Parasymphyseal

[sixgill pete]

This is my favorite Hemi parasymphyseal. I love the colors in this tooth.

[barefootgirl]

Now that's a very nice little tooth. I like the color as well. Thanks for sharing.

[Foshunter]

I can see why that tooth is your favorite, nice find--Tom

[astron]

It's really a baby beauty, Pete ... but be careful not to be nailed...

[Shellseeker]

Very pretty tooth --- I just love all the hemis -- and Parasymphyseal the most. This is not because it is necessarily prettier than a nice upper or lower, but because it is much less common and we humans tend to value that which is rare.

Speaking of color, I am starting to wonder about color change. When I see some colorful tooth in the river water, it sometime is bright and stunning. By the time I have it laying on a paper towel, it is not as colorful although there are some hints of the color.

I realize that water - oil makes a tooth shine. I am also starting to wonder if the lack of light ( hidden 1-2 feet under river bed sand/mud/gravel mixture) also contributes to the color effect -- Shells can and do fade when overexposed to light. I wonder if others see the same effect on fossil teeth.

[sixgill pete]

Now that's a very nice little tooth. I like the color as well. Thanks for sharing.

Your welcome barefootgirl. I am glad you enjoyed seeing it.

I can see why that tooth is your favorite, nice find--Tom

Thanks Tom.

It's really a baby beauty, Pete ... but be careful not to be nailed...

I hear you astron, thanks.

Very pretty tooth --- I just love all the hemis -- and Parasymphyseal the most. This is not because it is necessarily prettier than a nice upper or lower, but because it is much less common and we humans tend to value that which is rare.

Speaking of color, I am starting to wonder about color change. When I see some colorful tooth in the river water, it sometime is bright and stunning. By the time I have it laying on a paper towel, it is not as colorful although there are some hints of the color.

I realize that water - oil makes a tooth shine. I am also starting to wonder if the lack of light ( hidden 1-2 feet under river bed sand/mud/gravel mixture) also contributes to the color effect -- Shells can and do fade when overexposed to light. I wonder if others see the same effect on fossil teeth.

Shellseeker, all of the hemi's are great teeth, but the parasymphyseal is my favorite also. The teeth that I find from Lee Creek come in an amazing assortment of colors, from all shades of tan, blues, gray whitish , black; even occasionally reds and oranges, and all of the above mixed. Normally the teeth from there do not lose there color, in fact after they dry out sometimes they actually increase their color. However if they are left in the sun they do fade. The teeth I find in GMR, underwater are generally black and do tend to lighten up some, and dull, after they dry out. Big teeth (Megs) are nice. But sometimes the color of a smaller tooth makes it just as desirable.

Edited March 16, 2011 by sixgill pete

[Florida Fossils]

Those teeth are in great condition!

[siteseer]

Yes, there is a quarry north of Bakersfield, California (Sharktooth Hill Bonebed) where the teeth can be a watermelon-pink color, but within seconds of exposure to air, they fade to sort of a dull brown-gray. I've been told it's because they dry out but it must be because of the light at least in part as well. However, the teeth that come out blue-gray hold their color. I've also noticed that bones from that quarry can have a rich brown preservation when first collected but they can fade too.

Yes, it's probably best to display at least some fossils where they won't be in direct sunlight or even in a brightly-lit room.

Speaking of color, I am starting to wonder about color change. When I see some colorful tooth in the river water, it sometime is bright and stunning. By the time I have it laying on a paper towel, it is not as colorful although there are some hints of the color.

I realize that water - oil makes a tooth shine. I am also starting to wonder if the lack of light ( hidden 1-2 feet under river bed sand/mud/gravel mixture) also contributes to the color effect -- Shells can and do fade when overexposed to light. I wonder if others see the same effect on fossil teeth.

