BrowniesMix Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Hello, all... I've attached front/back photos of our the two biggest teeth my wife and I have found in the Calvert Cliffs area. My wife and I found the 2-inch tooth on the left many months ago while sifting sand -- we don't think it ever made it into the bay. We've been thinking that it is an upper tooth from an Isurus hastalis mako -- does anyone disagree? The tooth on the right I picked up in the surf yesterday. Slant height is 1 and 5/8 inches. Is it a megalodon tooth, or subauriculatus/chubutensis? Or maybe a transitional? Unfortunately the one side where a cusp might be is chipped, and the other side (to me) is inconclusive. Is it also possible to guess at the tooth position? Regardless of what it is, I am thrilled to have found my first megatooth shark tooth, relatively small as it may be! The other photos are of a vertebra that I plucked out of the muck a few weeks ago. Someone looked at it and said small whale cervical vertebra, but if anyone wants to try to provide more detailed information it would be most welcome. If further photos are needed for a positive ID I can certainly post more. Thanks for having a look, and thanks to everyone here for making this a great forum -- we have learned a lot while lurking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Welcome aboard! I think you have your finds pretty well figured out. I will weigh in on the "Chub" side of the debate for your Meg; their serrations always seemed to me to be more 'finger-like' (proportionally longer and somewhat rod shaped) than those of a basic Meg, and the bump at the base of the crown is pretty suggestive of a cusp (although this feature, to varying degrees, turns up across the entire Megalodon lineage). I expect my opinion to elicit debate, but I'm sticking with it! "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...
PRK Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I like your teeth. Any tooth with serrations is really cool in my book. Serrated teeth are uncommon in my neck of th. can anyone enlighten me on the color differentiation? As far as the vert, yes it is a sm. whale, however doesn't look like a cervical but from the lumbar region Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njfossilhunter Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Welcome to the forum....In the first picture you have a lateral Mako tooth and the second tooth is also a lateral tooth from a Megalodon and the rest are whale verts...those are nice finds. TonyThe Brooks Are Like A Box Of Chocolates,,,, You Never Know What You'll Find. I Told You I Don't Have Alzheimer's.....I Have Sometimers. Some Times I Remember And Some Times I Forget.... I Mostly Forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrowniesMix Posted November 4, 2012 Author Share Posted November 4, 2012 I like your teeth. Any tooth with serrations is really cool in my book. Serrated teeth are uncommon in my neck of th. can anyone enlighten me on the color differentiation? As far as the vert, yes it is a sm. whale, however doesn't look like a cervical but from the lumbar region Color variation is more or less solely dependant on the type/color of sediment that produces the fossil, as I understand it. And, PRK, thanks for correcting me on the type of vertebra -- now that you mention it, I think I was indeed told lumbar and not cervical. Thanks, everyone, for the opinions and a warm welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Oops I posted to the Rongelap thread. I understand the color variation due to mineral differentiation. However I was under the assumption those teeth were from the same locale? Most teeth in my area are on the lighter color side. Like yours. The dark teeth are generally darker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I mean dark teeth east coast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njfossilhunter Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 In both Maryland and Virgina Miocene coastal deposits you can get both light colors and dark colors like both of these teeth pictured here by randsphilly in very same deposits even if they are right next to each other in the deposit...I guess that is due to the chemical composition of the tooth its self rather the mineral in the deposits....I have also found vertebra's that was close to each other that were a light tan color and black color ...the one thing I noticed was that the larger whale verts were black most of the time...with only a few smaller one black as well .....while it was more common to have light tan colored verts for the smaller whales then the larger whale.....Is there anyone else on the forum that has noticed such things in the Virgina and Maryland deposits and what do you think contributed to these colors in fossils that layed next to each other in the same formations. TonyThe Brooks Are Like A Box Of Chocolates,,,, You Never Know What You'll Find. I Told You I Don't Have Alzheimer's.....I Have Sometimers. Some Times I Remember And Some Times I Forget.... I Mostly Forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisw422 Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I haven't noticed the color difference in vertebrae tell you mentioned it. I live in virginia and I haven't found any vertebrae laying side by side yet.the vertebrae I have found I have realized the bigger ones are darker than the smaller vertebrae! I have no clue why either. That is a great question that has sparked interest! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Don't know bout that. I meant the teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njfossilhunter Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I haven't noticed the color difference in vertebrae tell you mentioned it. I live in virginia and I haven't found any vertebrae laying side by side yet.the vertebrae I have found I have realized the bigger ones are darker than the smaller vertebrae! I have no clue why either. That is a great question that has sparked interest! Thanks Thats what is so interesting about fossils ,,,there are never ending questions when it comes to this stuff...The more you learn ....the more you have questions. I'm happy I had sparked some questions in your mind. TonyThe Brooks Are Like A Box Of Chocolates,,,, You Never Know What You'll Find. I Told You I Don't Have Alzheimer's.....I Have Sometimers. Some Times I Remember And Some Times I Forget.... I Mostly Forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRK Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 AH HA! Didn't see your other post NJ tank you--- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrowniesMix Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 Is it worth trying to get a really fine pick/pin to clean out the striations on the labial side of the meg tooth? Or am I just risking damage unnecessarily? I've already rinsed/soaked it in fresh water for a bit, as I do with pretty much everything we find down there. (The vert sat in a fresh water soak for a few weeks - we changed the water every day.) Anything else we should do with respect to preservation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njfossilhunter Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) Is it worth trying to get a really fine pick/pin to clean out the striations on the labial side of the meg tooth? Or am I just risking damage unnecessarily? I've already rinsed/soaked it in fresh water for a bit, as I do with pretty much everything we find down there. (The vert sat in a fresh water soak for a few weeks - we changed the water every day.) Anything else we should do with respect to preservation? What I do is lightly scrub the tooth with a soft toothbrush under slow running water and as far as the vert ...I clean them the same way..but it will take a little longer because of all the nooks and crannies and even then you might have to use something like a toothpick to clean out the rest of the sediments. I have cleaned about 70 whale verts this way with no problems. This is all I do to the fossils like yours unless I decide to coat them with a petroleum base sealer if really needed ,,,,which for me is very rarely done Edited November 5, 2012 by njfossilhunter TonyThe Brooks Are Like A Box Of Chocolates,,,, You Never Know What You'll Find. I Told You I Don't Have Alzheimer's.....I Have Sometimers. Some Times I Remember And Some Times I Forget.... I Mostly Forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vordigern Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 love the creamy color of that Mako!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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