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Fair warning on this post; it is not intended to have great pictures or exact identifications for the fossils that you are about to see. Rather it is the lengthy process that I go through when I search through matrix that I receive from Doren @caldigger and more importantly the great number of fossils that I find. Lastly, this post will not be completed today and will take a while since the process is still on going. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do while searching this stuff. Doren knows that I do like searching through micro matrix, but I absolutely love searching through the Mid-Miocene / Temblor Formation / Round Mountain Silt Member bone bed material that he collects from Bakersfield, California. For the past couple of years he has sent me material to search in the Winter since it is too cold to crack open Mazon Creek concretions outside. Nothing makes my Winter than getting a package from him and knowing that I will be occupied 1-2 hours a night for several weeks. Thanks again, Doren. What makes this material different than the majority of matrix that I have searched is that it comes directly from a bone bed and teeth, bones, etc. become fossils over time. I also want to thank @MarcoSr for his post on the ID’s for fossils from that area. Once again, I am not stating that everything is correct with my identifications and I can guarantee that I am missing a number of species, but that is not the purpose of this post. With that said, let’s move on. I received these these 2 bags of matrix that fit perfectly inside a small USPS Priority box on or around 2-13-20. Once I open these packages I pour them into 4 sifters (I do not use the 1/2" sifter) that are set on top of a 5 gallon bucket. The sifters that I use for this process are in the following sizes: 1/4" (.250") 1/8" (.125") 1/12" (.083") 1/20" (.050") Once I pour the matrix into the top (largest) sifter, I shake it around so the pieces are somewhat organized by size. The below pictures shows how the matrix looks from 3 of the sifters. I then begin my search, starting with the largest tray. This is the easiest tray to search, since not many fossils are found in it. I search through each tray using this Luxo brand magnifying light and a pair of tweezers. Searching the first 3 trays is not too hard, but searching the 4th tray takes a very long time since the fossils are so small, but the numbers in tray 3 and 4 are huge. After I search each tray for the fossils, I organize them by species, with the exception of most shark teeth, I organize those by broken and complete or near complete. I then place each fossil in a compartment type tray by species. Now let's move on to what I found in the first 2 trays. TRAY 1- Myliobatis (Total found 3) Complete or near complete shark teeth- (Total number found 18) Broken shark teeth (Total number found 6) TRAY 2- Squalus- (Total number found 56) Squatina- (Total number found 59) Misc Shark teeth- (Total number found 62) Misc. broken Shark teeth- (Total number found 90) Myliobatis- (Total number found 74) Myliobatis- (Total number found 22) Dasyatis- (Total number found 37) Dermal Skutes- (Total number found 9) Verts- (Total number found 11) Heterodontus or Triakis or something else?- (Total number found 2) My favorite teeth to find Cetorhinus- (Total number found 10) Heterodontus- (Total number found 1) The last thing that I found in Tray 2 was the below pictured piece, I found several broken, but only 1 that looked complete. Doren told me what he thought it was, but I forget. This is the first year that I have come across these in the matrix. After I am finished with a search of the unwashed matrix that comes from each tray, it is time for the soaking and rinsing. I place the matrix into a large plastic bottle and I fill it with very hot water and then agitate it around for several minutes. I then strain it with a small strainer and rinse it out. When I finish this, I place the matrix back into the bottle and again fill it with hot water, agitate it and let it sit for a couple of days before I do that process all over again. When I am satisfied that the matrix is very clean, I place the different sizes onto trays so it can dry thoroughly. Below are pics from tray 2 and tray 3. This matrix has not been searched again, since I am still searching the unwashed matrix from tray 4, the smallest stuff. If my cleaning was done correctly , I will be pulling a lot of fossils out of this stuff once I re-search it. TRAY 2 TRAY 3 Later today I will try to post pictures and the number of fossils found in Tray 3. There are some big numbers coming, and then I have to finish searching tray 4 and start the process over again, so check back.

I am always looking for quality books on fossil identification. I'd like to go to Shark Tooth Hill in the next few years. I have books on North Carolina, Florida, and Maryland and Virginia Miocene fossils but I don't have anything about Bakersfield, California. Are there books about Shark Tooth Hill?