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Small Florida fossil with odd texture


Reebs

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Greetings, 

 

I recently found this in Sarasota county, Florida. It is approximately 2 inches (5.08 cm) long and .5 inches (1.27 cm) wide.  It has very interesting texture and one side has what appear to be 2 holes of the same size that are in a line and filled with matrix.  This makes me think possibly a fragment of jaw section. Looking for ID please. 
 

Thank you,

Marie 

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54B0D086-9951-4EC2-B155-E847DD0E74C5.jpeg

33C4728F-5933-412B-80A3-18A4374EC211.jpeg

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F2677E86-8DBD-4D3B-9A23-A1991671CBD6.jpeg

C6C5072E-76EC-45E4-A80F-D82C8521D430.jpeg

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Interesting texture indeed!

I wonder if this could be a piece of chondrichthyan cartilage?

Best Regards,

J

Edited by Mahnmut
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Try to learn something about everything and everything about something

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6 hours ago, Mahnmut said:

Interesting texture indeed!

I wonder if this could be a piece of chondrichthyan cartilage?

Best Regards,

J

Add @Al Dente  Is Chondrichthyan possible in Florida?

I was thinking possibly Crab.... @RJB @digit Do you know a Florida Crab guy  ?

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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31 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

Add @Al Dente  Is Chondrichthyan possible in Florida?

I was thinking possibly Crab.... @RJB @digit Do you know a Florida Crab guy  ?

 

Useful entry from the Fossil Guy, looks like a reasonable match:

 

Fossil Shark Cartilage


 

Although shark cartilage, aside from the vertebra, is unlikely to fossilize, the cartilage in the jaw of a shark tends to fossilize more often than other types of cartilage. This fossilized shark cartilage is often found as fragmentary chunks, and therefore can be almost any shape. However, the surface of the cartilage has a unique prismatic pattern making it unmistakable when found. Figure 5 shows a piece of shark cartilage.

 

Fossil Shark Cartilage

Figure 5: This image shows a piece of fossilized cartilage that is most likely from the jaw of a shark. Notice the prismatic like structure. This cartilage is about 1.5" (38mm) in length, and was found at the PCS mine in Aurora, NC.

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1 hour ago, Shellseeker said:

@digit Do you know a Florida Crab guy  ?

That would be Roger Portell but I agree this looks a lot like the prismatic cartilage of a chondrichthyan.  Shark cartilage is rarely preserved but it does make it into the fossil record. I've only ever seen one piece in person.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Most likely part of a sawfish rostrum.

That would make a lot of sense.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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15 hours ago, Shellseeker said:

Add @Al Dente  Is Chondrichthyan possible in Florida?

I was thinking possibly Crab.... @RJB @digit Do you know a Florida Crab guy  ?

Chondrichthyans include sharks, rays, and sawfish, so they are not only possible in Florida but insanely common.

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5 minutes ago, Carl said:

Chondrichthyans include sharks, rays, and sawfish, so they are not only possible in Florida but insanely common.

No truer words were ever spoken. :P

 

(Well, maybe a few....) ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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13 minutes ago, Carl said:

Chondrichthyans include sharks, rays, and sawfish, so they are not only possible in Florida but insanely common.

Yes, Chondrichthyan was an add to my vocabulary,  and I butchered my interpretation of its meaning...

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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18 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

Yes, Chondrichthyan was an add to my vocabulary,  and I butchered my interpretation of its meaning...

I use it so much that I've had to add it to my spell checker dictionaries. ;)

 

Here's another other good Scrabble word:

 

selachian (Selachimorpha)

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/selachian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark

 

This limits the chondrichthyans to the "shark" types and excludes the Batoidea (flat-bodied rays).

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

 

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