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Del Rio Clay Mystery Shark Teeth


historianmichael

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These shark teeth were found in the Lower Cretaceous Del Rio Clay. I have seen posts on here that have identified Cretodus semiplicatus and Cretalamna appendiculata as the common shark teeth of the Del Rio Clay; however, none of these teeth seem to match up with photos I have seen of those teeth. Could these teeth simply be from a different position in the mouth than the ones in the photos I have seen? The measurements listed below are from the top of the root to the tip of the crown. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

 

#1- 9mm

220228023428603.thumb.jpg.76ef30c141a8a195c59caa9873d175e9.jpg 220228023458574.thumb.jpg.a304aba2a832e09fffbd60bcac7cf2f1.jpg

 

#2- 7mm

220228023816543.thumb.jpg.c497c44f30cc9437b66d2733e67d1ed8.jpg 220228023833506.thumb.jpg.9da73bd67f43c7efbc90380a4973c8c5.jpg

 

#3- 5mm

220228023601571.thumb.jpg.cea74da3982c1a565585de49cdd91192.jpg 220228023636891.thumb.jpg.d003d85c2f0111186a22b9bd62708c62.jpg

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the last one looks like a Squalicorax sp.  Not sure what species, maybe S. falcatus?

Edited by hemipristis

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4 hours ago, hemipristis said:

the last one looks like a Squalicorax sp.  Not sure what species, maybe S. falcatus?

I initially thought that the third one was a Squalicorax but I did not think that they ranged that far back. In doing further research I found an article that describes a number of species from the Albian of Texas. 

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1,2. I'm thinking some kind of sand tiger, 2 could be goblin with the broader cusplet.

3. Squalicorax sp.

"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

 

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Have you tried finding a good reference on Texas Cretaceous sharks? A really good one is "The Collector's Guide to Fossil Sharks and Rays from the Cretaceous of Texas, by B. J. Welton and R. F. Farish" 

 

I have a paper copy somewhere, but not a digital file.

 

The first tooth could be Odontaspis and the third strikes me as Psuedocorax, except for the root. Need to find my reference. 

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I've been to the Waco Pit (which is in the Del Rio Clay member of the Grayson Formation) probably at least seven or eight times this year and have found quite a lot of shark teeth in that time including two that look identical to your first and last pictures - the first I've identified as some species of Cretolamna, likely the same kind that is responsible for the majority of the teeth in the pit. I'm unsure if it's the same as Cretolamna appendiculata or some other species, because I had heard in one paper I can't remember the name of that there could be another. Either that or these straight teeth are just from a different position in the shark's mouth than the more recognizable wide curved ones. The last tooth I'd call Squalicorax like most have said, but I'd also add that it's almost definitely Squalicorax falcatus. For comparison: 

6336FD39-9D5C-4027-92E6-0FE38A240E7D.jpeg

7111518A-96B7-48E8-ABF9-BFA2FF95CC6D.jpeg

Edited by GPayton
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2 hours ago, sixgill pete said:

Have you tried finding a good reference on Texas Cretaceous sharks? A really good one is "The Collector's Guide to Fossil Sharks and Rays from the Cretaceous of Texas, by B. J. Welton and R. F. Farish" 

 

I have a paper copy somewhere, but not a digital file.

 

The first tooth could be Odontaspis and the third strikes me as Psuedocorax, except for the root. Need to find my reference. 

I ordered a copy of that book from the Dallas Paleontological Society a few years ago, lots of good information in it. 

IMG_20220304_225400708.thumb.jpg.c108537070925dc4cf0dd96a51f26422.jpg

 

Here are a couple of pages that may be of use...if it's not ok to post the pages here please let me know and I will remove them or the mods will.

