Fossil hunting trip to Kruibeke (Miocene of Belgium)

[ziggycardon]

Hi everyone, 

 

A few months back I went on a fossil hunt with the BVP to a clay quarry with some miocene sands in Kruibeke (Antwerp, Belgium) in search for shark teeth. 

Some great finds were done that day by other members, like a big Megalodon tooth, some large Hastalis & Galeocerdo teeth, a couple of Somniosus microcephalus teeth, an Edaphodon antwerpiensis palate and a Neolithic tool to name a few of the best...

Unfortunately we weren't that lucky as we found only a few smaller teeth, but I was happy with the finds nonetheless  

 

First up some on situ photo's which were shared on the fb page of the club (luckily cause I didn't take any)  

 

 

First up my personal best find of the day: 

A small pleistocene rodent incisor 

 

 

Some bivalves (Venus casina casina?)

 

 

A ray dermal denticle

 

 

Some ray teeth (Aetobatus sp.?)

 

 

 

The only two larger shark teeth we found, both C. hastalis I believe

 

 

[ziggycardon]

And here are the rest of our shark teeth we found: 

 

1: Two C. hastalis 

 

 

2: Another C. hastalis I believe

 

 

3: Carcharias sp. or Araloselachus vorax

 

 

4: Carcharoides catticus?

 

 

5: Carcharias sp.?

 

 

6: Not entirely sure about this tooth, though it resembles Physogaleus sp. a bit

 

 

7: Carcharius taurus?

 

 

8: Carcharias gustrowensis?

 

 

9: Carcharias sp. of Araloselachus vorax?

 

 

[ziggycardon]

10:  Squatina sp.

 

 

Tooth 11: Not sure about this one, resembles a Megachasma sp. much but I doubt it due to it's rarity.

 

 

Tooth 12: No idea about this one

 

 

[Max-fossils]

Good finds! Some of those smaller teeth are very nice!

The shells you found are not Venus casina, but some of the Laevastarte species (if you send some better photos, including of the hinge, I might be able to tell you which ones, but I won't promise anything as they can be very tricky to tell apart). 

Best,

Max

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

1 hour ago, ziggycardon said:

First up some on situ photo's which were shared on the fb page of the club (luckily cause I didn't take any)  

 

These first two situational photographs look so awesome, so surreal with their unusual perspectives. I know they're not yours but: great photographs!

[Ludwigia]

Thanks for the report. Looks like they're in the process of renaturalizing the part in which you were searching, right?

[Notidanodon]

Last one could be an upper hexanchiformes tooth?

[Al Dente]

8 hours ago, ziggycardon said:

8: Carcharias gustrowensis?

This looks like Lamna nasus.

[Al Dente]

8 hours ago, ziggycardon said:

Tooth 12: No idea about this one

Any chance there are Eocene aged teeth at this quarry? This looks like Xiphodolamia which is Eocene.

[ziggycardon]

8 hours ago, Max-fossils said:

Good finds! Some of those smaller teeth are very nice!

The shells you found are not Venus casina, but some of the Laevastarte species (if you send some better photos, including of the hinge, I might be able to tell you which ones, but I won't promise anything as they can be very tricky to tell apart). 

Best,

Max

Thank you for the heads up, I honestly don't know much about bivalves or any Cenozoïc molluscs actually.  

I'll make better pictures of them tomorrow!  

 

8 hours ago, pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon said:

 

These first two situational photographs look so awesome, so surreal with their unusual perspectives. I know they're not yours but: great photographs!

Yeah Kris really did do a good job with the photo's!  

 

7 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

Thanks for the report. Looks like they're in the process of renaturalizing the part in which you were searching, right?

Thank you! 

Could be, but I am not really sure actually. 

 

1 hour ago, will stevenson said:

Last one could be an upper hexanchiformes tooth?

Thank you, the idea had crossed my mind that it could be a rare position of a cow shark tooth but I haven't really seen anything similar to it so far. 
But yeah could very well be. 

 

50 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

This looks like Lamna nasus.

Thank you, that is indeed a possibility as this species can be found in Antwerp and surrounding locations. 

 

49 minutes ago, Al Dente said:

Any chance there are Eocene aged teeth at this quarry? This looks like Xiphodolamia which is Eocene.

That was my very first thought as well but then I read that they indeed only occured during the Eocene and no eocene teeth can be found at this spot.