Cris Posted December 2, 2012 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Here's our last contest for 2012! After this month, it's time for the FOTY competitions! Get out there, find some stuff and get it entered! Entries will be taken through December 31st. Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month. To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests 1. You find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found by you. 2. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry. 3. Your Fossil must have been found during the Month of the Contest, or the significant Preparation of your Fossil must have been completed during the Month of the Contest. 4. You must include the Date of your Discovery or the Date of Preparation Completion. 5. You must include the common or scientific name. 6. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the Fossil was found. 7. Play fair. No bought fossils. Shortly after the end of the Month, separate Polls will be created for the Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month. The maximum entries allowed by the Polling software will be selected for each contest by the staff. In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the Fossils. So, only entries posted with a CLEAR photo and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll. Within a few days, we will know the two winning Finds of the Month! Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 (edited) Specimen: Stingray Mouthplate (upper) "Eagle Ray" Name: "Myliobatis" sp Location: Paleocene in Maryland Date: 07Dec2012 An early Christmas present found a couple weeks ago by breaking up some chunks of matrix. The left-most image is the "before", and the rest of the images are after I "prepped" it a bit and stabilized it. It's quite rare to find a whole stingray mouthplate still intact, and even more rare to find them in matrix. Although I was tempted to remove it from the matrix to see the root structure underneath, I really liked the way this sits in the original matrix so I left it. It makes a nice display piece. Daryl. Edited December 18, 2012 by cowsharks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDOTB Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Holy cow (sharks) thats fantastic, complete, glossy, big, you must have been pretty excited when you found it! DO, or do not. There is no try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Is that the actual shape of the mouth plate or did it get distorted during the fossilization process? Most of the ray mouth plate I have seen seem flat in appearance. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 Is that the actual shape of the mouth plate or did it get distorted during the fossilization process? Most of the ray mouth plate I have seen seem flat in appearance. Bob, that is the actual shape of an "upper" mouthplate. In many stingrays, the upper mouthplate is "curved", while the lower mouthplate is flat (or not as curved as the upper plate). I'm sure this has some sort of functional/mechanical reason, just not sure what it is though. The curved jaw might help to not only crush but also grind and push the food towards the back of the mouth. I think these types of dentitions are referred to as "crushing". If you notice the one end of my specimen how it dips down and appears a bit more worn, that is the "front" end of the mouthplate where most of the crushing and grinding first takes place. Here's a couple pics courtesy of elasmo.com that show two different sets of jaws from modern rays: Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted December 20, 2012 Share Posted December 20, 2012 Thank you for the explanation. "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 (edited) Hello all. The end of the world has definitely postponed and the Holidays are in front of us. Thus, enjoy everyone and you can now bring your fossils of the month to the contests! My entry is a hazel nut Corylus sp with the involucre still attached, associated with some more unknown seeds. The hole slab measures 10 x 7 cm and it was found on 07 Dec. 2012 in the late miocene sediments of Crete island, Greece. No other examples of this seed fossil have been recorded to date in my country. Edited December 29, 2012 by astron Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bear-dog Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 That is awesome Astron. I salute you. Bear-dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 That is awesome Astron. I salute you. Thanks much, Clayton I am glad hearing from you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 My entry is a seed head of a horse thistl of Asteraceae family (probably Notobasis syriaca) associated with some more unknown seeds. The hole slab measures 10 x 7 cm and it was found on 07 Dec. 2012 in the late miocene sediments of Crete island, Greece. No other thistle fossil examples have been recorded to date in my island and despite to my google researh I haven't found any fossils of this kind anywhere. If any one of you has found or seen alike fossils, please, let me know. I'd much appreciate that. Hi Astrinos, Congratulations on all the wonderful flora including the recently discovered Chamaerops in your collection thread. To answer your request for assistance I showed this to our friend for a precise ID. He is doubtful this is a thistle because there are no separate tube florets visible. This is more likely a hazel nut (Corylus) with involucre still attached. I attached a diagram for comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinopaleus Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 Hello all. The end of the world has definitely postponed and the Holidays are in front of us. Thus, enjoy everyone and you can now bring your fossils of the month to the contests! My entry is a seed head of a horse thistl of Asteraceae family (probably Notobasis syriaca) associated with some more unknown seeds. The hole slab measures 10 x 7 cm and it was found on 07 Dec. 2012 in the late miocene sediments of Crete island, Greece. No other thistle fossil examples have been recorded to date in my island and despite to my google researh I haven't found any fossils of this kind anywhere. If any one of you has found or seen alike fossils, please, let me know. I'd much appreciate that. Very nice find Astrinos!! You have my vote! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsatites Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 Hello, here is my entry for the december-contest. A block (3,00 x 1,40 m) was found in the austrian alps nearby Salzburg in September 2012 it is cracked , 170 kg had to be transported in impassible area. All this I did without any help. The preparation was finished on December 9th. It is a large block 90 x 70 cm with 16 ammonites: Alsatites proaries, Kammerkarites megastoma, Kammerkarites haploptychum, Kammerkarites pachydiscus, Kammerkarites sp, Kammerkarites frigga, Storthoceras extracostatum, Paradasyceras uermösense, Pleuroacanthites, fragmentary: Pseudaetomoceras, Atractites, Cenoceras, some Alsatites proaries Kammerkarites with a rare Pleuroacanthites Kammerkarites Alsatites, Paradasyceras and Kammerkarites the rare Paradasyceras uermösense separately for a better view Storthoceras extracostatum Age: Hettangium (lower lias), Megastoma-Zone I consider myself lucky to have this peace in my collection. Regards Peter (alsatites) If you like to see my other hettangian ammonites and some details, please visit my homepage: www.neoammoniten.jimdo.