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  • MikeR

    The End Of My Pliocene Project

    By MikeR

    When I began this blog late in 2010, my intention was to report on recent field trips however, with the exception of one excursion each into the Upper Miocene, Lower Pliocene and the Calabrian Pleistocene, all of my posts have concentrated on the Upper Pliocene of the US Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. I already had an extensive collection of Florida Upper Pliocene invertebrates that I had collected while a resident of the state in the late 80s and early 90s. The fossils from these beds are
    • 9 comments
    • 7,789 views
  • andreas

    The Columbianus Zone/alaunium 2/ Norium/upper Triassic, In The So Called “Hallstatt Limestone” Of The Northern Calcareous Alps In Austria

    By andreas

    The columbianus Zone/Alaunium 2/ Norium/Upper Triassic in the so called "Hallstatt Limestone" of the Northern Calcareous Alps in Austria Dear Fossil Forum members! This pictured report about the ammonite bearing Triassic Hallstatt limestone will be the first one of a continuous series of reports. Since the beginning of the geological research in the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria in the 19th century, about 500 species of Triassic ammonites have been described from the Hallstatt limestone
    • 14 comments
    • 10,991 views
  • MikeR

    The Problem with Siphocypraea

    By MikeR

    For millennia, humankind has been fascinated by the hard-external shell of the organisms classified within the Phylum Mollusca.   Consumed first as food, their empty shells have served multiple functions in the past; as tools in many ancient cultures, in religious ceremonies by the Aztecs, and money by Pacific Islanders. During the Age of Discovery, sailors could supplement their meager incomes by selling exotic seashells to wealthy gentlemen for their Cabinets of Curiosity.  Today many people f
    • 3 comments
    • 2,181 views
  • JohnJ

    Ancient Hunters

    By JohnJ

    June 5, 2010 Barry held his camera barely two feet away from the back of an Agkistrodon piscivorus. Although a small snake, it was still very dangerous and he positioned his camera based on years of experience with these reptiles. Known more commonly as a Cottonmouth or Water Moccasin, the twelve inch juvenile snake had coloration similar to the closely related Copperhead. However, its patterns were muted by late afternoon shadows in a remote location that was not favorable to an easy medic
    • 26 comments
    • 7,523 views
Trip Reports

Eagle Ford honey hole - 3rd time's the charm (9/12/2021)

Today was the best fossil hunt I've ever had. I feel like I say that every time lately, but it really is true.    Today was attempt number three at investigating the Eagle Ford.   Attempt number one, in Travis county, found me wandering into the Austin Chalk. I did get a great consolation prize though, in the form of gigantic segment of a Parapuzosia sp. ammonite.     Attempt number two was in Williamson county - the Eagle Ford is rare here, only really exposed by h
Jared C

Jared C in Trip Reports

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Trip Reports

A quick search for the Eagle Ford (9/04/2021)

Yesterday was attempt  number two at finding exposures of the Eagle Ford formation. My first attempt a month ago found me deep in the city of Austin, searching for the Bouldin Flags member of the Eagle Ford. I had to move upstream to avoid a large homeless camp, and found myself on the Austin chalk instead, where I found a large piece of a Parapuzosia sp. ammonite ( that trip is below)   While definitely a memorable hunt, with a cool fossil to show for it, it was technically still a m
Jared C

Jared C in Trip Reports

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Trip Reports

Austin's Ozan, 8/28/21 - a new look at an old spot

Today was a memorable outing, and our net results were the best I've ever had for a single day in Austin.   This morning started quickly. My step brother, Christian, was already knocking on my door at 9:30 - yes, that may be late in the morning for everyone else, but it's a full hour before I'm usually fully awake. I guess that's the trade off for late nights!   Yesterday we made plans to spend our day today hunting a spot that I was used to scouring but had not visited in a
Jared C

