Harry Pristis Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 (edited) Here's a fish jaw I brought back from Morocco a long time ago. I didn't give it much attention until recently. I tried exposing a little more of the teeth in the resistant matrix (no fabrication with this matrix piece). I think the jaw belongs to Stephanodus lybicus Brychaetus muelleri, a ray-finned fish. Can someone here confirm this identification as reasonable? I may want to put the image in my TFF album, but don't want Google to pick it up with a dicey identification. Edited August 15, 2015 by Harry Pristis http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 A very interesting and neat piece, Harry. Sorry I can't help with an ID, thanks for sharing. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-remanié Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Looks to me like the enigmatic Brychaetus muelleri from the Eocene. https://vmnhpaleontology.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/a-paleontologists-worst-nightmare-realized/ http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/3341-a-bony-enigmais-it-a-fish/ 1 ---Wie Wasser schleift den Stein, wir steigen und fallen--- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gneave Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Looks like a fish you would not want to swim with 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Looks to me like the enigmatic Brychaetus muelleri from the Eocene. https://vmnhpaleontology.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/a-paleontologists-worst-nightmare-realized/ http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/3341-a-bony-enigmais-it-a-fish/ I think you're right, non-remanie. The stub at Wikipedia talks about Brychaetus as a freshwater fish; but, I see that this fish is found at the Fisher/Sullivan site (Nanjemoy Fm., Eocene, Virginia) so the species is at minimum estuarine. That accommodates my specimen from Morocco. Thank you for pointing out this better identification. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-remanié Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 (edited) I have mostly seen Brychaetus in early Eocene, Ypresian marine deposits; NJ, Md, Va, NC, UK as well as Morocco where its much more common, of course. It seems to be a very rare faunal element everywhere it occurs. The deposits it occurs in don't have a tremendous amount of riverine or estaurine faunal input, but I suppose freshwater might be a possibility and a reason for its scarcity. The matrix seems to match Moroccan Eocene phosphates (Otodus producing horizons) as well, so thats a good bet. Great specimen! Edited August 15, 2015 by non-remanié ---Wie Wasser schleift den Stein, wir steigen und fallen--- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Stephanodus lybicus teeth are different than yours in the specimen and are misidentified by some sellers so appears in Google searches. I think Brychaetus muelleri could be a good ID. Here are some pictures: fosilpaleos.com or sheppeyfossils.com http://www.sheppeyfossils.com/pages/Brychetus.htm Also, here is a document which may help (or not) : Ridewoodichthys, a new genus for Brychaetus caheni from the marine Paleocene of Cabinda (Africa): re-description and comments on its relationships within the Osteoglossidae (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha) - Taverne, L http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB0QFjAAahUKEwjTt-n70KvHAhWEWRQKHWvwBKc&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vliz.be%2Fimisdocs%2Fpublications%2F240392.pdf&ei=fHnPVdOJGISzUevgk7gK&usg=AFQjCNFM7D7jYm64VBwJWNmgwJU_nlartQ&bvm=bv.99804247,d.bGQ 1 " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abyssunder Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I agree with non-remanie.Nice specimen indeed! Probably from a lower Ypresian bead. " We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. " Thomas Mann My Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Very nice re-find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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