WhodamanHD Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Went for my first time to purse state park proper (Douglas point is my usual Potomac haunt). Mostly for micro, but I did a bit of surface hunting. Found this beautiful vert, find of the day by far (disappointing otherwise). I’ve no clue what it is, though I assume some sort of gharial. My quick research brought me to eosuchus being the best candidate. With a surprising resemblance to champsosaurus but I think that’s unlikely. Any ideas? Gonna go ahead and tag @MarcoSr. Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 It does looks like a Croc vert. Quite a few described from the Aquia not sure the centrum will give you an ID but lets see what others say. Not Champsosaurus 2 Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 45 minutes ago, Troodon said: It does looks like a Croc vert. Quite a few described from the Aquia not sure the centrum will give you an ID but lets see what others say. Not Champsosaurus Yeah, sadly the neural Arch is gone. I was hoping there would some diagnosistic feature but perhaps not. I looked at a drawing of a thecacampsia vert, looked different but perhaps it’s just because mine is caudal (I think). Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Looks like a cervical 1 Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 25 minutes ago, Troodon said: Looks like a cervical That explains a lot, now it looks more normal. Link to post Share on other sites
jpc Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Definitely crocodilian vertebra. I don't see any chevron attachment points so it may not be caudal, but the chevron spots may be worn away. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 1 hour ago, jpc said: Definitely crocodilian vertebra. I don't see any chevron attachment points so it may not be caudal, but the chevron spots may be worn away. It’s hard to tell if there were or not. Thanks for the confirmation! Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 Also, does anyone know about what level of rarity here? I’ve never seen another one of these, but I have a feeling that if I found it in twenty minutes it’s probably not the rarest thing.. Link to post Share on other sites
abyssunder Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 16 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said: Also, does anyone know about what level of rarity here? I’ve never seen another one of these, but I have a feeling that if I found it in twenty minutes it’s probably not the rarest thing.. I think, it depends on how lucky you are. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 59 minutes ago, abyssunder said: I think, it depends on how lucky you are. This is true, typically my luck is not amazing (save the singular Symphyseal cow shark tooth). However, I’m a firm believer that luck can change! Is this like Otodus rare, aksauticus rare, or Striatolamia rare? Perhaps in between one of those? Link to post Share on other sites
abyssunder Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 37 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said: Is this like Otodus rare, aksauticus rare, or Striatolamia rare? Perhaps in between one of those? Only Poseidon know this... Link to post Share on other sites
MarcoSr Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 On 6/24/2018 at 4:30 PM, WhodamanHD said: Also, does anyone know about what level of rarity here? I’ve never seen another one of these, but I have a feeling that if I found it in twenty minutes it’s probably not the rarest thing.. Definitely a croc vertebra. Can't really say more than that about the id. I've hunted the Palaeocene Aquia Formation for over forty years and only have 4 or 5 croc vertebrae from it. I've seen more skull and jaw pieces than vertebrae so a vertebra is pretty uncommon based upon my experience. The below poster presentation will give you an idea of the crocodilian fauna from the Aquia Formation of VA/MD. Marco Sr. 5 Link to post Share on other sites
siteseer Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 On June 24, 2018 at 7:15 AM, WhodamanHD said: Yeah, sadly the neural Arch is gone. I was hoping there would some diagnosistic feature but perhaps not. I looked at a drawing of a thecacampsia vert, looked different but perhaps it’s just because mine is caudal (I think). I've seen crocodilian vertebrae from Miocene sites that break that way too. It seems like a natural plane of separation because the break tends to look clean if there is less than moderate weathering. I have one from a Florida site like that. Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 8 minutes ago, siteseer said: I've seen crocodilian vertebrae from Miocene sites that break that way too. It seems like a natural plane of separation because the break tends to look clean if there is less than moderate weathering. I have one from a Florida site like that. Yeah, it’s quite thin there. Cetecean verts do the same thing. Ive got some fossil alligator vertebrae, ones got it, one doesn’t, and one has part of it. Luck of the draw? Link to post Share on other sites
jpc Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 missing neural arches is normal for fossilized croc verts, form my experience. Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene of Wyoming and surrounding states. A complete croc vert is a great find around here. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 On 6/25/2018 at 4:52 PM, MarcoSr said: Definitely a croc vertebra. Can't really say more than that about the id. I've hunted the Palaeocene Aquia Formation for over forty years and only have 4 or 5 croc vertebrae from it. I've seen more skull and jaw pieces than vertebrae so a vertebra is pretty uncommon based upon my experience. The below poster presentation will give you an idea of the crocodilian fauna from the Aquia Formation of VA/MD. Marco Sr. Thanks! I wonder why the vertebrae would be rare, a lot more of them than skulls! I’m quite happy about finding one though! I read that one paper, but it was a while ago. It’s very nice and informative. I’ve just sent a membership form to the Maryland Geological Society, figured it is he logical next step for my fossil-hunting. Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 On 6/25/2018 at 7:09 PM, jpc said: missing neural arches is normal for fossilized croc verts, form my experience. Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene of Wyoming and surrounding states. A complete croc vert is a great find around here. Think I’m gonna have to add a complete crocodile vert to my “To-Find List” Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 On 6/24/2018 at 6:28 PM, abyssunder said: Only Poseidon know this... Apparently Poseidon OR Marco Sr! Link to post Share on other sites
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