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Dear TFF, This year I have visited Oman, which is a nice and super hot country, with spectacular mountains and wadis. The first place that will be of interest to this forum was the Bimmah Sink Hole, which is said to have the underground connection via caves with the nearby sea. There are hundreds of wadis all over the country – and in the part of the country we visited, they are basically the only places with some greenery, as otherwise the country looks like this: or like this: The first place where one can spot fossils was the Al Hajar Mountains range and more precisely the Jebel Akhdar (the Green Mountain). It’s covered with huge stones with fossilised corals: The next beautiful place was Jebel Shams, which is also called the Grand Canyon of Oman: We first browsed the rocks close to our camp on the top of the mountain and one can find some fossilised rudists there. The next day we went to the bottom of the canyon – Of course you can drive the car only up to a certain point – and afterwards you need to walk. On the way we spotted several huge stones with fossils, and a few small ones, already very smooth because of the water. In one of the villages we came across a few stalls where locals were selling fossils – The next day we were supposed to visit the Al Hoota cave – I booked tickets online yet in July. As we were a bit ahead of schedule, our local guide called the cave to find out, if we can come a bit earlier than the booked time – and (surprise, surprise) he was told that the cave is closed for the reason of heavy rains in August. No one from the cave has bothered to mail me or text me with this info or to refund the cost of tickets to my account for more than a month – and it turned out the company operating the cave cannot transfer the money back to a foreign account – so we needed to go there anyway to get the refund in cash. There is always a silver lining – a cave has little geological museum before the entrance, so while they were processing the refund, I went to see it. Here are the specimens on display: Further on we went to Wadi Bani Awf, where we stopped on the road to help a Spanish couple park their sedan somewhere safe (they ventured on this type of road with a small FWD Suzuki sedan and when they realised it’s completely out of question that they could continue, they tried to go back, but got stuck) and to call the police to come and tow them out in the meantime I browsed the rocks on the side of the road - and they were full of such stuff - whatever this may be: The wadi is beautiful You can see the road we took and it’s the place where the famous Snake Canyon is Its name comes from its shape We had some fun on the bottom of the wadi – and gave our car a little wash a few times The last wadi we visited was Al-Khod with Eocene and (I think Miocene) rocks, full of nummulites and foraminiferas. I hope you enjoyed the report

I decided to take a trip to an Ozan spot after some rain a couple weeks ago. The gravel finds were sparse, but I fortunately remembered to bring some of my trusty excavating tools with me from Dallas to Austin. After the trek to the main exposure at this site, I got to scouring the shaly creek bed. In previous trips, I usually didn't spend much time doing this as I had limited tools for digging. With some newly acquired technology by my side, I encountered a facet of this location I hadn't experienced before. A lot of the fossils that preserve in this formation are too fragile to survive once exposed to the elements. I was surprised to see the wide array of species I had been missing out on in the past. Some things were easy to recognize. I came across a chunk of matrix filled with fragments of heart urchins. Not much of it was worth keeping even after I poked and pried my way through it. In the end, I only decided to keep what I think is a long urchin spine (B) with some echinoid bits on the underside. I also found some crustacean parts for the first time in the Ozan (C). I believe I managed to find the scattered remains of what once was a decently sized crab. It's extremely fragile and there appear to be limbs scattered every which way. I got to this ID by spotting a couple of spiny shelled projections poking out at various points. Later cleaning revealed some more. The thing is so destroyed, however, I might give up on it. I also came across what looks like a piece of a crab claw. My most enigmatic find was something I almost overlooked completely. Here and there throughout the exposure were these broad, dark patches of shale (A). I assumed they were flat, but when I accidentally kicked one, a section popped right out of the matrix and revealed its 3D nature. After working out the others parts by it, I noticed that these things had some regularity to them and perhaps were the remnants of an animal or plant or whatever. On both sides of the specimens, there appears to be a darkened indention running down the midline. I also noticed curved lines running across the pieces in a pattern reminding me of the banding found on the shells of baculites. The cross section of these finds appear to just be shale and do not present much information. The pieces start off wide and gradually thin themselves towards one side before ending in a point. I wish I took pictures of them in situ, but I unfortunately only have pics from my room. One specimen had pyritic inclusions which are typical for fossils from this exposure (I've seen pyrite in bones, crustaceans, urchins, oysters, etc.). When I look at them, I start thinking of cephalopods, but that's a big jump. They could be some sort of trace fossil, but that doesn't quite feel right. I don't know if any Ozan experts on here will recognize these, but I am really curious to try and pin down some ID if there is one to be found. To round off the trip, I also came across a horn-shaped coral (D) that I suppose washed down from the Austin Chalk up stream. Some more typical finds (E) were also to be had. It was nice to get back out and enjoy the cool waters of an Austin creek. I won't be sticking around long, however, as I am about to make a couple of trips across Texas for school interview stuff in the near future, so look forward to future posts outside of my usual grounds. Picture: A). Main Enigmatic Finds. This is the bigger piece. It continued under the shale below the unstable wall of the creek. Decided it was dangerous to dig to the end of it. Second piece I brought back. Much smaller, has pyrite, and still partially in the matrix B). Urchin Spine? C). Crustaceans. The top shows the pyritic scattered one. The bottom shows the claw. D). Coral I think washed from the Austin Chalk. E). Typical finds (Goblin Shark teeth on the left and enchodus tooth on the right. Small mosasaur vert on the bottom I think from the Austin Chalk) Thanks for reading!

