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Rowboater

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Nice Spring outing, very green, nice balance of frogs, salamanders, nesting birds (in the creek bank?), with poison ivy growing well and more background construction/ farming noise than usual.   Not much has changed in the creek bed, could use a good rain to wash out more.  

 

The tooth hunting was slow (probably because I wasn't working at it hard enough).  Still, came out with a nice intact(?) ecphora, two broken cow shark teeth, four angel shark teeth and a bunch of drum  teeth (or facsimiles thereof; don't usually pick them up unless pretty, but it was a slow day).  Some stuff in matrix, unusual for the creek but nothing clearly exciting.  The sand shark teeth were small and many broken (guess the kids in the area have been picking these). Picked up a lot of bits and pieces (a few of the smaller ones are in the photo; guessing many are turtle= my default for flat pieces that look like but are not seashells).  More to sort through. Small stuff to puzzle over.5-10-18-teeth.thumb.jpg.1e3320d78a55554260053d899e6ecbda.jpg

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Congrats on a good hunt! Looks like the Rappahannock has some great micro collecting. I’m wondering if it yields large teeth too. What’s the largest one you’ve found in the river?

The Hunt for the Hemipristine continues!

~Hoppe hunting!~

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May have been a bit slow, but you still found some pretty nice stuff there! :)

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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Just looking at all those sharp teeth make me want to go leaping through your creek barefoot. Yeouch!!!

 

 

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Shark dentist! :P :meg:

Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such.

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Thanks everyone for your comments!  

2 hours ago, HoppeHunting said:

Congrats on a good hunt! Looks like the Rappahannock has some great micro collecting. I’m wondering if it yields large teeth too. What’s the largest one you’ve found in the river?

In the creek 30 years ago I found a perfect 2"+ mako(?), my prize for many years. Others back then found rare 3"+ megalodon teeth (not me).  Nowadays  it is rare to find any shark teeth over 1 1/2" long there, and I am more into the cow shark and interesting little stuff which were overlooked years ago.  More about the hunting and less about the finding now, although there are occasional surprises.  

The Rapp itself often has bigger (but fewer) teeth wash up on beaches, particularly after big storms (much more weathered than in the creek, but even I have found broken stuff that would have been impressive if complete!)  Some are in drysuits wading in the winter when the water is clear and I've heard they do well (and oystermen occasionally bring up big teeth while tonging or dredging).  I'll probably switch over to fishing soon, but we sometimes check out beaches at low tide in the Rapp or Piankatank.  Unfortunately everyone looks in the same old places nowadays. 

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Awesome, I like the Ecphora :D

“...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

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11 hours ago, Rowboater said:

nesting birds (in the creek bank?)

Bank Swallows and Kingfishers both burrow into friable banks and bluffs to nest (the former being colonial).

"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!

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2 hours ago, Auspex said:

Bank Swallows and Kingfishers both burrow into friable banks and bluffs to nest (the former being colonial).

I don't know.  There's only one bird and it may have used the same spot for its nest last year (I've tried to avoid its spot, walking in and out.  But I see raccoon and kid tracks all along the creek, and it seems vulnerable.)  The nest is positioned in a steep bank next to a minimal water fall, and even from across the creek I could see at least one baby in the nest.  It makes some noise when it flies out, but I did not recognize it to be a kingfisher.  I hope Nature is not as fragile as it looks.  

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Looks like a good day's finds. I like the drum teeth, I have found a decent amount in the Peace river here, but the drum prize was a good sized drum (jaw?) mouth plate that the teeth nested in, kinds looks like off shape honey comb. With out TFF I don't know that I ever would of IDed it. Twas a real head scratcher.

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11 hours ago, Rowboater said:

one bird and it may have used the same spot for its nest last year

Is it emerging from a burrow, or from a tangle of roots or something?

"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!

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3 hours ago, Auspex said:

Is it emerging from a burrow, or from a tangle of roots or something?

I haven't looked real close, I'll try (discreetly) next time I'm out.  Last year the bird flew out from the bank several times when i was walking by but i never looked real close at the nest.  On my way out last trip I saw a baby with mouth open, but quiet.

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14 hours ago, Peace river rat said:

Looks like a good day's finds. I like the drum teeth, I have found a decent amount in the Peace river here, but the drum prize was a good sized drum (jaw?) mouth plate that the teeth nested in, kinds looks like off shape honey comb. With out TFF I don't know that I ever would of IDed it. Twas a real head scratcher.

