Jump to content

hokietech96

Recommended Posts

I needed something to satisfy my itch since I still cannot get out.  So i had purchased a box of matrix from Lee Creek.  I spent the weekend seperating the matrix into 4 different sizes.  I was excited to try my smaller double decker sifter and it worked perfect. I also used that over a window screen.  I found a ton of new items that I do not have in my collection.  Including my first croc tooth.  It is super tiny but it is my first.  These are my finds after my first run through.  I think I am going to have to get some type of magnifying glass for the smaller stuff.  Any feedback on incorrect ID's is much appreciated.  Enjoy the pics.

IMG_E0896.thumb.JPG.05e48279304e579e6c87e85a57fb117a.JPG

 

Sawshark - Pristiophorous

IMG_E0899.thumb.JPG.783a0361bc052f9573111b63f90a8a7a.JPG

 

Croc Tooth

IMG_E0900.thumb.JPG.35d765ce8e9e3c52b87ecc4ff53b5c5f.JPG

 

Basking Shark - Cetorhinus maximus

IMG_E0904.thumb.JPG.15cd22112d3e500613d39cdc0c270310.JPG

 

Whale Shark - Rhincodon Typus

IMG_E0905.thumb.JPG.f7a09e0b5dd1e95cd09af37aee870691.JPG

 

Dolphin Tooth

IMG_E0912.thumb.JPG.a0891075e232cf79a36c504141854353.JPG

 

Hammerhead - Sphyrna Zygaena

IMG_E0911.thumb.JPG.1926dc400793595240fd30145d0af982.JPG

 

Mako

IMG_E0909.thumb.JPG.ce297bcc4278a93dec5898cb45e13a40.JPG

 

  • I found this Informative 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Your croc tooth is probably a fish tooth. Your Rhincodon is a Physogaleus contortus tooth. I would like to see more views of your basking shark tooth. It looks interesting.

  • I found this Informative 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Al Dente  Thank you so much for your feedback.  I more picks of the the three items you mentioned.  The one that I thought was a whale shark looks exactly like the picture on Elasmo:  

r_typus.jpg

Let me know if these pics change your mind any.  Thanks for looking at them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can see the typical contorted blade that gives Physogaleus contortus its name. You can also see serrations that Rhincodon won't have. Your new pics of the basking shark makes me fairly sure that this is a symphyseal tooth from Hemipristis. There is only one croc found at Lee Creek and I've never seen a tiny tooth from one. I'm fairly confident your tooth is a fish tooth.

 

 

cont.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Al Dente Thanks so much for the education.  I did see those serrations after I sent the picture to you.  It is crazy how much the shape is similar to the whale shark.  The symphyseal tooth looks identical to the pic on elasmo.  Here I was all confident, throwing shark names around and I was still wrong. Haha.  Thanks for your help.:)

 

this is the pic from elasmo:

bh-ceto.jpg

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great finds. I like the dolphin and the hammerhead teeth. Nice to hear that your sifters are working. 

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Al Dente Do you think the fish tooth can be a pinfish

 

sk-g-107-sml.jpgFig 1:  Lagodon sp pinfish  —  tooth
Lee Creek fauna, Aurora, NC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure about this tooth. My first thought was that it is from a megamouth shark (Megachasma sp.) Looking at the elasmo picture makes me think it might be cetorhinus. Maybe someone else can comment on what is more definitively. 

 

IMG_E0904.thumb.JPG.15fc8c9bef4a3c43c1fc144475a947ec.jpg.211861ee0a02aa67fef35c8ede6f5841.jpg

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Somebody has been a busy Beaver.:)

  • I found this Informative 1

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, hokietech96 said:

@Al Dente Do you think the fish tooth can be a pinfish

 

sk-g-107-sml.jpgFig 1:  Lagodon sp pinfish  —  tooth
Lee Creek fauna, Aurora, NC

Not a pinfish. Your tooth is more cone shaped and it looks like it is chipped near the top.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here are some examples of modern basking shark teeth. These are from the shark-references.com website.

