creto Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 (edited) Several years ago I was fortunate enough to be a part of a large monograph on cretaceous sharks published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. There had been a preliminary report (1989) on the selachien fauna of the Hosta Tongue of the Point Lookout Sandstane that included eight species of shark and ray fossils. This preliminary study was prepared using almost entirely surface finds. I went back to the site several years ago and discovered a discreet, thin layer of sandstone that was the source of the surface finds. The site is very remote. I had to dig some layer (no easy task), and backpack the material out. It is a grueling hike to say the least. I the processed the material through a series of sieves with the smallest being 1/2mm. In all I recovered almost 9000 vertebrate fossils, mainly shark and ray teeth. All were donated to the NMMNHS. Some of those specimens are holotypes. There are three specimens in the monograph that were collected previously and the rest were all donated by me. I wanted someone that is very knowledgeable to assist with ID’s as I was a little green and had not seen a lot of cretaceous teeth. I managed to rope Jim Bourdon into the project. We identified 33 species of selachiens, many new to science. There was also a pretty fair amount of reptile material in the layer including at least two species of dinosaur and the ubiquitous softshell turtle shell fragments. The names given to the newly described genera and species were mostly based on local tribes in the area and of course the Rio Puerco. The monograph is available for all to read and is most easily found in Elasmo.com. There is a summary of the fauna in the fauna list and a link to the paper in “news and finds”. Attached are a couple of images from the plates in the monograph. The first is Scindodorax novimexicanus, a new genus of anacoracid. The second is Cederstroemia ziaensis, an orectolobiform named after a nearby pueblo. It was a great experience and I was very proud of the results. A careful re-examination of fossil assemblages can certainly lead to descriptions of new beasts and plants. I can scan and post more species if anyone is interested. Edited April 30, 2014 by creto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Well let me extend my virtual hand and say "thank you" for your contributions, time and what sounds like gallons of sweat! Haha ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Fantastic news! Congratulations! That kind of information is needed. Oh YES, scan and post more images! Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Creto, this is fantastic...your very own bulletin! I will be stopping by the museum today to pick up a copy. Thank you for your contribution. This will be an excellent reference. Looking at the Township/Range, you were definitely hiking a ways...dedication. Congrats for all your hard work paying off! "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Wow. I'm sure your efforts have already assisted hundreds of researchers and collectors. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foshunter Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Absolutely fantastic material, thanks for the posting---Tom Grow Old Kicking And Screaming !!"Don't Tread On Me" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DE&i Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Amazing work creto..it sounds as if you really had your work cut out...with well deserved results. Regards, Darren. Regards.....D&E&i The only certainty with fossil hunting is the uncertainty. https://lnk.bio/Darren.Withers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 Thank you all for the kind words. This project really was a big undertaking. I tried to post more images to the reply but couldn't figure out how. I don't have a URL for the images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Creto, I know Bulletin 52 well - ordered it right after I heard about it. As someone who has spent a lot of time hunting/photocopying references on fossil sharks and rays in a number of libraries since the late 80's, and has found relatively little on New Mexico sites, I truly appreciate your contribution to that thin-yet-substantial publication. Thank you, Jess . Several years ago I was fortunate enough to be a part of a large monograph on cretaceous sharks published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. There had been a preliminary report (1989) on the selachien fauna of the Hosta Tongue of the Point Lookout Sandstane that included eight species of shark and ray fossils. This preliminary study was prepared using almost entirely surface finds. I went back to the site several years ago and discovered a discreet, thin layer of sandstone that was the source of the surface finds. The site is very remote. I had to dig some layer (no easy task), and backpack the material out. It is a grueling hike to say the least. I the processed the material through a series of sieves with the smallest being 1/2mm. In all I recovered almost 9000 vertebrate fossils, mainly shark and ray teeth. All were donated to the NMMNHS. Some of those specimens are holotypes. There are three specimens in the monograph that were collected previously and the rest were all donated by me. I wanted someone that is very knowledgeable to assist with ID’s as I was a little green and had not seen a lot of cretaceous teeth. I managed to rope Jim Bourdon into the project. We identified 33 species of selachiens, many new to science. There was also a pretty fair amount of reptile material in the layer including at least two species of dinosaur and the ubiquitous softshell turtle shell fragments. The names given to the newly described genera and species were mostly based on local tribes in the area and of course the Rio Puerco. The monograph is available for all to read and is most easily found in Elasmo.com. There is a summary of the fauna in the fauna list and a link to the paper in “news and finds”. Attached are a couple of images from the plates in the monograph. The first is Scindodorax novimexicanus, a new genus of anacoracid. The second is Cederstroemia ziaensis, an orectolobiform named after a nearby pueblo. It was a great experience and I was very proud of the results. A careful re-examination of fossil assemblages can certainly lead to descriptions of new beasts and plants. I can scan and post more species if anyone is interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down under fossil hunter Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 simply awesome, thank you for making this information available. I would love to read more about it and see more specimens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 Here is a continuation of a previous post. Fig. A- as far as i know this is the only specimen of Egertonodus from North America Fig. B-G Hybodus montanensis Fig. H-I Planohybodus. These specimens are also the first reported from N.A. Fig. J Ptychodus mortoni. Fig. K Ptychodus sp. This is a specimen that I did not personnaly collect. I suspect there might be some confusion as to the origin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) Fig. A Lonchidion sp. This is the only specimen I recovered-wierd that the root is in such good shape. Fig. B-C Parasquatina sp. Figs E-J Cantioscyllum decipens Fig. K Chiloscyllum sp. Edited November 12, 2014 by creto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 These are Columbusia sp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 These are Squalicorax teeth, along with a couple of Cretoxyrhina. They have always been my favorite. First plate: A-F Squalicorax lindstromi G-H Squalicorax yangaensis Second plate: A-G Squalicorax yangaensis H-I Cretoxyrhina mantelli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 These are Scapanorhynchus puercoensis, a new species from this monograph. An artificial tooth set was reconstructed by Jim Bourdon(he made all the images) from my specimens. This was by far the most abundant shark in the fauna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 These are Carcharius and Eostriatolamia. A-J Carcharius sp. K-M Eostriatolamia sp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) These are Pueblocarcharius kawaikensis, named for a nearby pueblo, and one Cretalamna appendiculata. A-H Pueblocarcharius I Cretalamna Edited November 12, 2014 by creto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 These are Ptychotrygon eutawensis, a very common species of this fauna. A-F orals G-O hypothesized rostrals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 These are Texatrygon stouti, a new species from this monograph. A-F orals G-H hypothesized rostrals I probably a juvenile Texatrygon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 These are Ischyrhiza cf. mira. The orals are very small compared to most late Cretaceous faunas so it may be a distinct species. A-F orals G-K rostrals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 These are Onchopristis sp. and Sclerorhynchus sp. This is the only report I know of that included Onchopristis orals. For some reason there were no suspected orals of Sclerorhynchus, which for most faunas the orals of Sclerorhynchiformes are more abundant. A Onchopristis rostral. I did not find this specimen. Very rare taxon in N.A. B-D hypothesized orals E-F Sclerorhynchus rostrals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 Some rays. A-B Rhinobatos sp. C-H Protoplatyrhina renae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) More rays. A-C "Myledaphus" D-E Pseudohypolophus ellipsis Edited November 12, 2014 by creto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creto Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) I will get some more images up soon. Edited November 12, 2014 by creto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Keith, I have merged your "continuation" of this incredible collection of New Mexico shark teeth with your original topic. Thank you for sharing the additional plates with the membership. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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