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Day started out foggy, but eventually got better.
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I was going through my unknown fossil bits and thought this looked like the main cusp of a cow shark (Paleocene). My problem is....I can’t remember if I found this at Douglas Point or at flag pond (this is my only fossil that got mixed up)
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Shark teeth from Paleocene Aquia Formation at Douglas Point, Potomac River, Maryland
traveltip1 posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
This riker mount displays the best shark teeth that I collected on 3 hunts sifting at Douglas Point beach, Charles County, Maryland. This is the Paleocene Aquia Formation. Bottom row contains several Odotus teeth. There are many goblin shark Anomotodon and sand tiger shark Carcharias. Also appears to be one pygmy white shark Paleocarcharodon in lower left corner.
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I was able to get out to Purse State Park this morning for a Maryland Paleocene (Aquia Formation) hunt. I usually prefer the nearby Douglas Point when I hit the Potomac River but I decided to give Purse a try as I haven't been to that stretch in a while. I was the second car in the lot but first on the beach, which is always the best way to start the fossil day. My first good find--a croc tooth, though the enamel is very worn: Followed by an Otodus -- also quite worn but a decent size for the site (approx. 1.25"): It really turned into a gorgeous day! Can you spot the bald eagle? My find of the day: I've been finding ratfish material on most trips lately, but just small fragments. This is my first mostly complete tooth plate. Something interesting in the water... Multiple Otoduses always makes for a very good day. Like the other one (and all of my shark teeth today), this one's river worn. A good sized croc tooth: I did a fair amount of walking and exploring along the shoreline and didn't see too many people along the way, but the entrance to the beach was quite packed by the time I headed for the exit. Thanks for reading!
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I've wanted to put together an artificial tooth set of Striatolamia striata from the Aquia Formation in Maryland for a while given the abundance of that species in the formation. Until recently, though, I was missing a lot of the less commonly collected tooth positions--extreme posteriors, intermediates, and first lower anteriors. After searching through several gallons of Potomac River gravels over the last couple of months, I finally filled in the gaps. I put together the tooth set below a few days ago and just finished mounting them in a riker box I received in the mail yesterday. I used the Striatolamia macrota artificial tooth set on elasmo.com as my guide. I'm sure some of the teeth in my reconstruction are out of place, including some of the upper or lower teeth possibly being from the opposite jaw instead. I couldn't properly size match the intermediates and first lower anteriors, but can always swap in replacements if I find them. One of the extreme posteriors is also reversed in the display (labial side showing rather than lingual like the rest) as I'm still missing a tooth from that position. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the result. This is my first artificial tooth set, and it was a fun project that taught me a lot about tooth positions! Here's the full tooth set -- the largest teeth in the display are just over an inch long: Left and right sides: Quadrants: The final riker display:
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Crowded beach, but I still hunted a little.
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I went out to Douglas Point (Paleocene, Aquia Formation) in Maryland yesterday and found a couple of unusual shark teeth. The tooth on the left is about 1.5 cm long and I'm pretty sure is a pathological Striatolamia striata. The tooth on the right looks a bit like an Otodus obliquus or Cretalamna appendiculata to me. Since it's only 1 cm long, Cretalamna might be the better guess. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the IDs. Thanks! Here are some more views of the sand tiger on the left. The root is both relatively large and very flat. It appears to be chipped in a couple of spots as marked in the top middle photo below. There is a small cusplet on one side but not on the other. This is perhaps the most peculiar-looking tooth I've found. And here are more views of the "Otodus/Cretalamna". The blade is a bit wavy and might perhaps be pathological too.
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Had a couple hours free today, so I had to get out.
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I decided to go through my Carcharhinus teeth, since I have no hammerhead teeth. What do you think about the one on the left?
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It was very cold this morning, but I still managed to do some sifting for small teeth. I was disappointed that I didn’t get any “hound shark” teeth, but I still got some good items.
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Hey all, quick question. I am currently in school in the Harrisburg, PA region and am limited in trying to stay under an hour and a half drives for spots. I noticed some posts about shark teeth in the Potomac river but most of what I could find was that these sites are more near the D.C. area. I was wondering if anyone here knew if all of the Potomac had fossils to find or if it is strictly along certain areas of erosion off of the cliffs that the Potomac cuts through? I think either way over the summer I am going to try to end up at the Aquia formation but was wondering if I could potentially hit something up sooner.
