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Field trip in a box-- Merritt island Florida


ynot

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pic 32..

not turtle claw(?) (mole)

post-16416-0-03573200-1449105820_thumb.jpg

more later.

Tony

Edited to reflect ID by al dente and old bones. Thanks!

Edited 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.

 

 

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Here is one that I did not expect to find...

pic 33

Isurus sp. (land shark?) (?)

attachicon.gifad micro merit island-0004.jpg

Tony

I have also found a few worn shark teeth in the Merritt Island matrix I was searching. The best I've found was what I think is a small Galeorhinus sp. tooth. I think I've also identified some of my otoliths as marine fish - so there are a few marine fossils found in this matrix.

Stephen

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pic 32..

turtle claw(?)

attachicon.gifad micro merit island-0013.jpg

more later.

Tony

Your guess is as good as mine on these claws, Tony. Unless Aspex IDs one as bird, they are still undetermined...(as yet).

I have also found a few worn shark teeth in the Merritt Island matrix I was searching. The best I've found was what I think is a small Galeorhinus sp. tooth. I think I've also identified some of my otoliths as marine fish - so there are a few marine fossils found in this matrix.

I have found a very few badly worn shark teeth as well. The otoliths are quite numerous, tho. I have over a dozen so far. Lets see some of your otoliths PA FossilFinder. I would love to get better at IDing them.

 
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I have also found a few worn shark teeth in the Merritt Island matrix I was searching. The best I've found was what I think is a small Galeorhinus sp. tooth. I think I've also identified some of my otoliths as marine fish - so there are a few marine fossils found in this matrix.

I found another, but smaller, shark tooth last night. :D Have also found a few fish vertebrae :P . No otoliths yet, but may have missed any that were in My matrix. :angry:

Your guess is as good as mine on these claws, Tony. Unless Aspex IDs one as bird, they are still undetermined...(as yet).

I have found a very few badly worn shark teeth as well. The otoliths are quite numerous, tho. I have over a dozen so far. Lets see some of your otoliths PA FossilFinder. I would love to get better at IDing them.

I picked "turtle" because it looks very broad for a claw and turtles have the widest claws that I can think of :zzzzscratchchin: . (At least it is a claw this time. :D )

As to the otoliths-- I must be missing them--argh! :wacko:

Tony

PS I also found the top of a skull (I think) last night!

Edited 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.

 

 

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Tony, the otoliths are the same color as the shells.... once you find one, however, you will 'see' them easier afterwards.

I want to see a picture of the cranial element!

 
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attachicon.gifmole.jpg

This one reminds me of the mole claw from this thread- http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/53211-is-this-a-bird-claw/

Duh... you're right Eric, it doe look like my mole claw. Thanks

Thanks Folks-- I changed the ID to reflect this information.

Here is the piece that I think is a cranium part...

scale is in millimeters (as it is with all the pictures in this thread.)

I kept the pictures full size to retain as much detail as possible, so this will take a couple of posts.

pic 34

post-16416-0-90456100-1449180065_thumb.jpg post-16416-0-79584000-1449180092_thumb.jpg

more of pic 34....

Edited 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.

 

 

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Tony, your bit of skull looks very much like the ones that I have found in the Merritt Is. matrix. From what I can figure, they are probably from a vole (or a very similar rodent). Here is one of mine again, and it super imposed on a vole skull drawing that I got of the web.

post-13648-0-03288600-1449188041_thumb.jpg post-13648-0-76226800-1449188065_thumb.jpg

 
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Tony, your bit of skull looks very much like the ones that I have found in the Merritt Is. matrix. From what I can figure, they are probably from a vole (or a very similar rodent). Here is one of mine again, and it super imposed on a vole skull drawing that I got of the web.

attachicon.gifMI-crainial-el.jpg attachicon.gifMI-Vole-skull.jpg

Thank You Julianna,

I was afraid that it was just My imagination and not part of a skull. Nice to know what critter it came from.

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.

 

 

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. . . I have found a very few badly worn shark teeth as well. The otoliths are quite numerous, tho. I have over a dozen so far. Lets see some of your otoliths PA FossilFinder. I would love to get better at IDing them.

These are a few that I think I've been able to ID correctly:

Atlantic Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus):

post-10984-0-60378600-1449193011_thumb.jpg post-10984-0-99216200-1449193015_thumb.jpg post-10984-0-71476900-1449193018_thumb.jpg

Hardhead Catfish (Arius felis):

post-10984-0-05617700-1449193001_thumb.jpg post-10984-0-08778600-1449193005_thumb.jpg

The Hardhead Catfish otoliths look very similar to the otoliths of the Gafftopsail Catfish (Bagre marinus), so it is possible that the otoliths I have are from both species.

