Williamb55 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Wow! Have I been busy with the fossil hunting recently. I have been blessed with the opportunity to go hunting every weekend for the last few weeks, sometimes even twice. and I have been having good results and have learned a lot from you guys on TFF so thankyou! I headed down to The Cliffs on Saturday to catch the high tide washing away at a new fall that looked like it could be very productive after a few tides (which it turns out it was). I met fellow members @fishmore5 and another member who goes by the name Cowshark? I'm sorry I forgot. Pic 1: I found a variety of teeth and other fossils and Tigers were the plenty of the day. I was able to score some nice tiger shark teeth with sharp serrations. One of my favorite finds of the day would definitely be the full piece of ray plate. I love how it looks just like a moustache and its perfect. I also found a vertebrae, and then a few feet away I found the other half so I plan to glue the piece back together soon. There's also a pretty cool bird bone? that I found. Pic 2: My favorite bone piece. I believe it is the vert of some species of Cetecean. While I was cleaning matrix off of it a piece chipped off so I quickly ordered a bottle of Paleobond to repair it because I like how it looks. Pic 3-4: Here's a pristine Hemipristus from the cliffs, and boy do I mean it when I say this tooth is SHARP!!! Pic 5: I also found some cool bone pieces, if anyone could help identify the bone pictured in the middle I am curious, it reminds me of a collar bone. Pic 6-8: I was also blessed to score 2 very nice Makos within 2 ft of each other in a fresh fall pile being washed by the tide. The biggest measure a hair under 1 1/2" and if you look closely you can actually see mini cusps! I think the cusps are very neat and was wondering if cusps are a rare occurrence? Overall I have been happy with my last few trips, always finding something new and interesting. Still hoping for my first Meg of the season, I have been unlucky so far but I know eventually I will strike gold. And plus any day out fossil hunting is better than a day stuck inside! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 That little mako like tooth is very interesting. While I have seen some cusped and even lightly serrated mako's ( I have some ) I have never seen cusps like on yours. Maybe @MarcoSr or @Al Dente can help. I would love to see a pic of both sides of the complete ray tooth next to the small bone. 1 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...
Williamb55 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 12 minutes ago, sixgill pete said: That little mako like tooth is very interesting. While I have seen some cusped and even lightly serrated mako's ( I have some ) I have never seen cusps like on yours. Maybe @MarcoSr or @Al Dente can help. I would love to see a pic of both sides of the complete ray tooth next to the small bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 That is a very interesting little piece of bone. @Auspex Possibly bird? That ray tooth is gorgeous, to me one of your top finds of the day. Aetobatus sp. upper tooth is what I am thinking. Fantastic find. 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...
Williamb55 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 Just now, sixgill pete said: That is a very interesting little piece of bone. @Auspex Possibly bird? That ray tooth is gorgeous, to me one of your top finds of the day. Aetobatus sp. upper tooth is what I am thinking. Fantastic find. I love it too! I'm not particularly a fan of ray fragments, but they are amazing cool when they are complete and I almost never find them complete. Talk about an eyesore seeing a mustache washed up on the beach Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macrophyseter Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 For the cusped mako, I have a feeling that it could be an upper L4 Carcharomodus escheri (formerly known as Isurus escheri; serrated mako) tooth, as the lateral cusp morphology is really similar to the most complete European specimen, along with the dimensions of the crown and root. The only problem here is that the cutting edges don't really seem to as crenulated, but a simple wear-down is also a possibility, considering how faint C escheri serrations/crenulations are. Entirely a guess though, and regardless, that tooth is still a beauty! Diagram from Kriwet (2014) 2 If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ropterus Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Nice finds! I agree with @sixgill pete. That Mako tooth is really interesting. Can't wait until I can get back down there again. Could have gone on Monday but was home with a sick kid. Hopefully soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Where about on the cliff where you? All the finds are cool, but the possible escheri (and I do believe that’s what it will turn out to be) is incredibly cool, better than a meg IMO. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williamb55 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 minute ago, WhodamanHD said: Where about on the cliff where you? All the finds are cool, but the possible escheri (and I do believe that’s what it will turn out to be) is incredibly cool, better than a meg IMO. This was all at Brownies 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 minute ago, Williamb55 said: This was all at Brownies As in jokingly or actually at Brownies (hard to get emotion via text). If it’s from Brownies you did incredibly well! “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Williamb55 Posted March 1, 2018 Author Share Posted March 1, 2018 Just now, WhodamanHD said: As in jokingly or actually at Brownies (hard to get emotion via text). If it’s from Brownies you did incredibly well! The real deal. It was well worth the 4:30 A.M. wake up 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoppeHunting Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Excellent finds! Those Makos are truly something. I'm eagerly awaiting more opinions on the identification of the unusal one. Not every day you get a find like that! Good work. Hoppe hunting! The Hunt for the Hemipristine continues! ~Hoppe hunting!