I found this vertebra in the Late Cretaceous Prairie Bluff Chalk of Mississippi. I am fairly sure that it is a batoid vertebra but the form does not match the typical batoid vertebra that I am used to finding so I was hoping to get some confirmation. I am not used to what looks like the beginning of a process on the top of the vertebra. I am more used to seeing the type of batoid vertebra on the left. This one is just different enough to warrant caution before ascribing an identification.

Parasaurolophus is one of the most recognizable and iconic dinosaurs. Who doesn't love the crested Hadrosaur? I've lurked this site for many years, and I've never seen any Parasaurolophus material in anyone's collections. I've also never seen any Parasaurolophus material for sale. Not to overgeneralize, but when it comes to North American dinosaur material, Hadrosaurid material tends to be some of the most common and attainable (especially stuff from Hell Creek). Thus, it has always confused me as to why Parasaurolophus seems to be extremely rare and virtually unnatainable in comparison. Does anyone know why this is the case? It's a dinosaur that I'd love to have represented in my collection some day, so that's why I figured I'd start this topic to see if anyone can give some insight!

Hi! I bought this piece a few months ago and just wanted to make sure it is what they tell me it is. Apparently it's a Triceratops horridus vertebra pedicle from the Hell Creek Formation of Dawson County, Montana.

Hi, I’ve recently been searching through some sifted gravel from a creek. I’ve been looking for microfossils, which I’ve had plenty of luck finding. All sorts of marine Cretaceous invertebrate micros are abundant in the creek gravel, as well as the occasional micro shark/fish tooth, scale, and bone fragment. I encountered a tooth that stood out from anything I’ve found so far. It has a conical shape, and is recurved. Something about this tooth seems very reptile-like. Almost looks like a tiny version of a crocodile or mosasaur tooth. The tooth measures 1 millimeter in length. I tried searching the internet for something similar, and have been unable to find something like this. The closest thing that I found was teeth from a jaw of a Coniasaurus that was found in North Texas. Here is the tooth that I found. It’s 1 millimeter from base to tip. The creek is located in Central Texas close to Austin, and passes through sediments spanning the whole Cretaceous geological column of Texas. From the Glen Rose Limestone to the Navarro Group. (~110-66 myrs). What do y’all think of this little tooth. Could it be from a small reptile like Coniasaurus and other dolichosaurs?

