Possible Ratfish Spine from Big Brook?

[Jeffrey P]

Yesterday I was sifting in a Big Brook tributary (Marlboro, N.J.) when I spotted in my sifter what looked like very badly battered Enchodus fang. However, when I examined it more closely I spotted the serrations. Not Enchodus. I was originally thinking crab pincher. Crab claws are pretty rare. It certainly wasn't a ghost shrimp, or lobster. The other possibility, even less likely, some type of fish spine. Showed it to a friend who ID it as a rat fish spine: Ischyodus bifurcatus. Can anyone confirm this? I've never seen one before. Other fossils present confirm either Wenonah or Navesink Formations, Upper Cretaceous. The spine is an inch and three quarters long. Thank you. 

[RuMert]

They say dual  bumps = ratfish

[historianmichael]

I agree. Looks like ratfish. A good size one too! Congrats Jeff!

[hemipristis]

Looks like it.  Nice!

[Jeffrey P]

15 hours ago, hemipristis said:

Looks like it.  Nice!

 

On 2/22/2022 at 2:17 PM, historianmichael said:

I agree. Looks like ratfish. A good size one too! Congrats Jeff!

 

On 2/22/2022 at 2:05 PM, RuMert said:

They say dual  bumps = ratfish

Thanks, my fossil collecting brethren for confirming this for me. I went back over past posts and found that Butchndad found one that's pretty similar.

[Searcher78]

Nice find. I gave mine to my local museum. They didn’t have one.

[Searcher78]

Check out Hybodont fin spine fossils also. They are similar. Late Cretaceous.

Edited February 24, 2022 by Searcher78

[Carl]

Definitely Ischyodus by my reckoning. Outstanding find!