hokietech96 Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 I was very fortunate to obtain some loose matrix and chunks of matrix that I need to break down. I really have only been working on the loose matrix so far. It has not m.uch but has been extremely productive with amazing teeth. This is the first time I have gone through matrix from this area and the colors are amazing. The matrix is absolutely loaded with so much great stuff. Most of the items I have found so far are firsts for me. Enjoy the pics! @JBMugu I have barely scratched the survive with the big chucks of matrix but these two verts came out of it. They cleaned up nice! My first whale vert 1.5 inches. .75 inch shark vert Cow Shark Angel Shark Dog Shark 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokietech96 Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 These are items I found throuch the microscope: Basking Shark 1-6. I am a little skeptical of the last one. Any opinions is much appreciated. Catshark I believe these are denticles? @Al Dente 1. 2. Sideview Angel Shark Tons of ray teeth with possible denticles. I have putting them all in one gem jar to seperate later after I am all done going through everything. More to come... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil_finder_ Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 That is a bony fish vert not shark 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokietech96 Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 6 minutes ago, Fossil_finder_ said: That is a bony fish vert not shark Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted December 21, 2020 Share Posted December 21, 2020 2 hours ago, hokietech96 said: I believe these are denticles? Yes. This one is from a male Squatina. They have them on their pectoral fins. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokietech96 Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 23 minutes ago, Al Dente said: Yes. This one is from a male Squatina. They have them on their pectoral fins. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praefectus Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Great stuff! Love the dogshark teeth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 STH matrix is some really fossiliferous and diverse stuff to pick through. Definitely one of the top 10 localities of matrix I've picked. Wonderful specimens and beautiful colors. Cheers. -Ken 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Wow! Super finds, mate. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokietech96 Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 2 hours ago, digit said: STH matrix is some really fossiliferous and diverse stuff to pick through. Definitely one of the top 10 localities of matrix I've picked. Wonderful specimens and beautiful colors. Cheers. -Ken This has been my favorite so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokietech96 Posted December 27, 2020 Author Share Posted December 27, 2020 @Searcher78 look at these angels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcher78 Posted December 27, 2020 Share Posted December 27, 2020 Nice finds. Great dogs, angels, and dentical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokietech96 Posted January 6, 2021 Author Share Posted January 6, 2021 Hope everyone had a great holiday season! I have been spending my free time going through more matrix. Found some interesting finds that I would like to share. I think I have my IDs correct but any opinions are much appreciated. 1-2. Heterodontus lateral tooth - Bullhead/Horn Shark 2. 3-4. Galeorhinus - Tope shark - Love the colors on these 4. 5-6. My first impression is always to go with Cat shark with this type of tooth. The more I look at it and what is on ELASMO I am thinking it is Houndshark - Triakis lateral tooth. @Al Dente 6. 7. Basking Shark - Cetorhinus - I know have already posted pics above of Basking shark. What is different about this one is it actually shows the single cusp that this type of shark has 8. This is 5MM great looking tooth with all the serrations. Carcharhinus tooth but have no idea what species? Any thoughts? @Al Dente 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 54 minutes ago, hokietech96 said: My first impression is always to go with Cat shark with this type of tooth. The more I look at it and what is on ELASMO I am thinking it is Houndshark - Triakis lateral tooth. @Al Dente I think it is Galeorhinus, probably a lower anterior. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 Hi Al Dente, Galeorhinus teeth are not this symmetrical except at the parasymphyseal position. The cusp generally leans distally though the mesial cutting edge can be convex. I think this is a Triakis tooth which does tend to have two lateral cusplets while the cusplets are more like coarse serrations in Galeorhinus and they tend to be more numerous and distinct on the distal side. There are usually short folds (vertical wrinkles) on the labial face at the crown foot just where it overhangs in Triakis but the base is smooth in Galeorhinus. Jess 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 9 hours ago, siteseer said: Hi Al Dente, Galeorhinus teeth are not this symmetrical except at the parasymphyseal position. The cusp generally leans distally though the mesial cutting edge can be convex. I think this is a Triakis tooth which does tend to have two lateral cusplets while the cusplets are more like coarse serrations in Galeorhinus and they tend to be more numerous and distinct on the distal side. There are usually short folds (vertical wrinkles) on the labial face at the crown foot just where it overhangs in Triakis but the base is smooth in Galeorhinus. Jess Triakids are a mess. Modern DNA analysis shows that the genus Triakis is polyphyletic. Some species of Triakis are more closely related to the genus Galeorhinus and Hemitriakis than they are to other species of Triakis. If I were to compare this tooth with modern Triakids, I think it most closely resembles Hemitriakis. Second photo from here-http://naka.na.coocan.jp/jawtriakidaeb.html 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 Here is a Miocene Galeorhinus with similar teeth (A and B). From Cappetta's Handbook of Paleoichthyology. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClearLake Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 On 12/21/2020 at 2:22 PM, hokietech96 said: My first whale vert 1.5 inches. I’m curious, this seems very small for a whale vertebrae. I’m not at all familiar with STH material, so I’m just asking. That does look like fun matrix to go through. Enjoy!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Years ago, I tried to identify the Triakis teeth in the STH Bonebed. It seemed to me to be closest to the T. semifasciata, which is known today in shallow, warm to cool-temperate waters from Oregon and south to Mazatlan, Mexico. Both show one to two pairs of low lateral cusplets and variability in the presence of labial folds at the crown foot. The lateral cusplets of T. scyllium can be higher and more slender than those seen in T. semifasciata. It is interesting that Hemitriakis dentitions can bear forms that overlap Galeorhinus and Triakis morphologies. Galeorhinus is known from the late Cretaceous but Triakis doesn't appear until the early Paleocene while Hemitriakis doesn't seem to have a fossil history. In the STH Bonebed, the Galeorhinus form is common while the Triakis form is uncommon in my experience so I don't think we are looking at something like uppers and lower of the same shark. The geographical ranges of Galeorhinus and Triakis overlap across the entire California coast today. Hemitriakis is not known from the eastern Pacific Ocean. I have never seen an article that reviews the Triakis teeth of the STH Bonebed in any detail. David Starr Jordan (1919) did describe T. beali based on a single, incomplete tooth that doesn't look like a triakid and is 2-3 times the size of the average triakid. David Ward once commented that the holotype may be the tip of a Hemipristis tooth. It should be noted that n the early 20th century there wasn't as much focus on small shark teeth as there would be by the 70's and 80's. Jess 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 On 1/9/2021 at 12:22 PM, ClearLake said: I’m curious, this seems very small for a whale vertebrae. I’m not at all familiar with STH material, so I’m just asking. That does look like fun matrix to go through. Enjoy!! It's a caudal (tail) vertebra which is smaller. The whales of the Middle Miocene were also generally smaller than they are today especially the ones found in the STH Bonebed. A big whale was maybe 30-35 feet long. There were bigger whales but even those were maybe 50-60 feet and evidence of them is rare in the bonebed (those big Scalidcetus-grade sperm whales with the big teeth) because they likely preferred the open sea and deeper water rather than a bay environment. The larger baleen whales of today appeared in the Pliocene and Pleistocene. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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