Fisherman Snags 90-Million-Year-Old Fossil in the Missouri River Andy Moore found the prehistoric predator fish fossil while competing in a fishing tournament By Sage Marshall, Field and Stream, August 24, 2022 Nebraska Fisherman Hooks 90-Million-Year-Old Fossil During Fishing Tournament: 'Catch of a Lifetime'. Andy Moore first thought the fossil was a "big catfish skeleton or a deer skeleton" By Jason Duaine Hahn, PeopleCom, August 25, 2022 Omaha fisherman snags 90 million-year-old fossil Jenna Ebbers, Omaha World Herald, Aug 30, 2022 Yours, Paul H.

Hi everyone! I acquired this Vertebra a few months ago. It's from the Hell Creek of Powder River County, Montana. The seller listed it as Theropod and I was hoping to make sure. It measures 3 cm long, 2.6 cm tall, and 3.2/3.5 cm wide on the centrums. So what do you all think? Any feedback is greatly appreciated as always!

Well it’s a long time coming but I finally received the cast of my Mosasaur skull from 2013. SMU did great work with this. It was donated to the Shuler Museum and today is the first time I’ve seen it put together. It’s a good day is this eligible for Fossil of the Month?

Picked this up in Eagle Ford formation, don't know what to make of it, maybe algea, bacteria, mineral?

Hi everyone! I recently acquired some little Therapod teeth from the Hell Creek of Carter County, Montana. They were advertised as "Dromaeosaurus" so I knew right away most were going to be little Nanos which I was fine with. I screened out the ones that were definite Nanos and was left with these three little mysteries. No ridge along the crown so Acheroraptor is out. the serration densities were a little unusual so I figured I post them to see if any might be Dakotaraptor or if I'm just seeing things. I posted a larger pic of the lingual twist of tooth one right under it since couldn't get it to show up well otherwise. So what do you all think? I can retake photos if need be if it will help as well. Any insight is appreciated as always! Tooth 1 Tooth 2: Tooth 3:

