How To Identify Your Finds (Part 9 of 10)
9) Identifying the Eagle Ray fossils
[Myliobatis dixoni (pronounced: my-leo-bat-iss dix-own-eye), more commonly known as eagle rays, are a cartilaginous fish related to sharks, and are in the same group as stingrays, manta rays, and skates. They belong to the order Myliobatiformes. Eagle rays feed on shellfish and crustaceans, which they suck up from the sea bottom and crush between their upper and lower dental palettes. Note: The ridged side actually shows the roots, it's the other side that does the crushing. Whole crushing palettes are rare (see figure 2 below), but fragments (often known as "bars") are fairly common (See figure 1). |
More pictures of Eagle Ray dentition can be found here and here.
How To Identify Your Finds (Part 10 of 10) - Odds and Ends
How To Identify Your Finds (Part 10 of 10) - Odds and Ends