Holloween Weekend Dives (And Today)

[megateeth]

10/29/09- A few months ago I was diving and my friend that was watching the boat moved between a couple of sandbars to fish while I dove. We always assumed it was shallow between the bars. When I cam up he said that it was very deep. It turns out the current heads to shore and bounces off.. I dove the hole and cleaned up for a week. After that week I did not find much. I went back today and the vis was great. Most of these teeth were very close to each other. I must have missed this section before. The big tooth in the first photo is over 5". The visibility was great. I had about 6-8 inches with my light. It does not sound like much but it is about as good as it gets.

10/30 I went back to the same spot as yesterday for a dive and again the vis was great. I would guess 6" again. I only made one dive because I needed to get ready for the Albany Artifact and Fossil Show tomorrow. I hated to leave because I know as the current picks up I will wish for this kind of vis. I must have picked all the good surface finds yesterday. I ended up spending my dive digging through the mud. I found a really pretty gomph cap. Not too much in teeth though.

When I dig I run into a lot of horseshoe crabs that scurry away when I bump them. This is the most common critter I run into Today I ran across a bunch of them while digging. When digging through the hard packed mud or clay sometimes I can only move my fingers an inch or so at a time. I sometimes feel something slippery but can not feel more than an inch of the shape until I dig around it. If I am lucky it is a nice tooth. Sometimes it is 30 seconds or so before I know if it is a whole tooth, chipped tooth or something else. The shell of the horseshoe crab sometimes feel like enamel from a tooth so I think I found something only to have my tooth move away. On more than one occasion I have felt a shell and start to move on and backup to be sure only to find that it was a really a tooth that I almost left behind. The worst are the blue crabs because when the vis is zero they feel like teeth but they pinch when you pick them up.

11/01/09- I had a great time at the Albany Show. Saw some old and new friends. Sitting at these shows looking at all of the fossils all you can think is how much you want to get back into the water.

I found a hole diving once a few years ago where I picked a bunch of teeth out of a very small spot in a large bone bed. I found a lot of teeth over a couple of months in the bone bed. I lost the spot and could not find it again when I went back a few months later. I decided to try to find that spot again and actually found it. I know I hit it because there was a buried crab trap in the middle and there were thousands of broken fossilized bone fragments everywhere but very few teeth. I did miss some though and I got these three today. The current was picking up and the visibility was awful. I had absolute zero vis the entire first dive. The only way to see my gauges was to set them on my light and then set the gauge on my mask so I could see the needle against the background of the charged gauge. This is why I do not dive with a digital dive computer. I can not usually read the numbers. I did find a 5" tooth and had a lot of fun going back to that spot.

11/03/09 - I tried the same spot as Sunday and did a little better. The vis was still absolute zero on the first dive and most of the second. I did get about 2 inches of vis near the end of the second dive though. I dug a lot around the small area in the large bone bed where I had pulled out a large number of teeth before and that was where many of these came from. I am hoping the vis will be better by next week when the current picks up.

[obsessed1]

Great teeth! Love the Gomph tooth.

[bone digger]

I am always amazed at how many great teeth you find!

[barefootgirl]

:notfair: Okay, I'm officially jealous of you to. Your one lucky man to get to do and find what you do.:goodjob:goodjob:

[worthy 55]

I want to someday find a spot like that and get a few of those great teeth that you find. I guess if I stay at it long enough I'll find some one day too.Very cool!

[zoup]

Hi Megateeth.

Well done. I like what you dive guys are finding great stuff. I would love to find some of those big teeth in fact any teeth would be cool,not much of that going on here. later Paul

Edited November 3, 2009 by zoup

[earthdog]

awesome teeth !

[Auspex]

Re: the "large bone bed"; what are the bones like? Mostly fragments, I presume?

[fig rocks]

Awesome, you are very lucky and very good at what you do!!!!

[tracer]

your greater description of your experiences in this post made it very interesting. i haven't scuba diven, but i've wallowed around in zero-esque vis in the gulf, and of course gotten pinched on the foot by the random vicious crustacean. i'm not at all sure that i could spend a great deal of time doing what you do, in that i'd just be always waiting for something to get me. for whatever reason, it seems that i've been most bothered by snorkeling from the beach out to where the bottom drops off in very clear water, like off shell island near panama city beach. when i get out there, i somehow just feel like an hors d'oeuvre. now if i had a full-auto bangstick, i'd probably be ok...

[beachbum]

10/29/09- A few months ago I was diving and my friend that was watching the boat moved between a couple of sandbars to fish while I dove. We always assumed it was shallow between the bars. When I cam up he said that it was very deep. It turns out the current heads to shore and bounces off.. I dove the hole and cleaned up for a week. After that week I did not find much. I went back today and the vis was great. Most of these teeth were very close to each other. I must have missed this section before. The big tooth in the first photo is over 5". The visibility was great. I had about 6-8 inches with my light. It does not sound like much but it is about as good as it gets.

10/30 I went back to the same spot as yesterday for a dive and again the vis was great. I would guess 6" again. I only made one dive because I needed to get ready for the Albany Artifact and Fossil Show tomorrow. I hated to leave because I know as the current picks up I will wish for this kind of vis. I must have picked all the good surface finds yesterday. I ended up spending my dive digging through the mud. I found a really pretty gomph cap. Not too much in teeth though.

When I dig I run into a lot of horseshoe crabs that scurry away when I bump them. This is the most common critter I run into Today I ran across a bunch of them while digging. When digging through the hard packed mud or clay sometimes I can only move my fingers an inch or so at a time. I sometimes feel something slippery but can not feel more than an inch of the shape until I dig around it. If I am lucky it is a nice tooth. Sometimes it is 30 seconds or so before I know if it is a whole tooth, chipped tooth or something else. The shell of the horseshoe crab sometimes feel like enamel from a tooth so I think I found something only to have my tooth move away. On more than one occasion I have felt a shell and start to move on and backup to be sure only to find that it was a really a tooth that I almost left behind. The worst are the blue crabs because when the vis is zero they feel like teeth but they pinch when you pick them up.

