bthemoose Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Hi all, I'm hoping some of the resident experts here can help confirm or correct my IDs of the three fossil shark teeth and what I believe is a cetacean lumbar vert shown in the pictures below. I found these recently on a beach along the Calvert Cliffs in Maryland (Miocene exposure). Thanks for your help! For the shark teeth, I believe the the two on the left are both Carcharodon hastalis (though am more confident in my ID for #1) while the one on the right is possibly Isurus oxyrinchus though may also be Carcharias sp. All three have worn roots so I realize that may complicate the IDs. See pictures further below for scale bars and labial and side views of these. From pictures online, I believe this is a cetacean lumbar vertebra. The "bumpy" surface in the two lefthand photos also signifies that the epiphysis is missing, and thus this came from a juvenile, correct? Is it possible to further identify this as from a particular species or genus? Thanks in advance for your help! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthemoose Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 Just bumping this from the weekend in case anyone has insight into these fossils. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 Certainly looks like a dolphin or whale vert to me... I do not have a good sense of what size is maximum for dolphin and minimum for whale, but having seen @Boesse recent blog post, it may not be that simple...I note that the epiphysis on this vert is not fused , so young animal. Here is one of mine from a couple of months back, On the Makos, 99.9% of the Makos I find are Carcharodon hastalis, almost none are Isurus oxyrinchus, but the the few Isurus oxyrinchus that I do find look very different from yours Mine have fat elongated roots and are generally tilted off center. I think all of yours are Hastalis. 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthemoose Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 Thanks, @Shellseeker! So you think #3 is C. hastalis too? That was my initial thought when I found it, but I talked myself out of the ID as I wasn’t sure their crowns could be that narrow (recognizing that shape changes with position but I hadn’t seen one like this). How big is that vert in your photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 The vert in my photo is 4.3 3 inches in diameter. UPDATED !!!! Lets see if I can find some TFF skark experts in this discussion of makos. @Al Dente, @MarcoSr, @siteseer, @Northern Sharks The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BellamyBlake Posted July 16, 2020 Share Posted July 16, 2020 The first two look like Hastalis to me. I'm almost sure the third one is Hastalis too, but I would like to see some others chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bthemoose Posted July 16, 2020 Author Share Posted July 16, 2020 9 hours ago, Shellseeker said: The vert in my photo is 4.3 inches in diameter. Lets see if I can find some TFF skark experts in this discussion of makos. @Al Dente, @MarcoSr, @siteseer, @Northern Sharks That’s a big vert! Thanks for looping in others as well. 9 hours ago, BellamyBlake said: The first two look like Hastalis to me. I'm almost sure the third one is Hastalis too, but I would like to see some others chime in. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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