Fish dentary?

[REW01]

This was collected off of WY11, between Laramie and Centennial in Albany County, WY. Definitely limestone. It was thinly bedded, with an upper layer that's full of shelly material. There were numerous calcite veins in the rock also. This piece came from below that. I found bits and pieces of other fossil material, including some other bits that look similar, like part of a jaw. I didn't have much time to spend, so really, finding this was entirely luck and I didn't get to look for more.

 

I'm inclined to think Forelle Limestone currently from what research I've done. I believe that limestone is upper Permian. Other units that outcrop in the area along this highway range from Pennsylvanian to Cretaceous. I'm struggling to find a geologic map with enough resolution to really tell me exactly what I'm looking for. I'm still looking for a map of the county that's not a historical map from the University of Wyoming. The forum is often pretty knowledgable though, so input is appreciated.

 

I know there's not a whole lot of it preserved. I think it was exposed in a wash for a while so not a lot of bone is left. Not sure if there's enough left to identify. I'm not that well versed in vertebrates. I can get better pictures tomorrow. My phone camera was really struggling to focus tonight. Any ideas? Am I right in labeling it a dentary? Or is it something else entirely?

 

 

[hemipristis]

Very, very nice!  Unfortunately, my knowledge of the Permian fauna anywhere is lacking.  I'm sure that somebody here can help though

[Al Dente]

It looks a lot like an Enchodus jaw. That would make it Cretaceous.

 

 

[Pemphix]

3 hours ago, Al Dente said:

It looks a lot like an Enchodus jaw. That would make it Cretaceous.

 

 

I think that's a good ID-approach.  

[REW01]

It certainly does look like Enchodus. I wouldn't be surprised if I was off on my age.

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

Really nice specimen!