~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Just now, Williamb55 said: The real deal. It was well worth the 4:30 A.M. wake up Well worth it indeed! I’d do that, but the weekends are sleep in time for me. “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 8 hours ago, sixgill pete said: That is a very interesting little piece of bone. @Auspex Possibly bird? From what I can see in the picture, I think it is a piece of an avian ulna (the long, slow curve is a signature for that bone, and I think I see a row of quill knobs along the outer curve). This is the bone in the wing to which the secondary flight feathers are anchored (at the quill knobs). This guy would have been Gull/Crow sized, but there is no way to identify the genus from this fragment. Great find! 1 "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 10 hours ago, sixgill pete said: That little mako like tooth is very interesting. While I have seen some cusped and even lightly serrated mako's ( I have some ) I have never seen cusps like on yours. Maybe @MarcoSr or @Al Dente can help. I would love to see a pic of both sides of the complete ray tooth next to the small bone. I don't think cusps on these large triangular "Mako/white shark" type teeth are that unusual. I have several from Lee Creek. A quick Google search brings up many examples. The first picture is from Elasmo and shows cusps on retroflexus teeth the second shows hastalis from Chile. I wouldn't call it escheri. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 I too have had some like that from Shark tooth Hill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 12 hours ago, sixgill pete said: That little mako like tooth is very interesting. While I have seen some cusped and even lightly serrated mako's ( I have some ) I have never seen cusps like on yours. Maybe @MarcoSr or @Al Dente can help. I would love to see a pic of both sides of the complete ray tooth next to the small bone. 1 hour ago, Al Dente said: I don't think cusps on these large triangular "Mako/white shark" type teeth are that unusual. I have several from Lee Creek. A quick Google search brings up many examples. The first picture is from Elasmo and shows cusps on retroflexus teeth the second shows hastalis from Chile. I wouldn't call it escheri. I agree with Eric that single cusplets are fairly common on teeth like this from the Miocene in MD/VA. Juvenile extant white sharks can have cusplets on both the upper and lower teeth. My sons and I have a number of examples of specimens that we believe are escheri and C. hubbelli from the Miocene of MD/VA. The escheri can have multiple little cusplets like on the tooth in this post. However the escheri that we have also have evidence of serrations. The C. hubbelli have single cusplets on both sides and evidence of serrations. Marco Sr. 3 "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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macrophyseter Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 Yes, it is actually more common than you'd think that Isuro/Carcharodonts (not an actual term, but I feel like it should) have lateral cusplets. However, like MarcoSr pointed out, the tooth in question shows multi-cusplets, which I have only seen in Carcharomodus escheri and Isurus retroflexus for east coast Isuro/Carcharodonts. I dont believe that retroflexus is likely, due to the tooth's root being too box-like compared to other upper retroflexus teeth (The posterolaterals of retroflexus do kind of have a box shape, but at that point the crown is too short and blunt) . And like I said before, many escheri teeth have quite faint crenulations/serrations, so a wear-down is still possible. If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 16 hours ago, WhodamanHD said: Well worth it indeed! I’d do that, but the weekends are sleep in time for me. You won't find a meg with that attitude! 1 I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 minute ago, Darktooth said: You won't find a meg with that attitude! Agreed. At his age he shouldn't be sleeping much at all! Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 49 minutes ago, Macrophyseter said: the tooth in question shows multi-cusplets Cusp number can vary between individuals and within individuals. I just finished cleaning a Carcharias jaw where there were no double side cusps but this individual I found online has many teeth with double side cusps and the circled tooth has a very unusual side cusp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 46 minutes ago, Darktooth said: You won't find a meg with that attitude! Without it I’ll end up like Adam! 44 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said: Agreed. At his age he shouldn't be sleeping much at all! Bad influence! Thought I really don’t (at least not as much as I’d like to). I try to get in eight hours but I’m mostly on six nowadays. 1 “...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin Happy hunting, Mason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 minute ago, WhodamanHD said: Without it I’ll end up like Adam! Bad influence! Thought I really don’t (at least not as much as I’d like to). I try to get in eight hours but I’m mostly on six nowadays. Six or seven is ample. People sleep too much. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macrophyseter Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 1 hour ago, Al Dente said: Cusp number can vary between individuals and within individuals. I just finished cleaning a Carcharias jaw where there were no double side cusps but this individual I found online has many teeth with double side cusps and the circled tooth has a very unusual side cusp. Good point, but have you seen an example of such variation in a hastalis tooth and one with cusps as small as the tooth in question? And what species are you trying to suggest by pointing out cusp frequency? Looking back at the tooth in question multiple times, I'm starting to feel that the lateral cusplets might actually be basal serrations. If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 Nice finds William. It was nice digging and sifting with you and Phil. Too bad we couldn't find that little posterior Meg. You guys seem to find some cool stuff each time. See you out there next time! Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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