Fat Boy Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I've been really busy at work the past few months along with any free time going to coaching my daughter's fastpitch team, so I looked to the first weekday to take a day off to recharge by heading out to collect some fossils. My goal was initially to head to a Paleocene site, but instead because of how the tides played out I set course for Maryland's Chesapeake Bay to a pretty public spot that's well documented on this site. The weather was beautiful and I intended to wet wade but had to chip some ice off my windows in the morning off my car, so I went back into my house and pulled out my waders. When I got there I saw two cars in the parking lot, but where I collect I saw nobody and no footprints, and that's the way it remained all day having it all to myself in collecting solitude. The collecting was a bit slow at first for many reasons, partly because the tide was higher than I expected, but also it took me awhile to get my eye, and I was moving pretty quick along the shore and around the many rocks and trees, so I didn't find much for the first part of the day. I went as far as I could go and then slowed the pace coming back considerably as the tide receded slowly resulting in finding more fossils. I didn't find any of the coveted megs, but did find some pretty cool stuff. Finds for the day: The best finds to me were the lower symphyseal cow shark tooth and of all things, a Cretaceous crow shark tooth, my first ever at this location, both pictured below. The Cretaceous formations are either well offshore or many feet below the surface, and the crow shark tooth is in pretty good shape for a reworked tooth (still a possibility). My first thought was that perhaps the recent hurricane dumped some of the sand from the main bay channel up on the beach. Other collectors have also stated that the tooth could have been dropped inadvertantly from another collector, perhaps as a hitchhiker. No matter how it got there, it was a surprise for sure! Cow and crow: I found a couple nice hemis, a small mako, some nice porpoise teeth, a nice 'lil thresher, what looks like a broken symphyseal G. contortus tooth, a fish tooth (perhaps barracuda), and a turtle shell fragment, all pictured below as well: What looked to me like a cool looking fossiled bone in that pic above turned out to be a non-fossil. The pitch black coloration faded to what looks like modern bone...I was fooled. However, I now pick up anything that I think is a fossil and sort things out later rather than making the decision in the field. I've been burned a few times tossing specimens away thinking that they weren't fossils only to find out later that they were. Anyway, I took home less than past trips but had a great time collecting them. Each time I go it seems that something memorable is collected. This time it was the unexpected Cretaceous crow shark tooth...no matter how it got there. I can't wait to get out again! Kevin Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 A great haul, you have some very nice teeth there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Boy Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 A great haul, you have some very nice teeth there. Thanks Nicholas! Oh, the first photo didn't turn out that well, but what looks like a blob below the largest Hemi is a worn and broken small Meg tooth (probably chubutensis). So I guess I wasn't megless technically Kevin Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Sharks Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 According to Kent's "Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region". Squalicorax kaupi (like yours) is very abundant in the Merchantville, Marshalltown, Mount Laurel and Severn formations. Also it is rarely collected in the Brightseat and Aquia formations almost certainly as reworked specimens. All these formations are in MD, but I don't know exactly where. Nice group of teeth There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Great finds and another day spent very productive, what a good way to recharge. very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorman Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Great finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Crow Shark! I never found one at the Virginia sites I used to haunt; more time in Maryland is required... "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 the crow shark tooth is a very rare find. I would also like to look at that fish thing you found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Boy Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Crow Shark! I never found one at the Virginia sites I used to haunt; more time in Maryland is required... Actually, it's the first one that I ever found on the Bay! The only ones that I've found in Maryland previous to that were in a Cretaceous site in Bowie that is now apparently off limits , and one lone specimen that I found along the C&D Canal a long time ago in Delaware. All of these crow sharks were Squalicorax kaupi. That said, next time you visit Myrtle Beach, you should be able to find some of them on the beach. I've found over a dozen crow sharks there, some in very good shape. All of them were S. kaupi, but I did find one S. pristodontis with a broken root there. I've never been to New Jersey to find shark's teeth, but some day that would be a worthwhile trip. I understand that you can find both species there. I love collecting in Va. as it seems that I always find something different there, whether it's the York, James, or Potomac