Jeffrey P Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Found this rather odd looking object in an upper tributary of Big Brook today. I have no idea if this is a fossil or not and if so what kind. Never found anything like this before. Big Brook is in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Any ID help would be very appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 It looks to have bone texture, perhaps something fishy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 It seems a bit big for, but reminds me of those spiky things under the skin of a blowfish... forget the proper name right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 I have no idea what period or fossils you find in that area, but could it be part of an antler or something like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jersey Devil Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 It is a hybodont cephalic clasper. “You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one.” ― Mikhail Tal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ropterus Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Nice find! Pretty rare from what I've read. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Hybodus sp cephalic hook. Nice find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 10 hours ago, josephstrizhak said: It is a hybodont cephalic clasper. Agreed! Nice find! They are pretty rare there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 A cephalic clasper? Never heard of that before. Just read up on that. cool. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey P Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 12 hours ago, josephstrizhak said: It is a hybodont cephalic clasper. Thanks a bunch for the ID help. That piece really did mystify me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnBrewer Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 5 hours ago, RJB said: A cephalic clasper? Never heard of that before. Just read up on that. cool. RB Me too. heres a previous thread John Map of UK fossil sites Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 I have a site where they can be found with some regularity but definitely not common. So far I've found the teeth to be even more scarce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 I think these are now I.D.'d as Meristodonoides cf novojerseyensis It is a Hybodontiforme. The place RickNC refered to here they are relatively common. I often find 5 or 6 hooks / parts of hooks on a trip. Teeth are a little more scarce, but not uncommon. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PyritizeMe Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Definitely, reminds me of bone material, most likely something fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Oooo, that is something different Jeffrey. Nice find! -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 3 hours ago, PyritizeMe said: Definitely, reminds me of bone material, most likely something fish. it is the cephalic hook oh the shark Meristodonoides c.f.. novojerseyensis as previously stated. A Hybontontiforme shark. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 16 hours ago, sixgill pete said: I think these are now I.D.'d as Meristodonoides cf novojerseyensis It is a Hybodontiforme. The place RickNC refered to here they are relatively common. I often find 5 or 6 hooks / parts of hooks on a trip. Teeth are a little more scarce, but not uncommon. That is so odd... Only the males had these and no more than 4 per individual, whereas, males and females could each produce maybe 20,000 teeth in a lifetime. What taphonomic wonder could account for a site being richer in hooks than teeth? Amazing! I may find a hook for every 20 hybodont teeth in NJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Here a hybodont model from the American Museum of Natural History that shows these claspers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westcoast Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 26 minutes ago, josephstrizhak said: I'm not entirely sure, but maybe the teeth are destroyed more easily when being fossilized due to their composition. But it would also make sense that the claspers should be more abraded because of their larger size and more fragile structure. I guess it could also depend on the things present in the soil that could dissolve certain minerals. I would guess that in New Jersey the ratio between claspers and teeth is a bit high as well, considering how many teeth there should have been for 1 clasper. I think that in New Jersey the fossilization of the teeth is better than the other site, but I guess that overall Meristodonoides was more common at the other site because more claspers are found. I don't know the area at all but could size/shape sorting be a factor in the unusual relative distribution? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-remanié Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Size sorting in high energy lags is a very real phenomenon, but it is often quite difficult to quantify due to isolated outcrops and exposures. Carl, just consider the faunal differences at your research site and the one I donated all that material from. It's the same lag; the same high energy stratigraphic level. But localized environmental differences during the lag's genesis can lead to very different lag characteristics. 5 hours ago, Carl said: That is so odd... Only the males had these and no more than 4 per individual, whereas, males and females could each produce maybe 20,000 teeth in a lifetime. What taphonomic wonder could account for a site being richer in hooks than teeth? Amazing! I may find a hook for every 20 hybodont teeth in NJ. ---Wie Wasser schleift den Stein, wir steigen und fallen--- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carl Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 22 hours ago, non-remanié said: Size sorting in high energy lags is a very real phenomenon, but it is often quite difficult to quantify due to isolated outcrops and exposures. Carl, just consider the faunal differences at your research site and the one I donated all that material from. It's the same lag; the same high energy stratigraphic level. But localized environmental differences during the lag's genesis can lead to very different lag characteristics. Oh I know. But it always just seems so magical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-remanié Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Absolutely agree. It's fascinating and makes interpretations interesting, to say the least! ---Wie Wasser schleift den Stein, wir steigen und fallen--- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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