I found this while kayaking in the May River this morning. It has a hard calcium shell, tough (possibly hollow, no serration) spike, and what appears to be a tooth growing out of the front. The easy-to-read numbers on the ruler are in mm, so its about 2" tall, 5.5" long, and 1.5" wide.
I’ve been here most of my life and never seen anything like it.
Any clues? Anyone? I would have said egg casing, but it’s really hard. Second guess is the tail from a juvenile horseshoe crab, but the spine is round like a stiletto instead of triangular. I’m stumped!
it’s part of the anal fin structure of all spadefish, the bulbous part is called a “hyperostosis”. the top-most part of the structure in your first .pdf picture shows the 2 spines that protrude to form the anterior margin of the anal fin:
it’s part of the anal fin structure of all spadefish, the bulbous part is called a “hyperostosis”. the top-most part of the structure in your first .pdf picture shows the 2 spines that protrude to form the anterior margin of the anal fin:
Good work. this is like having Marlin Perkins right there in my computer.
“There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter.”
Ernest Hemingway