Rivers. Kevin Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenixflood Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 The lower symphyseal cow shark tooth I would agree is the best! have you ever found one of those before? That's a great find and it's in pretty good condition. I've never found a crow shark in MD but have in NC. And you found these bayside? The soul of a Fossil Hunter is one that is seeking, always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Boy Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 The lower symphyseal cow shark tooth I would agree is the best! have you ever found one of those before? That's a great find and it's in pretty good condition. I've never found a crow shark in MD but have in NC. And you found these bayside? Yes, thank you. I've found some lower and upper cow shark symphyseal teeth before along the Chesapeake Bay. I usually leave there with one or more cow shark teeth every trip, some of them in great shape, but symphyseal teeth don't come by but once in a long while for me. Before this latest trip, the last lower one that I found had a much better root. I'll have to get some pics and post later. It's the only crow shark that I've found on the bay so far. I also collect along the local rivers and streams that cut through Paleocene formations (in Maryland, the Aquia and Nanjemoy) and there is a chance to find them there, but so far I have not found any. I guess you could consider the C&D Canal part of the Bay since it connects the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, but those fossils are found in spoil piles dredged to make and maintain the canal and are of Cretaceous origin. So if you include that lone tooth, that that's 2 of them for me! It's pretty funny that on most trips I get all hyped up to find that huge meg, mako or otodus only to be disappointed when I don't find one. Then, it dawns on me that sometimes great teeth come in small packages like the lower symphyseal cow shark tooth or an angel shark tooth, etc. and that those things can make or break a trip (although, the worst trip still beats work any day). Also, when I get home I'll check out almost every tooth I find under a magnifying glass, often finding things out that I would never have seen, that kind of tell a story about that particular tooth. What may seem like an ordinary Carcharhinus tooth may turn out to be something special when viewed on that scale, or I may learn something about that species that I didn't realize before. An example of this the other day was I checked out a Galeocerdo aduncus tooth and thought it may have been a pathological tooth because the upper most serration on the distal shoulder was multiserrated itself. I decided to check all of my G. aduncus teeth and they were similarly serrated. I never realized it before (DUH), but I thought it was pretty cool. G. contortus serrations are much more uniform on the shoulders (and much more finely serrated as well). My wife rolled her eyes when I blurted out my discovery to my daughter, LOL. In addition, when I examined one of the shark verts I found bite marks on it...pretty cool too. I guess I could get pics of that too. Kevin Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Boy Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 According to Kent's "Fossil Sharks of the Chesapeake Bay Region". Squalicorax kaupi (like yours) is very abundant in the Merchantville, Marshalltown, Mount Laurel and Severn formations. Also it is rarely collected in the Brightseat and Aquia formations almost certainly as reworked specimens. All these formations are in MD, but I don't know exactly where. Nice group of teeth I love Kent's book. It's my favorite reference book on teeth for ID purposes. Yeah, I checked it out when I got home the other day. I thought about it all the way home. Unfortunately, most of those formations aren't near (or buried deep below) where I was so that's what is so weird about it. It probably fell out of another collector's screen, LOL. Kevin Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I love Kent's book. It's my favorite reference book on teeth for ID purposes. Yeah, I checked it out when I got home the other day. I thought about it all the way home. Unfortunately, most of those formations aren't near (or buried deep below) where I was so that's what is so weird about it. It probably fell out of another collector's screen, LOL. Unless you dig them out of matrix, all these teeth are "float" of uncertain origin. I once found an Otodus at Westmorland; who knows how it got there? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Boy Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Unless you dig them out of matrix, all these teeth are "float" of uncertain origin. I once found an Otodus at Westmorland; who knows how it got there? Agreed! Actually, I lost my favorite Otodus at Westmoreland... Kevin Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bmorefossil Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Unless you dig them out of matrix, all these teeth are "float" of uncertain origin. I once found an Otodus at Westmorland; who knows how it got there? i know that a few of us have found otodus teeth at brownies!! i saw a kid one day with a 2.5" otodus and when he told us he found it at brownies we laughed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryland Mike Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Nice haul. You definitely had a pretty good day at the Bay. I wish I were in a position to get out some weekdays. Carpe Diem, Carpe Somnium Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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