Jared C Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Hi all, before I post today's trip in fossil hunting trips, I'd like to know a little better about the ID's. This is a ll from a creek in Austin (central texas) that exposes the Ozan formation (aka the lower taylor marl here) Specimen 1) I'm fairly sure it's a mosasaur tooth, but It's oddly stout. It seems to have two cutting edges, but I'm still just not quite sure how to differentiate Mosasaur teeth from Pachyrhizodus teeth. Which one is it, and why? Specimen 2.) This jaw is likely very modern - i'm thinking Racoon, the only reason it made me curious is the sheer amount of holes in it for teeth. Confirm or deny? Specimen 3.) I think this may be a fish tooth in a piece of jaw, but there's just not a clear point where the tooth starts and the jaw ends. Any ideas? Specimen 4.) This was from a slightly earlier hunt, but I'm still curious. I'm thinking Xiphactinus tooth, but the groove down the side seems to be an important feature, and I didn't spot that in pictures of any cretaceous fish teeth. Specimen 5.) This is a preserved rib - I recognize that ID will be difficult, but since it's old enough to be well on the way to fossilizing I'm still interested in trying Specimen 6.) A very large bone found sticking halfway out the gravel. Seeming we found several bison teeth in this area, I'm crossing my fingers for bison 1 “Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think” -Werner Heisenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Hunter Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Could that be a possum jaw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas.Dodson Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 #3 looks more like an Enchodus palatine and #4 looks like Enchodus especially with that abrupt curve near the root end and the raised striations. 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas.Dodson Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 (edited) 52 minutes ago, Lone Hunter said: Could that be a possum jaw? Maybe. There's too many teeth for raccoons I think. Edited October 3, 2021 by Thomas.Dodson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Hunter Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Not raccoon, they only have 40 teeth, possums have 50, more than any mammal in the US. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mahnmut Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Hi, nice haul. +1 for possum jaw. The 11 holes you see (I think the big one at the tip is an eroded neural foramen, not an alveola) correspond to 6 teeth behind the diastema, where the jaw is broken. Aloha J 2 Try to learn something about everything and everything about something Thomas Henry Huxley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombk Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 You have quite a bountiful river there! That large bone is a whopper. Very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HansTheLoser Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Age information would be helpful for the few non-Texan out here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared C Posted October 3, 2021 Author Share Posted October 3, 2021 13 minutes ago, HansTheLoser said: Age information would be helpful for the few non-Texan out here. sure. Ozan formation in central texas is about 85 million years old, I believe “Not only is the universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think” -Werner Heisenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhysicist Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 14 hours ago, Jared C said: Specimen 1) I'm fairly sure it's a mosasaur tooth, but It's oddly stout. It seems to have two cutting edges, but I'm still just not quite sure how to differentiate Mosasaur teeth from Pachyrhizodus teeth. Which one is it, and why? Yes, mosasaur. It's much too big - I haven't seen any Pachyrhizodus much larger than 1 cm. Also given its size, it could be from the big guy - Tylosaurus. 14 hours ago, Jared C said: Specimen 3.) I think this may be a fish tooth in a piece of jaw, but there's just not a clear point where the tooth starts and the jaw ends. Any ideas? Agree, it's an Enchodus palantine: ^http://oceansofkansas.com/enchodus.html 14 hours ago, Jared C said: Specimen 4.) This was from a slightly earlier hunt, but I'm still curious. I'm thinking Xiphactinus tooth, but the groove down the side seems to be an important feature, and I didn't spot that in pictures of any cretaceous fish teeth. Agree with @Thomas.Dodson, x-fish doesn't have those grooves, and their teeth have a more oval-shaped cross section - it's Enchodus sp. Nice finds! 1 1 "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...
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