Grayson County creek - July 25th

[BudB]

I've been itching to get out hunting, but it's been over 100 degrees every day, and everything is really dried out. I noticed though that, unlike my part of Texas, Grayson County actually got some rain the last couple of weeks. I wasn't sure if it was enough to expose much new stuff, but I decided to take a day and go look in one of my favorite spots there. I got up very early yesterday and was in the creek by 7:30 am. I started hiking out of the creek before 11:30. It was getting pretty hot by then, plus I'd had my quota of crawling on my knees for the day. I got the impression that the rain didn't get over the gravel bars enough to expose much new stuff, but I still managed to find some good teeth. You don't find big teeth when the gravel bars are this picked over, but if you're looking close enough to see them, there are still some beautiful smaller teeth to be found, and so it was on this day.

Some in situ photos. The tooth in that last photo is half under a rock, but if you look closely, it's there.

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by BudB

[BudB]

Here is what I brought home. Sure enough, only one large tooth, but some very nice smaller ones. There was only one very small Ptychodus tooth today.

 

[BudB]

Here is that big tooth, my favorite find of the day. It's the tooth in that first in situ photo. It was so weathered I almost didn't spot it, and even after washing, was still pretty faded. A soak in some paraloid solution has brought back quite a bit of the color though. I'm thinking I'm going to put this one in one of my coin display holders.

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by BudB

[BudB]

This looks like a small mosasaur tooth.

 

[BudB]

Here are individual photos of some of the other teeth from the trip.

 

[BudB]

And, as so often happens on these Grayson County trips, I found a piece I can't identify. Here are photos of both sides of it, plus a side view of it in my hand. It reminds me of the pycnodus fish mouth plate I found a couple of trips ago, but unlike that piece, this one is very thin and has the same distinctive pattern on both sides. Does anyone recognize it?

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by BudB

[Al Dente]

9 hours ago, BudB said:

And, as so often happens on these Grayson County trips, I found a piece I can't identify. Here are photos of both sides of it, plus a side view of it in my hand. It reminds me of the pycnodus fish mouth plate I found a couple of trips ago, but unlike that piece, this one is very thin and has the same distinctive pattern on both sides. Does anyone recognize it?

These are the tiny bones found in a large fish fin. This picture is from here- http://www.northtexasfossils.com/

 

 

[Castle Rock]

The segmented appearance of your unidentified bit suggests a piece of the tail from Cimolichthys.  Dave 

[BudB]

9 hours ago, Al Dente said:

These are the tiny bones found in a large fish fin. This picture is from here- http://www.northtexasfossils.com/

 

 

 

7 hours ago, Castle Rock said:

The segmented appearance of your unidentified bit suggests a piece of the tail from Cimolichthys.  Dave 

 

Thank you. It does look like it could be a very small section of fish tail or fin. I wish I had a larger piece.

[ThePhysicist]

On 7/26/2022 at 5:37 PM, BudB said:

Here is that big tooth, my favorite find of the day. It's the tooth in that first in situ photo. It was so weathered I almost didn't spot it, and even after washing, was still pretty faded. A soak in some paraloid solution has brought back quite a bit of the color though. I'm thinking I'm going to put this one in one of my coin display holders.

Nice Cretoxyrhina! 

[Jared C]

Not sure on the mosasaur tooth ID - hard to see clearly but the base looks weird for a mosasaur. My vote is fish

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

2 hours ago, Jared C said:

Not sure on the mosasaur tooth ID - hard to see clearly but the base looks weird for a mosasaur. My vote is fish

 

Not sure... The piece looks too weathered either way. Better photographs may help, but it may ultimately proof impossible to say with certainty. The tooth's stoutness initially has me thinking this could very well be reptile/mosasaur, even with a base like that. But I'm by no means certain about it...

[Ironhead42]

Good trip. Big teeth are nice, but I typically enjoy the smaller teeth more personally. Especially enjoy any tooth with cusps.