Jared C in Trip Reports

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Walt's Blog

Montana fossil locations

This file is from URL http://fossilspot.com/STATES/MT.HTM It comes with the following license statement at the bottom of the page: "Permission is granted to use any materials on these pages under the V2.5 Creative Commons License"     Montana fossil locations.pdf
Walt

Walt

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Between A Rock And A Hard Place

First Ever Vert

this is hardly worth posting in comparison to what other put up here but i was so happy to find this little one yesterday!               I went on a little adventure on sheer impulse yesterday afternoon down to the Essex coast and found myself landing in Walton-On-The-Naze.  Apart for the vert if found a fair amount of what i think is wood and crab fragments, not a 100% on the crab bits but i haven't got around to rummaging through my books to f
Limpetforce

Limpetforce

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Southern Comfort

The Problem with Siphocypraea

For millennia, humankind has been fascinated by the hard-external shell of the organisms classified within the Phylum Mollusca.   Consumed first as food, their empty shells have served multiple functions in the past; as tools in many ancient cultures, in religious ceremonies by the Aztecs, and money by Pacific Islanders. During the Age of Discovery, sailors could supplement their meager incomes by selling exotic seashells to wealthy gentlemen for their Cabinets of Curiosity.  Today many people f
MikeR

MikeR

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Rudist digging at "Point 25", St. Bartholomä, Styria, Austria (Campanian, Gosau-group)

"Point 25" - Summing up

Here are the numbers I promised : From 07/16/2017 to 09/13/2018, about 140 hippuridit rudist specimens were found in the scree slope of "Point 25", the sweetest of all spots in St. Bartholomä. The species distribution is (approximate numbers, with examples): Hippurites colliciatus: 80 (with 140 individuals – many pseudocolonies!) - F, G, H, J Hippurites nabresinensis: 10 - I and possibly K Vaccinites vesiculosus: 25 - A, B Vaccinites alpinus: 10 - C Vaccinites cf. s
FranzBernhard

FranzBernhard

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Rudist digging at "Point 25", St. Bartholomä, Styria, Austria (Campanian, Gosau-group)

"Point 25" - Surprise at home!

Fine, a very nice rudist - a Hippurites nabresinensis -, one of the longest I have found so far in St. Bartholomä (18 cm). But it came even better! At home, I recognized that I have already seen a quite similar traverse fracture before. Indeed, here it is, with the cleaned traverse fracture of the newly found rudist below. Maximum diameter is about 7.5 cm.   The two parts fit together (considering that there are at least 100 years of weathering between them), resulting in t
FranzBernhard

FranzBernhard

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Rudist digging at "Point 25", St. Bartholomä, Styria, Austria (Campanian, Gosau-group)

"Point 25" - What´s behind the red x??

Now the sandstone slab behind the red x (last photo of the previous entry) has been removed. Can you spot it, just above the pocket knife? Photo taken 09/13/2018.   Closer…   Closest! There was a large rudist just behind the sandstone slab, lying in a depth of about 40 cm below the surface of the scree slope. Still in situ, only some roots and small stones removed for the photo. Pocket knife is 9 cm long, some tapering of the rudist is clearly visible. Such a nice
FranzBernhard

FranzBernhard

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Rudist digging at "Point 25", St. Bartholomä, Styria, Austria (Campanian, Gosau-group)

Introduction to "Point 25"

For some general information, including some maps, about the Campanian St. Bartholomä-formation in Styria, Austria see: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/86433-rudist-hunting-in-st-bartholomä-styria-austria-13072018/ The rudist-bearing St. Bartholomä-formation covers an area of about 3km2. Within this area, there are a few sweet spots, where rudist can be found with some confidence: one of the creeks west of Kalchberg; a pile of rocks west of Kalchberg, collected during ce
FranzBernhard

FranzBernhard

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Between A Rock And A Hard Place

First Prep Work

Sooo, this tiny little thing was was picked up two years ago on Lyme Regis beach, the nodule it was in was pretty big and i had high hopes that it contained more than one. Alas, sadly only this poor little soul was retrieved and with a broken shell too.    Still, I'm pretty pleased with it considering its my first go at prep work and with no sandblaster. i just cant believe it has taken a little over a month to get the little bugger out. i'm in two mind if i should try and re
Limpetforce

Limpetforce

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Microfossil Mania!