With time running out before the start of the school year, I decided to spread my attention across three DFW formations to get a little taste of what each has to offer. Instead of shooting out a handful of smaller topics, I've decided to combine my trips into a single larger post. I wouldn't say any individual find is a jaw-dropper or museum-worthy, but they, all together, give a nice glimpse into what each formation can yield. In order from oldest to youngest: Goodland This adventure took place in Oliver Creek with the Dallas Paleo Society. It's a regular spot for the group on private property. The site is well known for its plethora of echinoids and highly sought after Oxytropidoceras (still working on the pronunciation) ammonites. A huge crowd of hunters arrived in Justin for the meet-up. I was worried it would be too crowded for the creek, but there was plenty of elbowroom and something for everyone. I'd say about half of the people spent the morning scouring the gravel beds whereas the others got to hammering away in the limestone ledges. Once my brother and I found the good layer, we were nonstop working out urchins and ammonites. The echinoids (A) were literally everywhere and preserved in great condition. We came out with a baggie full of them, but left many more behind. It was pretty easy to find ammonite fragments too. However, finding a complete ammonite with at least a little structural integrity was a tougher challenge. Luckily, fortune was on our side and we came away with four decent Oxytropidoceras's (B). The two pictured below are the largest and prettiest ones. Prepping them will be a challenge though. They are too fragile for the hammer and chisel, but a little too tough for my new dental pick (I bent it a bit already ). Along with these, we also got a neat selection of gastropods and bivalves (C). The Society continued on to a second location, but we decided to call it a day early since my brother was a bit tired of the heat and rock dust. A). Several Holaster whitei from the Goodland Limestone. The ones straight from the ground have amazing preservation. One urchin is covered in oysters (Plicatula?). A coating of b72 gave them a nice sheen. B.1). An Oxytropidoceras ammonite. B.2). The best Oxytropidoceras of the bunch. Its got an interesting feature that I am curious about. There seem to be some fragments of the original shell still attached in a couple of locations. These "shell fragments" have reddish orange splotches on a white base and have a distinct texture to them (I'm not sure if porous is the right word). I wonder if the red coloration is just staining or if they could be indicative of the shells original coloration. When I first noticed them I immediately thought of the red striped shells of modern nautiluses... but I am probably getting ahead of myself . C). An assortment of bivalves and Tylostoma snail. The two smallest clams appear to be Protocardia texana while the scallop is, I assume, Neithea. The largest clam is smooth and difficult for me to ID. Denton Clay Took a trip to a construction site. Didn't find anything and then got my leg cut on a rusty post. Got a tetanus booster and no lockjaw thankfully. 0/10 would not come back! Pawpaw I've been poking around a couple of construction sites located on the Pawpaw formation west of Ft. Worth. They've both been decently productive, though I wish I could've had more time to really look through them thoroughly. It's a really interesting layer with some notable dinosaur finds and shares some visual similarities with the Woodbine in my opinion. The sites I went to cut through I variety of levels in the Earth. I think they are all still within the Pawpaw, but I am honestly not sure. In a more elevated cut, I found the specimens shown in (A). I was super excited when I pulled my first Coenholectypus only to realize that it was very poorly preserved and covered in lots of matrix. I tried some vinegar on it which cleaned it a bit, but the way it's shattered and degraded on the other side makes me think this is as far as I'll go with it. In a lower layer, I found some really interesting fragments of purple ammonites and a bivalve (B). I tried hard to find something complete, but the best I could come away with was the tiny purple heteromorph I added additional pics of. I think the sites needs some rain as many of the fossils were covered in dust and hard to spot. Definitely places I will check out again when I'm back home. Lastly, I decided to include an updated pic of the micro Engonoceras that is seen in my pfp (C). I only just recently acquired paraloid b72 and have been enjoying it immensely. After applying some to my micro ammonite, it has obtained that beautiful "wet" look that really brings out its color and details. I've got some older pyrite ammonite encased in paraffin wax that I may try replacing with b72. I have a feeling they will look much better. A). Bivalve and damaged Coenholectypus urchin. B). Purple fragments of typical ammonites, heteromorphs, and a bivalve. A complete ammonite of this nature still eludes me despite my efforts. C). My Engonoceras with a fresh coat of b72. Eagle Ford Despite the fact that I've been actively fossil hunting for about a year, my experience with the Eagle Ford is focused mostly on only a couple of brief visits to Post Oak Creek. I decided that now was a good time to finally jump in and try to figure this famous formation out. I hit up a few spots at a local creek with huge exposures of bluish shale. Despite the urban sprawl immediately surrounding the area, the tranquility of the creek made me feel like I was out alone deep in the wilderness. There was plenty of foliage and animals to populate it. Something about the place made me wonder if I had somehow traveled back in time. I was quick to get to work, scanning the shale and splitting open some slabs. The matrix was loaded with tons of fragile fish parts. Every slab contained a smattering of scales (I think) and other miscellaneous fish parts. Most of the small things were so delicate they would poof away when exposed to the air. The bigger things were a bit stronger and I was thankfully able to stabilize them before they were mostly destroyed. Early on, I got lucky with a beautiful little Enchodus jaw (A). I believe it's a piece of the lower one. To go with it I always came across a couple of jaw sections with larger fangs (B). Unfortunately, the tips of them immediately popped off and disappeared into the ether before I could preserve them. One slab surprised me with a broken shark tooth that I assume is Cretoxyrhina mantelli (C). It was the only shark tooth I came across that day, but it gives me hope for future expeditions. Of the thousands of fish scales I found, I decided to try and preserve a larger one (D). These guys were very fragile so I'm happy he made it out mostly in one piece. Once again, a slab surprised me... this time with a tiny ammonite, something I don't usually associate with the Eagle Ford (E). And to round off the day, I noticed some protrusions jutting out of the shaly bank. When removing them, I noticed they were rounded orbs containing a concentration of fish parts. I assume that these are coprolites. I don't know much about these sorts of ichnofossils so please inform me if I'm wrong. If they are coprolites, are they from a fish or a reptile and how can you tell? A). Lower Enchodus jaw? B). Some Enchodus fangs and jaws. Tips broke off when revealed. These guys are both consolidated in b72 and were originally in multiple pieces. Reattaching the fangs was some tedious work. C). Cretoxyrhina mantelli? D). Fish scale preserved in b72. E). A tiny ammonite in the shale F). A crappy ending with some suspected coprolites. In Conclusion I had a nice summer break with plenty of time spent exploring the world of fossils surrounding where I grew up. It was a lot to take in, but I truly learned a great deal about the oceans that once swept over North Texas. The diversity of marine creatures is astonishing and it impresses me every time I split open that next slab of shale. With the school year starting up again, I am moving back to Austin. It's been a hot second since I've traveled to my usual Ozan spots and I am excited to get back into business. I'll take the sudden burst of rain today as a sign of good things to come. I can't help but think of all the freshly revealed marine fauna that have finally gotten the chance to take their first gulp of water in roughly 80 million years.

