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In the summer, my hunting strategies change. The Peace River is too fast and deep for successful hunting. I travel farther into Bone Valley, either land hunting or very remote lakes, rivers, creeks. Generally, I see no other hunters. I have a few spots that I know about but hunt sparsely and save as last resorts. I am having difficulty making time for hunting. Wife is away to SC, and I am on dog sitting duty, guests and relatives are arriving later this week and next. So, Monday was one of the few days I could go.. My hunting partner called Sunday night, had to back out. I went anyway, but when going solo into remote parts of Florida, I take extra precautions. Monday was a beautiful day, sunshine, very warm, and for whatever reasons, noseeums, mosquitoes and horse flies were not as active as they normally are... I went back to a location where I had super success years before. I was finding little shark teeth, ray teeth, broken barbs and denticles and little else. Then I popped a very nice barracuda tooth, one of my best... this shape is not as common as the other shape I find and I started wondering if it was from a different species. Searching the Internet, I found this research paper that used Barracuda fossils from UF_MNH for analysis. I also saw comments that scientists and volunteers were finding bony fishes including Barracuda at Montbrook and we on TFF have members in high places @digit. The paper is : https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347523589_New_Records_of_the_Genus_Sphyraena_Teleostei_Sphyraenidae_from_the_Caribbean_with_Comments_on_Dental_Characters_in_the_Genus It has this photo: A & B are symphyseal teeth, C thru I are "normal" teeth. I did not know that. I find many more symphyseals than normal Barracuda teeth. Back to the days hunting.. I got tired of this location after an hour, and moved 50 feet downstream.. I noted that there was gravel in the center and though I had dug here extensively years previously. So, I did not know why the gravel was there, but decided to try a sieve or two anyway. This screen is pretty full 4-5 shovel fulls. I am scraping some type of bluish clay material. It is the lighter stuff. I am always looking for black. Do you see it? How about now ? I saw it immediately, and paused to take an In_situ shot, just for TFF. Note the black root and gray blade. I have found Megs here before, Usually are bluish green and the roots lighten up a lot. I found this Blue 20 feet away , almost 2 years ago. Here is Monday's Meg, Both seem to have that lighter tip... I found a Tridactyl lower horse tooth in the next sieve. and it not matter how or why the gravel was there. I was finding good stuff and I would stay on this spot for the rest of the day. !!!!! I think this is a lower right m3, similar to example T, page 292 The Fossil Vertebrates of Florida. As you can imagine, I was really pleased. It was not quite over yet.. Back to finding little shark teeth, ray teeth, broken barbs and denticles, broken mammal teeth (likely horse). With 30 minutes to go, I picked up a chunky little tooth, no roots beat up. Did not recognize it and toss it into the collection bag without determining what it might be. At home, a couple of things occurred to me.. Minus the roots, this was basically a whole tooth because the photo of the root area has edges that are mostly unbroken.... the 2nd tooth has a ridge running down the right side with vertical striations.... I have seen that previously at this site. In February, Richard Hulbert identified the tooth on the right as "an upper cheek tooth of a rhino". I think this new tooth on the left is a premolar of a juvenile rhino. The two teeth were found 25 feet apart. Monday was a rather spectacular day. Life is like a box of chocolates. ......

Hello. I recently found what I believe to be a M2 or M3 from a Teleoceras Proterum!?? (Common name Archer Short-legged Rhino from the late Miocene) It was found in Manatee county, Florida. It is about 2” long (50mm) by 1.5” wide (38mm). Do you agree with this ID information? I am floored by this find Thanks for looking.