Peace River Fossil ID

[PaleoNoel]

Back in February I went fossil hunting along the Peace River in spots between the towns of Wauchula and Arcadia. I found the usual shark teeth and dugong rib pieces along with a few porpoise and even barracuda teeth. However I would appreciate it if someone could help me identify a few of the other fossils I found.

 

1. Partial alligator tooth? or just a piece of bone.

 

 

2. Tusk or tooth fragment (strange pattern on the cross section.

 

3. Claw core from a bird or small mammal.

 

4. Partial glyptodont scute?

[PaleoNoel]

1 hour ago, PaleoNoel said:

 

5. Another partial glyptodont scute?

 

6. Turtle plastron (?) piece.

[sixgill pete]

The first one looks like a piece of bone. The second on like a liece of ivory, maybe a piece of a tusk. The third looks like a claw core to me. 4th I am not sure. The fifth one looks like a partial turtle vertebra. From the bottom of the shell on the center line.

[PaleoNoel]

14 minutes ago, sixgill pete said:

The first one looks like a piece of bone. The second on like a liece of ivory, maybe a piece of a tusk. The third looks like a claw core to me. 4th I am not sure. The fifth one looks like a partial turtle vertebra. From the bottom of the shell on the center line.

Thanks, I'm going to go back and edit this to have number to associate with each piece.

[jcbshark]

1 looks like bone, 3 is ivory, 5 is a sweet claw (congrats on that one) and the last 3 look like turtle to me although the middle piece could be a piece of gator osteoderm as well

[caldigger]

I agree with Jeff on these, except the first pic looks like it has conchoidal fractures which is throwing me off. Looks like bone but has a chert cleavage. 

[PaleoNoel]

12 minutes ago, jcbshark said:

1 looks like bone, 3 is ivory, 5 is a sweet claw (congrats on that one) and the last 3 look like turtle to me although the middle piece could be a piece of gator osteoderm as well

Thanks for the feedback! (Even though I just messed up all the numbers associated with each pic). Do you have any thoughts as to what the claw may belong to. Also, when I asked a paleontologist who was judging a shell contest in Sanibel he thought that 5 was from a young glyptodont and agreed with both of you that 6 was from a turtle or tortoise. However when I asked him what his thoughts were on the claw he said it came from a crab, I was highly skeptical. He was an expert on invertebrates (primarily mollusks and gastropods) but was rather elderly and did not have his glasses with him, only adding to my skepticism of his assertion. 

[PaleoNoel]

4 minutes ago, caldigger said:

I agree with Jeff on these, except the first pic looks like it has conchoidal fractures which is throwing me off. Looks like bone but has a chert cleavage. 

My original thought was that the lines on 1. were the striations you see typically on certain teeth but I could be wrong. Could just be wishful thinking so I could say I found a gator tooth.

[Harry Pristis]

1.  probably bone frag.

2.  ivory

3.  bird claw

4.  water turtle carapacial frag.

5.  uncertain -- need more pix

6.  water turtle neural

[Shellseeker]

I believe the identifications of previous posters. #2 is definitely Ivory and almost certainly from a Mammoth or Mastodon tusk.  You could read up about ivory and determine which of the 2 is a better choice based on the angle of the cross_hatching you see on your 2nd photo.

 

I think your bird claw is too small for eagle, most likely hawk or osprey

We have various strengths in TFF members, Raptor expert is @Auspex

[PaleoNoel]

6 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

I believe the identifications of previous posters. #2 is definitely Ivory and almost certainly from a Mammoth or Mastodon tusk.  You could read up about ivory and determine which of the 2 is a better choice based on the angle of the cross_hatching you see on your 2nd photo.

 

I think your bird claw is too small for eagle, most likely hawk or osprey

We have various strengths in TFF members, Raptor expert is @Auspex

Thank you for your input! I will certainly look into the tusks of both mammoth and mastodons for reference.

[PaleoNoel]

After looking at images of mammoth tusk cross sections I would agree with the identification of fossil number 2. from my fellow TFF members. Thank you for shining a light on that for me. I will take a few more pictures of number 5. so it will be easier for you guys to tell what it is.

[Shellseeker]

19 minutes ago, PaleoNoel said:

After looking at images of mammoth tusk cross sections I would agree with the identification of fossil number 2. from my fellow TFF members. Thank you for shining a light on that for me. I will take a few more pictures of number 5. so it will be easier for you guys to tell what it is.

I should have provided you with a link to get you started on "Schreger lines". It is a somewhat complex topic but well worth your time if you plan tospend time hunting the Peace River.

 

[Auspex]

1 hour ago, Shellseeker said:

I think your bird claw is too small for eagle, most likely hawk or osprey

It scales to about 16mm? If so, it is from a small raptor, something like digit one of a Sharp-shinned Hawk.
That is my guess.

[PaleoNoel]

2 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

I should have provided you with a link to get you started on "Schreger lines". It is a somewhat complex topic but well worth your time if you plan tospend time hunting the Peace River.

 

Thanks for all this information! I've now been able to ID two other ivory fragments from the same trip.

[PaleoNoel]

1 hour ago, Auspex said:

It scales to about 16mm? If so, it is from a small raptor, something like digit one of a Sharp-shinned Hawk.
That is my guess.

 

Thank you for analysis. I was ecstatic when I found it and narrowing down what it might have come from is an interesting process.  The same day found the talon I saw a Caracara in the wild for the first time poking around the side of the road nearby an orange grove. I didn't previously know that they lived in central Florida but read afterward that the Floridian population is somewhat isolated from the rest due to the habitat change which occurred at the end of the last Glacial Period.  

[dalmayshun]

Caracara sightings are definitely a plus to fossil hunting in florida. They don't hang out by the coastline, so many tourists miss them completely. Wonderful birds to watch, as they fly low over the savannahs and suddenly drop down to capture a snake....assuming their long legs evolved for that. Aren't fossil hunters fortunate, we seek out of the way places and thus get to see unusual plants, animals, and geologic features. A great hobby. 

[PaleoNoel]

On 7/5/2018 at 9:21 AM, dalmayshun said:

Caracara sightings are definitely a plus to fossil hunting in florida. They don't hang out by the coastline, so many tourists miss them completely. Wonderful birds to watch, as they fly low over the savannahs and suddenly drop down to capture a snake....assuming their long legs evolved for that. Aren't fossil hunters fortunate, we seek out of the way places and thus get to see unusual plants, animals, and geologic features. A great hobby. 

Very fortunate indeed, being in nature is a wonderful thing.

[abyssunder]

2. - is a proboscidean tusk fragment. For more details, you can check also this topic:

 

[PaleoNoel]

53 minutes ago, abyssunder said:

2. - is a proboscidean tusk fragment. For more details, you can check also this topic:

 

Thanks for the link, the piece shown there looks very similar to my own.