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Frozen assets (Shark)


Shellseeker

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Myself and my hunting buddy (un_named)  are certifiable. We went out hunting this morning with the airtemps at 41 degrees in Wauchula. Not being completely crazy, I had my 7mm friend with me.

I found a great Astragalus (turns out to be modern cow),  and a complete femur (ditto).  We saw a large gator.  I felt sorry to see it slip into the water as we passed.  The gator was just grabbing some rays on the sand banks.

I found a couple of Megs, 2 pieces of fossilized wood, numerous small teeth and then these 2. Without the root , I am not positive this is giant thresher.  If so, it is my 2nd in 10 years and even missing most of the root, will get a place of honor.

5a2dfb3737565_AlopiasgrandisMergeTxt.thumb.jpg.4230f9555b8bf0b8c154caeb0879125b.jpg

 

I do not find many of these either... I have been labeling these "sawfish"; other have called them shark vertebrae or sting ray vertebrae. 33mm in diameter. Any insights?  Thanks for all comments.  Jack

SharkVertMerge.thumb.jpg.921b19deecb01b1f1802813eb7119fe2.jpg

 

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Jack,

The shark tooth does look like Alopias grandis. The centrum is from a shark. Sawfish centra don’t have the paired holes.

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I agree with Eric.  Sawfish centra don't have foramina.  Your centrum is a posterior scyliorhinoid type centrum.  Your tooth  does look like an A. grandis.

 

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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Nice shark vert. I figured all the gators would be deep under the bank by now. 

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11 hours ago, ynot said:

Can not help with the tooth, I can't tell them apart yet.

I thought sawfish verts were oval.

Nice finds.

 

 

5 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Jack,

The shark tooth does look like Alopias grandis. The centrum is from a shark. Sawfish centra don’t have the paired holes.

 

3 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

I agree with Eric.  Sawfish centra don't have foramina.  Your centrum is a posterior scyliorhinoid type centrum.  Your tooth  does look like an A. grandis.

 

Marco Sr.

 

Thanks for the expertise and insights.  This is only my 2nd Alopias grandis in 10 years in the Peace River. Most hunters I know have never found one!

Could you comment on tooth size for the various Alopias species. I have found much smaller (.25-.50 inch) teeth that would not be considered "giant".  They are not as rare as Alopias grandis but they are rare in the Peace River.

2013Jan3rdGiantThresherMerge.thumb.jpg.1fd0b9253f3e0dad7122957fa5830c96.jpg

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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My hunting buddy from yesterday has pulled these makos from the same spot and is arguing that this is just another mako,  Similar to the one on the bottom. I am thinking one difference is the indentation on the labial side of the Thresher: ThresherID.JPG.bb8449de1befd1573a44c179749f93cf.JPG

 

IMG_5694.thumb.JPG.0c6703232e928b67917fa83fe052b95c.JPGIMG_5692.thumb.JPG.0d892c65e79cf5ef631224e79c6b4a68.JPG

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Once I ask questions on TFF,  I tend to search the internet to find some answers..

My small Alopias Peace River teeth might be A. superciliosus or A. latidens, but once you pass the 1 inch mark on tooth size, you are discussing A. grandis . Elasmo references a super large one at 4.7 cm.

My 2 do not have serrations, making it easy to eliminate large tigers as an ID, but I have seen 1 A. grandis Peace River tooth that had serrations.

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Interesting finds Jack. Glad you were able to get out...has been a bit chilly here hasnt it! 

 

I'll have to go thru some teeth and see if I have ever run across one of those...makes me wonder that I havent put something like that aside and didnt think anything about it again. I like when you all show your latest...partials or otherwise...continued hunting success...

 

Regards, Chris 

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21 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

My hunting buddy from yesterday has pulled these makos from the same spot and is arguing that this is just another mako,  Similar to the one on the bottom. I am thinking one difference is the indentation on the labial side of the Thresher:

 

 

Your tooth doesn’t look like a mako tooth or white shark tooth to me.

 

I look for features like the tooth’s heals, a bulge in the crown, the width of the crown above the heals, the crown curvature, the root shape in the center of the crown on the lingual side, and the root shape in the center of the crown and depression on the labial side.  Understand that these features can change noticeably with tooth position. See the below 1.25 inch Alopias grandis:

 

5a2fe5133675e_MarcoUnknownAlopiasGrandis1.JPG.e88259a1d784d312723c3b01f6bc289c.JPG

 

5a2fe514c075b_MarcoUnknownAlopiasGrandis1a.jpg.df239bd5f60ec0e23a33f2f230c8630d.jpg

 

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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9 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

 

Your tooth doesn’t look like a mako tooth or white shark tooth to me.

 

I look for features like the tooth’s heals, a bulge in the crown, the width of the crown above the heals, the crown curvature, the root shape in the center of the crown on the lingual side, and the root shape in the center of the crown and depression on the labial side.  Understand that these features can change noticeably with tooth position. See the below 1.25 inch Alopias grandis:

Marco Sr.

Marko, Thanks for the excellent analysis.  I will be saving your comments/photos for general identification of Alopias.  Jack

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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  • 2 weeks later...

While hook shaped makos (particularly large ones) and great whites exist.  They don't have the same shape.  A couple of examples below:

C. hastalis and I. oxyrinchus (modern)

 

 

Pict0111_235.JPG.a28e35e5131f3594e349a49b7663cc6d.JPG5a3c78edb7418_hookedmako001.jpg.954a4cbbf5a6ec0fbb8e0497166d118d.jpg

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