New Members NBRiley Posted July 10 New Members Share Posted July 10 Hi y'all, I know this isn't terribly old, but I found this jaw bone while poking around in a creek south of Dallas that runs into the Trinity River. I had actually been trying to find old bottles (unsuccessfully), but stumbled across this sitting in the gravel bed. I couldn't believe my eyes! I was thinking it was gator, but I was hoping that someone might be able to help confirm or disprove my suspicion. The bone is about 8 inches/ 20 cm long. Let me know if more info is needed and thanks in advance! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Crocodile 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 One of the key indications that cause me to think so is the pointedness of the rear teeth. I'm not an expert at it though so wait for more opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fin Lover Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 (edited) I'm thinking something like an alligator gar. See B below: Edited July 10 by Fin Lover Added photo 2 1 7 Fin Lover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fossil Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 1 minute ago, Fin Lover said: I'm thinking something like an alligator gar. I agree, Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula) and the rest of the gar species of the genus Atractosteus have a double row of teeth instead of a single row for Lepisosteus gars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fossil Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 45 minutes ago, NBRiley said: Hi y'all, I know this isn't terribly old, but I found this jaw bone while poking around in a creek south of Dallas that runs into the Trinity River. I had actually been trying to find old bottles (unsuccessfully), but stumbled across this sitting in the gravel bed. I couldn't believe my eyes! I was thinking it was gator, but I was hoping that someone might be able to help confirm or disprove my suspicion. The bone is about 8 inches/ 20 cm long. Let me know if more info is needed and thanks in advance! Since you found this next to the Trinity River in Texas, it's extremely likely to be an Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula) as the area is home to a still healthy Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula) population. https://www.fws.gov/species/alligator-gar-atractosteus-spatula https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/management/alligator-gar/texas-range.phtml 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brevicollis Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 I also think its alligator gar, as I've never seen a croc jaw with two rows of teeth. 2 1 My account and something about me : My still growing collection : My paleoart : Im just a guy who really loves fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage11 Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Trinity river is known for large alligator gar. Little Elm Garza is an excellent source for prehistoric sharks teeth and arrowhead during the summer drought times. Thought you might want to know. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trilobites_are_awesome Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 I agree with alligator gar! 2 Cheers! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPrice Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Here's the business end of one of many I caught and released in the Trinity River. Top jaw does have a double row of teeth and the bottom jaw has a single row. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Definitely alligator gar upper. I've caught a few hundred of them. That one was about 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 feet in length. 1 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 I see a lower jaw. I see a single row of large teeth and an outer row of smaller teeth, which is what I would expect form a gar, but the triangular shaped negative space on the inside edge (seen in the third photo) tells me this is lower jaw. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 32 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said: Definitely alligator gar upper. I've caught a few hundred of them. That one was about 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 feet in length. I saw one at a Bass Pro Shop once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage11 Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 2 hours ago, SPrice said: Here's the business end of one of many I caught and released in the Trinity River. Top jaw does have a double row of teeth and the bottom jaw has a single row. Kip Never caught one on rid and real, caught a few on trotlines as a kid. Used rubberband lines for crappie. Monster gar!! Were you on that show with Jeremy wade? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPrice Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 24 minutes ago, Savage11 said: Never caught one on rid and real, caught a few on trotlines as a kid. Used rubberband lines for crappie. Monster gar!! Were you on that show with Jeremy wade? No, I wasn't on the River Monsters show with Mr. Wade. I was, however, fishing with Bubba Bedre, who also guided Jeremy Wade for that episode of River Monsters. My trip was a bucket list item that I wanted to get done before I got too old. I caught around 24 Gator gar over a few days. The 7 footer you see was the "Big Mama Gar" . About half were 3-5 feet long and a few were 6 feet. All were safely released to swim away. The neat thing was the sand bars and river banks were covered with huge ammonite fossils and the guide asked me if I knew what they were. I told him what they were but we did not collect any. It was all about the fish. Kissing the fish goodbye. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage11 Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 19 minutes ago, SPrice said: No, I wasn't on the River Monsters show with Mr. Wade. I was, however, fishing with Bubba Bedre, who also guided Jeremy Wade for that episode of River Monsters. My trip was a bucket list item that I wanted to get done before I got too old. I caught around 24 Gator gar over a few days. The 7 footer you see was the "Big Mama Gar" . About half were 3-5 feet long and a few were 6 feet. All were safely released to swim away. The neat thing was the sand bars and river banks were covered with huge ammonite fossils and the guide asked me if I knew what they were. I told him what they were but we did not collect any. It was all about the fish. Kissing the fish goodbye. That's awesome man, definitely a day you will remember for life. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fossil Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 19 hours ago, Rockwood said: I saw one at a Bass Pro Shop once. I've seen baby Alligator Gar more than once in the most unexpected of places...a pet store near Chicago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fossil Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 20 hours ago, Rockwood said: I saw one at a Bass Pro Shop once. They apparently got them for a "supplier in Florida" and were about the size of the palm of my hand, but based on the markings and the jaw shape, they were definitely Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula). Why the store thought it would be a good idea to sell them I have no idea as they are only ideal for the most experienced aquarium enthusiasts and requires lots of space to feed and grow. They're non-native to Northern Illinois but are Native to parts of Southern and Central Illinois alongside most U.S. Southern States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 To clarify; I saw a taxidermized specimen on the wall way up by the celling. It's probably as close as I've ever been to one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Fossil Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 7 minutes ago, Joseph Fossil said: They apparently got them for a "supplier in Florida" and were about the size of the palm of my hand, but based on the markings and the jaw shape, they were definitely Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula). Why the store thought it would be a good idea to sell them I have no idea as they are only ideal for the most experienced aquarium enthusiasts and requires lots of space to feed and grow. They're non-native to Northern Illinois but are Native to parts of Southern and Central Illinois alongside most U.S. Southern States. Here they are: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 Most of the ones I caught were on Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Saw many pushing seven feet and tons of six-footers. Longest I caught was about five and one half feet long. They are very strong and when they decide to wiggle there's no stoppin them. You just get out of the way of the teeth and hope for the best. 4 Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 I forgot to mention this -- if you're fishing from a boat and catch a really big one, do NOT bring it into the boat. It will destroy everything in the boat. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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