More Cool Calvert Cliffs Finds!

[HemiHunter]

Got back out with my kids a couple of times last week to the Calvert Cliffs for some crabbing and fossil hunting.  The tides were really low so there was a lot more beach exposed than I've seen in awhile.  We were primed for some nice finds and weren't disappointed! There was so much shell line and tidal bottom exposed, though, it was almost hard to pick where we wanted to search. Everywhere looked good! Anyway, we combed the prime areas as best we could and ended up with some really great teeth, verts, and a bunch of nice rib fragments for some reason. Teeth highlights were a really sweet giant white (C. Plicatilis) tooth -- I think -- a couple of cow shark teeth, and, of course, some great hemipristis for the Hemihunter! We picked up a couple of cool fish verts, too, but I could use help with ID on these--neither are tuna, I don't think. Also, what I thought at first was just another piece of ray plate (ho hum) turned out to be a chunk of ray barb, which I have never found before.  I was glad my spidey sense told me to take a closer look at that one.  We also pulled a few cetacean verts out of the tidal rubble, one still with some process attached, which was neat. Rolling over some clay chunks in search of hiding teeth paid off when we uncovered half of what must have been a beefy 3" meg--before it got weathered to heck.  Still, it was half a meg!  Finally, we collected another little mystery (to me) tooth with a small cusp and a really fat, triangular root.  Any ideas on what that one is would be appreciated.  Oh, we also came across a 6" blue crab that had just shed minutes before.  It was so soft it couldn't even hold up a claw out of the water and felt like jello.  Well, we brought that guy home, floured and fried him up whole, and sprinkled on some Old Bay.  Delicious!

 

I pulled together our best finds below. Enjoy the pics!  

[Tidgy's Dad]

Great finds, you had a good couple of days. 

[Praefectus]

Great finds!

[Fossildude19]

Mmmm. Crab cakes.  

Sorry. Great fossils!

Thanks for sharing them with us. 

 

[Al Dente]

7 hours ago, HemiHunter said:

Finally, we collected another little mystery (to me) tooth with a small cusp and a really fat, triangular root.  Any ideas on what that one is would be appreciated.

It is an anterior Physogaleus contortus.

[jcbshark]

Nice finds  and mmmmmm soft crabs!

[PrehistoricWonders]

Nice finds! Sounds like a fun trip!!!

[HemiHunter]

8 hours ago, Al Dente said:

It is an anterior Physogaleus contortus.

Thanks @Al Dente ! I can see the mystery tooth being  P. Contortus-- but maybe symphyseal rather than anterior?  I saw that you and @Daryl commented on a similar tooth back in the archives.  

[Al Dente]

3 hours ago, HemiHunter said:

Thanks @Al Dente ! I can see the mystery tooth being  P. Contortus-- but maybe symphyseal rather than anterior?  I saw that you and @Daryl commented on a similar tooth back in the archives.  

Could be symphyseal.

[FossilsAnonymous]

11 hours ago, Al Dente said:

It is an anterior Physogaleus contortus.

Yup. Have a couple from brownies, although I myself would call it symphyseal.

[Planko]

Very nice. I was only able to make it there once when I lived in MD. Nothing that good found. Just shells for me. Congrats!

[Clint08]

Great looking makos and love the verts! That meg would’ve been a killer.