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Here's A Few Cretaceous Fossils That Have Me Stumped


Mtskinner

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Thanks for all the comments on the previous finds! I have one more that has me stumped! This one came from the same area and appears to be a mouth plate of some sort, but I have no clue other than that. It's just over 2" in length and an 1" wide. Thanks in advance!

Terence

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That is an amazing creek!

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Thanks guys, actually there are three creeks in my area we hunt that all run together and we find this stuff all through them. From cretacious shells/snails to mastodon teeth and Indian artifacts all along side each other.

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So the next question I would have for you all would be...how do I go about finding where these fossils are coming from? You would figure that there would be a certain layer in the marl where they would all be concentrated. I've tried digging in the marl banks but all I can scratch up is a few chalky looking shells. Everything we find is already in the creek rolling down with the gravel bars. Am I wrong to think there is a deposit somewhere with a mythic layer of cretacious soup???

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Most of your finds do not look to be very river worn / rolled so where you are finding the fossils should not be far away from where they originated. Look at any matrix attached to the fossils when first found. If there is matrix attached that is the colour of the layer where the fossils are coming from.

Look to where the creek is cutting away to banks in the area. Also remember the layer could be under water. Fine sieving some sections of the bank may also help to find the layer as not all good finds are huge and the layer may not be consistent Happy hunting

Mike

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Search up-stream until you do not find any more Cretaceous material, then back up a bit. ;)

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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what auspex and mike said, also there may not be a "mother lode" as the stream may be concentrating scarce fossils from the chalk, sort of a placer deposit of fossils, your fossils don't look like they came from a lag

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Here's a conglomeration of my better teeth that we find in these three creeks. (Everything except the meg and ric, they came from closer to the Florida line) The problem I have is that there are several miles in each creek and we find them all throughout. Some areas are better for different species but for the most part everything is scattered. My fat butt is determined though and plan on trying to walk with a different mindset this year...that's only if the water ever comes down! All this rain is killing me!

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Fantastic collection. :drool:

-Clayton

"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever"

- Carl Segan

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Saved my favorite for last...I believe this is a barracuda but I'm unsure. It's 1" by 3/4" and sports three perfect teeth.

Looks to be from a Protosphyraena sword fish. They have long, narrow teeth like that.

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KsFossilHunter - not sure about that Protosphyreana ID. I thought that too, until I saw the top view. The Proto teeth I have are more blade like -- kind of like a sharks tooth. These are rounder. I'm stumped on this one.

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KsFossilHunter - not sure about that Protosphyreana ID. I thought that too, until I saw the top view. The Proto teeth I have are more blade like -- kind of like a sharks tooth. These are rounder. I'm stumped on this one.

I think that is product of the angle of the photo.

Odd angle:

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True side view:

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What else could it possibly be?

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Here is a protosphyraena jaw in my collection. The rounded tooth holes on the specimen in question are somewhat suspicious.

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The Hadrodus I find in North Carolina are small compared to this one. There is one pictured on the Oceans of Kansas web site that is larger than this one. According to the scale it is 2cm wide. It is the one still in the jaw toward the bottom of the page.

Shimada shows a 37mm Hadrodus premaxillary tooth in his paper Marine Vertebrates from the Blue Hill Shale Member of the Carlile Shale (upper Cretaceous: Middle Turonian) in Kansas. So with this specimen and the ones from the Oceans of Kansas website Hadrodus teeth get a lot bigger than I originally thought. Shimada notes in his discussion of the Hadrodus specimen that Hadrodus may not belong to Pycnodontiformes and is in need of revision.

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

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Yes, looks like Xiphactinus vetus. Small specimen but the teeth are just like the ones we find in NJ.

---Wie Wasser schleift den Stein, wir steigen und fallen---

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These are the only other Xiphactinus Vetus teeth that I have. Pretty big jump in size between these and the teeth in the jaw fragment. All found in the same area!

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Here's another tooth that I can't quite figure out. It was found in the same area as the others I have listed. The tooth is 2" long and 1" wide, has some feeding wear but is still one of my nicer teeth from this area. Any ideas or comments will be greatly appreciated!

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Beautiful mosasaur tooth! If it was from the Late Cretaceous of NJ I would likely call it Mosasaurus maximus due to the size and the faceting on the tooth. Another great find!

---Wie Wasser schleift den Stein, wir steigen und fallen---

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Thanks NR, it's that faceting that threw me off. Most of the mosasaurs we find down here are smooth black/dark color whereas this one isn't either of those.

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I love that collection. I see a preponderance of sharp, pointy objects there. As for the mystery jaw, could it be from a terrestrial predator if it doesn't quite fit the big fish of the time (I thought x fish myself).

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Thanks Scylla, its one of my favorites as well. It hangs in my office and sparks conversations from everyone that sees it. Here's one that isn't sharp and pointy but was found with the others. I figure this is either coral or a shell of some sort but I'm hoping one of you guys/gals will know. Let me know your thoughts, and as always thanks for the comments!

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