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Purse State Park Find


JohnPM

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I found this at Purse State Park on August 24.

It looks like a part of a bivalve, but I have no idea of what it is.

One side:post-11564-0-12177500-1377461444_thumb.jpg

Flipped over: post-11564-0-94568000-1377461515_thumb.jpg

Help, please?

Thanks,

JohnPM

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Hi JohnPM, welcome to the forum!

I can see why you might think its a bivalve, maybe some weathered part of an internal mold as it sort of has an unusual possible shell shape and smooth texture on the one side. My first guess though would be it's part of a concretion. The reason I say that is that the second photo seems to show some type of rim/external layer that I believe is concretion like and not organic. Certainly could be wrong since we are doing this from photos....

Have there been other concretions found there? What about internal bivalve molds?

Hope this helps a bit...

Regards, Chris

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Hi Chris.

I did see some weathered internal molds and lots of iron concretions as Auspex noted in my other post including one evilly shaped like a meg tooth that made me make a plunge into the river. I tossed it back into the shallows but not far enough. I could still see it lying meg-like there amongst the lighter colored gravel and river stones waiting to claim its next victim. Sorry fellow Purse State Park-Potomac River, Maryland collectors!

However, this find was different from the other molds and accretions in composition and texture. To me there is something scute-ish about it. It has a similar organic feel to it, like the dolphin/porpoise bulla that I found near it. Probably just wishful thinking on my part.

Thanks again, Chris.

BTW, what was a dolphin/porpoise bulla doing hanging out in a Paleocene fossil neighborhood?

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I would say it is a weathered part of an internal mold of a bivalve. There are places along the Potomac where there are hundreds of them.

Also there aren't any megs at Purse State Park unless another collector put one there. Only the megs distant ancestor, Otodus obliquus.

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Otodus obliquus. Thanks, Marco. I have some research to do. I'm going to miss telling everyone that I'm on the hunt for a "MEG" though.

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Marco Sr., I found what I thought were internal bivalve molds but they were composed of light colored sedimentary rock. I have only been on the Potomac shore three times so I haven't seen a lot. Have you found weathered molds of like color and texture along the Potomac? If so,can you tell me where to look? Purse is the only site that I know about.

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Here is a link to one of our pages with Otodus obliquus on our phatfossils website. If you clique on the numbers at the top or bottom of the page you can get to the other Otodus pages. Most of our Otodus obliquus are from Purse State Park.

http://www.phatfossils.com/species.php?species=Otodus%20Obliquus&thisOffset=0&lineIndex=0

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Marco Sr., I found what I thought were internal bivalve molds but they were composed of light colored sedimentary rock. I have only been on the Potomac shore three times so I haven't seen a lot. Have you found weathered molds of like color and texture along the Potomac? If so,can you tell me where to look? Purse is the only site that I know about.

Most of the molds I see are the same color as yours although some are more tan in color. The Paleocene formations are on both sides of the river. However you need a boat to get to them.

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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JohnPM,

This site is about 22 million years older, (about 55 million years ago), than the youngest "Meg". I'm going down there in October for a walk-about on the beach to see what jumps out to my old eyes. I have a hard time getting over the downed trees but usually find a way around them. Its still a nice place to take a walk on the beach and feed the flying critters a bit of what blood I have left.

Joe D.

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JoeD,

I'm looking forward to the Fall when some storms will hopefully loose some the big Otodus teeth from the cliffs for me then you to find. Kidding...sort of.

Surface pickings were kind of slim last week. Hopefully, I'll be heading back in a few weeks to break in my brand spanking new soil sifter.

Maybe I'll bump into you there some time. Good hunting!

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I collect at Purse often, have never seen a meg or porpoise bone. Would like to see a pic of the "dolphin/porpoise bulla" you found there. Maybe it fell out of my bag from a previous trip!

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JohnPM,

I use my metal detector beach scoop and a commercial brass strainer for sifting, the scoop can dig pretty good and deposit it's contents into the sifter. It also makes it easier to pick up objects without bending over, which helps with these old bones I am stuck with. My Titanium and plastic knee never complains and it's a whole lot better than my past broken one. My backpack is a lot lighter when I'm "fossicking", than rock collecting. No need for chisels and other rock breaking tools. I still pick up pretty rocks when fossicking though, I just can't help it.

My children and grandchildren usually lay claim to the big shark teeth and leave me the smaller ones. For some reason they aren't interested in keeping any bones. One thinks I'm a serial killer. since I like dead things. I try and teach them the dead things I like are over a million years old and I never disturb Homo Sapiens or their belongings. Two of them have almost depleted my rock collection, since I give them anything that interests them. Now their parents are complaining about finding room for all the rocks and fossils in their houses. I just laugh at them and tell them it's part of being parents and a stepping stone to science careers and allowing them to dream and look forward to learning more about this wonderful World we live in.

I spend lots of time in the water at the beach and will have my wading boots on. I'm looking forward to exploring Purse in October. A few September storms would help the fossicking.

Joe D.

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I collect at Purse often, have never seen a meg or porpoise bone. Would like to see a pic of the "dolphin/porpoise bulla" you found there. Maybe it fell out of my bag from a previous trip!

Uh oh, the dreaded skeptical quote marks!

In my weak defense, I showed my find to a fellow hunter (the guy that was digging with the bucket - you know who you are) that day and it was he who pronounced that it was a dolphin ear bone.

I looked it up when I got home and it did look something look the "bulla" image, but on second, third and fourth thoughts I'm I thinking that I may have to describe it with the other word besides "Otodus" that I learned on this thread, "concretion."

Anyhow, have a look, I hope that you will tell me that it is indeed a dolphin/porpoise bulla, but I am bracing myself for the "c" word.

post-11564-0-69581500-1377821204_thumb.jpg

post-11564-0-91572400-1377821206_thumb.jpg

post-11564-0-66704100-1377821208_thumb.jpg

post-11564-0-90659900-1377821211_thumb.jpg

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If looks like another of those tricky concretions. If it were dolphin material it would have almost certainly dropped out of someones pack. The age material exposed at Purse is much older the the arrival of the dolphins. The age material where dolphins would be present is however exposed many miles south of the Purse State Park.

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If looks like another of those tricky concretions. If it were dolphin material it would have almost certainly dropped out of someones pack. The age material exposed at Purse is much older the the arrival of the dolphins. The age material where dolphins would be present is however exposed many miles south of the Purse State Park.

Does dolphin material look anything like this?

post-11564-0-52151300-1377825028_thumb.jpg

post-11564-0-82352700-1377825030_thumb.jpg

post-11564-0-79840200-1377825032_thumb.jpg

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