[Shellseeker]

Thanks , Siteseer

I start to wonder if I am going blind - a hemi comes out with an obvious green tint, and then turns black. A Mako that is silver out of the river, changing gradually to tan. Did I imagine those colors?

It is always better to know others are crazy also

[RickNC]

That's a nice one. Not sure if any of mine come from that position.

[siteseer]

I know what you mean. Where I've collected Miocene marine vertebrates in California (Bakersfield area, Scotts Valley, Orange County), Hemipristis is uncommon-rare, so even most of a tooth is a keeper. Complete teeth are real prizes. I've never found a parasymphyseal but did spot a tiny posterior in the STH Bonebed once. Unfortunately, the root was so fragile, it fragmented as I was putting it into a container. The crown stayed together and I might be able to reassemble much of the root.

I was invited to tag along for a hunt in a Bone Valley phosphate mine years ago before they were all closed to collecting. I found a few nice teeth there but not a parasymphyseal.

You make a good point at the end of your post - something for the newbies to keep in mind. A lot of the time when you go hunting fossils, you don't go home with whatever is the "big and cool find" of the locality. You see mostly broken bits and near-complete things and some complete specimens of whatever is common, and sometimes, you find nothing. On a day when the pickings are slim, finding a complete small fossil, whether a less-often found jaw position of a shark or a rather uncommon shell, can seem like as good a reward for the hours of walking and/or digging as anything else you could pick up.

Shellseeker, all of the hemi's are great teeth, but the parasymphyseal is my favorite also. The teeth that I find from Lee Creek come in an amazing assortment of colors, from all shades of tan, blues, gray whitish , black; even occasionally reds and oranges, and all of the above mixed. Normally the teeth from there do not lose there color, in fact after they dry out sometimes they actually increase their color. However if they are left in the sun they do fade. The teeth I find in GMR, underwater are generally black and do tend to lighten up some, and dull, after they dry out. Big teeth (Megs) are nice. But sometimes the color of a smaller tooth makes it just as desirable.

Edited May 2, 2011 by siteseer

[wally]

He Pete,

nice tooth!

Here some pictures from my collection:

Picture 1:left & right lower symphyseal tooth from

Sylvestrilama teretidens (White,1931)

early Eocene/Ypersian

Abbey Wood/UK

fieldtrip october 2010

picture 2:left lower symphyseal tooth from

Carcharias accutisima (Agassiz,1843)

Oligocene/Rupelian

Niel/Belgium

Picture 3:A hemi,one from a creek in South Carolina fieldtrip 2009

Walter

Edited May 1, 2011 by wally

[sixgill pete]

Those teeth are in great condition!

Many of the teeth that come from Lee Creek are in an amazing state of preservation and some wicked colors at times.I consider myself lucky to live so close to this place.

He Pete,

nice tooth!

Here some pictures from my collection:

Picture 1:left & right lower symphyseal tooth from

Sylvestrilama teretidens (White,1931)

early Eocene/Ypersian

Abbey Wood/UK

fieldtrip october 2010

picture 2:left lower symphyseal tooth from

Carcharias accutisima (Agassiz,1843)

Oligocene/Rupelian

Niel/Belgium

Picture 3:A hemi,one from a creek in South Carolina fieldtrip 2009

Walter

Very nice teeth Walter, thanks for showing them to us.

[bmorefossil]

You guys brought up an interesting discussion on fossil color and the effect of light and water on such. At calvert cliffs when you find a tooth it tends to be a little darker and the colors are a little more pronounced then after the tooth dries most of which has alot to do with moisture in the tooth, but at times I have found teeth with sun bleached sections or in some cases the whole tooth has been turned an off white color. In lee creek many surface teeth you will find have a bleached root and if the tooth was sticking ot you can almost always tell what was covered and what wasnt. Now they tend to hold their color most likey because they are very unlikely to come in contact with any water unless the tooth was once in a pool of water you can find scattered around tbe mine. Thats my take on it haha and your tooth sports some great colors there my friend