Scales?

[Largemouth Bass]

From Bowling Green, FL. Each fossil is about 1 cm across.

[digit]

Pharyngeal teeth from labrids (wrasses). I happen to be picking a plate of Florida micro-matrix at the moment and I'm seeing lots of these--in clusters and individual teeth.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Tidgy's Dad]

Very nice specimens. 

[Largemouth Bass]

Cool, thanks! I love the diversity of fish fossils.

[Coco]

Hi,

 

If Miocene, look like Labrodon pavimentatum.

 

Coco

[digit]

Several other fish families have throat (pharyngeal) crushing teeth--these would be species with a fair bit of invertebrate composition to their diet (to crush up shells and exoskeletons). Drums (sciaenids) are quite common in the micro-matrix from the Montbrook fossil site here in Florida including specimens from the marine genus Pogonius and the freshwater genus Aplodinotus. You can see what those more pellet-like teeth look like in a search such as this:

 

https://www.google.com/search?&q=fossil+drum+fish+teeth&tbm=isch

 

The labrid pharyngeal teeth grow in much more irregular lumpy clusters rather than well oriented teeth in a large and distinctive pharyngeal plate/tray. The key to identifying separate labrid teeth is that from underneath they resemble tiny donuts/bagels but often compressed into a peanut-like shape.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken