Squalicorax advent calendar

[sander]

Today's teeth are a mix of Upper Campanian and Lower Maastrichtian teeth.

However, I am not sure on their identification and I also do not know if the information on the formations is correct.

The S. kaupi does remind me of S. falcatus, but that is not possible if it indeed came from the Navesink Formation. 

Perhaps someone here can tell if the preservation of these teeth are similar to teeth found in the formations mentioned here?

 

Squalicorax kaupi (left)

Navesink Formation

Lower Maastrichtian

Big Brook, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States of America

 

Squalicorax pristodontus (right)

Wenonah Formation

Upper Campanian

Big Brook, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States of America

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

[sander]

For today we have really entered the lower Maastrichtian substage, and we do so with two special teeth.

The labels and the green box are all original and belong to these fossils.

I do not know exactly how old the labels are, but my estimate is that they can be dated to 1900-1940.

Also note how different both teeth have been preserved.

While one (right) clearly comes from a Mergel layer, the other one (left) is very rolled and has a totally different colour.

Perhaps the labels of the teeth are incorrect (perhaps the one in the Green box is actually from the Upper Maastrichtian of Dutch Limburg or Belgian Luik/Liège/Lüttich), but it is also possible that the rolled one came from a Horizont (a layer between two Mergel members) as is sometimes the case in the Upper Maastrichtian quarries of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Teeth from certain Horizonts tend to be rolled much more and can also have a different colour to the teeth that are found in the other layers at those locations.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus (x2)

Ciply-Malogne Phosphatic Chalk Formation

Lower Maastrichtian

Ciply, Henegouwen/Hainaut/Hennegau, Belgium

 

See you tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

[sander]

Today another Lower Maastrichtian tooth.

It comes from Ben Guerir (Ganntour Basin) in Morocco, and is older than the more usual Squalicorax teeth from Khouribga (Ouled Abdoun Basin), which is a phosphate basin more to the north of the Ganntour Basin.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus

Phosphate Deposits

Lower Maastrichtian

Ben Guerir, Rehamna, Morocco

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

[sander]

We have now come to the final substage, the Upper Maastrichtian.

For today we are staying in Morocco.

They seem to be S. pristodontus but perhaps the left and right teeth from the lower row could actually be S. microserratus.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus (x3)

Squalicorax pristodontus / Squalicorax microserratus (x2)

Oil Shale

Bakrit, Ifrane, Morocco

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

[sander]

Today is another day in Morocco.

I think everyone has got at least one fossil from this location in his collection.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus (x3)

Squalicorax bassani (top row, right)

Couche III

Upper Maastrichtian

Khouribga, Khouribga, Morocco

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

[Tidgy's Dad]

2 hours ago, sander said:

Today is another day in Morocco.

I think everyone has got at least one fossil from this location in his collection.

Indeed I do.

But I really must visit Bakrit, it's only a two and a half hour drive from Fes.

I continue to enjoy this thread. 

[sander]

4 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Indeed I do.

But I really must visit Bakrit, it's only a two and a half hour drive from Fes.

I continue to enjoy this thread. 

 

Good to see people sticking around from the beginning!

I have never been to Bakrit, but it seems to be a very fossil rich location (like any other Moroccan location apparently haha).

[sander]

I am a bit uncertain about the identifications of both teeth of today.

The left one could be a S. kaupi or S. pristodontus and the right one is either a S. yangaensis or S. bassani.

 

Squalicorax Kaupi/pristodontus (left)

Squalicorax yangaensis/bassani (right)

Severn Formation

Upper Maastrichtian

Bowie, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States of America

 

See you tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

[sander]

Today's tooth is a very nice one, from my own country, from the type location of the Maastrichtian stage.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus

Horizont van Lichtenberg

Upper Maastrichtian

ENCI Quarry, Maastricht, Limburg, The Netherlands

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

[sander]

About 13km to the east of the Enci quarry there is an underground tunnel quarry in the village of Sibbe.

The layers exploited here are a bit younger than those at the ENCI quarry.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus (x2)

Emael Member

Upper Maastrichtian

Sibbergroeve, Sibbe, Limburg, The Netherlands

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

[sander]

Today's tooth comes from the Horizont of Laumont, which lies between the Emael Member and the overlying Nekum Member.

