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  1. I just got back from an amazing and very fruitful week of fossil collecting on the White River Formation in northeastern Colorado. The White River Formation is a very easy and fun rock unit to collect vertebrate fossils on. The White River Formation was deposited during the very latest Eocene and the early Oligocene, though the faunal diversity in the areas I was collecting on suggest it was laid down during the Orellan North American Land Mammal Age, which centers on around 33 million years ago during the Rupelian age of the Oligocene Epoch. I am very lucky to have a grand uncle Gary (no biological relationship to me, is a close family friend who we’ve called “uncle” since I was a toddler) who is a cattle rancher up in northeastern Colorado, and he happens to have a pretty good amount of White River exposure on his property, in addition to some of the neighboring ranches of which Gary knows the owners and helped me to secure permission to collect on a few of them. He really is a great guy and is a real life true American cowboy. He has an interest in natural history and was eager to hear all about the fossils and geology of the area, though has never had the formal education or done the research to learn much about what’s out there. This is the second fossil collecting trip I’ve made to the ranch, though the first one where I’ve stayed for more than one night. The place truly is an amazing trove of fossil treasures and I can’t wait to tell you all about my week! In this thread I’ll make one post for each day (so as to not hit the picture limit too soon). Once I have the fossils prepped I’ll give updates here as well. Day 1, Sunday: My first day at the ranch began, ironically, at my own house. I had packed up the Jeep the night before with my field bag, two coolers filled with seven day’s worth of food, a suitcase full of clothes, and other such supplies for my fossil safari. I left my home early in the morning, took I-76 east to Fort Morgan, and then headed north to the ranch, in total about a 2.5 hour drive. The rest of the morning and early afternoon I spent visiting with and going over logistics with Gary and his wife and settling in at the ranch house I would be staying at, a property that used to be the home of another rancher before Gary acquired the property in 2002. They still maintain the house and it has both electricity and running water, so it makes a fantastic guest house and a place to stay when they’re doing work over on that side of their land. In the evening after I had made myself a quick dinner I decided I wanted to head down to a very productive exposure I had collected on last September for the evening. There was a partial oreodont skeleton that I had discovered eroding out of the hill the last time I was up there, and I wanted to see if there were any more bones there that had eroded out and I could collect. I picked up a few more bones from the feet and ankles that had been exposed in the last eight months and decided to take a scenic route back to my vehicle. A photo of the area of exposure I was in Sunday evening. This piece of badland will become very important throughout the rest of the week... On my walk back I walked over a ridge that I had apparently never been over, becase on a flat wash I noticed a pile of bone fragments. I approached the pile assuming that it would be yet another exploded tortoise shell that are so common in the area. As I got closer however, I was delightfully surprised to see the distinctive black color of fossil enamel, and a bit of digging revealed an eroded Subhyracodon jaw section, along with several loose teeth that I presume had come from the same section of jaw. This find, along with an oreodont jaw section I found later on while walking back to the Jeep that night, would be but a foreshadow of the big finds I would make later in the week. Two photos of the Subhyracodon jaw section as it was found in the field. The jaw section and some teeth after I had cleaned them up a little bit at home this afternoon.
  2. I have a few really nice fossils from the White River Formation of northeastern Colorado that I need to prep, and given I am a beginner at fossil prep I would really like to gain some advice and guidance from people with experience do I don’t accidentally damage the fossils. The first fossil is an Oreodont skull. The skull is mostly intact, and I was able to extract it from the field without using any glue or stabilizer or consolidant or anything like that, so this fossil is in its “natural state.” The zygomatic arch and upper tooth row are crumbling, but otherwise everything else that I can see is there appears to be stable. The other side of the skull appears to be still mostly encased in matrix, and is likely to be better preserved. What’s everyone’s opinion on whether or not I should apply penetrant stabilizer directly to the bone before prepping to help keep it intact? The second fossil is a jaw bone, tentatively identified by me as Subhyracodon but I will need to reveal the teeth to know for sure. There are several large cracks throughout the bone (as can be seen) but the entire bone is still in one piece due to application of PaleoBond penetrant stabilizer in the field. There is matrix in between the larger cracks, I imagine I will have to pull it apart one piece at a time, clean the pieces, and then glue them back together. I don’t have any specific questions at this point other than about the overall process. It would be great if those with experience could briefly go over how they would go about prepping these fossils would be great. Is there anything I should avoid, be careful of, or watch out for? Equipment I have includes an air scribe with compressor, dental picks/tools, and the full suite of PaleoBond glues and stabilizers, including the debonding solvent. Thanks in advance! *These fossils were collected legally on privately held land in Weld County, Colorado, with full landowner knowledge and permission.
  3. M Harvey

