New Site For Shark Teeth - Wyoming - Finally Got Permission

[WyomingRocks! 15]

Hello, it has been a long time since I was on the Forum; glad I finally have time from work for it.

I have found one site here in Wyoming where I find Hybontid (don't know if I spelled that right) and only a couple examples of other types. A possible site that I have really been wanting to check out is on a ranch just west of me and after asking about once per year the owner at last caved in and let me look. I normally look for dinosaur related material and that is what I was expecting here. As I was walking to the area I wanted to check out I came across an exposure of sandstone and it has a layer of shells and gastropods running through it. I did not go to find that types of fossils so I looked real quick and moved on. I did find one shark tooth in this spot. I got to the site; and found nothing. I could not believe it. So, I went and followed strata that I found the shells and shark tooth and started finding more stuff. Shark teeth lying on the ground and just eroding out of the sandstone. I found some really nice oyster shells, few snails and mixed in were a few pieces of bone and other stuff. I found one block of rock that was loaded with fossils and there was a Mosasaur tooth in that had been exposed for a long time and was in a lot of pieces. It was more than 2" long but the only part still completely intact was the tip. There were four nice long straight ammonites there also with the biggest being about 8" long. Enough rambling. I will post some of the pics of the first day I was there, I found 17 but will only show a few.

[Uncle Siphuncle 3,172]

good story of success attributed to persistence...bravo!

[cowsharks 49]

Congrats on getting permission to finally get a look around on that ranch. I might be good to put together a small riker display with some of the finds and give it to the ranch/land owner as a gesture of gratitude - he might be willing to let you have many more return trips

I really like the crowshark tooth - great preservation. That first tooth in the sandstone is interesting. I don't recognize it though - any ideas as to what it is?

Oh ya, ground shots of the area/fossils are always great too if you have them

Daryl.

[njfossilhunter 177]

Very Cool....Congrad's

[Fossildude19 13,883]

Congratulations - nice finds.

You might consider making a gift of some of those fossils to the landowner for goodwill purposes.

Cannot hurt, at least.

Regards,

[zachj 8]

thats a killer squali!

[Just Bob 2]

By all means show them all please.

[Auspex 3,996]

I'd be looking for Hesperornis material in that exposure...just sayin'.

[DE&i 470]

Its great to hear you achieved your goals....great finds.

[jpc 3,617]

Nice teeth. Looks like you are in the Carlile Shale (eastern WY) or the Frontier Fm (the rest of the state). That first tooth looks fishy. Congrats oh finally getting access. That can be sucha challenge around here.

[WyomingRocks! 15]

I was in the middle of posting the rest when my wife called down the stairs and asked if I was ready to leave yet. Of course, I said, where to and it comes out that I had forgot that we were going to my daughters violin concert today. Bad on me.

A couple days later I went back and found a nice tooth as soon as I stepped into the bare dirt area. I was not even able to get two feet in before finding one. But, that was it as most of the area I had checked out 2 days before. Then I looked at a red ant hill, or harvester ant hill, and started finding SMALL teeth all over it. I found 70 teeth on it in a short amount of time. Most were Odontaspis (not sure) with a few other types. Some small dino teeth, Champsosaurus teeth, rayfish teeth and a couple of oddities. Could one be a whale shark tooth? The one has a very odd root system that is blocky and larger than the tooth. My pics are not that good but I hope everybody can see them alright.

First though, a pic of the snail I found and some of the shark teeth from both days. The first tooth here is the odd one I found and the second is the very small one that I though might be a whale shark? The teeth are both about 3/16"-1/4" long. These pics probably do not show enough of the teeth to identify them so let me know what angles I need to take pictures at. Like I mentioned, these are not great pictures even though I tried twice with macro mode. Maybe I need a better camera.

[WyomingRocks! 15]

Here are more teeth I found. Oh, I found a Lonchidion selachos or Lissodus tooth on the ant hill. Of the ~70 teeth I found on the ant hill the largest one was maybe 3/4" long. I found some larger teeth in the area but the biggest one (1 1/2") had been exposed for a while and had turned white. That oyster looks like a bug.

I have to leave again to pick up the kids from school so I will post the rest later.

[Auspex 3,996]

The odd little 'teeth' could well be dermal denticles.

[RickNC 60]

Very cool. We have toyed with the idea of moving out that way.

[Missourian 818]

Nice work.

Ditto on giving a riker display to the landowner.

[DeloiVarden 15]

Great story and I am sure those finds mean even more to you since you found them on your own. Great job on the research and perseverence. Most folks now just bug everyone else for info on spots instead of doing their own detective work. How much fun would easter egg hunting have been as a child if you mom went in front of you and pointed to all of the eggs for you?

[cowsharks 49]

WR, I believe that small shark tooth you think might be a whale shark tooth is actually a Basking Shark tooth (Cetorhinus). If you find more of those ant hills, scoop off the top inch or so of dirt and take it home to sift in some window screen/water.

daryl.

[WyomingRocks! 15]

That is a good idea. I will make up a small display with the different kinds of teeth and give to the landowner. I may be out there more often!

[Auspex 3,996]

...I believe that small shark tooth you think might be a whale shark tooth is actually a Basking Shark tooth (Cetorhinus)....

Neither were around in the Cretaceous, were they?

[fossilselachian 138]

If you find more of those ant hills, scoop off the top inch or so of dirt and take it home to sift in some window screen/water.

daryl.

Years ago I had a friend from WY who would UPS me canvas sacks of ant hill gravel from the Worland, WY area. I found many hundreds of small shark teeth in this material with a good diversity of species. Some years ago Jerry Case described the Cretaceous sharks of this area in the German journal Palaeontographica.

[jpc 3,617]

WyoRocks (and you're right.. it does)..

I think the little teeth with the weird angle (your possible whale shark) are actually skin denticles. They're not too common around here... at least not where I collect. If you do the anthill thing, try it when they are not active (too cold or hot, or nighttime) and they will continually resurface their little hill with new teeth for you every year. I even think taking an inch is too much... just scraape off enough until just before you expose the finer material inside. If you collect when the ants are active, you're collection will have lots of dead ants. Be good to the ants, they will be good to you.

Have fun and good luck.

[Al Dente 4,377]

This tooth that you found is most likely an Ischyrhiza oral tooth.

[WyomingRocks! 15]

Everybody - Thanks for your ideas about my finds and it was great to finally be able to get out there and look.

I thought of going back and scraping the anthill and it could not be a more perfect time since it has not made it to the freezing mark for a while here. I have noticed that the roots are not preserved very well and break easily.

I have some more teeth and will show those later.

Stephen

[Uncle Siphuncle 3,172]

hahaha DV! sad but all too true....

Great story and I am sure those finds mean even more to you since you found them on your own. Great job on the research and perseverence. Most folks now just bug everyone else for info on spots instead of doing their own detective work. How much fun would easter egg hunting have been as a child if you mom went in front of you and pointed to all of the eggs for you?

[non-remanié 255]

Definitely an Ischyrhiza mira oral tooth. Al Dente has it!

WyomingRocks, could you share a pic of the champsosaur teeth? I had problems in the past finding any reliable pictures of them on the internet, even though I know they are fairly common out there.

This tooth that you found is most likely an Ischyrhiza oral tooth.

Ischyrhiza.jpg