 

 

57F4448A-F6F9-45C3-8B93-8A30CC88CD9E.jpeg

A466863E-D177-45CE-9437-973960CBF847.jpeg

  • I found this Informative 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Your croc tooth is probably a fish tooth. Your Rhincodon is a Physogaleus contortus tooth. I would like to see more views of your basking shark tooth. It looks interesting.

 

I agree with Eric on fish tooth and P. contortus.  Although interesting, your Cetorhinus tooth looks more like a sandtiger symphyseal tooth.  Also your sawshark rostral tooth looks more like the broken crown of an oral shark tooth. 

 

Marco Sr.

 

Edit:  Cetorhinus tooth (4 mm by 2 mm) from the Miocene of Maryland for comparison.  ID confirmed by Dr. Bruce Welton.

 

 

5ece4bbc35712_Cetorhinussp.14mmX2mm.thumb.jpg.180b71653d449aa0ff7e9dfef728ac57.jpg

5ece4bbe3eed1_Cetorhinussp.24mmX2mm.thumb.jpg.0a273a03dfc722b7c2a145a96b8d65df.jpg

5ece4bbfaa20d_Cetorhinussp.34mmX2mm.jpg.f499ae15516adeb733d622c49e34cb43.jpg

5ece4bc14a002_Cetorhinussp.44mmX2mm.jpg.003e7d65a5cfc764c06603f003b0d8f6.jpg

 

 

 

Cetorhinus maximus from Welton 2014:

 

5ece5de3df97c_Cetorhinusmaximus1.png.e782156cc060291deb3dd8565db25728.png

5ece5de5e052f_Cetorhinusmaximus2.png.a3a756fbefc74927137970c2a8cc763a.png

 

  • I found this Informative 2

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@MarcoSrGreat information.  Thank you so much.  It is very interesting how similiar it looks to r4/r11 in the chart above.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Al Dente @MarcoSr

Thanks again for your feedback.  It is greatly appreciated.  Just wanted to give an update.  I dont want to muddy the water but I had sent some pictures to the Aurora Museum asking if they knew what type of fish the tooth came from and this is the response:  

 
Oh wow!  It is a baby croc tooth!  The director would like you to share it on your Facebook if you have it, and tag the museum in it.  She says (and she is a Paleontologist so she should know!) that the tooth shows signs of feeding wear. Thanks again for sharing!
 
I also sent a picture regarding the symphyseal tooth and this is the response:
 
Congratulations!  You found the elusive Whale Shark tooth!  Lots of people spend a lot of time searching for these small elusive teeth.  It's a great specimen.  We have never had anyone to our knowledge find a basking shark in our Aurora material, but they do look a little similar to the whale shark tooth.  Thanks for sharing the pictures with us, and we are so glad you enjoyed your fossil kit.
 
Based on the response from the museum, does it make you look at the two items differently?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, hokietech96 said:

Based on the response from the museum, does it make you look at the two items differently?

I don’t agree with their identifications on those two items.

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Al Dente I found another fish tooth this morning. It looks exactly like the other one but with less damage.  Any thoughts of what fish it could come from? IMG_E0949.thumb.JPG.a23c951eb831aa2d402b68d28195b66e.JPG

IMG_E0950.JPG.8d5fd89c163eb92dcc1b6b6948a24948.JPG

IMG_E0951.JPG.c0514f8f1c67c4102c405f5c9a68c80a.JPG

the one on the right is from yesterday

IMG_0952.thumb.JPG.40d8f0bd2d5806cca251e234fb752575.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Al Dente said:

I don’t agree with their identifications on those two items.

 

20 hours ago, hokietech96 said:

@Al Dente @MarcoSr

 
Based on the response from the museum, does it make you look at the two items differently?