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I made it out to Douglas Point on the Potomac River yesterday morning for a chilly Maryland Paleocene (Aquia Formation) fossil hunt. Temperatures started in the upper 20s Fahrenheit and eventually climbed into the more comfortable 40s though by that time the tide had substantially come in. The banks of the river were ice free but the sand was hard packed and frozen. The pickings were fairly slim by this site's standards, which means I found dozens rather than hundreds of shark teeth over roughly 4 hours. No spectacular finds on this trip, though I found a decent enough variety, and a few less common things including my second partial ratfish plate and a couple of partial ray plates. Though cold, it was extremely peaceful on the banks of the Potomac just after sunrise. My phone battery really hates the cold so I wasn't able to capture too many in situ shots, but here are a few. The two shark teeth are from the ever abundant sand tiger Striatolamia striata. It was actually a pretty gorgeous day by the end--just not the right tide conditions by then for fossil hunting! Below are a few shots of some of my better/less common finds. From left to right -- Paraorthacodus clarkii (this one's pretty worn down unfortunately), Cretalamna appendiculata (not too uncommon and this one's tip is chipped, but if I'm not to going to find an Otodus, I at least want to find a Cretalamna!), a nice Palaeohypotodus rutoti, Squatina prima, and (I think) Jaekelotodus robustus: The two partial ray plates and a piece of turtle shell: The partial ratfish plate, a Turritella sp. steinkern (these are common finds except this is the first one I've found that's hollow and made of ironstone vs. the more usual sedimented material), two shark/ray verts, and a small bony fish vert: Thanks for looking!
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I was going through my collection and found this tooth in with my Carcharias (Sand Tiger) teeth from Bayfront Park, Calvert Cliffs (Miocene). It doesn't resemble the others and I wondered if it might be something else. It is 7/8 of an inch tall. Thanks.
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I made it out to Matoaka Beach bright and early this morning on a day off. While I didn’t find a ton in the shark teeth department, I did nab my largest whale vert to date, a large ray dermal denticle, and some other nice Calvert Cliffs (Miocene) finds.
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I was going to do some more exploring of new areas (trying to find a Calvert exposure until I can get the boat in the water since everything’s closed) but I decided to go back here yet again. I made a pretty good decision I think because I found a bunch of shark teeth that are of decent size, and a killer shark and fish vertebrae. I also found a small block of Calvert formation here too, and I found a lot of it exposed on another piece of land a few weeks ago, but then turned around after seeing a bunch of “no trespassing” signs posted all up and down. Go figure. So until I find another viable area, I may just keep coming back here, particularly since it’s giving me fantastic fossils. Here’s the spoils from yesterday. Shark vertebrae from the site. Very small! Here’s the fish vert, biggest and nicest one I’ve found there. Here’s some teeth, including goblin/sand tiger, a hound tooth, and a mystery tooth that may be a posterior from the sharks listed above. Anyways. that’s about it from the site. Every time I visit I always walk away with something nice. Hopefully, I can find some good Calvert formation that’s close to DC before it gets too warm.
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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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With the recent cold weather and snowy weather in NJ I decided to take some ray plates from a recent MD trip and turn it into a Ray silhouette! What do ya think?! Shadow box on order to frame it!
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I made it out to Matoaka yesterday before today’s snowstorm and had a successful Maryland Miocene hunt, despite a large amount of ice obscuring the shoreline. (I won’t complain about the cold after @RuMert’s trip report yesterday. ) I found an unusually high number of cetacean vertebrae and cookies (epiphyses), several Ecphoras, shark teeth, and some other nice finds. This Carcharodon hastalis tooth was waiting for me when I arrived on the beach. And this cookie was just a few feet away. Off to a good start! Heading north, the ice got progressively thicker along the shoreline, and for significant stretches covered up all of the gravels at water’s edge. But there were still a few things deposited further up the tideline from before temperatures dropped below freezing. ...including my second cookie of the day. ...and my third—it’s incomplete but is the biggest one I’ve found to date. As the day went on, the sunlight started to melt some of the ice, revealing additional fossils, such as this nice little Ecphora—the colors on these always look so much better when wet! Here’s my favorite find of the day: a small partial ray mouth plate. On first glance, this looked very much like just a seed husk in the water—I’m glad I took a closer look. I didn't find a ton of shark teeth, but the ones I found were generally of good quality, including this Hemi hiding in the sand. This is a weird one. It’s only part of a tooth (croc? cetacean?) and may not be identifiable, but has a bump/ridge across the tooth—almost like a restart of the crown. Pathological perhaps? Or maybe just a tooth design I’m unfamiliar with. If anyone has ideas, let me know. I'll post another photo below and can take additional ones from other angles if helpful. Here's a decent-sized croc (I think) tooth. Most of the enamel has worn off except for a small section on the side.
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I recently brought home a gallon bag of Potomac River gravels (Paleocene, Aquia Formation), and have been searching through them for micros using my new digital microscope (the quite reasonably priced Plugable USB 2.0 Digital Microscope, which several others on TFF have recommended). I've found a number of shark teeth and have tentatively IDed many of them, though would appreciate corrections or confirmations, as well as thoughts on the unidentified ones. The tick marks in all of the photos below are millimeters. Thanks in advance for your help! 1. Abdounia beaugei 2. Galeorhinus sp. -- half the tooth is missing so may of course be unidentifiable 3. Squalus minor 4. Another Squalus minor 5. Megasqualus orpiensis 6. Triakis sp. 7. Possibly Premontreia degremonti? 8. Possibly Odontaspis winkleri? 9. No idea 10. Unidentified sand tiger 11. Unidentified sand tiger 12. Unidentified sand tiger 13. Unidentified sand tiger
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Slow day on the beach, not finding much of anything, when right before I turn around to head back I see a perfect 4” Meg sitting in ankle deep water! Total trip maker!