I have another to upload, but the pictures won't fit in this post.

Stephen

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Here is the last otolith I've identified:

Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus):

post-10984-0-40923200-1449193277_thumb.jpg post-10984-0-76002400-1449193292_thumb.jpg post-10984-0-42385100-1449193284_thumb.jpg

To identify my otoliths, I was using two great sites I found searching for otolith pictures.

FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute's Saltwater Fish Otoliths gallery on Flickr, and the

NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center Otolith Guide.

Edited by PA Fossil Finder
  • I found this Informative 1

Stephen

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Excellent pictures and IDs on those otoliths, PA FF. (I am pleased to see that what I was privately calling catfish is.) :) There are more of those than any other species in this matrix. And I have the mate to your Croaker. I have got both of those sites bookmarked, but haven't spent the time needed to properly research them.

Thanks for the photos and the IDs.

I wonder if an admin. would be so kind as to add this sub thread on otoliths onto your finds thread... That way, we won't be hijacking Tony's. :) Plus it will keep all of your photos in one place ;)

PA FossilHunter, do you have a finds thread yet? Why don't you start one if not... that way you can keep on adding to it and we will have a great overview of the finds from this matrix.

Edited by old bones
 
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Excellent pictures and IDs on those otoliths, PA FF. (I am pleased to see that what I was privately calling catfish is.) :) There are more of those than any other species in this matrix. And I have the mate to your Croaker. I have got both of those sites bookmarked, but haven't spent the time needed to properly research them.

Thanks for the photos and the IDs.

I wonder if an admin. would be so kind as to add this sub thread on otoliths onto your finds thread... That way, we won't be hijacking Tony's. :) Plus it will keep all of your photos in one place ;)

PA FossilHunter, do you have a finds thread yet? Why don't you start one if not... that way you can keep on adding to it and we will have a great overview of the finds from this matrix.

Thanks for reminding me... I just made a new post. Sorry for taking over your thread, ynot! I would be grateful if an admin could move my otolith posts on over to my new thread.

Stephen

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Excellent pictures and IDs on those otoliths, PA FF. (I am pleased to see that what I was privately calling catfish is.) :) There are more of those than any other species in this matrix. And I have the mate to your Croaker. I have got both of those sites bookmarked, but haven't spent the time needed to properly research them.

Thanks for the photos and the IDs.

I wonder if an admin. would be so kind as to add this sub thread on otoliths onto your finds thread... That way, we won't be hijacking Tony's. :) Plus it will keep all of your photos in one place ;)

PA FossilHunter, do you have a finds thread yet? Why don't you start one if not... that way you can keep on adding to it and we will have a great overview of the finds from this matrix.

Thanks for reminding me... I just made a new post. Sorry for taking over your thread, ynot! I would be grateful if an admin could move my otolith posts on over to my new thread.

Leave it -- move it -- makes no dif to Me.

Thanks for the information about the "otoliths".

Tony

PS Maybe We should start a thread where We can all post the better pieces that Have been correctly identified, as a reference?

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.

 

 

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Tony

PS Maybe We should start a thread where We can all post the better pieces that Have been correctly identified, as a reference?

Tony you can add correctly identified specimens to my pinned post if you like.

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/58306-pleistocene-micros-from-merritt-island-florida/

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

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Tony you can add correctly identified specimens to my pinned post if you like.

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/58306-pleistocene-micros-from-merritt-island-florida/

Marco Sr.

Thanks Marco. Now I just have to figure out which ones have been correctly identified.

A couple more finds from My batch of matrix...

pic 35

post-16416-0-92559600-1449273716_thumb.jpg

pic 36

post-16416-0-16638000-1449274719_thumb.jpg

more...

Edited 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.

 

 

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attachicon.gifaj micro merit island-0015.jpg attachicon.gifaj micro merit island-0018.jpg

I have no idea what this is, it has color flash similar to opal.

next another strange piece...

I think that reddish thing is actually an amphipod or other recent crustacean. This page on the University of Florida's Featured Creatures has a picture very similar to yours.

Another oddity...

pic 37

attachicon.gifaj micro merit island-0004.jpg

More later..

Tony

I think that may be a seed. I've found a few, and when I picked them up they broke. They were hollow on the inside, with a thin outer shell like a seed coat from a dead seed.

Stephen

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I think that reddish thing is actually an amphipod or other recent crustacean. This page on the University of Florida's Featured Creatures has a picture very similar to yours.

I think that may be a seed. I've found a few, and when I picked them up they broke. They were hollow on the inside, with a thin outer shell like a seed coat from a dead seed.

WOW-- was not expecting that. Now I know what one of those things looks like!

Seed sounds about right on that, I wonder how old it is?

I found a couple of the otoliths !

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.

 

 

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