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Hello fossil community! I have had the pleasure of digging quite a bit in the Ernst Quarries. I unfortunately have broken some pieces while removing them from the matrix. I have looked through many pictures but can’t find good references for what these bones were and what they would have looked like for reconstruction. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I dig a ton, but know relatively little. Thank you!

While the Megalodon tooth seems to exist as THE find for many fossil hunters and/or amateur marine paleontologists alike (and rightly so!) it's never been my own personal "holy grail." However. My partner, who graciously tags along and searches with me whenever I drag him out on hunts often hours (or even days) of driving away, is absolutely enamored by the idea of finding one of these guys. I've heard many good things about Ernst Quarries/Sharktooth Hill and the private land surrounding it in Kern County, but I've also heard incredible things about Florida creek hunting - mostly Peace River and some, unfortunately, Top-Secret spots. We luckily have the opportunity right now to go on one (or both if we play our (credit) cards right) of these trips and was hoping those more experienced in the culture of "Meg Madness" would be able to provide any advice, pointers, opinions, comments, concerns, etc.?

A number of years back Tammy and I had a great day in the field digging for shark teeth at the Ernst Quarry in Bakersfield, CA. We were joined by longtime forum member Tony @ynot who drove down from northern CA to meet us. Those interested can read about that trip here: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/60863-shark-tooth-hill-ernst-quarry-hunt-on-2016-01-22/ A number of the nicer loose teeth were wire-wrapped into necklace pendants and given away as presents and a few teeth still in the sandy matrix were prepped out for display (some of which are presently on display in an exhibit at the FLMNH display museum). The bulk of the rest of the interesting teeth are being donated to the FLMNH collection as the museum's collection was a bit deficient in STH material (a few larger teeth donated over 50 years ago). As these are going into the museum's collection I want to have good IDs on the specimens. The hooked Cosmopolitodus (Isurus) planus teeth are reasonably distinctive and I think I have a handle on at least the obvious curved uppers. The rest of them I am not certain of the proper ID and I'm hoping for some help from folks who are very familiar with this locality. I'm starting out with the larger white/mako teeth and then I'll be sorting through the smaller ones. If I have questionable teeth in some of the smaller ones I'll add additional photos. I've labeled all of the teeth with numbers and letters so that there will be no confusion in identifying which tooth we are discussing. Looking forward to getting these teeth sorted out and also learning a bit more about the shark fauna of a site that I've had the fun of collecting (if only once). Cheers. -Ken All of the teeth in image 1 look to be the Hooked-tooth White/Mako (Cosmopolitodus planus) and seem to be all from the upper right quadrant of the jaw. More help on these would be greatly appreciated: Thanks for looking. Cheers. -Ken