    Cenozoic salamander

    This has bugged me for years. It's a small amphibian or reptile ( 8cm long) found at Fossil OR at the high school site. The strata is tuffaceous siltstone famous for leaf impressions. It's part of the John Day formation, oligocene in age. I have read that salamanders are occasionally found there but cannot find any more information as to species or anatomy. I was even wondering if it could be a snake with vestigial femurs. I'm hoping that someone can provide me some specifics so I can finally finish cataloging this specimen.
  4. more at https://foraminifera.eu
  5. The spikefishes are related to the pufferfishes and triggerfishes. Taxonomy according to GBIF. Diagnosis after Tyler et al., 1993: "Carpathospinosus differs from all other Triacanthodidae by the first dorsal spine with a longer average relative length (37% SL versus 24%-34%) and the second dorsal spine considerably shorter, with an average relative length at the low end of the range of length in other triacanthodids (15% SL versus 13%—29% SL), its length contained an average of 2.4 times in the length of the first spine (versus length of second spine contained an average of 1.1-1.4 times in length of first spine in Recent triacanthodids and 1.8 times in the Oligocene Prohollardia). Carpathospinosus differs from all other Triacanthodinae by the presence of an anteromedial flange on the first basal pterygiophore of the anal fin (versus flange absent); the pelvic spine much longer than the length of the posterior process of the pelvis, the process contained about 1.5 times in the length of the spine (versus pelvic spine usually shorter but sometimes as long as or very slightly longer than the process, the process contained about 0.8 to 1.1, usually 1.0, times in the length of the spine); the head especially long, about 45% SL (versus averages of 35%—41 % SL except in the two long-snouted genera). The relative width of the pelvis in Carpathospinosus is greater than in any other triacanthodin except the Recent Bathyphylax." Line drawing from Tyler et al., 1993: Identified by oilshale. Reference: Tyler, James C.; Jerzmanska, Anna; Bannikov, Alexandre F.; and Swidnicki, Jacek. 1993. Two New Genera and Species of Oligocene Spikefishes (Tetraodontiformes: Triacanthodidae), the First Fossils of the Hollardiinae and Triacanthodinae. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810266.75.1
  6. With a week of collecting under my belt I felt ready and excited to take on the next, this time exclusively on the White River formation. All factors being considered, the White River is probably the most difficult formation to hunt among those I've been lucky enough to explore thus far. For one, the terrain is often very rough, with all sorts of ridges, rises, washes and gullies to hike through. Another issue to account for is the reflection of light off of the white sediments, meaning that ample sunscreen is a necessity if you don't want to burn to a crisp. That harsh sunlight can lead to temperatures regularly topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with the highest I endured this week being 115. To say the least, the word exposure out here lives up to both of its connotations. Despite the challenges, the fossils can make it all worth it. While the expansive white moonscape may be poorly suited to growing grass and raising cattle today, the former inhabitants of these lands show that it was once a more hospitable place, supporting a diverse ecosystem teeming with prey and predators, with lineages represented that would be familiar to us today. With that little preface out of the way let's jump into the action! Week 2, Day 1: We started the day with the 80 mile trip south towards the town of Lusk, Wyoming, which eventually led us onto the back roads of this massive ranch & finally to our destination. Our first designated hunting area was a large series of exposures, accessible through descending from the grass line into this depression. My first couple finds were the typical jaw sections, mostly small artiodactyl. But as the sun climbed higher in the sky, I crossed over a wash and saw what would be my find of the morning: A complete oreodont jaw with both sides preserved, plus the articulating ends. Following the jaw, I came across a spill of titanothere tooth fragments, so I collected everything I could find in hopes I could reassemble most of it at home. About a half hour passed with me not finding much until I spotted some bones eroding from the surface. Unfortunately it appeared that the elements had gotten to it before I did, so I kept some of the more interesting pieces and moved along.
  7. I have some Gansu fossils from the Linxia Basin, but I wasn't 100% sure on ID. The teeth were sold as Entelodont molars, and my current assumption is that they belong to Paraentelodon macrognathus from the Oligocene deposits in the Linxia Basin. From what I've read, they are similar to Daeodon, at least size wise. I think the formation would be the Jiaozigou Formation? But I'm not entirely sure. The Chleuastochoerus jaw, i have no idea. I think there are 2 species present in the Linxia Basin, and I don't know if it's possible to ID them down to species level without more specific provenance. That said, I honestly don't know anything about this animal, aside from it being a prehistoric pig. I know the fang had some glue on it when I put some acetone on it during prep, so it's probably repaired. The back side had big globs of glue that turned pretty nasty in acetone, but fortunately, there was nothing on the jaw itself, and I easily dug the teeth hidden inside the matrix. Not really sure if I did a great job though since I don't prep that often.
  8. sseth

