Shellseeker Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 I went out hunting yesterday. It seems to me that Florida is in a drought and that water level are so low that they preclude the use of kayaks. So I decided to walk into the backwoods of Florida... pack as light as possible and carry a cellphone and lots of water. Walking takes up digging time and my results were few. A couple of small makos, 2 horse teeth, 2 gator teeth, a tapir cap, fish skull cap, a chunk of gator/tapir jaw with alveoli but no teeth, and a handful of small shark teeth. Two items encouraged me to post today. On my walk, I happened to spot a paw print. I had a small knife and a tire iron, so felt I was prepared for any eventuality. 6 months ago , I put up a 3 inch paw print that had claws and it was identified as a coyote that wandered under my house. This paw print seems bigger... This is the tire iron, distance between the bend and narrow part about 7 inches, if I subtract an inch from each side .... about 5 inches. This is the paw print any suggestions on what animal made the print appreciated. When only finding a few fossil, I search the sieve longer. I noted some thing about this fragment that makes me think it is a canine. Now, I do not think we'll be able to Identify but, this changes some of my mind on what the inside of a Canine might look like.... It can have an open core, like gator , whale , etc... It can have different layers, cementum, enamel, dentin I picked it up, because I thought I saw serrations inside the tooth...Look at that last photo below. What is that layer ...how crazy is that ? Crazy enough to want to discuss with you... maybe others can share odd things inside broken canine teeth 2 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meganeura Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 The water has been so murky in the Peace lately - seems they’ve kept Lake Hancock open to maintain the flow rate due to the drought, and so we’re getting all this nasty lake water! Fossils? I dig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted April 8, 2023 Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 2 minutes ago, Meganeura said: The water has been so murky in the Peace lately - seems they’ve kept Lake Hancock open to maintain the flow rate due to the drought, and so we’re getting all this nasty lake water! Everywhere in the watershed, Daniel. It does not seem that you can get away from it. But I suppose all actions are triggered once they figure that we are in drought conditions 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meganeura Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 5 minutes ago, Shellseeker said: Everywhere in the watershed, Daniel. It does not seem that you can get away from it. But I suppose all actions are triggered once they figure that we are in drought conditions I’ve walked a couple creeks that have been, at the very least, clear! Incredibly shallow though. The shallowest I’ve ever seen, at that. Fossils? I dig it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 33 minutes ago, Shellseeker said: any suggestions on what animal made the print appreciated. Prints? Cottontail? 1 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted April 8, 2023 Author Share Posted April 8, 2023 1 minute ago, JohnJ said: Prints? Cottontail? Wow... I was thinking one paw print... Multiple prints. Definitely Cottontails where I was walking Quote Five toes are present on the forefeet, and four on the hind feet, which collectively measure anywhere from 90-100 mm (3-4 in.). Thanks , John 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted April 9, 2023 Author Share Posted April 9, 2023 I am curious and I try to constantly learn. and this morning I learned a couple of things from this enamel fragment of the tooth above. Observations: 1) The tip seems to have horizontal striations. 2) There is an enamel like layer surrounding a central hollow core. Because of the hollow core, estimate half the tooth width is missing. 3) Of the hollow teeth canines, this is not gator or even whale, size eliminates smaller species (raccoon) and larger species (wolf, jaguar)...so I finally settle on dolphin as a possibility.... and I have a few broken dolphin teeth 4) 39 millimeters in length, unbroken length might be 50 mm Look at that last photo. It has that crinkled edge around the break into the hollow core....Wow !!! I first wonder how that can occur.... is it is process of the breakage and then water erosion, or does it exist naturally inside all dolphin teeth ? If it can occur in Dolphin teeth, what about other "hollow core" teeth? What other hollow core canine teeth exist in my hunting areas? Certainly change from being unsure to sure about hollow cores inside dolphin teeth.... and then the question... Is it (ragged edge on the inside core) unique to Dolphin teeth ? which is another way for me to identify the canine fragments I might find... Always curious, always learning... 1 The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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