My wife and I just returned from a trip out west (western USA for our international friends) which featured a trip to the famous Miocene site near Bakersfield; Ernst Quarry or Sharktooth Hill, whichever name you prefer. As most of you know this site it well known for the rich fauna of sharks teeth, marine mammal bones and other related items and has been written up numerous times on TFF going back over the years. We had originally planned this trip a year ago, but a family emergency caused us to reschedule. So we decided to try again this year and picked late April to try and avoid the "rainy" season and beat the start of the summer heat. One out of two isn't bad - haha. We had beautiful blue skies but unfortunately had an unseasonably early heat wave that had the temps climbing into the upper 90's! My main goal of this trip was to find some of the beautifully preserved, richly colored, good sized sharks teeth (Mako's being the most common) that I have seen millions of pictures of and read dozens of trip/ID reports about here on the Forum. It seemed with a diligent amount of work digging and sifting, I was sure to come away with a bagful of beauties! This is where my caution part comes in. We had a good trip, but the results were no where near our expectations. I have been fossil collecting for over 40 years and have had plenty of down days/visits/trips, but when we walked away with maybe a dozen teeth and the largest complete one at just over an inch long from a site that represents supposedly one of the richest around after a whole day of steady digging, suffice it to say, we were a bit let down. We worked steadily throughout the day, tried several different spots and outlasted everyone. As the day heated up most of the folks were gone by very early afternoon, we had the place to ourselves for the last couple of hours before we bailed out just after 4 pm (the car thermometer read 99 when we left). We had to be out by 5. From what I saw of about half the other collectors that I talked to, were similar results, a modest number of teeth, nothing very large. Someone may have found a ton of great stuff, but I did not hear or see it. So, my caution is not that this place is not good, don't go: no, not at all. It is to keep your expectations realistic. There is no doubt I oversold this to myself. I found some nice teeth as you will see below, just not the size or quantity that I thought was the norm out of here. It could be I had a down day, it could be I didn't know the best spots to dig, it could be the quarry just does not produce like it used to, it could be that I just didn't move enough dirt to support my expectations, it could be a lot of things. But when I raised my expectations to high levels on a trip half way across the country that this was the focus of, I guess I kind of set myself up. Keep it real!!! I mostly bring this up as I often see on here that people would love to go here, it is on their bucket list, etc, etc. Again, I'd encourage you to visit, just keep your expectations in line, dig as much as you possibly can, and you will probably find the mother lode! Ok, enough of my blathering. The trip was fun, we did find some nice teeth, the preservation of them is excellent for the most part and I am working my way through some matrix I brought back which contains some very cool little teeth in there. Here is what we found: The whole kit and caboodle with my tentative ID's scribbled on the paper towel. I will follow with close ups of most of them. This was actually the first tooth we found, just an edge sticking out of the chunk of matrix (on left). On the right is after a bit of prepping so you can see the whole tooth. I think I'm going to do a bit more shaving down but leave this in the matrix. The round object by the root is just a pebble that was in there. I also found another small sharks tooth as I was removing matrix that is no longer in the picture. These Cosmopolitodus hastalis are the most common tooth found in the Round Mountain Silt from what I read (and my 1 day experience). These Cosmopolitodus planus (Hooked or Curved Mako) were neat and more the size I though we would encounter. Unfortunately, neither of these are complete. These tiny ones we managed to see as we were sifting. Since my napkin writing I have learned they are indeed a Carcharhinus, but the species seems to be an ongoing topic of discussion (not uncommon for this genus from what I have found). In the matrix I am picking there are lots more of these but that will be a topic for a future Micro post. These three are some of my favorites, very neat little teeth. Since the napkin writing, I have found the the upper sharks tooth may not be Hemipristis but rather a Hexanchus upper anterior. If anyone can corraborate from this picture that would be great, otherwise I'll probably make an ID post for a couple of these items to sort them out. These small ones are also nice. I see I did not take a picture of the most diagnostic side of the Squalus, but it does have the finger like extension to below the root on the other side. I also have found several more of these in the fine matrix. And lastly for this group a neat little bone that I believe is a cetacean periotic. I saw another post in which @Boesse identified a similar looking one as Aulophyster morricei, but there were some differences between this one and that post which I don't know if its due to simple variation within the bone or it is a different animal. Again, if I can't get a confirmation or different ID based on this one picture, I'll be happy to create an ID thread. We also found a lot of bone, I brought home a bag full of some of the bigger chunks I found in one area. I only recognize some rib fragments (second pic) and a possible beat up vert (third pic in middle). I'm not sure what the rest of the fragments represent. And finally, just a quick bit on the matrix I brought back. I did a quick sieve separation in the field just to have a mix of different sizes. This turned out to be a waste of time as the matrix was too damp to properly sieve. When I got back home and had water available, I was able to quickly run it through a small series of sieves and get down to some pickable matrix. I used a window screen (about 12-14 mesh) and a 40 and 60 mesh sieve. 95% of the matrix was fine silt (hence the name of the Formation) and went through the 60 mesh and therefore contains nothing that I'm going to spend time on (60 mesh is 0.25 mm, too small for me to try and pick with the equipment and dexterity that I have). The material caught on the 13 mesh contained almost all the sharks teeth but only represented a small baggie of the couple gallon bags of matrix I was able to fit in my luggage. You can see in the picture below the small bag of matrix to the right and the little beaker contains about 26 cm3 of fossil material picked (about 17% of the bag volume). This is mostly small fragments of broken bone but there are lots of shark and ray teeth in there as well as a few other items (future post in Micro section). I have only looked at the 40 and 60 mesh material a little bit. The 40 has a few very small ray teeth, and some fish teeth (and more broken bone fragments). I have not seen much in the way of identifiable fossils in the 60 mesh material yet. That is all for now, thanks for following along. I appreciate any thoughts or comments on my ID's or anything else. Mike

Are these lemon shark teeth? Or black tip? Or something else entirely? How do you tell the difference between lemon and black tip shark teeth? These are from the temblor formation, slow curve ernst quarry.

Here is a selection of some of my finds from Sharktooth Hill near Bakersfield California. IDs would be appreciated.

Well, I am out here in Mojave, CA for work for the next 6-12+ months and since I cannot dive for fossils like I can back in Florida, I might as well get back to my roots and dig for them again. I am all set to go April 2nd & 3rd. I hope to see/meet any fellow members. I will be in my gray Jeep Grand Cherokee with Florida veteran Plate. I will try and document this trip and share it as much as possible. I figure I would make a list of items to bring, I welcome any and all comments from those that have done this before. First I will have a large straw hat and sunblock, I may even bring a canopy to put over my work site. I will also have a bandana to cover my mouth from dust, gloves, and safety glasses. Second, I will have my own rock pick, geo pick, rock hammer, chisels, folding shovel, sifter, bucket, and tinfoil to keep fossils and matrix together. Finally, I will have plenty of water, a folding chair, & kneepads. Any STH vets have anything else to add? maybe I might have missed something?

Hello, all! I see that there are already a few threads concerning the fluorescent or phosphorescent properties of some fossil, but I thought I'd share a video I took today. I just received a Convoy C8+ long wave 365nm UV flashlight, and so, naturally, I was going around the apartment to see just how disgusting my kitchen and bathroom look when revealed under long wave UV light, but also to take a look at the various rocks and fossils I've collected over the years. I was surprised to find that the teeth from Ernst Quarry, in Bakersfield, all fluoresce a light orange color- like cantaloupe- but even more surprised to see that they glowed briefly after removing the UV light. The video does not show the orange fluorescence- I don't know much about this, but it was just quickly shot with an iPhone 11 and would probably need some sort of lens filter to display what I saw- and the brief flare up you see when removing the UV light is just the iPhone trying to adjust for the change in lighting. I dunno, I thought this was pretty neat. I have a short wave UV field lamp on order, and that will produce different results, as a much lower amount of minerals fluoresce under long wave. What mineral are the Bakersfield teeth comprised of? 818431889_bakersfieldteethconvoyc8test.mp4

Sharktooth Hill Trip Report Part 1 – building the sifting table Hi everyone, After my first trip to Sharktooth Hill in June, I was hooked. I immediately started making plans to return and, this time I’d come better prepared. This forum has provided an amazing source of ideas and helpful people and inspired me to build a sifting table for my next trip to STH. A huge thanks to those who have helped me by answering questions, providing pictures and ideas, and helping me troubleshoot. I gathered as much info as I could and then tried to combine all the best ideas into one contraption to fit my needs. I’m excited to try this beast out next week! It’s big! The screen is 37.5” x 21” and the table stands about 4 feet tall but I will lower it if the height proves too high to load easily. I don’t want to sacrifice “wobbly-ness” though, because I’m hoping that’s going to do a lot of the sifting work for me. Plus, my son and I are 6’5” and 6’4” so a tall table should be ok. I used SCH 40 PVC and the 2 rectangular bases are glued while the 4 legs are removable to allow for compact storage/transport. In limited testing everything stayed together but I’ll bring some PVC glue with me in case I need to solidify it in the field. I'll also bring my PVC cutter for “disassembly” for the way home if need be. The bottom tier is ¼” mesh and has 6 “T” brackets to make sure it stays on top of the PVC frame. I bolted on a handle to allow it to be shaken one- or two-handed. There are no pointy parts on the inside (trying to avoid bleeding as much as I did on my last visit to STH). The top tier is ½” mesh and sits inside the bottom tier. Corner braces in the bottom tier (see above) allow the upper tier to sit low enough that it won’t dislodge but high enough that the contents can move freely across the bottom mesh. Initially I was disappointed that the large size and my inability to “tighten” that mesh caused it to sag noticeably once it was loaded up with soil. I remedied this with the addition of an adjustable bracket along the midpoint. But then when I put the top tier inside the bottom tier I realized I’d created a teeter-totter (doh!) and had to chisel out a groove on each side to allow it to fit in there. I’m very excited to go give it a try and I hope you all find this pre-trip report interesting. I’m happy to answer any questions and/or accept suggestions for improvement. And thanks again to all the helpful people on this forum whose previous pictures, design notes, and conversations encouraged me to attempt this (and make this post). I’ll send a follow up trip report after I get home. Cheers!

Recently back from my trip to the San Francisco Bay Area (San Carlos, CA) to visit with my wife's sister's family. The purpose for heading over from South Florida at this time of year was the opportunity to photograph Elephant Seals at their breeding colony at Año Nuevo State Park--which we did and I'll post photos in elsewhere on TFF. I had been reading a lot about Shark Tooth Hill on the forum and considered a side trip to go check this locality out while in California. After a little research online I found that Bakersfield, CA (where the Ernst Quarry is located) is only a 4 hour drive down I-5 through the San Joaquin Valley in central California. We planned on renting a car and charging up the iPod for a road trip listening to an accumulated cache of podcasts during the 8-hour round trip. Instead, we chose a more interesting alternative. My wife's sister and her husband both worked for one of the dot-com startups in the 1990's that actually worked out. As a result they were able to retire early, build their dream home in San Carlos, and buy a few toys to amuse themselves. My brother-in-law Bob had been interested in aviation and had his pilot's license for some time. Eight years ago was able to upgrade his ride to an Eclipse 500 personal jet. Money can't buy you happiness but it can get you some fun toys. Bob is always looking for a good excuse to take the plane out and so he offered to fly us to Bakersfield. This condensed the 4-hour road trip into a 40 minute transit at 17,500 feet. We arranged for a rental car to be available at the JetCenter when we arrived and, for the day at least, we were living the jet-set rock-star lifestyle. I guess true rock stars would have been picked up in a chauffeur-driven limo instead of driving off in an SUV and probably wouldn't have stayed at the Holiday Inn and had dinner at an inexpensive Mexican restaurant. But that's okay since I'm more of a rock hound than a rock star anyway. We took out some of the seats in the back of the plane and secured three 5-gallon buckets to the floor with straps to verify that we'd be able to carry back some matrix from Shark Tooth Hill. Tammy sat in the remaining seat in the back and I got to ride shotgun (co-pilot).

I have a couple other teeth in question. Any help is appreciated. Is this one a tiger shark? There are serrations.

Hi, I found this nice shark tooth at the Ernst Quarries in the Slow Curve. Not really sure about the identification, but it looks like a mako to me. The tooth is 2 inches long. Thanks.