flyersfan805 Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 (edited) Hi guys, I have been searching for info on this fossil for about a month without much luck.... BUT, I think I stumbled onto what I was after. Any thoughts of agreement or disagreement would be great! Species M. calvertensis Early Pliocene age, Yorktown formation. All fits with the creek. There isn't much info on billfish out there but I did find this. My link Mike. Edited July 24, 2011 by flyersfan805 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I'd believe it, just based on the few I've seen pics of. Is that an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of paper? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyersfan805 Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Yes, 8.5 x 11. it is 10 15/16" long and 1 3/8" wide. mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hokiehunter Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 A billfish rostrum? Seriously???? Holy moses. I don't think you could ever get me to leave that creek. I'd just dig until I keeled over. I'd normally say "great find" but it's getting redundant with your posts so I'll switch it up and go with "I am so jealous. Please adopt me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Hi guys, I have been searching for info on this fossil for about a month without much luck.... BUT, I think I stumbled onto what I was after. Any thoughts of agreement or disagreement would be great! Species M. calvertensis Early Pliocene age, Yorktown formation. All fits with the creek. There isn't much info on billfish out there but I did find this. My link Mike. You're right, Mike, there is not a whole lot of information about billfish. One author suggests that poor mineralization of billfish bones is the reason. Hulbert (2001) reports "Makaira sp." from Florida. (It IS Makaira to which you refer, isn't it?) So, what paper did you find which describes Makaira calvertensis? http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyersfan805 Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 In my original post I have the link to the paper Actually my wife found the information and does most of the research, she enjoys that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 ...So, what paper did you find which describes Makaira calvertensis? Here's a clipboard shot of the title and reprint info: A link to the PDF is in post #1 of this thread. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Actually...Harry L. Fierstine has made many of his papers on extant and fossil billfishes available on-line. I have links to many of them in the appropriate section of my pdf library but if you want to peruse all of the available articles, here's a link to his main page. I think you'll find some interesting tidbits here: Selected Works of Harry L. Fierstine. -Joe Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyersfan805 Posted June 30, 2011 Author Share Posted June 30, 2011 Actually...Harry L. Fierstine has made many of his papers on extant and fossil billfishes available on-line. I have links to many of them in the appropriate section of my pdf library but if you want to peruse all of the available articles, here's a link to his main page. I think you'll find some interesting tidbits here: Selected Works of Harry L. Fierstine. -Joe Thanks Joe... there are some great articles in here.. not much on virginia.. lot of lee creek and out west. but still lot of good reading. thanks again Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Thanks Joe... there are some great articles in here.. not much on virginia.. lot of lee creek and out west. but still lot of good reading. thanks again Mike Yes, thanks to 'Auspex' for pointing out the link in your first post, 'flyers...'. I had Fierstine's "part one" and was glad to see "part two" of his state-of-knowledge report. And, thanks to Joe for the Harry Fierstine site link. The taxonomic challenge has become greater after a review of the 2001 Smithsonian Lee Creek paper: Five species of the billfish family Istiophoridae (Istiophorus platypterus (Shaw and Nodder), Makaira indica (Cuvier), M. nigricans Lacépède, M. purdyi Fierstine, Tetrapturus albidus Poey) were identified from approximately 500 separate bones collected in the Yorktown Formation (early Pliocene) at Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina. This is the only record of M. purdyi, the first fossil record of the genus Tetrapturus (specifically T. albidus), the second fossil record of I. platypterus and M. indica, and the first record of I. platypterus, M. indica, M. nigricans, and T. albidus from fossil deposits bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It seems we have more Makaira species on the East Coast to choose from than I expected. On top of that, Fierstine figures (op. cit.) an Istiophorus rostrum which is long and slender reminding me of the image of the one 'flyers...' found. I may just re-label mine as "Makaira sp." http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Fruitbase, thanks for your link, but when I clic on the PDF, I obtain this message : "We're sorry, but something went wrong on our end.". I think they don't work Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Pareidolia : here Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Amazing find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyersfan805 Posted July 1, 2011 Author Share Posted July 1, 2011 Actually it was one of my first finds...someone told me it was a femur bone that was honed to use as a tool, but I just couldn't see scrape marks...so we kept digging (no pun intended). Also found a tail vert with the fan on it but it was very fragile and didn't make the trip home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Coco...that's weird! I just clicked on the links for every paper on Fierstine's page and they all worked for me! -Joe Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 Hi, You are right Fruitbase, I think it is about my IE 7 or 8 ! With Mozilla, it works without problem ! Have a good week-end. Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Pareidolia : here Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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