Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Microfossils From Lee Creek Mine, Nc

[gdarone]

Thank you, sixgill pete, for the small USPS box of fine Lee Creek Mine matrix from North Carolina. This was my second batch of Lee Creek matrial (the first from jcbshark), and I was hoping to fill in some gaps in the species in my Lee Creek Mine collection. This material delivered, and I was able to add several species to my "got it" list

Here are my best guess at IDs for some of the better specimens found. There is some overlap from this batch and the previous batch. As always, corrections to any IDs are welcome.

IDing was done using elasmo.com, aurorafossilmuseum.com, fossilguy.com, several TFF member posts about Lee Creek and North Carolina (brachiomyback and MarcoSr) and the two Geological Survey Papers "Mollusca from the Miocene and Lower Pliocene of Virginia and North Carolina: Scaphopoda and Gastropoda" and "Mollusca from the Miocene and Lower Pliocene of Virginia and North Carolina: Pelecypoda"

Scaphopoda and Gastropoda

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

1) Arene pergemma 2) Mitrella lunata 3) Turritella alticostata 4) Dentalium carolinense 5) Gastropod internal cast

Pelecypoda

6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11)

6) Mulinia congesta 7) Glans tridentata decemcostata 8) Astarte sp. 9) Mysella sp. 10) Plicatula marginata 11) Discradisca lugubris

Rays and Sharks

12) 13) 14) 15) 16)

12) Dasyatis sp. 13) Ray barb 14) Carcharinhus sp. 15) Carcharias sp. 16) Hemipristis curvatus

17) 18) 19)

17) Galeocerdo aduncus? 18) Isurus sp.? 19) Hemipristis sp.?

Fish

20) 21) 22) 23) 24)

20) Chilomycterus sp. 21) Pogonias sp. 22 - 24) Sparidae sp.

Other

25) 26) 27) 28) 29)

25) Balanus sp. 26) Coprolite 27) Crab claw 28) Echinoid spine 29) Echinoid test

Puzzlers?

30) 31) 32) 33)

30) Dophin tooth? 31) This was joined together like a zipper when I found it, but it has since separated? 32) It is symetrical, the reverse looks the same, almost arrowhead shaped, but looks natural and bone-like. 33) Sand dollar internal structure?

[gdarone]

I found where I had seen a tooth profile like the one in 19)

SHARKS OF THE ORDER CARCHARHINIFORMES FROM THE BRITISH CONIACIAN, SANTONIAN AND CAMPANIAN (UPPER CRETACEOUS) by Underwood and Ward

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00757.x/abstract

[obsessed1]

Nice finds!

A few ID's if I may? There isn't any cretaceous in the Lee Creek material. I feel #17 is a Galeocerdo aduncus, #19 is Hemipristis, #30 is dolphin tooth, The reason you can't find a reference for # 33 is because it shows the internal structure of a sand dollar. Hope this helps.

[gdarone]

Ah! A quick Google image search for sand dollar fragments reveals that you are correct! Thanks for helping with #33! I was wondering why I hadn't found any sand dollars...

I knew the material was not cretaceous, so I didn't think it was Squalicorax, really, so thanks for the correction for #17. Looking at Galeocerdo aduncus, however, it should have serrations on the shoulder, not the extra cusplet on the shoulder. Any chance it might be Triaenodon obesus?

[obsessed1]

I hope you don't mind, I enlarged your photo of the tooth in question and there appears to be worn serrations on the tooth. You would be able to better tell than I by a photo but they are very worn. Many times the serrations on teeth from the reject material are worn almost to the point they can't be seen due to the processing at the mine. Below your tooth is a close-up of a aduncus from Lee Creek from one of my trips.

[gdarone]

Thanks!