fossilsonwheels Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 I have learned so much and enjoy the Squaliformes thread so much, that i wanted to get a start on the next one. I am very curious about the Orectolobiformes fossils that are lurking in the collections of TFF members. Carpet Sharks are not only represented by teeth but there are also opportunities for far more complete specimens, especially from the Cretaceous of Lebanon. The goal of this thread is show off our fossils but also exchange information, learn and in general just appreciate some of the sharks less frequently seen on TFF. Orectolobiformes fossils date back as far as the Early Jurassic of Europe. Early genera include Folipistrix, Annea, Pseudospinax, Ornatoscyllium, and Palaeobrachaelurus. There is a pretty good amount of diversity during the Cretaceous, including North America. I have had good luck finding Orectolobiformes teeth by searching micro matrix from Texas. Several genera also come out of Lebanon as complete fossils. There are some great Cenozoic locations that produce multiple genera like Morocco, the Nanjemoy formation, the Tallahatta formation, and Lee Creek. I am sure others can provide further insights into good locations for Carpet Shark fossils. The modern Orectolobiformes are a fairly diverse group of sharks and they have some cool adaptations. There are 7 extant families, 13 genera and 46 species. Some members of this order are really beautiful with interesting colors and patterns. The largest fish in the sea is a Carpet Shark, of course the Whale Shark. It is the only only filter feeder in the order. Nurse Sharks use chemosensory organs to find their prey. Wobbegongs use stealth and excellent camouflage to avoid predators and be very effective hunters. Perhaps the coolest adaptation in this order and possibly the coolest shark adaptation anywhere comes from the ability of Bamboo Sharks to walk. Many Bambbo Sharks can use their pectoral find to walk along the ocean floor and a few can walk over land. The Epaulette Sharks will walk from tide pool to tide pool when they have to. They also have the remarkable ability to turn off certain neural functions in order to deal with hypoxia, a result of their extremely shallow water habitats. They can go a full air with no oxygen with no permanent damage. Anyway, on to the fossils.... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Our earliest Orectolobiformes fossils are Jurassic and come from the UK. They were identified as Cretorectolobus but I think that is incorrect. I researched this quite a bit and compared mine to the publications on Ringstead Bay teeth. I believe the correct ID to be Pseudospinax so that’s what I’m going with for now. Pseudospinax sp Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Ringstead Bay Weymouth England 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 Overview of this group Scroll down the center of page http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/ecology/id-orectolobiformes.htm 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhysicist Posted October 22, 2020 Share Posted October 22, 2020 Yes, we've got nice carpet sharks from the Cretaceous of Texas. I've found a few, all Cantioscyllium decipiens, but only have a picture of one (orange): 6 "Argumentation cannot suffice for the discovery of new work, since the subtlety of Nature is greater many times than the subtlety of argument." - Carl Sagan "I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." - Richard Feynman Collections: Hell Creek Microsite | Hell Creek/Lance | Dinosaurs | Sharks | Squamates | Post Oak Creek | North Sulphur River | Lee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone Instagram: @thephysicist_tff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 29 minutes ago, Troodon said: Overview of this group Scroll down the center of page http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/ecology/id-orectolobiformes.htm Very cool overview. Thank you Frank !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 On 10/22/2020 at 7:01 PM, ThePhysicist said: Yes, we've got nice carpet sharks from the Cretaceous of Texas. I've found a few, all Cantioscyllium decipiens, but only have a picture of one (orange): Very nice example !! The Cretaceous of Texas is a great way to add Carpet Sharks to a collection. Pretty good diversity. I’ve found a couple of Cantioscyllium plus a couple Chiloscyllium and two that could be Plicatoscyllium. Thanks for adding to the thread ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Chiloscyllium greeni Cretaceous Atco Formation Texas Speaking of Texas Carpet Sharks, here are a couple of Bamboo Shark teeth. Important from an educational standpoint. Kids love learning about the walking sharks 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Cantioscyllium decipens Cretaceous Eagle Ford Post Oak Creek Texas We got some matrix in a trade with our friend @Captcrunch227 and found a couple of Cantioscyllium teeth. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 22, 2020 Author Share Posted October 22, 2020 Chiloscyllium sp Cretaceous Mesaverde Formation Colorado A personal favorite, found in a micro search. I left it attached to the matrix. I think it’s kind of cool looking. Not sure of the species but definitely a Bamboo Shark tooth. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 Plicatoscyllium derameei Cretaceous Severn Formation Maryland 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captcrunch227 Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 On 10/22/2020 at 7:46 PM, fossilsonwheels said: Cantioscyllium decipens Cretaceous Eagle Ford Post Oak Creek Texas We got some matrix in a trade with our friend @Captcrunch227 and found a couple of Cantioscyllium teeth. Ah that’s where I had put them! For real though man I’m glad you found something useful in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 21 hours ago, Captcrunch227 said: Ah that’s where I had put them! For real though man I’m glad you found something useful in there. We found a couple that I think are Plicatoscyllium, quite a few Sawfish fossils, some tiny Lamniformes teeth, even a couple of ray teeth. It was not the most fossiliferous matrix but the carpet shark teeth were what I wanted so yeah quite useful ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 25, 2020 Author Share Posted October 25, 2020 Cederstroemia sp Cretaceous Unknown formation Near Moscow Russia I was not 100% sure on the ID but did some research and I think it’s accurate. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mioplosus_Lover24 Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Love these sharks, can't wait to see someone with a shark from Lebanon! I might be getting one soon and if I do I'll be sure to share! "Life is too complex for me to wrap my mind around, that's why I have fossils and not pets!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 30, 2020 Author Share Posted October 30, 2020 On 10/28/2020 at 8:52 AM, Mioplosus_Lover24 said: Love these sharks, can't wait to see someone with a shark from Lebanon! I might be getting one soon and if I do I'll be sure to share! I’ve got a Lebanese shark that could be Orectolobiformes though I believe it is not. I think it’s a Catshark so I didn’t post it here. I am hoping somebody posts one. They are such cool fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 30, 2020 Author Share Posted October 30, 2020 Chiloscyllium sp Eocene Agnaz Morocco This is the only Cenozoic Chiloscyllium that I have been able to find. A search on fossilworks will show nothing beyond Eocene as far as publications go with this genus. Most of the Eocene ones come from North Africa. That’s a fair sized gap in the record for an extant genus. I am guessing there is some locations out there that have Bamboo Shark teeth younger than Eocene but I sure haven’t been able to find any. Did they perhaps go deep water during the age of Mega Sharks ? Are they simply hiding in some formation that hasn’t been fully explored ? Does anybody have knowledge or theories on this ? Anyway, here it is 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted October 30, 2020 Author Share Posted October 30, 2020 Wobbegongs are cool sharks and perfectly adapted to their environment. The teeth from this genus seem to have a limited distribution in the fossil record. We can thank @Troodon for this pair of awesome teeth. Orectolobus ziegenhinei Eocene Tallahatta Formation Alabama 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 Ginglymostoma sp Eocene Muddy Creek Nanjemoy Formation Virginia Not sure of the species on this Nurse Shark tooth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 This pair of Nurse Shark teeth came from @digit . This was a cool addition to the collection that came from a cool guy ! Ginglymostoma sp Pliocene Cookiecutter Creek Tamiami Formation Florida 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 4 hours ago, fossilsonwheels said: Ginglymostoma sp Eocene Muddy Creek Nanjemoy Formation Virginia Not sure of the species on this Nurse Shark tooth. @MarcoSr would be our local expert on this formation especially since he's well explored the micros. May have to send you some Ginglymostoma sp. teeth from my own Gainesville creek at the new house. Turns out the FLMNH doesn't actually have any of these in the collection as not many folks pick through the micro-matrix when hunting Gainesville creeks. Once I've made sure the museum has adequate specimens I'll make a note to see that some find their way into your teaching collection. The colors of the teeth in Gainesville are nicer as they are not phosphatic black. Cheers. -Ken 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 11 hours ago, fossilsonwheels said: Ginglymostoma sp Eocene Muddy Creek Nanjemoy Formation Virginia Not sure of the species on this Nurse Shark tooth. 6 hours ago, digit said: @MarcoSr would be our local expert on this formation especially since he's well explored the micros. -Ken Looks like Ginglymostoma maroccanum. Marco Sr. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted November 14, 2020 Share Posted November 14, 2020 This forum is indeed lucky to have so many bases covered with such depth. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 3 hours ago, MarcoSr said: Looks like Ginglymostoma maroccanum. Marco Sr. Thank you @MarcoSr. I couldn’t get it past Ginglymostoma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 3 hours ago, digit said: This forum is indeed lucky to have so many bases covered with such depth. Cheers. -Ken I agree Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted November 14, 2020 Author Share Posted November 14, 2020 10 hours ago, digit said: @MarcoSr would be our local expert on this formation especially since he's well explored the micros. May have to send you some Ginglymostoma sp. teeth from my own Gainesville creek at the new house. Turns out the FLMNH doesn't actually have any of these in the collection as not many folks pick through the micro-matrix when hunting Gainesville creeks. Once I've made sure the museum has adequate specimens I'll make a note to see that some find their way into your teaching collection. The colors of the teeth in Gainesville are nicer as they are not phosphatic black. Cheers. -Ken Hi Ken You can feel free to add to the teaching collection anytime you like lol I am starting to work on diversifying the locations of our Carpet Sharks so any Florida locations would be a welcome addition Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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