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Hi everyone! This is my first post here on the forum in what feels like forever. I'd like to be active here again, and thought there was no better way to kick it off than showcasing my meg tooth! Some of you may have already seen the tooth on my Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube, but I wanted to make a post on here as well. I found the tooth last week along Calvert Cliffs. It's approximately 4.1" slant height and in near perfect condition. It even has that iconic Calvert Blue color on the crown that I love so much! I've been dreaming about finding a tooth like this ever since I started collecting a few years ago, and my dream has finally come true! Check out the pictures below and the YouTube video if you'd like to see how I found it. Hopefully the first of many great finds this year!
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Recently, I haven't been having tremendous luck along the Calvert Cliffs, but I headed down to Matoaka Beach again yesterday and was rewarded with one of my best fossil hunts to date! I arrived around 10am, a couple of hours before low tide, and the Chesapeake Bay was as still as I've ever seen it in the year since I started fossil hunting. A little wave action can often be helpful to kick up fossils, so from the top of the cliffs I wasn't expecting much. But as it turned out, the water was extremely clear, which helped me find more submerged fossils than I usually find, and there were extensive exposed shell and gravel beds along the beach. Here's my first shark tooth find of the day--nothing out of the ordinary, but a good condition Carcharhinus sp. Less than an hour in, I found this nice whale tooth (my best so far) tumbling at water's edge. When you find a trip maker early on, it's a good day. And then I found a Meg (or probably a Chub)! It's missing most of the root and part of the right side, but this is my best one to date. The Meg was soon followed by this huge Hemi. It has a bit of root erosion but still-sharp serrations and measures over 1.4" -- roughly the same size as the biggest Hemi I've found to date. I love when there's a big ol' shark tooth just waiting for you on top of the sand. More to follow...
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This is from a two day trip to the same creek. The first trip I found some clues that there may be big teeth here due to the large ray plates I found (the first day was mostly rays so you can tell them apart kinda). I found a few small shark teeth and I called it a day. The next morning, I set out for the creek yet again and I knew I made a good decision because I was going to explore a new place. Sometimes it’s good to explore something uncharted another day. I found a lot of teeth including this beauty that tooth was absolutely flawless and came right out the formation. I found a lot more shark teeth among side it while sifting and a couple small fish vertebrae which are cool because you can’t get them with the 1/4 inch mesh. I also found a nice piece of otodus that is pathological and would have been wicked if it was complete. the backside here is where it shows it’s deformities. It looks broken but I’m further inspection the enamel is still there but the tooth itself is real jacked up. I also found a large shark vertebra and a piece of reptile bone since whales didn’t exist in this time period yet. This is all the stuff, including some petrified wood from the Cretaceous formation. I hope you guys enjoyed it! I hope to one day find a nice complete rib or maybe even a skull there.
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Hi all, I just made my first trip out to Purse State Park/Nanjemoy WMA in Maryland. I found quite a lot of sand tiger teeth, but a couple pieces I could use some help to ID. I’ve got a photo of all of them and some close-ups of each one. #1 is clearly bone, and I suspect reptile, but turtle or crocodile? #2 appears to have some glossy enamel covering on one part but is this a severely damaged shark tooth or something else? #3 had more of a tortuous, twisted crown than any of the sand tigers I found. Could this still be sand tiger or possibly goblin shark? #4 looks like it could be part of a plastron? #5 I at first thought was part of a ray dental plate but could it also be a plastron fragment? #6 I’m fairly sure is Cretolamna spp. but wanted to confirm. Thanks for any help!
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I found a couple of interesting fossil bones yesterday along the Calvert Cliffs (Miocene exposure) in Maryland. Any ideas to what these belonged? #1 - My guess is this one is a bird bone. It's smooth (inside and out) and hollow all the way through to the closed end. If this is from a bird, do you know what type of bone it is (anatomically)? And any thoughts on what type of bird it might be from? I realize that isolated and broken bones can't usually be identified too specifically, but this seems fairly large, so I'm wondering if there might be good candidates for type of bird. #2 - This spike-shaped/pointy bone is also at least partially hollow inside, though the walls of the bone are thicker/more robust than the one above. I'm not sure if the central cavity goes all the way through. I've only been able to confirm that it's a few centimeters deep, just past the longitudinal holes/borings on the outside of the bone; however, I think the cavity may extend further but is filled in with matrix (I don't have the tools handy at the moment to clean more of this out). Speaking of those holes on the outside, they're irregular/asymmetrical, and I'm guessing they're post-mortem invertebrate borings. As can be seen in the two photos on the bottom left there are two grooves on opposite sides that run the length of the bone--one of these is more distinct than the other, though the one on the other side might just be more worn. I haven't a clue what this one is, and would love to hear your thoughts!
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