    Oligocene Dolphin

    I just finished up preparation on this amazing Oligocene dolphin. It is from the Ashley formation and is a real beauty. I made the decision not to completely remove it from the matrix, as I believe it is more aesthetic this way.. It was missing the last 3 inches of the pre-maxilla so that had to be restored but we did find a few other teeth in the matrix.
  9. Crankyjob21

    CF3EDCF3-5683-4BF3-9E95-567DC77ED434

    From the album: Cranky’s album of fossils

    This is a good looking fragment of a mesohippus (primitive horse) skull form the Brule Formation of South Dakota.
  10. Hi Fossil Friends, I am a new member to the forum but a long-time fossil lover. Unfortunately, I have only been fossil hunting a few times in my life but am planning on changing that pronto. My first fossil adventure was for my geology class in college. I still have the trilobites, stromatolites, and brachiopods from that trip. It was a very memorable trip sitting on a creek bank sifting through layers. My family and I are heading to Summerville, SC tomorrow for a quick getaway from Atlanta. We are vaccinated and decided to have a little outdoor adventure over spring break. We have a tour booked for Saturday to Folly Beach so we will hopefully find some goodies. We have an extra day and are going to poke around on our own tomorrow (Friday, April 9, 2021) in Summerville. If anyone has any specific sites in the Summerville area for some shark teeth, please feel free to direct message me. We are looking forward to sharing some cool finds in the forum. Cheers, - Whitney
  11. Hello fellow fossil hunters. Below is a photo of the array of fossils I found. Each fossil is labelled with a number and it would be awesome if I could get each one identified. I thought ahead and took the photo on grid paper with each square being 5mm. Item 1 is just some quartz crystal I picked up, item 4 is a piece of some unidentifiable shell and the rest are legit fossils. I am a rooky and an amateur so please let me know if I get anything wrong or if I need to add any more detail. Location: Batesford Limestone quarry, Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Geology: Sometime between the Miocene to Oligocene Epoch. Formation: All specimens were found in loose waste heaps inside the quarry at the deepest part. Assembly: The Geelong area was once part of an ancient inland sea hence the limestone deposits. The fossils consist of a lot of marine life, crustacean shells, ancient Mako shark teeth, some sort of cone shell worm. Some Megalodon C. teeth have been found in the quarry too (dont know if that helps out) Discovery: All items were found in a loose pile of ground limestone at the deepest part of the limestone quarry. Characteristics: Item 1 is just some quarts. Item 2 looks like the shell of some crustacean, reminds me a lot of the ribbed shell of a lobster (same as item 9) with the small and circular cones protruding up and away from the shell. Item 3 is a very small snail shell, very similar to the small ones you can find on any Australian beach. Item 4 is a rough cut out of some shell of some sort, no major identifiable features besides being smooth. Item 5 looks to be some sort of forking coral with branches that have been visibly broken off at some point. Item 6 appears to be a part of a mollusk shell, the edge is circular with different patterns further up the shell following in the same direction. Item 7 looks to be part of a large snail shell, larger than item 3, with brown streaking marks following the grain of the shell. Item 8 is another part of forking coral, I believe its a different species than item 5 due to its smoothness and lack of branches as compared to item 5. Item 9 is identical to item 2 only being a little smaller. Item 10 appears to belong to a create similar to item 2 and 9, however, the piece looks to be whole (as in not broken off), a standalone, small plate of armour, almost like a 1 x 3 flat Lego brick with the same type of protruding cones as the previously mentioned items. Item 11 is what I believe to be the tooth of a Isurus Desori (Mako Shark) after doing some research of other finds at the quarry. The tooth is almost banana like in shape being extremely narrow and sharply pointed, made for penetrating prey's skin. Item 12 is very similar to item 15, being a long cylindrical shell, almost like a fossilised worm hole with the exception of a small bulb on the tip which is more profound in item 15 and item 13. Item 13 has more details in the form of tiny dots drawing vertical lines down the cylinder of the piece with a similar bulb to that of item 12 and item 13. Item 14 appears to be part of the shell of a what Australians call a "Pippy", its scientific name being Plebidonax Deltoides. Item 15 is identical to the smooth item 12, just a bit longer, however different to item 13 which looks to be the same species given the same shape and bulb at the tip with the exception of the detailed bumps running down the side of the cylinder.
  12. Hello all, Was hoping for some help identifying some recent finds from the Charlie Creek in the Peace River of Florida. I'm still a novice with ID'ing so I was hoping for some guidance as to where I I went right and wrong. I believe they are, in order: a worn cetacean tooth, turtle nuchal scute, a fragment of stingray barb. The last set I am unsure of. Perhaps some bird clavicles? Thanks for any help you can give, Al
  13. oilshale

