Now this spot has potential!

Today I decided to head back to the Eocene/Miocene stream I had hunted during the summer. My last couple of trips there hadn’t produced very much, and other than “The Spot” I really hadn’t found much elsewhere in the stream. But the one word that kept flashing in my head was “Potential”. Since I didn’t have any time constraints today, I could take my time and explore. I had found some very rare teeth there for NJ (or elsewhere for that matter) and I couldn’t have found the only spot on the stream to yield such teeth. So I packed up the screen, shovel and chest waders and planned on doing some serious reconnaissance. Once at the stream, I started about 100 yards upstream from “The spot”, which was just below the furthest point upstream that I had ever been. I worked my way upstream and after 2 hours another word popped into my head “Waste of Time” (OK 3 but who’s counting). Other than a couple of the typical rootless carcharias teeth and a few beat up carcharhinus teeth, I found nothing really worth keeping. Deciding that my time might be better spent at one of the cretaceous streams, I figured I’d head back to the car while the day was still young. On my way back I decided to stop at “The Spot” to try 5 screens, which also turned out to be a waste of time. To get off the stream from “The Spot” I have to walk in the water about 50 feet, 25 of which are waist deep. Just before I reached the exit point, I came to an area where I could feel gravel under my feet. The water was about three feet deep and very murky, as it always is. I had actually sifted a few screens in this general location once before but didn’t come up with much, but what the heck. On my first screen I came up with a what appeared to be a really beat-up hastalis tooth, rootless of course (lower left in the main picture) but at least it showed that this spot had potential. After about 15 minutes I came up with my next notable find - a 1.25 inch desori that had a great root! - but the blade was in really bad shape (isn’t that just typical). The blade was however mostly there, and it was still a good tooth overall - so I continued to screen - and the spot continued to produce. The next two teeth I found were a thresher looking tooth (top left in the main picture) and another upper parasymphysial cow shark tooth (Thank-you M4) similar to the one I found at “The Spot”. Over the next two hours I found a bunch the same rootless teeth I had been accustomed to finding along with a couple of rootless teeth I had not been accustomed to finding - two that appeared to be auriculatus blades. These were the first ever carcharocles teeth I found in NJ and while they may resemble carcharocles road kill from driveways in Aurora, I was ecstatic. Again the word potential was plastered into my head. I screened for another hour and found a couple of decent carcharias teeth and a beaver incisor. By this time I was beat and I decided to get to my last 5 screens. On my 5th screen I came up with my largest tooth from NJ - a 2" desori that had a great blade and a more than adequate root - what a way to end the day. I packed up and headed home with renewed hope for the next trip.