It was found in a open-air quarry that lies 3,5km to the west of the Sibbergroeve.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus

Horizont of Laumont

Upper Maastrichtian

Groeve 't Rooth, Het Rooth, Limburg, The Netherlands

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

[sander]

Today's tooth was found about 3km west of the ENCI quarry, 500m across the Dutch border in Belgium.

The place is called Vroenhoven and this tooth was found in about 1984 (before the enlargement of the canal) at canal level (I guess that is water level) on the east-side of the canal near the Vroenhoven bridge. According to this article:

https://docplayer.nl/17890173-Krijtontsluitingen-ten-zuiden-van-maastricht.html

and this stratigraphy (page 12):

http://natuurcultuur.nl/download?type=document&docid=568024

It was found in the Meerssen member.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus

Meerssen Member

Upper Maastrichtian

Vroenhoven, Limburg/Limbourg, Belgium

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

 

[sander]

Today is the last chronological entry of this topic.

After this there will come some trivial locations and new additions.

I am still doubting on adding my Pseudocorax teeth in this topic, or creating another topic for them.

 

Today's teeth were probably found in the Horizont of Vroenhoven, which is the youngest layer in the Maastrichtian, before it becomes Danian in this area.

The are said to have been found at "Valkenburg" but there were no open air quarries in that village in the 1980's (when they were found). It is likely that either quarry Blom or Curfs quarry is the actual location where these teeth were found.

 

Squalicorax pristodontus (x2)

Horizont of Vroenhoven

Upper Maastrichtian

Valkenburg, Limburg, The Netherlands

 

See you guys tomorrow,

 

Sander

 

[sander]

Today's tooth is a strange one.

It is said to have been found at the beach of Cadzand, the Netherlands.  

This is a location that is normally known for Isurus and Megalodon teeth.

The person who owned this tooth before me had bought it from a fossil shop where he took it from a box of teeth that were all from Cadzand.

Perhaps it accidentally ended up in that box, but apparently it does happen sometimes that cretaceous fossils (probably from England or from glacial deposits) wash up on Dutch beaches.

Therefore I decided to buy this tooth, because it perhaps might really have been found at Cadzand.

 

Squalicorax kaupi

Unknown Formation

Lower Santonian - Upper Maastrichtian

Cadzand, Zeeland, The Netherlands

 

See you guys tomorrow for the last entry in this topic (until I can get new teeth from somewhere),

 

Sander

 

 

[sander]

Today is the last post in this topic for a while.

I received these teeth last week.

They come from Sougraigne, and one is so deformed that it looks very much like a Galeocerdo. 

However, I think it is a Squalicorax yangaensis. The tooth also has the same preservation as the other teeth, so I do not think that it is a Galeocerdo from another location.

I do not know from which member it came, perhaps some one who has serached there can tell me? I am doubting between the marnes ferrugineuses and the marnes bleues, but because the fossil I already have from the marnes ferrugineuses shows a different preservation, I think these must come from the marnes bleues?

 

Squalicorax kaupi (left and right)

Squalicorax yangaensis (middle)

Marnes Bleues?

Upper Santonian

Sougraigne, Aude, France

 

Of course I am willing to buy more Squalicorax teeth, so if you have got some spare teeth, do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Hopefully I can post a new location soon,

Until next time,

Sander

 

  

[t-tree]

Thank-you for your squalicorax advent calendar.

 

Cheers John

[Tidgy's Dad]

I have really enjoyed this thread too. 

Thanks for posting. 

Here's hoping for many more entries in the future.

[sander]

15 hours ago, t-tree said:

Thank-you for your squalicorax advent calendar.

 

Cheers John

 

8 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

I have really enjoyed this thread too. 

Thanks for posting. 

Here's hoping for many more entries in the future.

 

Thanks guys, I sure hope more will come.

In the meantime, I will start up a (much shorter) topic on my Pseudocorax collection.

Perhaps I will see you there,

Kind regards,

Sander

[siteseer]

This is a great review of various Squalicorax species across its chronologic range with a number of localities around the world represented.  A few notes:

 

Like you, I tend to adhere to the "old names" which may in fact be "umbrellas" or "wastebaskets" but when you say "falcatus" or "kaupi" to a shark tooth collector familiar with Cretaceous genera, we understand the morphological range might indicate more than one species represented but we also understand sticking to the old name pending further examination.  With shark teeth there is a tendency to want to give a new name to teeth with crowns that are little narrower or a little broader or those with a different degree of serratedness but we are not looking at the whole body of the shark.  Modern sharks aren't defined by their teeth.  It's probably better to be conservative with the naming of species that died out long before humans arrived.

