Lake Benbrook, November 13th

[BudB]

My fossil hunting came to a screeching halt in mid October when I got COVID. My lungs were already damaged (13 year lung cancer survivor, lost half a lung to a surgeon), and it really hit me hard. I was in ICU for eight days, and still have disabling shortness of breath a week and a half after getting out of the hospital.

 

But I've been itching to get out, so I decided to make a trip to Lake Benbrook. I figured I wouldn't have to walk far from where I parked, so could manage some hunting. It was still too much for me, as it turned out. What should have been a five minute hike back up the hill to the van took me twenty minutes, as I had to keep stopping to catch my breath. I'm hoping my pulmonary rehab will improve things, but it's looking like it may take a while.

 

Macrostrat showed Fort Worth Limestone and Duck Creek Formation, undivided where I was, but Kiamichi Formation was nearby too. I knew I wasn't up to any major chiseling, so just took photos of anything big I ran across. Here are some photos I took. I really liked how those oysters and bivalve stood out in that lower left photo.

 

 

[BudB]

Other than one tooth, I was just finding oysters, bivalves, and an occasional piece of an ammonite, but I thought these looked a lot like fish fins. What do y'all think? Are they just shell fragments, or fish fins? I left them in place.
 

 

[BudB]

Here is what I brought home. That tooth is very different from any I've found before, and I had no idea what it was, but from all the online searching I did, I believe it's a Paraisurus tooth. Always fun finding something new and different.
 

 

[Fossildude19]

Neat finds. I think the "fish fin" looking items may be pinna bivalve type shells. 

[JamieLynn]

wow, sorry to hear about your bout with Covid. Glad you are out of the hospital and hopefully on the mend - getting out and fossil hunting has to help, right?? hahhaha!! Very cool tooth. Never seen one of those before at all. And yes, I agree with Fossildude...Pinna bivalves. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Get well soon, old chap. 

Nice finds, and a very interesting tooth. 

[BudB]

35 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Neat finds. I think the "fish fin" looking items may be pinna bivalve type shells. 

 

34 minutes ago, JamieLynn said:

And yes, I agree with Fossildude...Pinna bivalves. 

 

By golly, I think y'all are right. Thanks for that. I had not seen these before.

[JamieLynn]

7 minutes ago, BudB said:

 

 

By golly, I think y'all are right. Thanks for that. I had not seen these before.

 

They are really neat bivalves...big honking things usually. And Square! 

[Ludwigia]

Here's wishing you a speedy recovery. Don't overdo it now

[minnbuckeye]

May your health return fully soon!  

 

 Mike

[Titan]

Scary stuff. Hope you keep feeling better and thanks for sharing the trip report!

[Notidanodon]

That tooth does indeed look like a paraisurus, great find, if its as rare as it is elsewhere thats defiitely fotm material right there! wishing you a speedy recovery

[grandpa]

So sorry to hear about your health situation.  I'm glad to hear that you are on the mend though.  Fossil hunting, bit at a time, is good plural therapy.  Keep it up and continue to recover and gain strength.

 

Also, continue to show us the treasures you are finding.  That tooth is awesome.

[bthemoose]

Really sorry to hear about the health scare but glad to hear that you're recovering and were able to make it outside. Great photos and finds, especially that Paraisurus tooth!

[BudB]

I'm getting forgetful in my old age. I forgot to include a scale to show the size of the tooth. What is so unusual about it is that the flat side is oriented perpendicular to the root, rather than parallel with it, like all the other shark teeth I've found. And there is no second flat side. The rest of the tooth is all a curve. The only way I could think of to show the flat side in a photo was to use a small piece of paper towel to prop it up, like I've done in the photo on the right.

 

This tooth only has half the root. From what I've read, the root of these teeth preserves very poorly, and they are most often found with no root at all. That makes me want to look through all the teeth I have. It's possible that I've found one or two of these before, but did not recognize it because of the missing root. It's the orientation of that root that makes them recognizable. That, plus only having one flat side.

 

Edit: Looking through my teeth, I was reminded that there are quite a few with one flat side, and rounded the rest of the way around. But I have nothing else with the root oriented like this one.

 

 

[Notidanodon]

19 hours ago, BudB said:

I'm getting forgetful in my old age. I forgot to include a scale to show the size of the tooth. What is so unusual about it is that the flat side is oriented perpendicular to the root, rather than parallel with it, like all the other shark teeth I've found. And there is no second flat side. The rest of the tooth is all a curve. The only way I could think of to show the flat side in a photo was to use a small piece of paper towel to prop it up, like I've done in the photo on the right.

 

This tooth only has half the root. From what I've read, the root of these teeth preserves very poorly, and they are most often found with no root at all. That makes me want to look through all the teeth I have. It's possible that I've found one or two of these before, but did not recognize it because of the missing root. It's the orientation of that root that makes them recognizable. That, plus only having one flat side.

 

Edit: Looking through my teeth, I was reminded that there are quite a few with one flat side, and rounded the rest of the way around. But I have nothing else with the root oriented like this one.

 

Look up paraisurus that’s what the root looks like I have posted one on the past

[BudB]

4 hours ago, will stevenson said:

Look up paraisurus that’s what the root looks like I have posted one on the past

 

But if they have the entire root, they look like the photo below. If you look at mine, half is missing.

 

 

 

[Notidanodon]

24 minutes ago, BudB said:

 

But if they have the entire root, they look like the photo below. If you look at mine, half is missing.

 

 

 

sorry i didnt notice it was broken, it might depend on the tooth position or species but the end of the root isnt always so elongated.