Hey there everyone! I haven't been on in some time but I've just started unpacking my stuff from a move and I came across this fossil that I found in the fall of last year. I found it in an eroding gravel cliff that I frequently find Coleraine formation deposits in. This fossil is one of the handful that I haven't been able to identify. Whatever it is, it's one of the larger fossil/casts that I've found. Any help would be appreciated!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/huge-dinosaur-tracks-uncovered-river-184956425.html

In the summer of 2020 jpc and I had planned to get together in Eastern Wyoming to collect. That trip was unfortunately aborted by the coronavirus outbreak that year. This year, that conversation resumed and a new plan for a three day excursion in June emerged. I decided to make it a two week long car trip, driving all the way from New York, a longer car trip than any I've made in the past 25 years. That would afford me the opportunity to stop at some other sites on the way there and back, plus see some family. Another big reason for driving was an opportunity to visit and collect at the Big Cedar Ridge Cretaceous plant site. Having the car would afford me the opportunity to bring the necessary tools and be able to transport the fragile specimens safely. The rising price of gasoline certainly had an impact, and my plan was to cut costs as much as possible wherever I could. Part of that plan was camping 10 nights I departed the suburbs of New York City on Saturday, June 11th. That evening I arrived at Sturgis, MI, just off interstate 80. Spent the night in a motel and headed off the next day, driving through the heart of Chicago enshrouded in mist. It was my very first time driving through that city. I headed north and in the middle of the day arrived at my cousin's place in Madison, WI. He had moved there from Manhattan five years ago to teach music at the University of Wisconsin. This was my first time visiting him there, my first time in Wisconsin, actually. He took me on a lovely tour of the school and the town. I spent the night and was on my way again just before noon the next day. It rained off and on as I drove through Western Wisconsin and crossed the Mississippi into Dubuque, Iowa. From there it was a short drive to my first fossil stop- at Graf. This Upper Ordovician site in Maquoketa Formation is famous for its nautiloid death assemblage. I have found quite a few nautiloids over the course of my collecting career, but I've never encountered a site where they are thoroughly dominant. There was a layer of limestone, a few feet thick that was in many places just packed with their shells.

I had heard that C and D canal site had new dumps. I had heard that the C and D site was going to be covered over, I had heard that it was removed/recycled. I went out last week to look. There are fewer dunes, and evidence of tractors and trucks, however there is still plenty of unchanged of material. It remains a harvest of belemnites and very little else.