 

The teeth from Edgemont, South Dakota are good to have because collecting that locality is no longer allowed.  I think it is Bureau of Land Management land or national park land now. 

 

The Turner is a member of the Carlile Formation.

 

Years ago, a fossil dealer at one of the Tucson shows had a mineral flat full of teeth from Edgemont - mostly one species of Ptychodus (P. whipplei).  I have a small matrix piece from there with an S. falcatus tooth on it.  It was one of the first fossils I bought in 1987, back when the Nature Company and Natural Wonders natural history stores were in malls in the U.S.

 

Jess

[siteseer]

Here's a photo that was sent to me some time ago.  It was identified as a symphyseal tooth of Squalicorax from Edgemont, South Dakota.  The tooth is about 6-7 mm high.  I have a near-identical tooth from there and also have a symphyseal from a site in Mississippi.  They are tough to photograph.  I don't remember who sent me this photo but at least I saved it separately.

 

Jess

[sander]

That tooth is very weird indeed, certainly the cusps are normally never on Squalicorax. Does it have serrations though?

And indeed, The Edgemont location is not accesible anymore. Teeth from there however can still be found on online etc. so it was apparently a very rich site.

Therefore I do not think that it is my most rarest location. 

 

Kind regards,

Sander

[siteseer]

I'm sorry for the delay.  I didn't notice your reply and posts can be bumped to back pages quickly sometimes.  Add to that, I might not check back for a few days or up to a week.

 

I have only that photo of that tooth but I have a tooth much like it with lateral cusps.  Under good magnification I can see that my tooth is not serrated.  It might be somewhat worn but I see no indication of serrations having been present.

 

Yes, the Edgemont locality/localities were very productive.  When I started collecting in the late 80's, you could get a number of specimens from there from some collectors.

 

I look forward to more posts from you in this thread.

 

Jess

[sander]

Hi Jess,
Maybe it is not a squalicorax symphyseal tooth then? Who identified it?
it is a bit weird that only the symphyseal teeth would have two side cusps and no serrations while the other squalicorax teeth are always serrated and do not have such side cusps.

I should post more of my specimens, since my last post here I have received a few more. But getting the correct information is apparently very time consuming.

Kind regards,

Sander

[siteseer]

On 3/6/2022 at 2:00 AM, sander said:

Hi Jess,
Maybe it is not a squalicorax symphyseal tooth then? Who identified it?
it is a bit weird that only the symphyseal teeth would have two side cusps and no serrations while the other squalicorax teeth are always serrated and do not have such side cusps.

I should post more of my specimens, since my last post here I have received a few more. But getting the correct information is apparently very time consuming.

Kind regards,

Sander

 

Hi Sander,

 

I considered that it might not be a Squalicorax but it was identified as such by an experienced researcher.  The morphology is very unusual so it is possible that it belongs to a jaw position not normally seen in an established genus.  In fact, I haven't seen that tooth form from outside Edgemont.  Squalicorax might have had a symphyseal position but it was in the process of losing it as it diverged from its ancestor.  Since Squalicorax lacked serrations in its earliest known form, it's possible a reduced tooth becoming vestigial even millions of years later might not have serrations.  Losing that position left the dentition more efficient at cutting - more like a long saw blade - and saved a little on energy expenditure.   

 

Yes, it is often not easy or impossible to determine things like the age of one Cenomanian tooth relative to another, for instance.  It's unlikely that you are given stratigraphic information that precise and it might not be possible in the first place because it's a river find or washed down a cliff where a very thick formation is exposed.  Some things can be figured out with effort but many collectors understand that it's great to know just that's from some time in the Cenomanian.

 

I like your thread so much I'm thinking of showing many of my Squalicorax as well.  I can start a new thread but would like to link it to yours to make sure others know the inspiration. 

 

Jess

[sander]

Hi Jess,
yes that is possible. I have yet to see the first articulated squalicorax jaw so there are maybe some surprises on the different shapes of the symphyseal teeth.

I still intend to show the other Squalicorax teeth (and Pseudocorax teeth from my other topic) but I hope someone can identify them first before I put them here. It's really hard to distinguish between the species at several periods in time so I do not dare to identify them myself anymore haha.

And yes you can show your own squalicorax teeth in a different topic. I first thought it might be handy to put them here, but I am not sure. still doubting what would be more handy. at least the title of this topic could be better, its not an advent calendar anymore haha.