 

Must have been exciting!  I have never found much complete (no skate mouth plate, jaw bones or drum plates), possibly because I usually am digging in creek beds (more rarely banks) and everything has washed together in holes(?; of course the general area has been searched over for 50 years by generations of kids, and the area's bigger teeth have not been flushed out by hurricanes or tropical storms in a long time).  Frequently I find most of the same kind of teeth in the same area, less than 10 feet away from a different kind of teeth, so they may have washed a long time apart relative to one another(?)   Some of the little drum teeth are nice; must get bigger ones in the Peace River (in general the teeth and fossils seem much bigger)? 

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38 minutes ago, Rowboater said:

...I saw a baby with mouth open...

Then it's safe to thing that he wasn't back in a tunnel. There are a lot of birds it could be.

Your casual passage is not going to cause them harm, so just enjoy. :)

"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!

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11 hours ago, Rowboater said:

 

Must have been exciting!  I have never found much complete (no skate mouth plate, jaw bones or drum plates), possibly because I usually am digging in creek beds (more rarely banks) and everything has washed together in holes(?; of course the general area has been searched over for 50 years by generations of kids, and the area's bigger teeth have not been flushed out by hurricanes or tropical storms in a long time).  Frequently I find most of the same kind of teeth in the same area, less than 10 feet away from a different kind of teeth, so they may have washed a long time apart relative to one another(?)   Some of the little drum teeth are nice; must get bigger ones in the Peace River (in general the teeth and fossils seem much bigger)? 

Had my best ever finds after hurricane Irma hit here Sep. 10th of last year. The river was already high, then....Irma. Tore our little town up pretty good, it was hairy. Sounded like a freight train running thru my yard, outside my shuttered windows. But I had/have faith in GOD and beer, a weather radio, lots of non perishable food and water. The river reached 18 and a half ft, the historical record is 20 ft.

The drum teeth I have found here are no larger and not a very common find. One or two a day, sometimes days with nary a one.

 

Some areas of the river are loaded with small fossils/gravel, large fossils are the anomaly. Other areas have larger rocks and...generally...larger fossils.

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On 5/12/2018 at 12:12 PM, Peace river rat said:

Had my best ever finds after hurricane Irma hit here Sep. 10th of last year. The river was already high, then....Irma. Tore our little town up pretty good, it was hairy. Sounded like a freight train running thru my yard, outside my shuttered windows. But I had/have faith in GOD and beer, a weather radio, lots of non perishable food and water. The river reached 18 and a half ft, the historical record is 20 ft.

The drum teeth I have found here are no larger and not a very common find. One or two a day, sometimes days with nary a one.

 

Some areas of the river are loaded with small fossils/gravel, large fossils are the anomaly. Other areas have larger rocks and...generally...larger fossils.

 Coastal Virginia is overdue for a tropical storm and flooding (despite the bad ones to hit Florida and Texas and the Caribbean last year, there were eleven years before that with no major hurricanes hitting the continental US, a record).  I am in a rural area and we lose our electricity for several days in a row whenever any windy storm hits; while living in Singapore, all electrical wires are underground and didn't have any interruptions in four years.  I don't look forward to any storms here!

I find a lot of drum teeth, particularly when I'm getting desperate and looking more carefully.  I hardly ever find bonito noses or puffer fish mouth pieces which reportedly are common in Florida.  This year found a lot of angel shark teeth, but probably was using a coarser screen than in the past.  I think the only mammalian stuff I find is in pieces (however once found a seal tooth, IDed by helpful people here).  There are places in coastal Virginia where big teeth and fossils are found, but locals are protective.  The areas I hunt can be swarming with kids, mostly with better eyesight and closer to the ground!  But 40 years ago fossil hunting was a kid thing, picking up fossil shark teeth and talking about dinosaurs.  Now there are a handful of adults who are obsessed, particularly with the megalodon teeth.  To me it's just nice, therapeutic to be out, hunting and finding small interesting stuff, and really enjoying the change in seasons (the only part of Singapore I won't miss at all).    

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On 5/12/2018 at 1:08 AM, Auspex said:

Then it's safe to thing that he wasn't back in a tunnel. There are a lot of birds it could be.