IMG_20220304_225142125.thumb.jpg.8e2fe45cf9ed6c6264186de03063d768.jpg

 

IMG_20220304_225223739.thumb.jpg.c20e883dea96931b3706646b1aace671.jpg

 

IMG_20220304_225344222.thumb.jpg.d3ec89ea40cdd15fab868bd9e6848341.jpg

 

IMG_20220304_225349500.thumb.jpg.1196f4368a2996f556e4d52df944aec6.jpg

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Thank you very much for posting the pages @Adam86cucv! I just ordered a copy of the same book myself a couple of days ago. 

The first anterior Carcharias amonensis tooth on the first page makes pretty much a perfect match for both my first tooth and the first one that @historianmichael posted. The laterals also make pretty good matches for the second one with the double cusplets as well. 

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Hi,

 

3 hours ago, GPayton said:

HEIC files are not supported by the forum.

 

Coco

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56 minutes ago, Coco said:

Hi,

 

HEIC files are not supported by the forum.

 

Coco

Sorry @Coco, should be fixed now. For some reason the pictures upload like normal from my phone but would only show up as downloads when I did the same from my computer. 

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:Smiling:

 

Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

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Thanks for posting those pages @Adam86cucv

 

I believe the first one is C. amaonensis and possibly the second.

Edited by sixgill pete
Removed incorrect ID of the third tooth

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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10 hours ago, GPayton said:

Thank you very much for posting the pages @Adam86cucv! I just ordered a copy of the same book myself a couple of days ago. 

 

1 hour ago, sixgill pete said:

Thanks for posting those pages @Adam86cucv

 

No problem, glad I can help out. 

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4 hours ago, sixgill pete said:

The third tooth I think Pseudocorax granti.

P. granti is nonserrated and has a nutrient groove:

IMG_3609.thumb.jpg.5311c721c6b83fb6cabdd97a2ec048af.jpg

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"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 | SquamatesPost Oak Creek | North Sulphur RiverLee Creek | Aguja | Permian | Devonian | Triassic | Harding Sandstone

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2 hours ago, ThePhysicist said:

P. granti is nonserrated and has a nutrient groove:

IMG_3609.thumb.jpg.5311c721c6b83fb6cabdd97a2ec048af.jpg

 

Somehow, I completely missed that.

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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Vullo et al, (2015) proposed a new genus for the species amonensis based on a partial skeleton from the Cenomanian of Morocco.

 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2015.1137983

 

I don't think that Squalicorax tooth should be identified as S. falcatus which has a less-rounded distal blade.  The tooth shown has a more rounded one and the main cusp seems narrower toward the tip as in Albian forms.  I'm not sure if the Squalicorax teeth from the Del Rio Clay have been named to species other than Squalicorax sp.  It seems closer to S. curvatus if that is still a species in use.

Edited by siteseer
corrected term
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  • 3 weeks later...
On 3/6/2022 at 6:27 AM, siteseer said:

Vullo et al, (2015) proposed a new genus for the species amonensis based on a partial skeleton from the Cenomanian of Morocco.

 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2015.1137983

 

I don't think that Squalicorax tooth should be identified as S. falcatus which has a less-rounded distal blade.  The tooth shown has a more rounded one and the main cusp seems narrower toward the tip as in Albian forms.  I'm not sure if the Squalicorax teeth from the Del Rio Clay have been named to species other than Squalicorax sp.  It seems closer to S. curvatus if that is still a species in use.

The Del Rio Squalicorax was briefly discussed (and a tooth illustrated) in Siversson et al. 2019 (Anacoracid sharks and calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy of the mid-Cretaceous ‘upper’ Gearle Siltstone and Haycock Marl in the lower Murchison River area, Western Australia).

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On 3/25/2022 at 2:19 AM, MikaelS said:

The Del Rio Squalicorax was briefly discussed (and a tooth illustrated) in Siversson et al. 2019 (Anacoracid sharks and calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy of the mid-Cretaceous ‘upper’ Gearle Siltstone and Haycock Marl in the lower Murchison River area, Western Australia).

 

Thanks.  I will have to find that paper.

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8 hours ago, siteseer said:

 

Thanks.  I will have to find that paper.

Pm me your email address so I can send you a pdf.

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