Hello, I came across this listing for a Australiceras/Proaustraliceras ammonite from the Cretaceous Volga River of Russia, about 12 inches long. In terms of restoration, it is just said to be "cleaned, prepped and stabilized". To my amateur eye, there are no suspicious spots or abrupt changes in texture that would indicate reconstruction/restoration or compositing, and I think the matrix also looks typical of the region. What do you think? Any tampering going on or is it all-natural? Thanks. EDIT: I actually noticed there is some change in texture in this part. Not sure if it's shell loss or possible reconstruction, I might ask for more photos

Hi everyone! I have just returned from a fieldschool to Poland which was organized by the BVP (Belgium Society for Paleontology) in association with the Universities of Opole and Gdansk. The fieldschool started on the 9th july and ended on july 17. The first 2-3 days of the trip took place in the historic city of Gdansk which lies by the Baltic Sea where the main focus was on Baltic Amber. This included lectures, workshops, a small museum tour and some trips to the beach in search for amber. For the 2nd part of the trip we travelled to the south towards Opole and more specifically the Jurapark and digsite in Krasiejow where we had multiple lectures, workshops, and fieldwork in both Krasiejow and other quarries in the area. So in this topic I wanted to make a day by day report on this amazing trip and experience. Since we travelled by car I only returned yesterday evening so most of the finds still have to be photographed/prepped so expect them somewhere at the end of this topic (which might also take a few days to complete.)

Hey forum! I had fossil fever sooo bad since I was away in Iceland. First place I wanted to hit up was my favorite place for baby shark teeth- Post Oak up in Sherman! A lot of people swear its over picked but it still remains a favorite & fruitful place of mine close by. Anyways, a LOT has changed since Ive been gone it looks like! I decided to stop by 2 of my favorite spots in POC with a bucket of gravel to take home. The rain is coming in and we now have an areal flood advisory/watch ( I told you guys I both took and brought the rain back with me! ) so I just got my “goodie bag bucket” to sift through at home from my honey spot, for fun I went to the S Travis bridge near the body shop and saw that it was torn apart with traffic cones! Luckily you can still go down there from that bridge on weekends. There was a gentleman there who I saw back in november who was informing me that they plan to add a public parking lot since the creek is so popular! If anyone knows when it will be done feel free to chime in with a date. I wanted to share with the forum in case anyone has plans to come out to Post Oak- I still recommend it as I find a bunch of stuff every time I come out here. Luckily it’s not muddy like Ladonia’s park construction. Post Oak is lots and lots of cretaceous lopha oyster shells+ gravel. ***I will baby shark teeth pics later! I also found a weird fossil bone. Bonus: When we were going home we had to stop by Carl Jr’s (aka Hardees for northerners!) and I saw Jurassic Park vehicles parked outside! So uncanny! Maybe because the restaurant franchise is doing JW3 movie toys in their kid meal promotion. One of the vehicles had an antique auto license plate! Both Texas plates. I know how we giggle at the inaccuracies of Jurassic Park but for someone who grew up with Jurassic Park it was fun to see after a fossil day! I got a kid meal.

I found two partial (and of course cracked) ammonite casts last week off Boat Club Rd. They'll look good in the rock garden. I normally don't collect these much anymore since they are ubiquitous here in western Tarrant County. They are common in the upper 20 feet or so of the "Goodland Limestone Formation".

I have been fossil hunting in the Monmouth County, NJ area for quite a few trips now, and I have accumulated a good amount of fossils I haven’t been able to ID. Here are some of them: Note: feel free to ask for more angles; I didn’t want to post too many images. 1 inch for scale Found in Ramanessin - no idea what it is Found in both brooks - 5 in middle look to be same species; I believe far-right is pycnodont or hadrodus Left - found in Ramanessin; think its coral Right - found in Big Brook; thought it was coral when I found it but I’m now leaning toward coprolite Both from Ramanessin; Left seems to be an imprint from some sort of spine; My father thinks the one on the right is some sort of crinoid Both found in Big Brook; Possible reptile teeth; maybe mosasaur or croc, though they are very small Found in both brooks; left seems to be a possible Pachyrhizodus; all have distinct carinae Found in Ramanessin - potential hadrosaurus tooth fragment Thanks in advance for your help!