate they would poof away when exposed to the air. The bigger things were a bit stronger and I was thankfully able to stabilize them before they were mostly destroyed. Early on, I got lucky with a beautiful little Enchodus jaw (A). I believe it's a piece of the lower one. To go with it I always came across a couple of jaw sections with larger fangs (B). Unfortunately, the tips of them immediately popped off and disappeared into the ether before I could preserve them. One slab surprised me with a broken shark tooth that I assume is Cretoxyrhina mantelli (C). It was the only shark tooth I came across that day, but it gives me hope for future expeditions. Of the thousands of fish scales I found, I decided to try and preserve a larger one (D). These guys were very fragile so I'm happy he made it out mostly in one piece. Once again, a slab surprised me... this time with a tiny ammonite, something I don't usually associate with the Eagle Ford (E). And to round off the day, I noticed some protrusions jutting out of the shaly bank. When removing them, I noticed they were rounded orbs containing a concentration of fish parts. I assume that these are coprolites. I don't know much about these sorts of ichnofossils so please inform me if I'm wrong. If they are coprolites, are they from a fish or a reptile and how can you tell? A). Lower Enchodus jaw? B). Some Enchodus fangs and jaws. Tips broke off when revealed. These guys are both consolidated in b72 and were originally in multiple pieces. Reattaching the fangs was some tedious work. C). Cretoxyrhina mantelli? D). Fish scale preserved in b72. E). A tiny ammonite in the shale F). A crappy ending with some suspected coprolites. In Conclusion I had a nice summer break with plenty of time spent exploring the world of fossils surrounding where I grew up. It was a lot to take in, but I truly learned a great deal about the oceans that once swept over North Texas. The diversity of marine creatures is astonishing and it impresses me every time I split open that next slab of shale. With the school year starting up again, I am moving back to Austin. It's been a hot second since I've traveled to my usual Ozan spots and I am excited to get back into business. I'll take the sudden burst of rain today as a sign of good things to come. I can't help but think of all the freshly revealed marine fauna that have finally gotten the chance to take their first gulp of water in roughly 80 million years.