Archie Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Ive never posted a trip report before so thought it was about time I gave it a go! I took a trip to my favorite shark tooth site this afternoon in search of some Upper Carboniferous/Pennsylvanian shark teeth from the Westphalian A of the British Coal Measures. The site is a stretch of shoreline beneath the spoil heaps of two long closed collieries which dumped their waste material directly onto the foreshore. Blocks of the best matrix for vertebrate remains are hard to find and getting rarer, the majority of the beach boulders are basalt, sandstone and un-fossiliferous shales and mudstones. When you do find the right matrix its crammed full of fish scales, bones, spines teeth, coprolites etc but shark teeth can be hard to find. Today I came across a grand total of two small blocks of the right matrix along the entire stretch of the beach but luckily both of these contained a shark (well Holocephalian more closely related to the Chimaeras) crusher tooth! They need a lot of prep which I'll hopefully get done over the next couple of days. A shot of the the site looking rather bleak in the Scottish winter today: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 The first block I came across, the dark layer is the "fish bed" and the white object next to my thumb is a worn crusher tooth in cross section: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 This block didn't want to split down its bedding planes so to get a better shot at a flat surface I broke it in half, right through the middle of a tooth! I'll stick this back together and prep it out from above. Judging by its profile in cross section I think this tooth will likely turn out to be a small Psephodus sp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 The next block I had much better luck with and got this large Helodus rankinei. This looks like it will be one of the nicest specimens of this species Ive ever found at this site, it doesn't appear to have any life wear. Top of my to prep list! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 Pics of these teeth after prep to follow shortly, I also brought home a block with a jumble huge but very worn bones (I forgot to get a pic of in the daylight) that will most likely be Rhizodont but could possibly be amphibian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Thanks for the report. I am looking forward too your after prep results. I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Great report, Sam! Good finds, ... too. Thanks for showing us your hunting grounds. Looks like a cool place to hunt. Best regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 1 hour ago, darctooth said: 24 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said: Great report, Sam! Good finds, ... too. Thanks for showing us your hunting grounds. Looks like a cool place to hunt. Best regards, Thanks for the report. I am looking forward too your after prep results. Thanks guys Ive just finished the H. rankinei and its turned out to be the second largest Ive ever found at exactly 10mm (the largest is 12mm), quite unusual too with the one end really elongated. Tooth number two will be tomorrow evenings project. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 very cool.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trilobiting Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Very nice! "Fossils have richer stories to tell about the lub-dub of dinosaur life than we have been willing to listen to." - Robert T. Bakker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 21 hours ago, jpc said: 18 hours ago, Trilobiting said: Very nice! very cool.... Thanks I glued both halves of the broken tooth together last night and managed to get a chance to dig it out this evening, turns out it was a Helodus simplex which is the most common tooth at the site but still one of my favorites. I'd planned to keep it on the matrix but it ended up popping out completely during prep, really chuffed with how its turned out though only a little bit of the root on the labial side was lost when I split it scale is in mm. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNCollector Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Nice teeth! The ones at my sites here across the pond are getting more and more rare as well. Most of the teeth that I find are usually found alone, without close association with other vertebrate material. At some point in the future, I would love to see a list of all of the species that you have found in your area! Edit: If I am ever in that area, I would love to collect some teeth and end the day with a nice glass of local scotch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 2 hours ago, TNCollector said: Nice teeth! The ones at my sites here across the pond are getting more and more rare as well. Most of the teeth that I find are usually found alone, without close association with other vertebrate material. At some point in the future, I would love to see a list of all of the species that you have found in your area! Edit: If I am ever in that area, I would love to collect some teeth and end the day with a nice glass of local scotch. Thank you I'm hoping things will get more productive at this site again after some rough seas, over the past few years its always been best in spring. I only find teeth in association with other vertebrate material in freshwater deposits such as at this site while in the marine deposits teeth are rare and isolated. I'll get pics of the best specimens of each species Ive found at this site, Ive been meaning to do some posts on the different species Ive found at some of the other sites I hunt at so I'll try and get round to that too asap! If your ever in Scotland I'll do my best to make sure you get some nice teeth! I could recommend a few good malts too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archimedes Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Nice looking locality and shark teeth to collect and enjoy the day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 12 hours ago, Archimedes said: Nice looking locality and shark teeth to collect and enjoy the day It looks awfully bleak at this time of year lol but in the summer its beautiful, there's loads of wildlife to see such as seabirds and marine mammals and the variety of vertebrate species (fossil ones) is amazing! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 So Ive gathered some photos of each of the species that can be found at this site, I'll do the cartilaginous fish/sharks first. Xenacanthidae Xenacanthus sp. Tooth in lingual view, 13mm 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Xenacanthus sp. Tooth in labial view, 14mm 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Xenacanthus sp. Cranial spine, 28mm 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Xenacanthus sp. Dermal denticle, 3mm. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Orodontidae Orodus sp. Tooth in labial view, 4mm. There is also a small Helodus simplex next to this tooth and both are within a Rhizodont vertebra. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Cochliodontidae Deltodus sublaevis. Tooth, 14mm. This is the largest crusher tooth I have found at this site so far. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Cochliodus cf. contortus. Tooth, 5mm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Psephodus cf, magnus. Tooth, 4mm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Petalodontidae Ctenoptychius apicalis. Tooth in labial view, 3mm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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