11/01/09- I had a great time at the Albany Show. Saw some old and new friends. Sitting at these shows looking at all of the fossils all you can think is how much you want to get back into the water.

I found a hole diving once a few years ago where I picked a bunch of teeth out of a very small spot in a large bone bed. I found a lot of teeth over a couple of months in the bone bed. I lost the spot and could not find it again when I went back a few months later. I decided to try to find that spot again and actually found it. I know I hit it because there was a buried crab trap in the middle and there were thousands of broken fossilized bone fragments everywhere but very few teeth. I did miss some though and I got these three today. The current was picking up and the visibility was awful. I had absolute zero vis the entire first dive. The only way to see my gauges was to set them on my light and then set the gauge on my mask so I could see the needle against the background of the charged gauge. This is why I do not dive with a digital dive computer. I can not usually read the numbers. I did find a 5" tooth and had a lot of fun going back to that spot.

11/03/09 - I tried the same spot as Sunday and did a little better. The vis was still absolute zero on the first dive and most of the second. I did get about 2 inches of vis near the end of the second dive though. I dug a lot around the small area in the large bone bed where I had pulled out a large number of teeth before and that was where many of these came from. I am hoping the vis will be better by next week when the current picks up.

nice finds and thanks for sharing with us. one of these days we'll make it out there.

[megateeth]

Re: the "large bone bed"; what are the bones like? Mostly fragments, I presume?

Mostly fragments. The identifiable bones consist mostly of rib bones verts some whale ear bones. I bring up the more interesting things.

[megateeth]

your greater description of your experiences in this post made it very interesting. i haven't scuba diven, but i've wallowed around in zero-esque vis in the gulf, and of course gotten pinched on the foot by the random vicious crustacean. i'm not at all sure that i could spend a great deal of time doing what you do, in that i'd just be always waiting for something to get me. for whatever reason, it seems that i've been most bothered by snorkeling from the beach out to where the bottom drops off in very clear water, like off shell island near panama city beach. when i get out there, i somehow just feel like an hors d'oeuvre. now if i had a full-auto bangstick, i'd probably be ok...

Shark attacks occur mostly on the surface. I always feel more vulnerable there. While underwater I do not think about it much. I always figured that by the time I realized that I need a bangstick it would be too late. That or I would hit myself with it.

[megateeth]

Great teeth! Love the Gomph tooth.

Me too. I find very few of them and they are among my favorite finds.

[PrehistoricFlorida]

your greater description of your experiences in this post made it very interesting. i haven't scuba diven, but i've wallowed around in zero-esque vis in the gulf, and of course gotten pinched on the foot by the random vicious crustacean. i'm not at all sure that i could spend a great deal of time doing what you do, in that i'd just be always waiting for something to get me. for whatever reason, it seems that i've been most bothered by snorkeling from the beach out to where the bottom drops off in very clear water, like off shell island near panama city beach. when i get out there, i somehow just feel like an hors d'oeuvre. now if i had a full-auto bangstick, i'd probably be ok...

You are a snack at shell island... I've seen some huge hammerheads on the rocks there.

[tracer]

You are a snack at shell island... I've seen some huge hammerheads on the rocks there.

yeah...figures. another time there i suddenly ran up on the jellyfish zone or something. the coastlines are very interesting, but i never get the feeling i'm in charge there.

[JohnJ]

Bill, it seems the "night court" is still kicking out the monster teeth. I think you should put a chihuahua in your pics for scale. Low vis, blue crabs, the Texas coast, and many of my younger days...good times. Great finds.

[Phoenixflood]

Always amazing finds!

[MikeD]

Wow, Bill. Great finds and great commentary.

[Coco]

Hi,

You are several persons to dive to find fossil teeth, and I am admiring every time. I do not think that in metropolitan France we can find teeth in this way, I have never heard about it.

You find shark teeth, marine mammal bones, turtle pieces, but do not you ever find fossilized sea urchins during your dives ?

Coco

[Auspex]

...The only way to see my gauges was to set them on my light and then set the gauge on my mask so I could see the needle against the background of the charged gauge. This is why I do not dive with a digital dive computer. I can not usually read the numbers....

I had a little trouble falling asleep last night, imagining this.

Don't stop the virtual dive tours, though!

[megateeth]

I never heard of Megs coming from France. These were warm water sharks and I think the east side of the Atlantic would be cold from the northern currents. I never find any fossilized urchins but I have a couple and they are beautiful.

[Bill]

Hi Bill,

Meg teeth can be found in a couple of places in England, among other European countries. No reason why not in France, unless the Mio-Plio strata is missing.

Edited November 4, 2009 by Bill

[megateeth]

It is funny but diving in pitch dark is one of the most relaxing things in the world. No interruptions, no people, no cell phones, nothing else you can be doing. You are on your own. On more than one occasion I have started to nod off while diving. People do not believe this is possible but it happens every day to people driving their car. When I can not see and I start digging my mind often wanders and I go on digging autopilot. I try to focus on what I am doing but it is not always easy. Like I said it is a lot like driving a car.

I had a little trouble falling asleep last night, imagining this.

Don't stop the virtual dive tours, though!

[megateeth]

Oh yea, I have heard of a few Megs from the U.K.

Hi Bill,

Meg teeth can be found in a couple of places in England, among other European countries. No reason why not in France, unless the Mio-Plio strata is missing.