hemipristis Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 (edited) I had a couple of requests to show the shark teeth that I have found from Hawaii. I am pleased that folks are interested! All of the fossils were collected directly from the Mid- to Late- Pleistocene Waimanolo Formation. The formation is a mixture of deltaic/nearshore limestone and unconsolidated sands and silts. First, the shark material. There are a group of teeth and two vertebral centra. The shark teeth are in various stages of mineralization, with some completely phosphatized while others haven't altered much since they fell out of the shark's mouth. They appear to be from the blacktip reef shark, Carcharhinus melanopterus, a species currently common in Hawaiian waters. I also had 1 Scyliorhinid tooth, but misplaced it years ago. The vertebral centra are from a Carchariniform shark, probably the C. melanopterus, and seemingly unaltered, which is consistent with the turtle, bird, and some of the fish material that I collected. While some may consider these subfossils, I did recover them from the formation itself, which dates to 400,000 BP, which makes them fossils. The lack of mineralization may be due to the significant carbonate content and resultant high pH of the sediments. Edited October 15, 2022 by hemipristis 2 11 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share Posted October 15, 2022 The next set of fossils are from teleosts, bony fish. The top 2 intact jaws are recent, from the porcupine fish family Diodontidae. I found them on another beach and keep them for reference. Below them are some fossil mouth plate sections of the same genus, with 3 nearly complete. Two small white specimens on the far left are pre maxilla from the pufferfish, Tetraodontidae, a closely related group. Unlike the Diodontids, pufferfish jaws (both upper and lower) consist of two segments which are adjoined at the symphysis within the mouth. Pls see the next photo which illustrates this, courtesy of elasmo.com. A small fish vertebra lies below the the Tetradontidae. In the lower right corner of the photograph are 3 jaw segments from Labridont (wrasses) fish. 2 12 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share Posted October 15, 2022 Lastly are the turtle and bird material Similar to the shark vertebral centra, these are seemingly unaltered, but I did recover these from a lithified aeolianite (i.e., a subaerial limestone. Think of beach sandstone or a 'petrified' sand dune). The outcrop is from a different location than the finds above, limited in areal extent, and is not mentioned in the literature. I suspect that it is Holo-Pleistocene, and much later than the Waimanolo Sediments. The material shown in the first two photos I'm reasonably comfortable in calling them turtle. Please correct me if I am incorrect. 7 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted October 15, 2022 Author Share Posted October 15, 2022 Here are the last of the vertebrate material. The left 2 delicate bones are obviously bird. The other two are not. Turtle? Seal? Thoughts? 11 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notidanodon Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 very cool, love the sharks teeth 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 There are known bird fossils (from the late 1970's?) from the Mokapu peninsula on Oahu. There is literature on this. This are is part of Matine Corp Base Hawaii (Keneohe Bay M.C.A.S. in the literature) and is off limits. These fossils came from caves if my memory serves me right. I am guessing your fossils came from some of the "skeleton" reefs that exist on some of the peninsulas on the Island. Thanks for sharing them with us. 1 1 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 May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meganeura Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Those are so cool - it’s incredible to me that Hawaii has fossils, even if not particularly varied or old - such cool finds regardless! 1 Fossils? I dig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted October 16, 2022 Author Share Posted October 16, 2022 (edited) On 10/15/2022 at 7:36 PM, sixgill pete said: There are known bird fossils (from the late 1970's?) from the Mokapu peninsula on Oahu. There is literature on this. This are is part of Matine Corp Base Hawaii (Keneohe Bay M.C.A.S. in the literature) and is off limits. These fossils came from caves if my memory serves me right. I am guessing your fossils came from some of the "skeleton" reefs that exist on some of the peninsulas on the Island. Thanks for sharing them with us. That is interesting. Do you have the reference? If not, I'll google it. Mokapu has been a state park for some time. Beautiful hiking trail to the top where the radio towers used to be, and the lighthouse still stands. It's perhaps the best place on Oahu to whale watch in the winter months. At the base is a fine swimming hole as well. None of my fossils came from there, just for the record. The bones came from a former fringe reef on the west side of Oahu. I'll be posting some invertebrate fossils from there sometime this week. The shark teeth, shells, and fish material came from estuarine deposits on the east site of the island. Edited October 16, 2022 by hemipristis 1 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted October 16, 2022 Author Share Posted October 16, 2022 On 10/15/2022 at 10:23 PM, Meganeura said: Those are so cool - it’s incredible to me that Hawaii has fossils, even if not particularly varied or old - such cool finds regardless! My next goal is to find the location of the fossilized giant clams here in Guam. They're Pleistocene in age, and range up to 3 feet in diameter! The locals are mum as to their location. 