Your casual passage is not going to cause them harm, so just enjoy. :)

Took a few photos, nest slightly below center left of bank shotIMG-20180514-WA0004.thumb.jpg.cd420442277652af0eaa803d014102be.jpg.  Only one baby, much bigger than last week (cowbird?)

IMG-20180514-WA0003.jpg

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She picked a very neat nest site! 'Tis a passerine, but more I cannot say.
Did the bird that flew out look like a small, rufus-brown Thrush?

"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!

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On 5/11/2018 at 9:41 AM, Peace river rat said:

Looks like a good day's finds. I like the drum teeth, I have found a decent amount in the Peace river here, but the drum prize was a good sized drum (jaw?) mouth plate that the teeth nested in, kinds looks like off shape honey comb. With out TFF I don't know that I ever would of IDed it. Twas a real head scratcher.

Not quite as good on the teeth today, but at least a dozen drum teeth, eight or more angel shark teeth (stood up in second closeup), and another broken cowshark tooth.  Plus some triangular teeth that don't look like the usual dusky/ bull shark teeth, but are a bit broken.  Everything is small, per usual.  May post some others at the ID tab, have no clue.

5-15-18-teeth.jpg

5-15-18-drum-angel-shark.jpg

5-15-18-drum-angel-shark2.jpg

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8 minutes ago, Rowboater said:

Not quite as good on the teeth today, but at least a dozen drum teeth, eight or more angel shark teeth (stood up in second closeup), and another broken cowshark tooth.  Plus some triangular teeth that don't look like the usual dusky/ bull shark teeth, but are a bit broken.  Everything is small, per usual.  May post some others at the ID tab, have no clue.

5-15-18-teeth.jpg

5-15-18-drum-angel-shark.jpg

5-15-18-drum-angel-shark2.jpg

Nice finds! Always good to get out there!

In my two years of hunting the peace (lots of hunting time) I have found all of ONE cow shark tooth. It is a very nice, entire tooth. I believe @Shell Seeker has found 3 in his many years on the peace, IIRC.

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2 minutes ago, Auspex said:

She picked a very neat nest site! 'Tis a passerine, but more I cannot say.
Did the bird that flew out look like a small, rufus-brown Thrush?

When I've flushed her, she flies out low making some noise (and probably trying to entice me to follow).  She is drab gray or brown with some white, but I've only had glimpses. 

 

As I walked in today I saw a chestnut brown bird, guessing a thrush, and stepping toward it I saw a large coiled rat black snake, posing rigid as a stature less than six feet away and staring at where the bird had been.  Of course stupidly I forgot I had the phone camera with me.  Never that photogenic when I'm ready.

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2 minutes ago, Peace river rat said:

Nice finds! Always good to get out there!

In my two years of hunting the peace (lots of hunting time) I have found all of ONE cow shark tooth. It is a very nice, entire tooth. I believe @Shell Seeker has found 3 in his many years on the peace, IIRC.

I thought I was doing well on cow shark teeth (my favorite) but have only found two perfect ones, a fair amount of nice ones and lots of rootless broken pieces.  Then someone posted a link to a collector at the Calvert Cliffs who seemingly had hundreds including many symphyseal teeth (I've found one very nice one but absent the root).  I have had a few heartbreaking breaks (they are fragile teeth!) and now carry a plastic baggie with cotton for these and other precious finds (lost a few ecphora by crushing in my pocket or bucket as well).

Of course Peace river is known for the mammal teeth and fossils and those are rare (or missing?) here.

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On 5/15/2018 at 6:23 AM, Peace river rat said:

Nice finds! Always good to get out there!

In my two years of hunting the peace (lots of hunting time) I have found all of ONE cow shark tooth. It is a very nice, entire tooth. I believe @Shell Seeker has found 3 in his many years on the peace, IIRC.

Nice collection of cow shark teeth in this old thread!

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On 5/14/2018 at 11:11 PM, Rowboater said:

Not quite as good on the teeth today, but at least a dozen drum teeth, eight or more angel shark teeth (stood up in second closeup), and another broken cowshark tooth.  Plus some triangular teeth that don't look like the usual dusky/ bull shark teeth, but are a bit broken.  Everything is small, per usual.  May post some others at the ID tab, have no clue.

 

 

5-15-18-drum-angel-shark2.jpg

Lovely finds. 

I especially like some of these little ones, they're gorgeous ! ! :)

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

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