whippoorwill Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Hey all, I've recently been to the Peace River and found some things I'd love help identifying. I've taken two angles of everything to hopefully show the detail neccessary. I'd be so happy for anyone's thoughts! My thoughts are: #1 no idea #2. Dugong bone #3. no idea #4. Turtle? #5. Petrified wood or bone? #6. Turtle shell? I wasn't sure if it could be that thick (over 1/2 an inch). #7 antler? #8. Bone or sloth tooth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 I think they're all bones. "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristineR Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 In series #6, second photo, bottom right fossil, has features which may indicate jaw. Can you post well lit pictures from all sides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whippoorwill Posted June 30, 2021 Author Share Posted June 30, 2021 Here are some pictures from all sides of that piece. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 4 hours ago, whippoorwill said: Hey all, I've recently been to the Peace River and found some things I'd love help identifying. I've taken two angles of everything to hopefully show the detail neccessary. I'd be so happy for anyone's thoughts! Welcome to TFF, I hope you like it here.... I love the Peace River, it makes me serene and joyful. I hope you will come to see it as I do. Get used to Turtle or Tortoise shell... it will comprise 70% of what you find. Unidentified bone will be 25%, small shark and ray teeth about 4%. It's the other percent that you are really after.... #1. Turtle shell, #2 Dugong rib, #3 Turtle shell, #4 Turtle shell #5 Turtle shell and unidentifiable bone #6 I have tortoise shell 4 inches thick.. It is the easy way to differentiate Tortoise from Turtle. #7 Vertebra , probably dolphin tail vert. #8 Bone, dugong rib. In the last set of photos, it is not jaw, it is turtle shell. Even though one of your photos makes it look like jaw. The tooth sockets in jaw are called Alveoli. and when you see a chunk of bone with those alveoli, it is natural to think JAW.... all us fossil hunters love JAW.... even missing the teeth... Like Christine, my glance snaps to attention whenever I see holes in a line in bone. Some Jaw photos below. Fish Jaw Dolphin 1 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristineR Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 5 hours ago, whippoorwill said: Here are some pictures from all sides of that piece. Thanks! Thank you for posting these additional views. I was hoping @Shellseeker would see them. I too would not ID this as jaw, and I would always defer to shellseeker on Peace River fossils. Congratulations on your finds! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whippoorwill Posted June 30, 2021 Author Share Posted June 30, 2021 Thank you both so much for the help! I was really confused by that thick turtle shell in #3 glad to know it can get that large! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 6 hours ago, Christine.Rowland said: Thank you for posting these additional views. I was hoping @Shellseeker would see them. I too would not ID this as jaw, and I would always defer to shellseeker on Peace River fossils. Congratulations on your finds! Thanks Christine for the compliment. When I was just starting and could not find a Meg in a river that had huge numbers of them, I was fortunate to connect with Bone Valley fossil hunters who had forgotten more about Peace River fossil hunting than I could possibly learn. 15 years later, I still hunt with one of them, who teaches me new stuff almost every time out. Jack 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 2 hours ago, whippoorwill said: Thank you both so much for the help! I was really confused by that thick turtle shell in #3 glad to know it can get that large! The really thick chunks of turtle are from a large tortoise we had here that was similar in size to the huge Galapagos Tortoise. Look up images of "hesperotestudo" to get an idea of what they looked like. If you are passing through Gainesville on your way to the Peace River (assuming you might be driving rather than flying) you should visit the articulated fossil displays at the small museum on the University of Florida campus. I seem to recall there was a tortoise among the exhibits. In the images so conveniently numbered above, #1 & #4 are worn costal bones from the species of softshell turtle (Apalone sp.). They have that distinctive rippled pattern on the outer surface. Cheers. -Ken 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whippoorwill Posted June 30, 2021 Author Share Posted June 30, 2021 Thanks for the info on the turtle shell! I'll keep the UF museum in mind for future trips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 Whippoorwill I love getting to see pieces of Peace River stuff and pondering their origins. Continued hunting success! 9 hours ago, digit said: The really thick chunks of turtle are from a large tortoise we had here that was similar in size to the huge Galapagos Tortoise. Look up images of "hesperotestudo" to get an idea of what they looked like. If you are passing through Gainesville on your way to the Peace River (assuming you might be driving rather than flying) you should visit the articulated fossil displays at the small museum on the University of Florida campus. I seem to recall there was a tortoise among the exhibits. In the images so conveniently numbered above, #1 & #4 are worn costal bones from the species of softshell turtle (Apalone sp.). They have that distinctive rippled pattern on the outer surface. Cheers. -Ken Ken I'm going to disagree on 1 and 4 as I'm thinking they might actually be Trachemys and not Apalone. Set me straight if I'm off base. Here's a couple shots showing the Apalone dimpling texture and some of the other types of turtle/tortoise costal textures I have and I got help ID'ing. A second photo below shows an extant Trachemys carapace I have with arrows pointing to 2 of its costals along with an Apalone costal I placed on top of it on the right side for comparison. Note how similar in some areas but also different they are...The Trachemys actually has different patterns in its costal bones just next to one another--linear ridges and more dimpled areas... Anyways...I throw these out for comparison/discussion purposes. I'm still trying to figure out all of the scraps I have...some just dont retain enough character but some do...finding the entire critter would make it so much easier. Again nice to see some more turtle/tortoise pieces! Regards, Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 11 minutes ago, Plantguy said: Ken I'm going to disagree on 1 and 4 as I'm thinking they might actually be Trachemys and not Apalone. Set me straight if I'm off base. Yup. I won't disagree. A (too) brief view of the textured finds from the OP in review show more of a rippled texture than the "orange peel" texture of an Apalone softshell. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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