Sorting Through Some Aquia Finds

[Andúril Flame of the West]

Greetings everyone, 

 

I have finally had a chance to sort through my Aquia Formation material and to put proper labels to these specimens. Although I have hunted at Purse State Park and Douglas Point several times, I have not done much in the way of identifying specimens and am quite new when it comes to this area. Responses to a previous post in which I sought identification of some specimens has been quite helpful, and hopefully my tentative identifications of this batch are more accurate than before. All specimens came from the Douglas Point area and I have used Elasmo as my primary reference for tentative shark tooth identification. I extend my gratitude to all who view this post and help with pinpointing accurate IDs for these pieces! I will tag a few members who are knowledgeable in this area: @MarcoSr @Al Dente @bthemoose @cck @Bjohn170.

 

A Specimens:

 

 

All of the specimens pictured above, which for convenience I will refer to as '1a-49a', seem to be Striatolamia sp. If sharper images are needed or if photographs of individual specimens would be helpful, I would be glad to provide some. 

 

B Specimens:

 

 

I cannot say for sure what these teeth belong to. They - or some of them - could very well be Striatolamia sp., but I felt inclined to tentatively label them as Hypotodus verticalis. 

 

C Specimens:

 

 

These all appear to be myliobatid dental plates. Can a more specific identification be given for any of the above specimens or should they simply be labeled as myliobatid?

 

D Specimens:

 

 

1c and 3c very closely resemble crocodilian teeth and I have placed 2c along with the others due to the striations on its surface. I have heard that Eosuchus minor is known from the Aquia Formation along with another species of crocodile. Are there any diagnostic characteristics that would allow these teeth to be attributed to a specific crocodilian?

 

Specimen E:

 

 

This tooth looked quite different from any others that I have included in previous photographs. I have tentatively identified specimen E as Odontaspis winkleri due to the double cusps but I have a low level of confidence in this ID. 

 

Specimen F:

 

 

Appears to be either a ray or chimera fin spine. I recall having come across a post in which @MarcoSr identified a similar specimen as pertaining to a ray rather than a chimera. 

 

Specimen G:

 

 

A possible bony fish element? I do not know if a more specific identification can be given.

 

Specimen H:

 

 

Pyconodont fish mouth plate?

 

Specimen I:

 

A very small yet curious piece that I found while sifting with a very fine screen. I am unsure whether this is a fossil or whether it is simply a geologic oddity.

 

Specimen J:

 

 

Fish jaw section?

[MarcoSr]

A Specimens - There are too many different sandtiger species from the Aquia Formation that look very similar to identify these teeth from pictures like these.  Most of these teeth do look like Striatolamia which is by far the most common sandtiger in the Aquia Formation.

 

 

 

 

 

B specimens -Some of these teeth look like they might have faint striations.  If so. they wouldn't be Hypotodus.  4 looks like Anomotodon.

 

 

 

 

Specimen E - need to see labial view (other side) to see if the tooth has ornamentation on the crown by the root, could be Palaeohypotodus.

 

 

 

Edit:  I had time to look at some of the other specimens that you posted:

 

Specimen I - a fragment of a wrasse mouth plate

 

 

 

 

Specimen H - Looks like a fragment of a Phyllodus mouth plate.

 

 

 

D specimens - 1 & 3 are croc teeth.

 

 

 

 

Poster presentation on Aquia Crocodilian Fauna

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

Edited August 3, 2023 by MarcoSr
clarification and ID of additional specimens

[Andúril Flame of the West]

Thank you for the help @MarcoSr, your expertise has been invaluable!

 

I apologize for the poor quality of the photographs, hopefully those that I will provide in this reply will be far better for identification purposes. I have taken individual photographs of the B specimens which should hopefully reveal some of the diagnostic characteristics that were obscured by the previous photographs. 

 

Specimen 1B:

 

 

Based on the striations visible on the lingual side of the tooth I feel inclined to say this may be another example of Striatolamia sp. 

 

 

Specimen 2B:

 

 

This specimen also seems like it could be Striatolamia sp. after having had a closer look at the lingual side. However, I originally classified it as a different tooth due to the curvature that can be seen in the ventral view. Is this curve present in some Striatolamia sp. teeth or would it indicate that the tooth belonged to a different genus?

 

Specimen 3B:

 

 

I would imagine that 2C is another example of Striatolamia. 

 

Specimen 4B:

 

 

I cannot tell whether this tooth has very faint striations or whether it does not. Does it appear to be Anomotodon as you suggested in your previous comment?

 

Specimen 5B:

 

 

This tooth appears to be very similar to 4B. Could this also be Anomotodon?

 

 

Specimen 2D:

 

 

I have included clearer photographs of the front and back of the enamel fragment that I included with the crocodile teeth. It may be too fragmentary for a conclusive identification, but is it likely to be a fragment of a crocodilian tooth?

 

 

Specimen E:

 

 

I am very interested to see which shark this tooth belongs to. Does it seem closer to Odontaspis winkleri or Paleohypotodus rutoti? If you need additional photographs of the labial side do let me know; I was not able to get the best photographs as I had to use a Q-tip to balance it. 

 

 

 

 

[MarcoSr]

Based upon the new pictures:

 

1B. Striatolamia sp

2B. Striatolamia sp 

3B. Striatolamia sp or Brachycarcharias lerichei  Can't tell for sure with root damage and missing cusplet/cusplets.

4B. Anomotodon cf novus

5B. Anomotodon cf novus

2D.  ? Maybe croc tooth fragment but can't say for sure from pictures.

E. Odontaspis winkleri

 

Marco Sr.