SawTooth Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 Sometime last week I went to a creek in Southeast Alabama to find shark teeth. I got thirty nine teeth and what I believe is a partial glyptodon scute. I believe that the majority are sandtiger teeth (but from YouTube and online images could be goblin) and a few mackerel shark teeth. I also got my first tiger shark tooth from this site. I was hoping someone here could help identify the scute and supposed sandtiger teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Scutes are keratinous, transparent covers (like your fingernails) on some bones. Keratinous scutes don't preserve as fossils. You are referring to a an osteoderm, bone which often does preserve. That said, I think your find does not appear to be an osteoderm. It does appear to be a pharyngeal grinding mill from a bony fish (a much older specimen than my illustration). 2 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 I think your bone is a broken piece of pleural bone from a turtle. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawTooth Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 The holes seem to small for the fish mouth plates and the shape is two blockish, and with the turtle, could you please show a picture of what you are talking about, because I can't find a similar picture. Also I believe that this location is Oligocene, Eocene, and Paleocene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plax Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Can we see a sharp pic of your "Tiger" shark? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 7 hours ago, Al Dente said: I think your bone is a broken piece of pleural bone from a turtle. 6 hours ago, Shark13 said: The holes seem to small for the fish mouth plates and the shape is two blockish, . . . Also I believe that this location is Oligocene, Eocene, and Paleocene. Well, my impression is fish, but I readily admit I am not familiar with Paleocene-Oligocene fish. I am equally ignorant of the turtles of that age. I defer to YOUR expertise. 1 http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawTooth Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 Here's the picture of the tiger shark tooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 11 hours ago, Shark13 said: and with the turtle, could you please show a picture of what you are talking about, because I can't find a similar picture. Here are a couple examples of fossil turtles with a similar pattern. The other side of your fossil shows what looks like the rib attachment on the underside of a pleural bone. These pictures comes from a publication titled "The fossil turtles of North America" by Oliver Hay. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Neither of these turtle fossils are recorded from Alabama that I can find. In fact, Aspideretes is a SE Asia species. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Aspideretes is a Cretaceous soft-shell from the western interior as per my personal findings and the Paleobiology Database. I am not sure which soft shells are found in Alabama, nor from whatever time period this material is from, but that is indeed a chunk of a soft shell costal plate. The bottom side shows the rib embedded into the osteoderm. The end furthest from your tape measure is where the rib would have attached to the vertebra inside the shell. The edge closest to your tape measure is broken. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SawTooth Posted March 23, 2022 Author Share Posted March 23, 2022 I can see that, especially if that's the rib. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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