fossilsonwheels Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Carter and I got to do some fossil hunting in the late Cretaceous Chico Formation for the first time last weekend. We had previously not had opportunities to poke around our local formation so we were pretty excited. My kids grew up hiking trails, restoring habitat and rescuing wildlife. They went to work with me frequently and helped out with field work for school. Carter, in particular, really enjoyed the work and the time outside so we were both excited to get outside and do something new. We tried to different locations and our exploration consisted of light surface sifting. We did not get a chance to really dig but that was fine. Fossils were the true goal. Father son time was the goal. Outdoor time together. Not being able to do our presentations has been tough on us so a fun day was good stress relief. We found some shells that were modern, a few that might be fossils and something that Carter thought was a shark tooth in the micro matrix we were taking with us to put under the scope. Carter was correct. He found a shark tooth. I recognized it immediately when we got home and I was SHOCKED at what I was seeing. He found a Squatina tooth !!!!!! I have not seen many Chico Formation teeth and we only had two, both Sand Tiger. I knew Squatina was possible but I didn’t expect to find one. I’m even happier because Carter found it. It was in his bag. I was so happy to tell him that we did find a tooth and it was an Angelshark. Due to their unique adaptations and conservation status, they are a shark we talk about a lot in our programs. I take this as a good omen concerning our future of fossil education in Northern California I was also extremely happy to tell him a short time later, he had found a second tooth among the many tiny shells. It’s not complete but looks exactly like the two Sand Tigers we already have. Two shark teeth isn’t a lot volume wise but I absolutely consider this a hugely successful hunt. I have a tiny bit more matrix to look through so perhaps there is more to find. Either way, it was just a great day with my kiddo ! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neanderthal Shaman Posted November 1, 2020 Share Posted November 1, 2020 Very cool! I've never found a shark tooth in my life, best I can get around where I live is mollusks and a crab concretion if you're lucky. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Awesome finds! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 On 10/31/2020 at 10:42 PM, Neanderthal Shaman said: Very cool! I've never found a shark tooth in my life, best I can get around where I live is mollusks and a crab concretion if you're lucky. I had found teeth many years ago at STH but these are the first local teeth and the first for my son which is the best part ! Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilsonwheels Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 5 hours ago, Archie said: Awesome finds! Thank you ! The Angelshark was quite a surprise. Very fun day for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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