Search the Community

Another hundred or so prestine hemiaster and heteraster echinoids, some foldy and rough shape oxytropidoceras of various sizes, and my first complete engonoceras ammonite. I almost forgot the hamite. I like the cylindrical shapes of the gastropods, too. Not bad for 1.5 hours on a cold day. South Tarrant County, Texas.

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.

This last Sunday, I decided to dedicate the afternoon to scoping out a couple of prospective Woodbine sites and eventually make a return to my Pawpaw/Mainstreet spot from my most recent post. Unfortunately, the two Woodbine sites were complete duds. I left the high ninety degree weather with nothing but a tan. Thankfully, I saved the best site for last, so I was hopeful that my luck could still turn around before the sun left the sky. Things started off not being so productive. It was just rock after rock with the occasional concretion stealing away my attention. I was directing most of my focus to the smaller side of things as I was looking to find a complete specimen of my favorite ammonite genus, Engonoceras. About halfway through the hunt, I came across two interesting finds from the Mainstreet Limestone. The first was a Mariella heteromorph ammonite (A) that was better than the one I had come across last week. The second piece was unrecognizable to me at first glance. Its obvious symmetry is what initially caught my eye, but the long and slender figure was perplexing. After dusting it off a bit, I noticed the hinge that gave it away as a bivalve (B). I have never found a clam with such exaggerated features. With a little research, I have come to the possible ID of it being from the genus Arca, but I would love to hear what the invert experts have to say. After pocketing these, I really made an effort to focus on the smaller things in order to not come out of the day with my original goal unfulfilled. Just when I was beginning to feel sorry for myself and call it quits, there it was (C). Gleaming in the light of the setting sun was the bronze shell that had eluded me for so long. To say I was in disbelief would be an understatement. I probably could've milked the moment a bit more, but I was reaching down and picking it up before I could even stop myself. Suffice it to say, the juice was well worth the squeeze! Here are the pictures: A). Mariella heteromorph from the Mainstreet Fm. B). Arca texana? clam from the Mainstreet Fm. C). Pyritic micromorph Engonoceras serpintinum from the Pawpaw Fm. If you would like any additional pictures, let me know. Thanks for reading!

Well, this is my first post in the Hunting Trips section. The week of Thanksgiving, my wife, my daughters and I headed off to Waco, Texas for a three day getaway. It was not supposed to be a fossil trip, but I managed to squeeze in a few stops... Our first stop, on a cold November 22nd afternoon, was the Waco Mammoth Site. It was absolutely spectacular! My kids loved it. It was so amazing to see these huge animals still laying in the spots where they fell, instead of mounted in a museum hall... The next day, I managed to convince my wife to let me scope out the Waco Research Pit. I told her it would only take a few minutes to see what might be there...yeah right. We stopped off at the Corps of Engineers building to sign in and get a parking tag for the car. They were extremely helpful. We drove to the parking area and I left my wife and two year old in the van, while I led my 9 and 5 year olds down the trail to the pit. In the first few minutes, I stumbled across the first ammonite. My kids marveled at the beautiful spiraled shell. A few minutes later I found another. I believe they are Engonoceras serpentinum, but I'm not 100% sure. I also found some what I believe to be Mariella sp. These are the better specimens...

When the wheels of industry grind to a halt, one looks for ways to occupy their time while on the clock. I was recently trained on using a scanning electron microscope, but I felt like I needed more practice . I've been wanting to see how some of my fossils might look at high magnification, soooooooooo...... First, I tried an Engonoceras serpentinum (the one on the right) that I recently found in the Waco Research Pit. Under the microscope, it looks like this... I also checked out a pyritized ammonite that my wife found. Under the microscope, it looked like this... This was fun, but it got me thinking. The more highly damaged, pyritized ammonite seems to have a different crystal structure than the better preserved Engonoceras. Could it be that one is pyrite and the other marcasite? Or has the more damaged specimen simply oxidized from pyrite to a different mineral form? Or are the crystals simply more tightly packed on the Engonoceras and therefore I'm just unable to tell that the minerals have the same general shape? Thanks for enduring my stream of consciousness...