    Isurichthys cf. roumanus

    Identified by A. Bannikov, Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences. According to A. F. Bannikov, the first record of the species Isurichthys in the Polish Carpathian Mountains. From the Jamna Dolna II section, which is an artificial exposure about 2 km south of the original Jamna Dolna exposure. Diagnosis from A. F. Bannikov (2012): "Body slightly elongated, its depth equal to, or greater than, head length. Head 0.34–0.29 of body length. Supraoccipital crest high. Jaw teeth small, uniserial. Vertebrae 28–31 in number, including 16–19 caudal vertebrae; parapophyses present on posterior abdominal vertebrae. Neural spines very slender. Ribs relatively long, absent on haemal spine of first caudal vertebra. Spinous part of dorsal fin with 8–12 spines, soft part with 15–18 widely spaced rays. In anal fin, 15–16 rays also widely spaced. About three anterior interhaemals entering abdominal cavity, their dorsal ends closely positioned. Pectoral fins long, usually reaching origin of anal fin. Pelvic fins moderately long. Caudal fin large, deeply forked. Scales large,cycloid." Line drawing fom Baciu & Bannikov 2004, p. 206: From the Jamna Dolna II section, which is an artificial exposure about 2 km south of the original Jamna Dolna exposure. References: Baciu, Dorin Sorin and Bannikov, Alexandre F. (2004) New stromateoid fishes (Perciformes, Stromateoidei) from the Lower Oligocene of Romania. Journal of Ichthyology 44(3):199-207. Bannikov, Alexandre F. (2012) The first record of the genus Isurichthys (Perciformes, Ariommatidae) in the Lower Oligocene of the Northern Caucasus. Paleontological Journal. Volume 46, pages 171–176. Bannikov, A. F. (2018) A New Genus and Species of Stromateoid Fishes (Perciformes, Stromateoidei) from the Lower Oligocene of the Northern Caucasus. Paleontological Journal 52(6) pages 631-638.
  14. oilshale

    Cobitopsis acutus (P. Gervais, 1847)

    This fish belongs to the Hemiramphidae family (Halfbeaks) within the order Beloniformes; The halfbeaks are named for their distinctive jaws, in which the lower jaws are significantly longer than the upper jaws. Halfbeaks hunt insects and fish at the water surface in sometimes large groups. Line drawing from Jordan 1907, p 188: Reference: Sepkoski, J. J. Jr. (2002). A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560. Jordan, David Starr (1905). Guide to the Study of Fishes, New York City, NY: Henry Holt and Company.
  15. Kiros

    Nimravid! But which one?

