EPIKLULSXDDDDD Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 (edited) So today I went on my first trip with the Paleontological Society of Austin to the Brownwood area to visit a couple of Paleozoic sites. It was a blast and just what I needed after a busy week. However, I'm not gonna go too far into the details because I plan on writing up a trip report soon. I think I found some pretty cool stuff . Instead, I'm writing this topic because I am simply too anxious to wait on hearing an answer to this question I have. Our first stop was along a roadcut that was situated within the Pennsylvanian Adams Branch Limestone (Canyon Group) and Strawn Group. Our trip organizer, Melvin, told me that Petalodus teeth had never been found at this site (I didn't get to ask if Deltodus had been found because I couldn't remember the specific name at the time). I was a little bummed out to learn of this, but that did not totally erase my hope of catching a Paleozoic shark tooth. Anyways, I got to thoroughly looking through the roadcut and eventually came across this tiny specimen that I have yet to clean: I didn't think much of it at first, but I quickly noticed that it had a pattern of white speckles all over its black surface. The specks were so small, I couldn't 100% confirm whether they were pitted, though it felt like there were pits when I gently ran my nail across the surface. I was soon reminded of the Deltodus teeth I had seen in my prior research, though I of course forgot the name . It was quite small and had some strange angular shape to it that somewhat resembled the crinoid crown plates that are common throughout the site. I showed it to some people far more knowledgeable than I in the Pennsylvanian, but couldn't seem to get an answer. After taking it home and looking at some images online, I'm still confused, however I am beginning to slowly favor Deltodus tooth as an ID. My hope is that someone can either confirm this or snap me out of my pareidolia. It's hard to get nice pics using my phone, but I have tried my best. Here are some closeups followed by a Deltodus tooth I saw for sale online from Kansas City that looked similar. Here is the tooth I saw online. I want to note the pattern of the speckles. They are hard to describe, but the way in which they are positioned in wavy lines seem, to me, to match across the specimens. Additionally, I believe the general shape of my fossil, although smaller, appears to be similar to what's pictured below. I am not sure if my "tooth" is complete or fractured. Eagerly waiting to hear what y'all think Edited September 25, 2022 by EPIKLULSXDDDDD Removed some locality info 3 Link to post Share on other sites
JohnJ Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 Looks like a partial to me. @thair @BobWill 2 Link to post Share on other sites
BobWill Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 A small site to be so productive! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
EPIKLULSXDDDDD Posted September 25, 2022 Author Share Posted September 25, 2022 13 hours ago, BobWill said: A small site to be so productive! For sure. I was worried it was gonna be too picked over with the lack of rain, but it managed to produce lots of cool stuff even for the decently sized crowd of Austinites that made the early morning drive. Every square inch was covered in fossils so I guess it's easy for nicer finds to stay hidden for a while. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Missourian Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Nice tooth. It's possible the white splotches are encrusting organisms. For a comparison, see: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/25424-backyard-trip/&do=findComment&comment=1188199 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites
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