Ant Hill Shark Teeth & Micros

[JohnBrian]

I went to Ant Hill, which is on the south side of the Kern River & more or less across from Shark Tooth Hill, this past Thursday (5-22-14). The matrix is a little less hard than cement . From the marks I have seen in the dig walls it appears most people use a pick. To say you might have some damaged fossils from using a pick would be an understatement! Using my shovel I was able to get about an inch in the material--- a strong young guy might be able to get four inches or more with a good sharp shovel. I wasn't able to do much digging as my arthritis makes my back & hands hurt a lot when I do any physical activity. I reckon I need to enlist the aid of my 18-year-old nephew.!

I haven't id'ed the teeth yet (haven't checked elasmo.com & I'm still a total Noob on id) but here are the photos of the 3 1/2 teeth + a tip and some micro stuff which I definitely can't id as either plant, animal or mineral.

All the micro stuff I found.

What are these things? (Second photo is reverse side.) About 2mm long. These things are rock hard so not a current plant/animal.

Unknown things. Seed pods? Molar of a ____? 1-2mm wide. These things are rock hard so not a current plant/animal.

Bone or fossil wood? 2mm. This thing is rock hard so not a current plant/animal.

Edited May 24, 2014 by JohnBrian

[hardlyatwork]

the wife and i were up there today. unfortunately i can't help you with id's as we are in the same boat you are. at least you were able to upload pictures. looks like we found some of the same things you did. interested in finding out what we have!

[JohnBrian]

the wife and i were up there today. unfortunately i can't help you with id's as we are in the same boat you are. at least you were able to upload pictures. looks like we found some of the same things you did. interested in finding out what we have!

elasmo.com is probably the best resource for figuring out what you've collected. Go to that site, click on "Faunas" at the top of the page, then look on the left & click on "Sharktooth Hill". On that page there are photos of the teeth found at Sharktooth & at Ant Hill since they are the same deposits. If you click on a picture of a tooth it will take you to the page that has much more information & pictures. When I made my post I had not had the time to go to elasmo.

Happy digging!