 

I also don't agree with their identifications.  I probably have fifty or so fish teeth like the one in your picture from matrix from Aurora.  They are definitely not baby croc teeth.  I'm not sure what tooth they are talking about in the second response.  None of your posted specimens are whale shark teeth.  Below are pictures of fossil whale shark teeth from matrix from Aurora and extant whale shark teeth:

 

two Aurora whale shark teeth (3.5 mm):

 

 

5ecfc68f77b18_Rhincodoncftypus3_5mm2.jpg.0616063f099171742b00d684b321ce96.jpg

 

5ecfc691c033c_Rhincodoncftypus3_5mm3.jpg.17161c9de0647b8ff092a4ab435b38f7.jpg

 

 

two extant whale shark teeth Rhincodon typus (4 mm) and a section of teeth from the jaw:

 

 

5ecfc5bc902d1_Rhincodontypus(WhaleShark)4mm2.thumb.jpg.c4f936bb6e9c513c286e30a0abf240dc.jpg

5ecfc5be63d08_Rhincodontypus(WhaleShark)4mm3.thumb.jpg.716d0690db6ca9b6142b91667f72a74e.jpg

5ecfc5c06e71a_Rhincodontypus(WhaleShark)4mm.thumb.jpg.affbe7596a4276f1b64d486f0d8cf4eb.jpg

 

 

 

5ecfc5c4684ab_Rhincodontypus(WhaleShark)24mm2.thumb.jpg.b2f1009f8371491f6c78cfb454f840cb.jpg

5ecfc5c6e5721_Rhincodontypus(WhaleShark)24mm.thumb.jpg.fed823c8d8645792a219374d13b3227f.jpg

5ecfc5c8e1320_RRhincodontypus(WhaleShark)24mm3.thumb.jpg.2720630fa717a330382f59bc663272c3.jpg

 

 

5ecfc5c2b9b6d_Rhincodontypus(WhaleShark)jawsection25mmby20mm.thumb.jpg.f6940a36120b9352061ffe187beb44c1.jpg

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 3

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@MarcoSr Thanks for the feedback and the pic.  I agree as well that it is a fish tooth.  Considering I found another one this morning that looks exactly the same.  I know my luck is not that good. The pictures you posted are amazing.  The tooth in question does have the similar shape to the ones in your picture.  It is such a unique tooth you would think it would be easy to ID.  Maybe it is fish and not shark tooth.  

IMG_E0920.JPG.fa643dc625f15fd71c1b221777e3f248.JPGIMG_E0921.JPG.39340ee904a20a73b26f5eca0a8fce3a.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, hokietech96 said:

@MarcoSr Thanks for the feedback and the pic.  I agree as well that it is a fish tooth.  Considering I found another one this morning that looks exactly the same.  I know my luck is not that good. The pictures you posted are amazing.  The tooth in question does have the similar shape to the ones in your picture.  It is such a unique tooth you would think it would be easy to ID.  Maybe it is fish and not shark tooth.  

IMG_E0920.JPG.fa643dc625f15fd71c1b221777e3f248.JPGIMG_E0921.JPG.39340ee904a20a73b26f5eca0a8fce3a.JPG

 

As both Eric and I have said this is an interesting tooth.  I definitely think it is a shark tooth.  It definitely doesn't look like a whale shark tooth to me because of how the root sits on the crown.  It is both unusual and uncommon so it is not easy to ID.  I do think it is a symphyseal shark tooth.  Symphyseal shark teeth tend to have unusual and very varied features and are uncommon fossil finds because of their very small size.  It would have helped a lot with an ID if the root was more complete. 

 

Marco Sr.

  • I found this Informative 1

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@MarcoSrThanks for all the valuable feedback.  Very much appreciated!  I have zero experience with symphseal teeth and this seems to be my first one in my collection. So that is very exciting for me.  Thanks again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@hokietech96 I agree with @Al Dente that this tooth is likely a Hemipristis symphyseal tooth. These are an occasional find in matrix from there. I have probably found a hundred or so in 20 years. What is the physical size of the tooth? 

As far as Cetorhinus or Megachasma I have exactly one of each found in that same 20 years. Both found in matrix that was collected from there about 20 years ago. Both of these teeth are smaller than 8mm. 

 

  • I found this Informative 1

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...