Unkown Florida Fossil

[jpwhite82]

Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could help me ID these fossils. All I know is that they are from Florida and for the life of me, I can't find a picture in any fossil books even though I know I've ran across images of similar fossils before. Thanks in advance for the help!

[Diceros]

Most appear to be the hyperostotic (the bones are thicker and heavier than normal, no one's sure why) ventral postcleithra of the extinct pufferfish Sphoeroides hyperostosus Tyler, Purdy, and Oliver, 1992. Some may be hyperostosed preoperculae, and the little one at the bottom looks like a suboperculum. Apparently, modern Sphoeroides don't have hyperostosed bones (called Tilly bones).

If you have the third Lee Crk. volume (see ref. below), look at pp. 186-7, and text fig. 81. The species was originally described from the early Pliocene Yorktown Fm. at Lee Crk. (phosphate) mine, near Aurora, Beaufort Co., eastern North Carolina (there are equivalent marine beds in Florida).

Purdy, R. W., V. P. Schneider, S. P. Applegate, J. H. McLellan, R. L. Meyer, and B. H. Slaughter, 2001. The Neogene sharks, rays, and bony fishes from the Lee Creek Mine, Aurora, North Carolina. Pp. 71-202, 84 figs. In: Ray, C. E., and D. J. Bohaska (eds.), Geology and paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, pt. 3, Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology, no. 90, 365 p.

[jpwhite82]

Thanks Diceros! I do have Lee Creek vol III and the description and images match up. I knew I has seen images of the fossils somewhere before. Thanks for the help!