Jump to content

ClearLake

Recommended Posts

I received some matrix from @sixgill pete a while back in a TFF auction and picked most of it a while back and ID'd the bulk of the teeth and other material.  Lately I have been going back through some of my sharks teeth and looking more closely at items I was unsure of  These three teeth are one such group out of this matrix.  I have read Purdy et, al (2001) a bunch of times, looked at elasmo.com for hours on end, read dozens of threads on here and am still a bit confused/uncertain.  So, I figured why no just ask and get several more opinions, I always appreciate what folks here have to offer.  The teeth are shown in the pictures below and it is mostly the big (relatively speaking) one (#1) I am most interested in.  The two smaller ones (#2 and #3) are fairly similar looking although #3 is much more worn, and are likely small symphysial teeth from ???.

 

Tooth #1 is 7.4mm tall and about the same width.  My first guess (wish?) was a Megachasma even though I know these are extremely rare out of the Lee Creek material.  It sits very flat on it's broad base and the crown is slightly curved lingually, but not as much as many depictions of this genus.  There are no serrations on the crown, but it is somewhat worn and the tip is missing, so that could factor in.  I have looked at all the various posts on here of possible Megachasma's, most of which are probably not (more likely symphsials of any number of sharks) and looked at Don's Megachasma that Dr. Shimada confirmed and still was not 100% convinced one way of the other.  This tooth does not look dissimilar to what is in Purdy or the description written there.  Some of  those crowns are not very "bent" either, nor is the specimen that Don posted very curved as far as I can tell.  But then I see many posts by @MarcoSr and @Al Dente and others that show symphesial teeth from Hexanchus, Carcharhinus, Hemipristis and Galeocerdo that all bear similarities.  So, I ask what you think and appreciate any and all insights that can be offered.

 

image.png.3962eb04b4c890a6a44f45e28e2bcdf0.png

image.png.66bd259aa102e0b6710c86665f865553.png

image.png.8d85603d2e3c3422dcde26e811646a51.pngimage.png.7aaac5e3d584bf42e32800cd91377880.png 

image.png.a40be89ea05239fb7c71d1f806954c85.png

 

And here are some close ups of the crowns on each of the teeth just in case that adds anything useful.

image.png.e065cad8c2eacba634e4a8b24b72eefc.pngimage.png.fefc8ffc64a643d4ee10dcf0198c18de.pngimage.png.e535fb99a2e1ab2e44c481e3f820992b.png   

 

 

  • I found this Informative 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Purdy misidentified the Pungo River teeth that he called Megachasma. They are really Physogaleus symphyseal teeth. I think that is also what your tooth #1 is. Number 2 and 3 look like Carcharhinus symphyseals.

  • I found this Informative 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

Purdy misidentified the Pungo River teeth that he called Megachasma. They are really Physogaleus symphyseal teeth. I think that is also what your tooth #1 is. Number 2 and 3 look like Carcharhinus symphyseals.

Well, OK, that explains some of it.  I don't feel so bad - haha!  Thank you for taking a look.  I've got to say, as I look back through elasmo.com, j-eslmo, Purdy, and any other book I have with shark dentition, a decent picture of Physogaleus symphyseal/medial teeth is sorely lacking.  I will keep searching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Purdy misidentified the Pungo River teeth that he called Megachasma. They are really Physogaleus symphyseal teeth. I think that is also what your tooth #1 is. Number 2 and 3 look like Carcharhinus symphyseals.

 

I totally agree with Eric.

 

Marco Sr.

  • Thank You 1

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

This thread has a couple

Ah yes, that's right.  I had looked at that thread and those are probably the best pics I have seen.  Thanks

 

11 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

I totally agree with Eric

Thanks for confirming.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi. This post is awesome and has amazing information. This is just my opinion, I feel so many of us (including myself) are searching through Lee creek mattix we should have one post that we can all post out finds. These post have been so helpful for me personally IDing some of my finds. I have some cray looking teeth that I have found that I want to add to the pot to help myself and others looking through this type of matrix. 
 

oh, and great finds!  And awesome pics!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, hokietech96 said:

oh, and great finds!  And awesome pics!

Thanks!  Yes, I find my self going back (and back and back and ...) to numerous posts and albums on here because there are tidbits of excellent info spread throughout.  It doesn't help that I just can't remember everything that I have looked at so I keep making notes to myself and refer back to them as I try to figure out some of the odder stuff in this matrix.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...