Holocene Planktonic Foraminifera from the Dry Tortugas, Part 2

Since the upload of Part 1 succeeded, I'll now offer up Part 2, a look at two interesting taxa from the family Globigerinidae.  This family contains most of the taxa that we associate with the idea of "planktonic forams", perhaps due to our familiarity with the "globigerina oozes" that form a significant part of the floor of the modern world oceans.   Globigerinoides ruber (d’Orbigny, 1839) is one of the two “red” species of globigerinids, as the specific epithet indicates.  It is well
Rumi

Rumi

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Microfossil Mania!

Holocene Planktonic Foraminifera from the Dry Tortugas, Part 1

Planktonic Foraminifera are particularly important in biostratigraphic studies and correlation, as they are ubiquitous in marine deposits, and evolve rapidly.  They first appeared in Middle Jurassic time, and thus have a long geological history.  There are many phylogenetic and correlational studies available, and their rapid evolution makes them exceptionally useful as temporal markers, or guide fossils.   I am currently looking at planktonic Foraminifera from a deep-water sample that
Rumi

Rumi

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Microfossil Mania!

Four Ostracodes from the Pleistocene Lomita Marl

The Lomita Marl Member of the San Pedro Formation is a well-known source for Middle Pleistocene marine fossils, and its beautifully preserved molluscan fauna has been treasured by fossil fanatics for decades.  There are outcrops in the city of San Pedro, California, although many of the "classic" localities have been destroyed by urban development.  It is well-exposed in the Lomita Quarry, located in the Palos Verdes Hills northwest of the city.  It has been dated at 400,000 to 570,000 years ago
Rumi

Rumi

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Microfossil Mania!

Another Method for Studying Microfossils

One of the problems I experience in studying microfossils is that of orienting a specimen so that crucial characters are visible.  An example: for identification it is often necessary to check the shape of the tooth in the aperture of taxa in the family Hauerinidae.  The tooth can be long or short, plain or bifid, present or missing, etc.  The aperture is on the end of the test, so it isn't possible to look into it when the test is lying flat -- which it always does when the test is lying in a t
Rumi

Rumi

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Microfossil Mania!

Another Frondicularia Species from the Texas Cretaceous

While picking specimens of Foraminifera from the Taylor Marl, of the Texas Cretaceous Gulfian Series, I found several fragments of a taxon that I could not recognize.  However, today I found a nearly complete specimen of what is obviously the same organism.     Frondicularia christneri Carsey, 1926 does not look much like a typical member of the genus.  The overall shape of the test is fairly normal, but the sutures form a rather unusual pattern, and they are raised above th
Rumi

Rumi

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Microfossil Mania!

Another Foram From The Pecan Gap Chalk

When I was preparing my previous entry on nodosariid forams from the Pecan Gap Chalk, I originally included a specimen that I had identified as a member of the genus Dentalina.  This identification was incorrect, and I edited the entry to remove that specimen.  Here it is again, with what I hope is the correct identification!     The genus Strictocostella is a member of the family Stilostomellidae, and this species is illustrated in Frizzell's "Handbook of Cretaceous Foramin
Rumi

Rumi

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Microfossil Mania!

Four Nodosariid Foraminifera from The Texas Cretaceous

I have recently been studying a sample of washed residues from the Pecan Gap Chalk Formation of the Cretaceous Gulfian Series, from an outcrop in the vicinity of Austin, Texas.  Most of the Gulfian formations are richly fossiliferous, and the Pecan Gap is no exception.  It has abundant, well-preserved microfossils, particularly forams and ostracodes.  In this blog entry I would like to show some forams of the family Nodosariidae, which I find of particular interest.  All belong to the genus Fron
Rumi

Rumi

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