    Hi guys! Recently I got in a trade this nimravid mandible from the white river formation in Shannon County. Now I want to ask your help to determine the genus, if possible. Being incomplete and missing all the teeth it's quite difficult but it has a quite elongate mandible flange and by the number of the alveoli it had three teeth. I think it can be Hoplophoneus, what do you think about it?
  16. oilshale

    Salvinia sp.

    The Rott fossil Fossillagerstätte (Rott district of the town of Hennef) is a limnic deposit of Upper Oligocene fossils known in paleontology because of the richness and exceptionally good preservation of fossil plants and animals. Although the site was already designated as a natural monument in 1942, a golf course was built on the former mine site in 1986. Reference: Heinrich Winterscheid, Zlatko Kvaček, Jiří Váña, and Michael S.Ignatov (2018): Systematic-taxonomic revision of the flora from the late Oligocene Fossillagerstätte Rott near Bonn (Germany). Part 1: Introduction; Bryidae, Polypodiidae, and Pinidae. Palaeontographica, Abt. B: Palaeobotany – Palaeophytology Article Vol. 297, Issues 1–6: 103–141
  17. I'll be honest, I've put off writing this trip report for far too long. Between work, school and general procrastination I have delayed this post for over 7 months. Perhaps there's a silver lining to me writing this in the middle of winter, it could act as a nice break from the grey & cold conditions many of us are facing this season. Hopefully you all enjoy a dose of warmth from a trip which I enjoyed greatly. Ok ready? Let's go. My morning started around 4:30, ungodly hours for me generally, but I woke up excited for what lay ahead. Less than a half hour later we were on our way headed south to Boston. While we always leave much earlier than I would like. there's something peaceful about being able to drive through the streets of the greater Boston area without having to deal with its notoriously bad drivers. We made it to Logan and I gave my parents a goodbye hug after we pulled my bags from the car. The flight was smooth and with only 1 layover, I had made it to Rapid City by early afternoon. Soon after I landed in SD, I caught a ride to Newcastle with PaleoProspectors Founder and Director, Dr. Steve Nicklas. When we reached our destination across the border in Wyoming, I quickly began to acclimate to the motel room which would be my home for the next three weeks. This week I would meet and befriend several new people including Quincy @Opabinia Blues, another paleo enthusiast my age, and several of Steve's archaeology students who came to help him dig on a titanothere bonebed. This week would be spent mostly on the Lance formation, with one day spent on the White River. Week 1, Day 1: We started the morning at some hillside exposures overlooking a plain along the Little Cheyenne River. This is one of my favorite areas on the ranch. I started the day off hot with a nice sized turtle claw, unfortunately missing the tip. Brachychampsa alligatoroid tooth. A view of the slope I was hunting. A nice ceratopsid spit tooth. A tiny crocodilian tooth. Myledaphus (guitarfish) tooth. As the morning turned into afternoon, I made my way to the base of the exposures.
  18. Taxonomy from Fossilworks.org. Diagnosis from Jerzmanska 1968, p. 417: "41-43 vertebrae. The second dorsal ray begins 1-2' vertebrae behind the end of the first. The first ray of the anal under the first rays of the second dorsal. The second dorsal and anal are three vertebrae apart from the anal." References: A. Jerzmanska (1968) Ichtyofaune des couches a ménilite (flysch des Karpathes). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 13(3):379-488
  19. Gregory Kruse

    Florida Gastropod Identification Help

    Hello, Please see the attached photos, I found this along the Withlacoochee River in Madison County, FL. Up the river from the limestone is Madison Blue Spring State Park located approximately ten miles east of Madison, FL. The limestone is from the Oligocene age Suwanee Limestone and I am interested in learning more about the spiral shaped gastropod in the center of the photo. There are other interesting shells in this specimen as well. Please see attached photos for reference. Thank you in advance! Greg Kruse Casper, WY
  20. OregonFossil

    Panopea (?) micro fossil.

