Sharks in Minnesota?

[Praefectus]

Hello. I was wondering if I could get any more information on this tooth. I purchased it from our favorite auction site. The seller described the tooth as unknown genus/species and from the Cretaceous Coleraine Formation of Coleraine, Minnesota.

 

I was unaware that Minnesota had Cretaceous sites? I almost didn’t believe the location provided. I looked up the Coleraine Formation and found that it was Late Cenomanian in age and located really close to Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Based on the age and morphology, I have IDed the tooth as Cretolamna appendiculata.

 

Does anyone else know about Cretaceous shark teeth in Minnesota? Please share anything you know and post pictures of other finds if you have them.

 

 

[piranha]

Case, G.R. 2001

A New Selachian Fauna from the Coleraine Formation (Upper Cretaceous/Cenomanian) of Minnesota. Palaeontographica Abt. A, 261:103-112  PDF LINK

 

Sloan, R.E. 2005

Minnesota Fossils and Fossiliferous Rocks. Chapter 6: Cretaceous. Privately Printed by the Author. pp. 167-202  PDF LINK

[andy_mnemonic]

The Hill Annex Mine State Park has a fossil tour where you can collect cretaceous fossils including shark teeth.  It is up in Calumet, MN.

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hill_annex/index.html

[Praefectus]

Thanks for the info. I will have to check out the tour. 

[siteseer]

There are also these references:

 

Sloan, R.E.  1964.

The Cretaceous System in Minnesota. Report of Investigations 5. Minnesota Geological Survey.

 

Case, G.R.  1965.

An occurrence of the Sawfish Onchopristis dunklei in the Upper Cretaceous of Minnesota.  Jour. Minn. Acad. Sci., 32: 183.

 

Setterholm, D.R.  1992.

Kaolinitic Clays of the Minnesota River Valley and southwestern Minnesota. Guidebook Series No. 19. 29th Annual Meeting of the Clay Minerals Society and the Soil Science Society of America. Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minnesota Geological Society.

 

In fact I provided these references within a thread about Cretodus from several years ago.  It veered off course a bit discussing sharks from Minnesota:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/20121-fossil-cretodus-shark-teeth/&

 

And this thread which has a link to the Sloan paper I noted:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/105590-fossil-fishes-of-the-late-cretaceous-coleraine-formation-mesabi-iron-range-minnesota/&tab=comments#comment-1172925

 

Jess