DisplayName Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 (edited) I did some surface hunting around the Big Brook region of New Jersey, came away with some nice finds but lots of questions. I did my best to guess from photos online, but would love a second opinion, and some of these I really just have no idea... maybe a worn mosasaur tooth? A fragment of sea turtle shell... or just a shell? A claw or small tooth from some sort of mammal? The last almost looks modern by the color but is fossilized behind (see final photo). Edited December 23, 2021 by DisplayName Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Welcome to the Forum! Don't know exactly what it could be, but it has nice bioerosion maks. " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DisplayName Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 Thanks for the welcome! It's a pretty (and mysterious) little piece! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parthicus Posted December 23, 2021 Share Posted December 23, 2021 Hello @DisplayName and welcome to the party. Your tooth with the two large side cusps (that you've labeled "S. texanus") is what we used to call Plicatolamna arcuata back in the day, but which has now been reassigned to Archaeolamna kopingensis. The two smaller teeth to the right of it don't look like angel shark (Squatina sp.) to me, rather they seem to be broken pieces of some lamnoid shark. The "turtle shell" to me looks more like the internal mold (steinkern) of some bivalve. The thing next to it is the broken-off blade of a shark tooth, either Scapanorhynchus or sand tiger. Your two Squalicorax teeth both look like S. kaupi. I don't think the "Ischyrhiza" is correct but it's too worn for me to make a better guess. For Cretolamna appendiculata, the left tooth with one remaining side cusp is definitely correct; it might also be right for the other tooth, but without at least one remaining side cusp I'm unsure. The three "fossil fragments" are most likely not fossils, just some of the many, many look-alike stones that crowd Big Brook (but don't throw them out yet, in case I'm wrong). Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DisplayName Posted December 24, 2021 Author Share Posted December 24, 2021 Amazing, thank you for the in depth analysis and explanation @Parthicus, (you noticed my liberal use of question marks haha). I have a feeling that, thanks to you, the next time I head out to these woods I'll actually know what I'm looking at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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