    This specimen from the Oligocene Keasey formation is 5mm long. This shale is extremely hard, I had to use the 3 pound hammer to break it. The rock it was encased in was 8 x 9" and this was the only fossil I could find after breaking all in 1-3" pieces. Image is a Olympus Macro 60mm image on a Panasonic G9 camera using flash. Do you consider a fossil of this size a Micro fossil? I am going to leave it in the matrix because I've tried dental tools on this particular shale and it is just too hard. Need to do some further work on the ID with external shell features/geometry, but I think I am close.
  21. TheSilverWolf98

    Mineral or Fossil?

    Hi all. Yesterday, I went on my first fossil hunt in about fourteen years. Went back to one of my old haunts, Jan Juc beach on the south coast of Victoria, Australia (Oligocene deposit - mostly mud and sandstone). I was expecting to find the usual - sea urchins, small crabs, coral, sponges etc. Instead I found a big, dark thing. A thing is all I can describe it as - buried in sandstone with the eroded top showing, I initially thought it could be a toe, or maybe some petrified wood. Once I moved the boulder to my garden and attacked it with a small hammer, what popped out was a little puzzling. It's about as long as a Sharpie (sorry, no ruler on hand, so this was the most universal thing I could think of), and has the girth of a banana. It's much, much harder than the sandstone it was in, and much, much darker. Almost black. The part that was not eroded is in a pretty uniform semicircular shape, which made me think it could be a bone. The breaks you see were present in the thing before I popped it out of the rock. I'm assuming it was originally longer than what I have, as it was eroded away at the edge of the boulder, leaving the small chip at the end. The other end was sheared off at the other edge of the boulder. The rock broke off cleanly around the thing, so it's not a part of the sandstone substrate. Can anyone ID this for me? I know it's pretty beaten up - heavily eroded on the exposed side, and little creatures have started growing on it. Even just confirmation of its status as a fossil or mineral would be helpful. Also, some fossilised coral and shells I found at the same cliff on the same day. Weird little shells with a division up the middle. IDs on these would be greatly appreciated too. Thanks guys.
  22. This specimen was found in the Pittsburg Bluff formation (Oligocene) in loosely consolidate sandstone. Due to the large opening and smooth shell I believe it to be a Neverita. Although the location is near the town of Pittsberg Oregon, I can't recommend it for the faint of heart (you are about 4' from the traffic which is mostly log trucks going > 55 MPH). However that being said the talus at the bottom of this formation is a marine invertebrate hunters gold mine. There was one piece of the sandstone that was fairly large (over a meter long) and it and every stone beneath had fossils. Most of the rocks in talus were covered with mud and water. This was only 2 days ago, so I have barely start to ID stuff. Here is my first find, just like this laying in talus covered with mud and water. Specimen is 5mm wide by 10mm long. Quite happy with location and the condition of the fossils.
  23. GABRIEL.P

    Oligocene fossils ID

    .These fossils are from Romania. They look like crustaceans ichnofossils. If these Eocene or Oligocene fossils are really traces of crustaceans then what genus did make them? If you think that you can identify them write your opinion here. Thank you very much.
  24. Can anyone identify this 1ish inch shell that is agatized that dates back 23-24 million years ago found in Tampa Bay Florida? Does anyone know a paper that references these? I use muriatic acid to clean limestone chunks of agatized coral stick. Many times I come across other items like this. Corals and shells. Just trying to get a better idea of some of the items I found. This was left for me by mother nature on a storm Christmas eve 2020.
  25. Neanderthal Shaman

    Looting Lincoln Creek

    There was a fleeting glimpse of sunshine, so me and a few guys decided to hit the Lincoln Creek Formation today. We know a great spot by the Chehalis River, which also happens to be about 15 minutes away from my friend's house. Nothing better than a convenient site! The site would be inaccessible were it not for an abandoned old logging track that takes you over the water. We often compare it to that one scene in "Stand By Me".
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