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Showing results for tags 'astoria formation'.
Found 14 results
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Edit* Title changed to say shark skeletal elements ( previously said bones). This is an interesting topic that was brought up by my mentor and vertebrate paleontology professor during a lecture about a year ago. He mentioned that for some reason there seems to be a higher occurrence of shark bones and relative scarcity of teeth in the Astoria formation. That is the verbage he used. I am willing to bet this is some kind of collection bias where people just aren't recognizing the teeth as often as skeletal elements for some reason. I haven't been able to find information on Google scholar or really anywhere else that has provided information on depositional environments that would favor the preservation of shark skeletal elements over teeth, especially where there are plentiful well preserved invertebrate shells. Most of the fossils are locked in concretions or embedded in concrete-hard sandstone. There is intermittent softer sandstone and siltstone, but seems like most of the vertebrate and invertebrate fossils occur in the harder layers. This is something that has interested me as a research topic, but I haven't been able to make it out in awhile to do any collecting of my own. It would be interesting to set up a transect say from Newport to Lincoln City, take a group out and just collect fossils over a period of time across the transect to get an idea of fossil type, frequency, etc. And see if there really is something lending itself to a higher frequency of shark skeletal elements. On a side note it does seem like there is an usually high occurrence of young vertebrates such as pinnipeds and whales in the sections of the formation I've collected. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the matter as well as any additional insights you may be able to provide. What do you think?- 11 replies
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Found in a tidal creek. Somewhat ashamed to admit this is the first vertebrate material I've found since doing the Green River Formation in 2017. My experience has been that vertebrate material here in the PNW just doesn't want to be found . I'm guessing the little one is fish and the larger one is mammalian?
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Hi all. I was was hoping to get help with this one from the community. It was found in-stream near an outcropping of Pittsburg Bluff in Clatsop County, Oregon, and downstream of some Astoria Formation, both marine sediments. I have found mollusks and arthropods in the same collecting area, usually in very hard concretions. To my knowledge no marine vertebrate fossils have been found within the Pittsburg Bluff Group so if it is vertebrate I'm thinking it came down from the Astoria Formation southwest of the area. It looks and feels like bone, and is extremely porous (tongue sticks). Or it may just be a pseudofossil. Either way, thank you for the help.
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We found this in southern Oregon. Our first idea was that it was just an interesting, normal beach rock. Looking more closely at it, it appears to be bony. We’re wondering if it might be a vertebra, and if so from what type of animal? It’s approximately 3” x 4” x 1.5” (images show cm ). Also, we’d gladly take recommendations on reference resources we can use to help us narrow down IDs on our own. (But we definitely appreciate the input!) Thanks
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Recently got back from a trip out to the Oregon coast. It wasn't with the expressed purpose of fossil hunting, but I was in the area, so I spent a couple of hours at Beverly Beach breaking some loose rocks (digging into the Astoria Formation itself is strictly prohibited). A large Pecten with my hand for scale. Too big to keep. A couple of Anadara. A miniscule but well-preserved naticidae, or moon snail. A Katherinella, which I still have to remove from the matrix. My personal favorite, a Macoma with a nice golden luster, all mounted up. M I was hoping to find a cetacean vert, but I was only there for a few hours, so I didn't put the time in that it would likely require to find such a thing. I was stoked to find such stellar bivalves, but I wanted to come home with something other than just clams. A shop in Lincoln City afforded me that opportunity, and after dropping $30, I got my hands on a nice Dichocrinus from Carboniferous Iowa. In Lincoln I also found a dead Pacific mole crab, Emerita analoga, which I think makes a great wet specimen.
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Hi, Was down beachcombing Oregon after the recent storms and stopped at Moolack to look for fossils. I'm generally familiar with the bivalves and other invertebrate fossils that are present. However this particular specimen has me scratching my head. It appears to be in the same hard mudstone that most of the invertebrate fossils are in, however there are many grey look-alike rocks on the beach and this one has obviously been tumbled for a while with the other beach cobbles. It is about 4 inches (long axis), and 2x2 inches (short axis, on end). I've seen toredo wood, which the center 'tubules' remind me of, however the toredo wood I've seen is usually a very dark grey, not the light grey. Some of the pits on the side remind me of the partial pits made by the piddock clams in the harder mud. It also vaguely resembles internal bone structure from whale bone and various slabs of "gem bone". Any thoughts as to what this might be? Thank you! -J
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Spent the day in Washington's Astoria Formation. I was looking for anything avian related, but anything, especially pinniped or cetacean would be just fine. Found a few shark teeth, nowhere near as plentiful as the Carolinas and some whale bones (ribs and a vertebrae). If I'm hunting, I'm happy.
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After 55 years of collecting, hunting, making friends, researching, listening to those with experience and hiking thousands of miles, I am nearing the pinnacle of my endeavor. The restrictions in Washington state concerning fossil collecting is strict and many of my old sites are closed. There's ways around those restrictions and they're legal, but it's a thin line to walk, literally. I believe those restrictions forced me to a new approach that has become very rewarding. Plus, I've started donating my collections, it's gratifying. Besides, I can't take 'em with me. Here's another isopod and I'll add more pictures of Wednesday's hunt.
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Dear Friends! My apologies for staying away for many years. Things change, life evolves. Quick update: yes, I'm still alive, built a new house, nearly gave up on fossil hunts because of the restrictions. But! you can't keep someone's passion, especially fossil folks (we're stubborn like that) under lock and key forever. Met several new friends, started taking longer hikes deeper into the field, hills and canyons. Studied and researched the geology of my region and drank lots of coffee. With the help of some friends, I started understanding the history better. The results have been rewarding. I found a new fossil that's being described as we speak and when published, will share with you. Here's my latest find, unprepped, an isopod. Only took 32 years to find one! I will try to make more posts as new things come about. Fossil on!
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Hello! I am new to the forum, and this is my first time posting. Today I was at Moolack Beach on the Oregon Coast (part of the Astoria formation, I think), and I found something I hadn’t seen before. I found it in the surf. Attached are multiple photographs. Please forgive the zoom/occasional blurriness. The fossil seems to be about 10cm (~4in) long, and 5.5cm (~2in) wide at the wider end. Thank you for checking it out!
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This Gastropod does not seem to be in Ellen Moore's book and there seems to be different opinions as to what it might be. Is there anyone who can tell me exactly what this is and show me a picture of the specimen they refer to? Miocene Astoria Formation Oregon
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Astoria Formation Fossils From Oregon Coast
RainBoKatchr posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
I have been an avid collector of Astoria Formation fossils from the Oregon coast for a number of years, and plan on putting up a web page that shows every known invertebrate species from the Newportian stage of the Astoria formation (plus as many vertebrate and plant species as possible). In my collection I am still short by a dozen or so invertebrate species out of the nearly-100 described in the literature, although I have also found a dozen or so that AREN'T in the literature, and plan on describing and naming them if they are indeed "new" species. So I was wondering if there were any fellow collectors that have unusual stuff that they could share photos of. One of my recent finds was a conifer cone (shown below), although I don't know what genus and species it belongs to (does anybody know?).
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A rare, deep water, extinct volute that is up to 8 inches.
