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I like new experiences , so went to a dry land fossil dig site in Hardee County, Florida....

Not many finds,  but quality over quantity... My back hurts from Shoveling gravel, mud, sand, clay for 6 hours and to think, I pay to do it.

IMG_8411.thumb.JPG.17d15cc3c30985bfc8795e5ae0530e0f.JPG

 

MergeDolphin.thumb.jpg.5e1f87140f0c3bcbcdf017ccf0daf586.jpg

 

It is 32 mm in length.. Distinctive,  certainly found by many TFF members on the East coast,  including  @Harry Pristis in the Peace River

and @SailingAlongToo in Virginia. 

 

 

So, labeled as Unid. River Dolphin,  for the time being....

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Interesting find Jack.   Had I known you were going, I would have gone.  I’ve been twice and have great success on quality, but not quantity which is ok. 
 

Rick

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@Boesse

 

Neat find for sure, Jack!

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM APRIL - 2015  

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
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I've often identified these teeth as iniid* teeth but Dave Bohaska always reminds me that 'hatchet shaped' roots that expand during growth also are known in eurhinodelphinids, which admittedly tend to be older than this (if this is Bone Valley) and a bit more delicate.

 

*Iniidae are "river dolphins" in the same clade as the modern Amazon River Dolphin or Boto, Inia geoffrensis.

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1 hour ago, Boesse said:

I've often identified these teeth as iniid* teeth but Dave Bohaska always reminds me that 'hatchet shaped' roots that expand during growth also are known in eurhinodelphinids, which admittedly tend to be older than this (if this is Bone Valley) and a bit more delicate.

 

*Iniidae are "river dolphins" in the same clade as the modern Amazon River Dolphin or Boto, Inia geoffrensis.

Thanks for the response..

I am struggling this morning ,  searching the Internet including your blogs, for something to used in identification of this almost exact tooth that I have seen 15 or 20 times the last 15 years of hunting Bone Valley.. I am dead center ,  Bone Valley, Hardee & Polk counties which both have numerous phosphate mines.

Earbones I find are Pomatodelphis, a river dolphin in same clade as Platinistidae, India River dolphin... The highlight caught my interest....

 

But, now I'll go and get more knowledgeable on teeth of eurhinodelphinids.   Thanks

992477116_Platanistagangetica_modern.JPG.15031ba31c5237a6dd11b76c3dad5bf6.JPG

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Platanistidae is quite diverse! Pomatodelphis is in a different subfamily, the Pomatodelphinae, which have tiny little teeth with roots that remain cylindrical during growth. Platanista itself is quite weird and most fossil platanistids do not seem to have teeth with hatchet shaped roots.

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Been searching on and off most of the day,   found this.... That seems to be the Identification I am looking for... I did not know Bob Campbell ,  but he has a Museum named after him and thought this was Goniodelphis

BCGM_4488.thumb.jpg.7cf84430d5218ed188ddd440d164ce01.jpg

 

ClemsonTooth.JPG

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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14 minutes ago, Boesse said:

Platanistidae is quite diverse! Pomatodelphis is in a different subfamily, the Pomatodelphinae, which have tiny little teeth with roots that remain cylindrical during growth. Platanista itself is quite weird and most fossil platanistids do not seem to have teeth with hatchet shaped roots.

Yes, that was one of the things I caught onto today... I had a couple of photos of Pomatodelphis mandibles ( from looking at its earbones) finally realized that there was no room for this sized tooth..

Pomatodelphis-inaequalis-4-768x273.jpg.a6601816c24ca1ea84ba9a527ac71bd6.jpglarge-fossil-pomatodelphis-jaw_SouthCarolinaWorthpoint.jpg.8d719820d123c72dca7e7703beff9188.jpg

 

Harry did show this photo for a Goniodelphis jaw...

whale_goniodelphis_A.jpg.4447b8c880e618b8e484a6935eb31684.jpgwhale_goniodelphis_B.jpg.25644d36f914a9ff212fc2a89093c7ef.jpg

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Honestly Goniodelphis is what I usually identify these teeth as! Nice rectangular tooth sockets in the alveoli. Not a very well known dolphin.

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19 minutes ago, Boesse said:

Honestly Goniodelphis is what I usually identify these teeth as! Nice rectangular tooth sockets in the alveoli. Not a very well known dolphin.

Thanks , Bobby...

There are many of these "hatchet shaped" teeth found, but few of my associates are able to say the Genus much less the Species. I would like to track down how many of the States between Florida and Maryland have such teeth and feel comfortable now with a description of Iniidae .undet

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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In trying to search for an answer, on the name of this "hatchet like" dolphin tooth, I found a number of interesting  photos and papers.

From the 1941 Bullitan Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology that defined Goniodelphis hudsoni,  the Holotype... Note the tooth placement....

bulletinofmuseum89harv_0021e.jpg.696d7e5283768b4e8687f23df4c6d001.jpg

 

I also found this photo advertising a 4 inch Florida Dolphin mandible tip... note the tooth positioning on the side of the mandible.  It is certainly not Goniodelphis, but may be a "River Dolphin"whale_schizodelphis2.jpg.2061a9cf2d155597cdda859d216c27b6.jpg5bfdf1d1993c6_image2.jpeg.f3ee408e6da894948d179fa1bcd1e68b.jpeg

785249944_4InchFloridaDolphinJaw.jpg.af142fea20346a77f0b522d44f813863.jpg

 

The teeth remind me a couple that I have seen on this forum for Identification..... whale_schizodelphis2.jpg.2061a9cf2d155597cdda859d216c27b6.jpg5bfdf1d1993c6_image2.jpeg.f3ee408e6da894948d179fa1bcd1e68b.jpeg283275282_28065PamunkeyRiverataCalvertFormation.thumb.jpeg.611c5c5ce69d1451c5bcd7526a7de5af.jpeg

 

 

Very complex... just sharing some of what I learned....

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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The image with the blue background shows a composite jaw (or a terrible restoration).  Commercial posts are not reliable for identification or education (mine excepted, of course).  :tiphat:

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http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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1 hour ago, Harry Pristis said:

The image with the blue background shows a composite jaw (or a terrible restoration).  Commercial posts are not reliable for identification or education (mine excepted, of course).  :tiphat:

Interesting... I am thankful that you recognized  the fabrication, and glad that I did not mention the website, company, dealer selling the item. Do you believe that the entire piece , including teeth are fabricated?

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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What's missing, Jack, is symmetry between the two sides of the jaw.  Look at the angles of the two opposing teeth.  Note that I didn't call this a "fabrication;" I called it a composite or terrible restoration.  There is a difference.

http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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