Charleston, South Carolina Shark Teeth and Other Finds

[JessicaCharleston]

Hello! I am a novice in Charleston, South Carolina primarily interested in shark teeth. While I have a few fossil books, I am not a very visual learner so I struggle with some of my identifications. I wanted to create a key for myself with my actual finds, so I can compare future finds to my physical specimens instead of printed pictures. I was hoping to get confirmation or correction on my bigger/better teeth and other beach finds that I have. 

 

I've also included a picture of teeth I'm not too certain on, as well as a number of finds that I'm nearly certain are rocks but I can't convince myself to toss them. Please help me put these rocks out of their misery! I've included an anterior and posterior picture. 

 

Thank you so much for your help and expertise! Hopefully creating this key for myself will help me be more self reliant in the future!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close Ups: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops, top right is a ray mouth plate I think. 

[fifbrindacier]

Hi, the number nine is a piece of bone.

[Fin Lover]

44 minutes ago, JessicaCharleston said:

Close Ups: 

 

Could all be megs, but without the area where the cusps would have been, some of them can't be determined.

[Fin Lover]

54 minutes ago, JessicaCharleston said:

 

 

 

Can we see a better picture of the labial side of A?  I think it may be a retroflexus, be I need to see where the root and crown come together.

 

Bottom right is not a Hemipristis.  Turtle shell doesn't look right to me.

 

 

54 minutes ago, JessicaCharleston said:

 

Yes on verts...some shark and some odontocete 

 

Agree on hypural, ray mouth plate and sand tigers.  I'm not comfortable saying that's a great white...could be Otodus, but the area where a bourlette would be is missing.

 

Sorry, I know you'll have to expand to see my responses, but I was having issues replying otherwise.

Edited July 6, 2024 by Fin Lover

[Fin Lover]

In the "probably rocks" section, you may have a couple bone frags (I agree that #9 looks like bone), but I don't see anything else recognisable.

[JessicaCharleston]

38 minutes ago, fifbrindacier said:

Hi, the number nine is a piece of bone.

Awesome, thanks!

[JessicaCharleston]

29 minutes ago, Fin Lover said:

Could all be megs, but without the area where the cusps would have been, some of them can't be determined.

Noted, thank you! 

[JessicaCharleston]

20 minutes ago, Fin Lover said:

Bottom right is not a Hemipristis.  Turtle shell doesn't look right to me.

 

 

Agree on hypural, ray mouth plate and sand tigers.  I'm not comfortable saying that's a great white...could be Otodus, but the area where a bourlette would be is missing.

 

Sorry, I know you'll have to expand to see my responses, but I was having issues replying otherwise.

Bottom right for the upper teeth or lower teeth?

 

I think I was hopeful with the peace sign marking on the turtle shell haha, I shall continue my search! 

 

Yeah the one I put for great white is pretty worn. I'll post a posterior pic. 

 

Thank you so much for your help! 

[JessicaCharleston]

18 minutes ago, Fin Lover said:

In the "probably rocks" section, you may have a couple bone frags (I agree that #9 looks like bone), but I don't see anything else recognisable.

Okay, thanks!! 

[JessicaCharleston]

25 minutes ago, Fin Lover said:

Bottom right is not a Hemipristis.  Turtle shell doesn't look right to me.

 

 

Agree on hypural, ray mouth plate and sand tigers.  I'm not comfortable saying that's a great white...could be Otodus, but the area where a bourlette would be is missing.

 

Sorry, I know you'll have to expand to see my responses, but I was having issues replying otherwise.

Here's A: 

[Fin Lover]

4 minutes ago, JessicaCharleston said:

Bottom right for the upper teeth or lower teeth?

Sorry, the lowers

[Fin Lover]

"A" looks like a worn Isurus retroflexus to me

[JessicaCharleston]

6 minutes ago, Fin Lover said:

"A" looks like a worn Isurus retroflexus to me

 

Oohh, I'll add it to my key! Thank you!

[Fin Lover]

58 minutes ago, JessicaCharleston said:

Oohh, I'll add it to my key! Thank you!

I like finding them.  Here is my most recent one, so you can see one without wear:

[Al Dente]

This one that I circled is a Physogaleus contortus. The teeth labeled G. latidens are a mix of aduncus and P. contortus.

 

 

[fifbrindacier]

The turtle shell looks weird to me too.

It might be a septaria.

I'd like to see more photos of it if you please.

Edited July 6, 2024 by fifbrindacier

[JessicaCharleston]

50 minutes ago, Fin Lover said:

I like finding them.  Here is my most recent one, so you can see one without wear:

Oh, wow! Gorgeous! 

[JessicaCharleston]

On 7/6/2024 at 5:27 PM, fifbrindacier said:

The turtle shell looks weird to me too.

It might be a septaria.

I'd like to see more photos of it if you please.

Fair enough! Here ya go, thank you!

 

 

[old bones]

I agree with @fifbrindacier, that it is not turtle shell.

The ray tooth looks like it might be Plinthicus stenodon.

16 looks like a broken tooth to me, just whose, I can't tell.

I would keep 17. The back doesn't look like anything much, but the front is interesting...

So many times phosphate pebbles look like something. Nothing wrong with putting something aside for future thought.  When I began collecting I almost discarded obscure looking bits before, and later on found that they were actually something neat like a mammal petrosal!

 

[JessicaCharleston]

2 hours ago, Al Dente said:

This one that I circled is a Physogaleus contortus. The teeth labeled G. latidens are a mix of aduncus and P. contortus.

 

 

Ohh, okay, thanks! I shall work on fixing that!

[JessicaCharleston]

24 minutes ago, old bones said:

I agree with @fifbrindacier, that it is not turtle shell.

The ray tooth looks like it might be Plinthicus stenodon.

16 looks like a broken tooth to me, just whose, I can't tell.

I would keep 17. The back doesn't look like anything much, but the front is interesting...

So many times phosphate pebbles look like something. Nothing wrong with putting something aside for future thought.  When I began collecting I almost discarded obscure looking bits before, and later on found that they were actually something neat like a mammal petrosal!

 

Thank you for your input! One of my favorite parts is just picking up all the odd looking things at the beach and then coming home to investigate...99% of the time it's a rock, but sometimes it turns out to be something interesting! (or like the non-turtle shell, something I can convince myself is interesting haha!) 

[Fin Lover]

At worst, we learn by picking up those odd looking things.  At best, we realize it's something really special.  Keep looking!  

[hemipristis]

F, G, H are requiem shark teeth, genus Carcharhinus.  A bit too worn too speciate