Jump to content

Stroll in the Sunshine


Shellseeker

Recommended Posts

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.

IMG_7658text.thumb.jpg.b4b33ed43edd35c9caa8616e18fd6d2d.jpg

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.

IMG_9610ce.thumb.jpg.2d1b73816c2e2d4886e70fa183ced119.jpg

 

This is the paw print

IMG_9574ce.thumb.jpg.e649f89cda58a73c17d8e0768182991e.jpg

 

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 :headscratch:

 

 

IMG_9637Text.thumb.jpg.e88a9abeeefdf2a7b28780f73860dcc8.jpgIMG_9618snip.JPG.6c2fcf8f8118217b8ff79fbdbf9e3dd3.JPGIMG_9636ce.thumb.jpg.6660ee2adccd9c7184893ec46003b32c.jpgIMG_9636ceCapture.JPG.f489208bda2043814ea2b1851228efa1.JPG

  • Enjoyed 2

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. :meg:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

  • Enjoyed 1

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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. :meg:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

any suggestions on what animal made the print appreciated.

Prints?  Cottontail?

  • I found this Informative 1

The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

  • Enjoyed 1

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

 

Merge1.thumb.jpg.934fdf6f45348fb2dcc5bb91491e638b.jpgMerge2.thumb.jpg.ea0d8eb39ca9cec2aabce2c18a927923.jpgMerge3.thumb.jpg.ad63329f0ee8dbc15d5ac2b77c530bf0.jpg

 

 

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...

 

  • I found this Informative 1

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...