Shark Fossil ID

[cdc68]

Found a nice tooth and a vertebrae yesterday while hunting on Morris Island in South Carolina.  

Wondering what shark this is and how old my vertebrae might be.  Tried to follow tips so pardon my newbness, if I didn’t do a great job. lol

 

[Fossildude19]

Welcome to the Forum. 

Nice pictures and finds, 

Unfortunately, I don't believe shark vertebrae are identifiable by any means down to genus or species levels. 

 

Wait for some experts to chime in. 

 

@Al Dente  @MarcoSr  @sixgill pete

[cdc68]

I was hoping someone could just guesstimate what period it's from.  I think I might have just discovered a new hobby .. I am totally excited about finding these! 

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by cdc68

[Fossildude19]

The experts that I tagged should be able to tell you what time period they are from.  

[cdc68]

Thank You!! 

[Brett Breakin' Rocks]

3 hours ago, cdc68 said:

I was hoping someone could just guesstimate what period it's from. 

Unfortunately, because Charleston harbor is surrounded by dredged sediments you can find fossils from the Oligocene to the Pleistocene .. so the date range for isolated fossils such as shark vertebra are not easy to nail down to a specific period in time (because they have all been excavated and jumbled together). And a single shark vertebra, unless found with associated teeth, can be difficult to nail down to a species. 

 

From the vertebra you can usually distinguish lamnoid vs scyliorhinoid. 

 

Image credit: PhatFossils

Lamnoid

 

Scyliorhinoid

 

If you find a bison vertebra or tapir tooth from the harbor you know it will be something more recent because and it is easier to identify to a specific (though still broad) period in time. Angustidens teeth found in the same harbor area are much older .. but again, you can narrow them down to a specific timeframe. 

 

Hopefully this helps a bit when discussing isolated fossils. That is usually why finding the fossils in-situ, in the formation that has been described (and dated) , or found with associated bones, is so valuable to researchers. The second best option is finding a fossil of a critter that is known to have existed at a certain period of time. 

 

Cheers,

Brett

Edited May 24, 2021 by Brett Breakin' Rocks

[cdc68]

So that means it could be anywhere from 10k to 60 mil years old, right?  If I never find out, it is still one of the coolest things I have ever found!   Re the dredging ... that makes sense.  Morris Island is one of the main recipients of the dredged material.  They also made an island with a lot of it, Crab Bank Island that is now a bird sanctuary.  Fascinating stuff.  I can't wait to go back! 

 

Maybe someone can still identify the shark tooth for me.

Edited May 25, 2021 by cdc68

[bthemoose]

The shark tooth is in the Megalodon (Carcharocles) lineage. I believe the teeth found on Morris Island are generally Carcharocles angustidens (a predecessor to Carcharocles megalodon). It’s hard to tell from the photo, but I think I see a side cusp on the right side (the one on the left is probably broken off) that would be consistent with that ID.

Edited May 26, 2021 by bthemoose

[cdc68]

Thanks!   Yes, there is a bit of side cusp left on the right side ... shadow kind of making it hard to see. 

[BellamyBlake]

Shark tooth looks like Angustidens to me, nice find