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgrilusHunter Posted December 26, 2012 Share Posted December 26, 2012 (edited) Dang Peter! That is a serious ammo slab, you must have been ecstatic! That will be hard to beat. Edited December 26, 2012 by AgrilusHunter "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMNH Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Holy ammonites what a slab! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncoat Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I guess i will take a stab at this. I found this in a concretion a few years ago and from what i remember when i had showed it to a local paleontologist at the time and he had identified it is "Fish". Often not very much bone is visible when concretions are found and it can be difficult to determine what it is sometimes. Fish are quite common to the area and i left it on my box of rocks until late November of this year. When i was going through some of this old material, knowing a lot more now then i did at the time i decided it didn't look like any of the other fish i had and i started to prep it. It was quickly evident that it was not fish but a small Odontoceti skull. As with a lot of the other fossils found in the area fragile bones often break either in fossilization or after being rolled around a beach for millions of years. This skulls rostrum is lost to time as they often are.. I added another rostrum from a deferent Odontoceti to show what a more complete skull would look like. Im thinking this is a Porpoise skull due to its small size. I'm the first to admit that this is not one of my best prep jobs.. I finished prep on Dec 5th. - Nick This is from the Miocene Astoria Fm. 15-20 myo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 (edited) Hi Astrinos, Congratulations on all the wonderful flora including the recently discovered Chamaerops in your collection thread. To answer your request for assistance I showed this to our friend for a precise ID. He is doubtful this is a thistle because there are no separate tube florets visible. This is more likely a hazel nut (Corylus) with involucre still attached. I attached a diagram for comparison. Thank very much, Scott, so to you, as to our friend for your always important assistance!!! Due to Holidays issues, it wasn't possible to discuss on this fossil with my ''Cretensis'' friend ''... Thus I feel lucky since my ''Oregonensis'' friends are on the way... After your post, I have been searching for some hours on the new data you have provided. Remains of Betulaceae family (where Corylus sp. belong to) haven't been recorded in my island so far, with an exception with a possible B. catkin found in Pitsidia, while there is a leaf in my collection belonging to this family(pic 1). Though, late miocene fossils of these plants have been found in Vegora, northern Greece and in several European areas as Austria, Iceland and France, as well. I have searched for seed (hazel nut) fossils too, but I didn't find any samples of these, except some exapmles of the extinct species of Corylus johnsonii from Washington state, that is a quite different species. Thus, the only comparison possible was with some recent hazel nut seeds with the involucre intact (pics 2,3), where the similarities are enough and obvious... After all I have to accept the id suggested on one hand and on the other hand I am convinced that this little specimen is one of the rare and important fossils of my collection. Many thanks again to both of you for the important help. Edited December 29, 2012 by astron Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astron Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Very nice find Astrinos!! You have my vote! Thanks indeed, Henry!!!!! The ammonites came afterwards, though... Astrinos P. Damianakis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMNH Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) Just for fun I will submit this bivalve. Preperation completed a couple of days ago. I think it is Modiolopsis sp. I found it in an upright position and it has its valves closed together, so I speculate that it may have been preserved in it's life orientation. I saved the matrix, in which you can see the mold of one of the valves upright in the sediment, exactly as I found it. The last picture is the specimen in the mold. It is from the Georgian Bay Formation, about 445 myo. Edited December 30, 2012 by TMNH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasFossilHunter Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 (edited) I would like to submit my Cretoxyrhina mantelli shark tooth Found: southeastern gove county, 29th December Lower Smoky hill chalk This tooth is the largest I've ever found! And is certainly not common around here.... Thanks for your time and consideration - Kris Edited December 30, 2012 by KansasFossilHunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crinoid Queen Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 HOLY AMMONITES!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachj Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 (edited) This is my personal best find to date, a summerville angustidens. I barely saw this because their was no gravel in this area. I saw a little enamel under the sand and picked it up and shouted at the top of my lungs "MOM! MOM! MOM!". i dont have a meauring tape with me so i dont know the exact legnth but its around 2 and 1/2 inches. Its the classic summerville colored tooth with white lightning on the blade! Angustidens SUmmerville, Sc oligicene chandler bridge form. Edited January 2, 2013 by zachj one day i will find a tooth over 3 inches in good conditon haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I would like to submit my Cretoxyrhina mantelli shark tooth Found: southeastern gove county, 29th December Lower Smoky hill chalk This tooth is the largest I've ever found! And is certainly not common around here.... Thanks for your time and consideration - Kris Kris, congrats on your cool Ginsu shark tooth. It's great to find the big ones. Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasFossilHunter Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Kris, congrats on your cool Ginsu shark tooth. It's great to find the big ones. Daryl. Thanks! It's crazy to think that it came from a shark the size of a bus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepDigger Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Thanks! It's crazy to think that it came from a shark the size of a bus! Well I guess I don't need to ask if you found anything. That tooth is in pretty good shape, thats a cool find! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasFossilHunter Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Well I guess I don't need to ask if you found anything. That tooth is in pretty good shape, thats a cool find! Thank you! It's really heavy for it's size. But that was one cold trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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