1 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meganeura Posted October 16, 2022 Share Posted October 16, 2022 24 minutes ago, hemipristis said: My next goal is to find the location of the fossilized giant clams here in Guam. They're Pleistocene in age, and range up to 3 feet in diameter! The locals are mum as to their location. 3 FEET? Can you bring the home? Fossils? I dig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 On 10/16/2022 at 4:52 PM, hemipristis said: That is interesting. Do you have the reference? If not, I'll google it. Mokapu has been a state park for some time. Beautiful hiking trail to the top where the radio towers used to be, and the lighthouse still stands. It's perhaps the best place on Oahu to whale watch in the winter months. At the base is a fine swimming hole as well. None of my fossils came from there, just for the record. The bones came from a former fringe reef on the west side of Oahu. I'll be posting some invertebrate fossils from there sometime this week. The shark teeth, shells, and fish material came from estuarine deposits on the east site of the island. I will have to try and find it. I have a digital copy somewhere. 1 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 May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 I read a little about extinct birds of Hawaii in Feduccia's "The Origin and Evolution of Birds" (Yale University Press, 1999, Second Edition). Was this the article? Olson, S.L. and H.F. James. 1982. Fossil birds from the Hawaiian Islands: evidence for wholesale extinction by man before Western contact. Science. 21: 633-635. Or this? James, H.F. and S.L. Olson. 1983 Flightless birds. Natural History 92: 30-40. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 7 hours ago, Meganeura said: 3 FEET? Can you bring the home? Lol I will try! 1 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 9 hours ago, siteseer said: I read a little about extinct birds of Hawaii in Feduccia's "The Origin and Evolution of Birds" (Yale University Press, 1999, Second Edition). Was this the article? Olson, S.L. and H.F. James. 1982. Fossil birds from the Hawaiian Islands: evidence for wholesale extinction by man before Western contact. Science. 21: 633-635. Or this? James, H.F. and S.L. Olson. 1983 Flightless birds. Natural History 92: 30-40. Jess, I will have to find my copy to be sure 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 May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 On 10/14/2022 at 11:31 PM, hemipristis said: I had a couple of requests to show the shark teeth that I have found from Hawaii. I am pleased that folks are interested! All of the fossils were collected directly from the Mid- to Late- Pleistocene Waimanolo Formation. The formation is a mixture of deltaic/nearshore limestone and unconsolidated sands and silts. Thank you, You have opened my eyes. I also have walked the beaches of Oahu, but never found any fossils. Only really over worn pieces of seashell. My granddaughter (2 years) lives there. She can see Diamond Head from her breakfast window... a couple of miles away. Might consider a visit sooner that I thought I might. Jack The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tales From the Shale Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 This is really interesting, I thought most of the islands were too young, and with the volcanic activity, lacked any fossils. This gives mw hope that one day I can get out there and search! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 a lot of those bones are definitely bird bones nice haul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fossil Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 @hemipristis Those Shark teeth and vertebrae are impressive! Nice job!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted October 17, 2022 Share Posted October 17, 2022 Look at these threads from several years ago concerning Hawaii. Hawaiian Fossils - Fossils On The Web - The Fossil Forum Thinking About Starting A Fossil Appreciation Club In Hawaii - Hawaii - The Fossil Forum 1 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 May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemipristis Posted October 18, 2022 Author Share Posted October 18, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, sixgill pete said: Look at these threads from several years ago concerning Hawaii. Hawaiian Fossils - Fossils On The Web - The Fossil Forum Thinking About Starting A Fossil Appreciation Club In Hawaii - Hawaii - The Fossil Forum Thank you! The auction that is discussed in the first link dates to when I was living in Hawaii. Alas, I would like to have bid on those bird bones! I belonged to the club references in the second link, and knew Mr. DeCarlo, though in my tenure as a member, nobody ever mentioned Hawaiian fossils other than corals and some (common) shells. Interesting Edited October 18, 2022 by hemipristis 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.' George Santayana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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