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Show Us Your Shark Vertebrae


Ramo

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There is a thread with some huge Texas shark Verts, and a discussion started about the shape of different shark verts, sizes, etc. I thought I'd start this thread, so we can see what others have in their collections to help shed some light on this subject.

I'll start with a string of verts found with one small Squalicorax tooth. (Fort Hays Limestone)

Followed by a "bunch" of small ptychodus teeth with a single damaged vert, and a cast from another vertebrae that was eroded away. (Greenhorn Limestone)

Ramo

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For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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Good idea for a thread. Here is the only shark vert I have, part of one from the chalk; too fragile to do any prep.

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Regards,

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Here are two shark vertebrae. Specimen on the left I recovered from an Indian shell mound which I believe to be modern. Specimen on the right I found in a Aggregate quarry in West Palm Beach FL which is fossil. They seem identical in size and shape only difference is the fossil has much more weight.

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21.JPG

Here's a fragmentary basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) vertebra from the Mio-Pliocene Purisima Formation, now in UCMP collections.

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Here are a few images of my shark verts. The last couple are images of Squalicorax kaupi vertebrae from the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale of South Dakota. The third is an associated set of verts from a shark I believe to be S. falcatus. My oldest daugher found it in the Upper Cretaceous Britton Formation in north Texas a few years ago. The large single vert is the one I obtained on ebay, from the Lower Cretaceous Walnut Formation of central Texas. I believe it is from a Leptostyrax macrorhiza but this ID is not confirmed. The image with the 4 vert strings contains 2 small strings from what I believe to be S. kaupi from the Niobrara of western Kansas. The 2 larger strings are from the Pierre Shale of South Dakota. I am not certain of the type of lamniform shark these came from.

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21.JPG

Here's a fragmentary basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) vertebra from the Mio-Pliocene Purisima Formation, now in UCMP collections.

Hi Bobby i was wondering how you can identify a shark from its vertebra.?

i have found 3 large vertebra 4" ,4.5" and 5" inch in dia from within concretons from mio-plio from here in Taranaki NZ thanks Dave

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Harry,

I have seen the vertebral centrum form of the three on the left identified as either Carcharhinus or Carcharhinidae (see Itoigawa et al, 1985; Purdy et al., 2001). What is your source for the scyliorhinoid identification?

Jess

Itoigawa, J., H. Nishimoto, H. Karasawa, and Y. Okumara. 1985.

Miocene fossils of the Mizunami group, central Japan. 3. Elasmobranchs. Monograph of the Mizunami Fossil Museum. 5.

Purdy, R.W., V.P. Schneider, S.P. Applegate, J.H. McLellan, R.I. Meyer, and B.H. Slaughter. 2001.
The Neogene Sharks, Rays, and Bony Fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina. In: Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III. C. E. Ray & D. J. Bohaska (eds.) Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, No 90. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. pp. 71-202.

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Harry,

I have seen the vertebral centrum form of the three on the left identified as either Carcharhinus or Carcharhinidae (see Itoigawa et al, 1985; Purdy et al., 2001). What is your source for the scyliorhinoid identification?

Jess

Itoigawa, J., H. Nishimoto, H. Karasawa, and Y. Okumara. 1985.

Miocene fossils of the Mizunami group, central Japan. 3. Elasmobranchs. Monograph of the Mizunami Fossil Museum. 5.

Purdy, R.W., V.P. Schneider, S.P. Applegate, J.H. McLellan, R.I. Meyer, and B.H. Slaughter. 2001.

The Neogene Sharks, Rays, and Bony Fishes from Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina. In: Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III. C. E. Ray & D. J. Bohaska (eds.) Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, No 90. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C. pp. 71-202.

My reference was Bretton W. Kent, FOSSIL SHARKS OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY REGION (1994); pp. 9 (with illustrations). Kent refers to Norm Tessman in a 1966 Plaster Jacket article, THE CENOZOIC SHARKS OF FLORIDA. (I don't find reference to vertebrae in Tessman's 1969 thesis.)

On page 2 of the 1966 Plaster Jacket article (the very first Plaster Jacket issued), Tessman provides illustrations and simply asserts:

"Two distinct types of vertebrae are readily distinguished. The more primitive shark families have less completely developed vertebrae, referred to as LAMNOID vertebrae, whereas the higher families have a more solid type which are known as SCYLIORHINOID vertebrae."

This suggest to me that Tessman was relying on some earlier work, though such is not cited.

While I am no great fan of Norm Tessman's work, both Kent and Hulbert have relied sometimes on his work.

http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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This is one of two jackets containing 40 associated shark verts we found in our quarry, located in the Sharktooth Hill area of Bakersfield, CA. - Round mountain silt formation. The larger jacket is done being prepared (below) and I will be working on getting the second one done soon. They are on display at the Buena Vista Museum in Bakersfield. There were also many Isurus hastalis teeth found amoung them.

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This is one of two jackets containing 40 associated shark verts we found in our quarry, located in the Sharktooth Hill area of Bakersfield, CA. - Round mountain silt formation. The larger jacket is done being prepared (below) and I will be working on getting the second one done soon. They are on display at the Buena Vista Museum in Bakersfield. There were also many Isurus hastalis teeth found amoung them.

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Absolutely beautiful!

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  • 6 months later...

Here are two views of a shark vertebra that has been identified as Galeocerdo. It's Late Miocene, Bone Valley Formation, Polk County, Florida.

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  • 3 months later...

Hi Ramo,

Just found this topic as I was browsing. Nice find on those Ptychodus. Are they Ptychodus Anonymous? Did you happen to find them at the top of the greenhorn?

>Michael

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Yes Michael, I believe it to be from the upper Jetmore, but I'm not 100% sure it's not Pfeifer.

Since this was brought back up I guess I could add this "string" of missing shark verts found as debris piled into a culvert to prevent erosion. I'm sure it's Greenhorn, but no way of knowing exactly where it came from.

Ramo

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For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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Thanks Ramo. This is an articulated shark tail with associated teeth that I found at the top of the Greenhorn, Pfeifer Shale, just below the fence post layer in an old quarry. Any help with teeth identification would be appreciated.

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fantastic assemblage Stonebone! :)

"Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus

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That is a super nice string you have there. Can you post some close ups of the teeth?

Ramo

(Kind of makes me sick seeing all those old quarries that are now filled in with silt and overgrown. Those quarries are everywhere around here, and I only have a couple worth hunting!)

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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  • 2 years later...

I found this in Fort Worth, Tx! It's about 4in wide and i was curious if i was told right on what species it is. I was told its a Otonus vertebrae dated around 50 million years old. Any information would be great!

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