Texas Fossil Hound Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I spent a few days hunting teeth at the Ernst Quarries of Sharktooth Hill. The hunting was plentiful for the standard Miocene fossils, but I also brought home a few bags of sediment for micro. It took a while to go through, catalog and photograph, but I have the results. There is such a wonderful variety in this sediment! Here are a few of my favorites. All are shown on a millimeter scale. I will be presenting the fossils from this hunt and a previous hunt at the April meeting of the Dallas Paleontological Society, along with tools and techniques for hunting at Sharktooth Hill. Pics below include: Galeorhinus Triakis Dermal Denticles Catshark Heterodont Anterior Heterodont Posterior Triakidae (Smooth Hound Shark) Bony Fish Teeth "Silence is Golden, but duct tape is Silver." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Fossil Hound Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 Here are a couple other cool micro fossils from STH... Again, all pics are on a millimeter scale. Pics include: Basking shark teeth more Galeorhinus and Triakis teeth Various ray teeth Squalus (Dogfish) tooth Fish Pharyngeal tooth "Silence is Golden, but duct tape is Silver." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izak_ Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 I am a fan of these finds! Congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Nice job cleaning and photographing these teeth. Sometimes Sharktooth Hill teeth are difficult to get clean. Differentiating fossil Triakis and Galeorhinus (and catshark) can be a real pain. At least one genetic study of modern Triakis has suggested that some species are more closely related to Galeorhinus than they are to other Triakis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foshunter Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Great photo's and report------Tom Grow Old Kicking And Screaming !!"Don't Tread On Me" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Wow, very nice finds and great photos! A broad range of species. I agree with Al Dente, they are nice and clean. My limited experience with that matrix makes me appreciate what a good job you did. Julianna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoWilliam Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Nice finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outdoorfunblonde Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Looks good!! Nice variation of finds you have there, thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Nice report. I also collected some matrix when I was there and found lots of pretty micros in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Bones Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Very nice finds and good pics. ' Keep calm and carry on fossiling ' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Fossil Hound Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 I cleaned over 1,000 micro fossils under the microscope. I have a couple hundred pics of the nicer fossils. Its a labor of love - and maybe a touch of OCD! Jon "Silence is Golden, but duct tape is Silver." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 Excellent pictures. I guess I need to take the time to clean my micro's from STH; they sure don't look as nice as yours. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I think that catshark could be a Triakis anterior. It's hard to say because I've seen so few scyliorhinids (very rare even when you screen) and I have seen teeth like that called scyliorhinids before. It seems rather large and robust for a catshark which tend to have more elongated roots plus more slender crowns and higher, more slender lateral cusplets. I'm not sure though because catsharks come in many forms and no one has figured one in a peer-reviewed publication (but check out elasmo.com to see what I'm saying) . It would be expected that catsharks would be very rare from the STH bonebed because they frequent deepwater and the common STH forms tend to be found in sediments representing bays/shallow water. I spent a few days hunting teeth at the Ernst Quarries of Sharktooth Hill. The hunting was plentiful for the standard Miocene fossils, but I also brought home a few bags of sediment for micro. It took a while to go through, catalog and photograph, but I have the results. There is such a wonderful variety in this sediment! Here are a few of my favorites. All are shown on a millimeter scale. I will be presenting the fossils from this hunt and a previous hunt at the April meeting of the Dallas Paleontological Society, along with tools and techniques for hunting at Sharktooth Hill. Pics below include: Galeorhinus Triakis Dermal Denticles Catshark Heterodont Anterior Heterodont Posterior Triakidae (Smooth Hound Shark) Bony Fish Teeth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I was told by the geologist on one of the museum digs that the bone bed layer of the east and west quarries are representation of a depth of 200+ feet deep. That is deeper water in my eyes. Not to refute you, that is what I was told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 (edited) I was told by the geologist on one of the museum digs that the bone bed layer of the east and west quarries are representation of a depth of 200+ feet deep. That is deeper water in my eyes. Not to refute you, that is what I was told. Two hundred feet is still fairly shallow when talking about depths that modern catsharks are found. A book titled "Sharks and Rays of the Carolinas" lists some depths that these sharks are found. The Iceland Catshark is found in 1462 Meters (4795 feet) and the Deepwater Catshark is found in 1317 Meters (4320 feet). Edited February 9, 2015 by Al Dente Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Adding to what Al Dente said, I was recently told (10-15 years ago) that the Temblor Sea may have been as deep as 500 ft in spots though older estimates went as far as 2000 feet (see Mitchell, 1965). I think the 200-500 foot maximum range is likely based on what's common and what's rare there. That depth range is also consistent with that of the continental shelf zone (the area of continental crust that extends under the ocean) generally reaching about the maximum of sunlight penetration (200-600 feet depending on local water clarity) which is considered shallow water in the world of oceanography. Beyond the shelf is a zone called the continental slope where there is a drop-off in depth to another zone called the continental rise which itself slopes down to where the ocean bottom levels off - the abyssal plain. Catsharks and various squaliforms have been filmed and caught from waters as deep as the slope, rise, and plain. I was told by the geologist on one of the museum digs that the bone bed layer of the east and west quarries are representation of a depth of 200+ feet deep. That is deeper water in my eyes. Not to refute you, that is what I was told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I know that I am a year out on this thread, but just had to say "NICE TEETH"!! Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinlukers Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Very nice!! That trip is on my bucket list! Love sharks teeth.., WTG!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now