Sharks of SC Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 This week I found not one, but TWO of the ever-elusive giant thresher shark teeth (Alopias grandis)! These have been my one of my favorite teeth to find for a long time. The larger tooth ties my former largest thresher at 1.75", but is almost a half an inch thick and 1.25" wide! sorry for the poor pic quality...Ill take better ones when I can CBK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone digger Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 very nice teeth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenixflood Posted December 4, 2009 Share Posted December 4, 2009 I love threshers! Very nice I can't tell if the one is serrated or not. I think there are at least 3 types known but I could be wrong The soul of a Fossil Hunter is one that is seeking, always. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharks of SC Posted December 4, 2009 Author Share Posted December 4, 2009 No serrations . thats something I have yet to find. I think I have three species that Ive found here in SC...and 12 or so grandis teeth. CBK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 No serrations . thats something I have yet to find. I think I have three species that Ive found here in SC...and 12 or so grandis teeth. CBK CBK, There is very little written about "Alopias" grandis outside of the original description by Maurice Leriche (two teeth from the Early Miocene, Calvert Fm.). All I can say is based largely on personal observations and reports of finds. It appears that grandis is known only from Early Miocene beds and the serrated form from Middle-Late Miocene beds. It's unclear though, since many of the teeth come from rivers that cut through multiple beds ranging across at least the Miocene. The serrated form is extremely rare in the Sharktooth Hill Bonebed, a well-dated unit of Middle Miocene age, and which has not yielded a grandis tooth as far as I know. It's not much to base an opinion on but I tend to doubt that grandis and the serrated form can be found together in the same bed. Somewhere, there may be a yet-to-be-discovered site where transitional teeth will be found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 i found myself looking up thresher sharks to attempt to discern why they acquired a name associated with harvesting grain. the info i found seemed to indicated that they have long tails with which they whack the sensibilities out of prey, figuratively making their prey a few kernels short of an ear, i guess, so hence the "harvesting" appellation. my guess is that they learned this from hanging out near coastlines with fields and stuff by them. i reached this conclusion about these sharks learning from watching onshore activity by finding this photo online of a thresher attempting to climb a mountain. i think i can i think i can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THobern Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 CBK, There is very little written about "Alopias" grandis outside of the original description by Maurice Leriche (two teeth from the Early Miocene, Calvert Fm.). All I can say is based largely on personal observations and reports of finds. It appears that grandis is known only from Early Miocene beds and the serrated form from Middle-Late Miocene beds. It's unclear though, since many of the teeth come from rivers that cut through multiple beds ranging across at least the Miocene. The serrated form is extremely rare in the Sharktooth Hill Bonebed, a well-dated unit of Middle Miocene age, and which has not yielded a grandis tooth as far as I know. It's not much to base an opinion on but I tend to doubt that grandis and the serrated form can be found together in the same bed. Somewhere, there may be a yet-to-be-discovered site where transitional teeth will be found. I saw a transitional tooth from Va, with serrations only running partially up the side of the blade. I also have a fully serrated tooth from the same river (James). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig rocks Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Nice teeth CBK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharks of SC Posted December 8, 2009 Author Share Posted December 8, 2009 (edited) Cool stuff! I was sort of under the impression that serrations were suited for those species that fed on marine mammals (cetations and pinnepeds) like the great white. Why would a small, pelagic shark like the thresher ever need a serrated tooth? Here are some better pictures of the teeth. CBK Edited December 8, 2009 by Sharks of SC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 I saw a transitional tooth from Va, with serrations only running partially up the side of the blade. I also have a fully serrated tooth from the same river (James). That's interesting. What formation is that? There was some talk about grandis and the serrated one on a shark forum a couple of years ago. One member had some nice teeth from Malta and posted photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted December 8, 2009 Share Posted December 8, 2009 Cool stuff! I was sort of under the impression that serrations were suited for those species that fed on marine mammals (cetations and pinnepeds) like the great white. Why would a small, pelagic shark like the thresher ever need a serrated tooth? Here are some better pictures of the teeth. CBK The grandis and serrated form were probably 10-15 ft sharks (above average in size for sharks) and might have gone after tuna, billfishes, sea turtles, and dolphins and other small/meduim-sized pelagic whales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefootgirl Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 i found myself looking up thresher sharks to attempt to discern why they acquired a name associated with harvesting grain. the info i found seemed to indicated that they have long tails with which they whack the sensibilities out of prey, figuratively making their prey a few kernels short of an ear, i guess, so hence the "harvesting" appellation. my guess is that they learned this from hanging out near coastlines with fields and stuff by them. i reached this conclusion about these sharks learning from watching onshore activity by finding this photo online of a thresher attempting to climb a mountain. i think i can i think i can :lol: your to funny Tracer! In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat: but in the evolution of real knowledge, it marks the first step in progress toward victory. Alfred North Whithead 'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefootgirl Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Awesome finds!!! Hope you find more. In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat: but in the evolution of real knowledge, it marks the first step in progress toward victory. Alfred North Whithead 'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worthy 55 Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 I saw a transitional tooth from Va, with serrations only running partially up the side of the blade. I also have a fully serrated tooth from the same river (James). Now thats a cool tooth. It's my bone!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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