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I was searching along a rocky creek in an area of Fort Worth, Texas (lower cretaceous) where the Goodland Formation, Kiamichi Formation, Walnut Clay, and Fort Worth Limestone all meet, and was finding echinoids, ammonites, and various mollusk shells, when I found this. I've never found any vertebrate fossils before, but it looks a lot like the end of a bone at a joint. It's got near perfect symmetry, and had a slightly lighter colored and more bumpy texture on the broken parts. I would like to know if I have in fact found a fossil bone, and if so, any ideas for what it belonged to?

A week ago I made the trip out to one of the roadcuts on loop 360. I realized that I had been neglecting visiting the west side of town which, although very different, is just as rich in fossil history as the younger east. I want to also thank @erose as he has posted lots of useful information on the cuts and what sorts of things can be found. I arrived in the afternoon and slowly climbed up the gravel to get to the first bench. I made the rare good decision to hunt on the side of the road that would shield me from the sun, making the temperature nice and cool, perfect for fossiling. Despite the proximity of the road, the area felt surprisingly secluded. All atop the bench were a variety of giant boulders that had fallen from the many formations overhead. I wasn't sure which ones were best to look through, so I ended up going mostly for the softest ones. They were absolutely packed with everything from gastropods and bivalves to the occasional tiny regular echinoid or algal fruiting body. I took occasional trips up the gravelly incline to the top of the cut, but really it was just more of the same stuff so I decided to focus on the easier-to-traverse ground below. It really didn't take long before my pockets were heavy. The day was periodically graced with more unusual finds like irregular echies and a large fragment of an ammonite (whole ones are very rare here). Before I knew it, the sun was beginning to set and it was time to head back to the car. Most of the stuff was pretty easy to clean at home. A lot of the limestone popped right off, though some was a bit harder to get. An interesting thing I noticed was that some of the fossils had distinct parallel engravings on them. It looked a bit similar to the damage I have caused using vinegar on limestone fossils in the past. I wonder if acid rain was the cause for these markings. Anyways, here are some pictures. Overview of the better finds: A). Irregular Echinoids Heteraster texanus B). Regular Echinoids. All Loriolia? C). Misc: Metengonoceras? ammonite on top. Below from left to right is a Porocystis globularis algal fruiting body, Neithea texana scallop, and Ceratostreon texanum oyster D). Gastropods. Back row: Anchura. Front row (L to R): Nerinea? (From Bull Creek Fm), Unknown, and Natica I will definitely be back in the future and might check out some of the other cuts nearby. Thanks for reading!

I found this bivalve yesterday while fossil hunting North Central Cooke County near Red River. These area has mixed Walnut Clay, Goodland and Antlers Sand formations. Closest similar one I found on the Internet was Gyrostrea from Commanche Peak formation in Hood county, but I doubt it.

Hey all, poked around on the ranch after a hard rain here in Parker county and found a few things ... no idea what they are (other than the obvious petrified wood) but sharing a few pics in case anyone wants to weigh in

A friend of mine found this recently in the area of Belton, Texas in the undivided early Cretaceous. He sent me the pic and asked if I knew what kind of crystal it was. I didn’t know so I asked him if I could post it here for him. I’m not so curious about the fossil clam as the type of crystal it is. If you need more pics it may take a while, because I think he is out of town for a while. @ynot It does not look like calcite really, but I suppose it could be. It just looks harder than that. I forgot to ask him to do a hardness scratch test. Let me know if you have any ideas. Kim

I surprised my wife for our 30th anniversary with a trip to the Choctaw Grand Theater in Durant, Ok over the weekend. And, I convinced her (after studying my geologic maps of the area ) that cutting down through Gainesville and Decatur to Weatherford and then back home to Abilene would be a shortcut. I located a couple of likely road cuts and asked if she minded if I stopped for a look. So, she said, well, you made my weekend, so, sure! You can stop at a road cut or two. The couple I found were in the Goodland/Walnut Clay most likely, or possibly in the Kiamichi. Found these irregular urchins on my stops. Not in the best shape, but I'm happy with them. Looks like they are Pliotoxaster whitei and H.mexicanus, but, I'm sure open to opinions.

.are they burrows or something else? Maybe coral? Found in Walnut Clay formation of Comanche Peak, Hood County, TX...about 1.5 inches long Found this in matrix and need help identifying.....found in Walnut Clay formation of Comanche Peak in Hood County....rings are approximately 3/8 of an inch long and are not connected. Lots of gastropods, urchins, and ammonites in the immediate area. At first I thought this was a gastropod, but the "ribs" are not connected at all. Thanks in advance for your help.

As I'm waiting for photos to process I thought I would start this topic. If there is one formation that Gary and I are starting to get a handle on it's the Walnut Clay. We've hunted it together at several sites in Callahan County, several more in Taylor County, more still in that strange conglomerate of counties around Glen Rose. We've explored it separately in the area between Goldthwaite and Lampasas, and Erose showed me a site in Travis County. We've both developed some experience spotting the formation from the road, or from a quick inspection stop. And we've both garnered some experience spotting it by comparing geological maps with Google Earth imagery. Gary has gotten much better at the last than I have. And now I need to thank Dan Woehr. His Site Prospecting 101 and 102 inspired both Gary and me. But Gary is mastering the art of closing the deal. I would consider Gary more of an introvert than I am. He's our IT guy, and would rather spend his time in front of a computer than dealing with people. I entertain and educate sixth graders 178 days a year, and regularly do workshops and presentations for as many as 100 fellow educators. But Gary has learned not just how to spot the potential site on the map, but to make phone calls, email, knock on doors, and shake hands. And he is getting us access to some great sites. , He did it again this week. We were planning on heading to Jacksboro this morning, but on Friday Gary called me and told me about a very promising Walnut Clay site in Callahan County. We left at 6 am, arrived at the nearest town about 45 minutes later, had a cup of joe in the parking lot of a convenience store, and called the landowner. By the time we arrived at the site 15 minutes later the gate was unlocked. I like any and all fossil hunting sites. Unlike Gary, I even like the ones that don't really produce much. But I really like sites that lie beyond fences and locked gates. Especially when they do produce. This site produced. I've never seen a broader, more proliferant, and well-preserved example of the Walnut Clay faunal assemblage. We found an amazing number of fossils, at three different horizons in the same formation. If you spit, your spit hit one or more fossils. In my case more than one since I'm part of the gang that can't spit straight. I'm not trying to tease you--I really am waiting on photos to process. Heck no--I'm leading you on. I wanted at one time to be the Next Great American Novelist. Never happened and never will. But I can write a cliffhanger.

Gary obtained permission for us to hunt a massive exposure of the Walnut Clay. The site was a huge aggregate quarry that was in operation for more than 60 years. From the gate--Buzzard Peak has an elevation of 2400 feet. I'm standing at about 2000 feet of elevation. Base camp--can you spot Gary? Your intrepid correspondent and his fearless partner. Massive outcrops and piles everywhere. Buzzard Peak is an apt name. Three peaks give evidence of long-ago volcanic activity. Miles and miles and miles of Texas. Edwards limestone with karstic features. Wildflowers. Some mysteries--probably from the Edwards cap. Ammonites and straight-line cephalopods?