Shellseeker Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) Today was my birthday and I kind of wanted to go hunting just to see if the river fossil gods would smile on me. I was set up to go out with my normal hunting partner but he ended up with a conflict and cancelled late. For a while, it looked like I could connect with Sacha but that did not work out either. So, worried about weather and rain that might start the end of hunting season, I arrived at the river about 7 am and parked under a bridge (just in case it was raining when I returned). I was very lucky with the weather. No rain at all until 1:30pm and just scattered drizzles until I was back under the bridge -- THEN downpour for the next hour. I found a productive spot with many small teeth, lots of horse teeth, lots of hosenose fragments including a chunk of tusk, and other nice finds. I have 3 finds that really made my (birth)day. First, a nice 1.9 inch Meg, dagger like, look at those cusps and serrations. This was early and gave me a real good feeling. Then a large gator osteoderm. I have heard that croc osteoderms are flatter than gator. Is this flat enough? Then, a very rare item. A jaw fragment with 2 teeth!!! I always have asked why I find so many osteoderms from this animal but no teeth. Yes indeed, the river fossil gods did smile and shower me with presents. The river was up 8-10 inches and muddy from the recent rains. Time is growing short. The wet season is coming. Edited June 3, 2015 by Shellseeker The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Congratulations on those nice finds, and happy birthday! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlar7607 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Cool finds jack ! I like the meg you can give that to me ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triceratops Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Nice finds, and happy birthday to you! -Lyall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 nice finds. I also wonder about the lack of croc bones other than scutes (in our local croc producing beds), then I remember that each croc has hundreds of scutes, maybe twice as many as bones. And I suspect they are generally tougher than ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Happy birthday! Enjoy your nice gifts! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 (edited) What a nice way to spend Your b-day-- congratulations for all the "presents" the fossil gods gave You, and best wishes for many more! Tony Edited June 3, 2015 by ynot 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...
Miatria Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Fossil gods luv u! Zookeeperfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Happy belated bday Jack: ) great finds too ! Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrz4u Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Happy birthday. It's good to see that you have found your own gifts. Very nice finds indeed. I would like a meg-tooth like that too for my birthday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrieder79 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Congrats and happy birthday! What species of meg was that tooth from? It isn't shaped like any of the cusped species I am familiar with. I really like the megs that have the deep v shape in the root. Very cool tooth. Luck is the most important skill of a fossil diver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Nice Birthday Jack! Love the jawbone with teeth! That's a beautiful shark tooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyrannosaurusRex Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Happy birthday! And what lovely fossils! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Happy Birthday! Great gifts from Ma Nature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Happy birthday and congrats on the great finds! That sounds like a fantastic way to spend your birthday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Congrats and happy birthday! What species of meg was that tooth from? It isn't shaped like any of the cusped species I am familiar with. I really like the megs that have the deep v shape in the root. Very cool tooth. This indeed is a very interesting tooth. About 2 years ago, I found my first Meg with cusps. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/36612-large-shark-teeth/. After input from TFF experts and some research, I have decided that these shark teeth with cusps in the Peace River are Juvenile Megalodon teeth with a regressive "cusp" gene. I have been looking for them ever since and have asked Peace River hunters (Miatria and others) to keep an eye out. I have about 10 of them and all were found in an area of 5 miles. For comparison, the Peace River is 62 miles long. I believe that they are juveniles because I have not found one that is over 2 inches. For me, a special present. A max size juvenile Meg with cusps. I would look for other TFF member who are shark tooth experts to weigh in on the topic of tooth shape. Why does this one look like a dagger, narrow and pointy. Jaw position? Immature shark ? ??? The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 That is a really sweet specimen! It seems to have been a bit crowded in the jaw. "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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwbh Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Nice finds and happy bday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 That is a really sweet specimen! It seems to have been a bit crowded in the jaw. It does seem crowded in the jaw and the peg-like teeth are not evenly spaced. I thought that I knew the ID of this jaw, but now I'm not so sure. The jaw fragment is 3 inches long. It has 6 sockets: 1 empty, 3 broken off teeth, 2 with teeth. I am now looking for a confirmed ID. Here are some new photos: The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terphunter Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Great finds! Love that meg...quality over quantity anyday and that tooth is sweet! LIFE IS SHORT...HUNT HARD!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlar7607 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Dolphin ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 How odd that the teething that jaw seem to be in 'sets' of 2. I wonder what animal has such an array.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacha Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 This indeed is a very interesting tooth. About 2 years ago, I found my first Meg with cusps. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/36612-large-shark-teeth/. After input from TFF experts and some research, I have decided that these shark teeth with cusps in the Peace River are Juvenile Megalodon teeth with a regressive "cusp" gene. I have been looking for them ever since and have asked Peace River hunters (Miatria and others) to keep an eye out. I have about 10 of them and all were found in an area of 5 miles. For comparison, the Peace River is 62 miles long. I believe that they are juveniles because I have not found one that is over 2 inches. For me, a special present. A max size juvenile Meg with cusps. I would look for other TFF member who are shark tooth experts to weigh in on the topic of tooth shape. Why does this one look like a dagger, narrow and pointy. Jaw position? Immature shark ? ??? Jack, I picked up 5 megs today in that same stretch of river. One was pretty nice, 2" on the diagonal and subtle wrinkles where the cusps would be. Another one, only a little more than 1 1/2 " is pretty worn, but has the most obviously configured cusps I've seen. I'll post a thread tomorrow when there's more light. I have several things I need help with, but nothing exceptional. Sorry I missed your Birthday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 3, 2015 Author Share Posted June 3, 2015 Jack, I picked up 5 megs today in that same stretch of river. One was pretty nice, 2" on the diagonal and subtle wrinkles where the cusps would be. Another one, only a little more than 1 1/2 " is pretty worn, but has the most obviously configured cusps I've seen. I'll post a thread tomorrow when there's more light. I have several things I need help with, but nothing exceptional. Sorry I missed your Birthday! I am just glad that the Megs were still biting when you got there. It is really curious to me that the cusps seem to be present on Megs from that general area only. You would not think that a regressive gene would necessarily be localized. Looking forward to seeing your finds. Get a good night's sleep. After a day at the Peace, I usually need it. Jack The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Dolphin ? I think not -- My original take was Armadillo, but most of the Armadillo teeth I see in the TFF Gallery are 1 inch by 1/4 inch. The ones in this jaw are circular and smaller. Here is a photo of a modern armadillo jaw -- So by asking for an ID, I am checking for what species of Armadillo and/or whether this is fossil or modern. It certainly seems to be fossil. Did a little more searching on TFF: This thread might imply a marine mammal. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/42902-peg-tooth/ And this thread has the only Armadillo tooth, I have ever found.. not quite peg-like. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/38198-mammal-tooth-first-for-me/ Edited June 4, 2015 by Shellseeker The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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