Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'nsr'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
    Tags should be keywords or key phrases. e.g. otodus, megalodon, shark tooth, miocene, bone valley formation, usa, florida.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • Community News
    • Member Introductions
    • Member of the Month
    • Members' News & Diversions
  • Fossil Discussion
    • General Fossil Discussion
    • Questions & Answers
    • Fossil Hunting Trips
    • Fossil ID
    • Partners in Paleontology - Member Contributions to Science
    • Fossil of the Month
    • Member Collections
    • A Trip to the Museum
    • Paleo Re-creations
    • Collecting Gear
    • Fossil Preparation
    • Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications
    • Member-to-Member Fossil Trades
    • Fossil News
  • General Category
    • Rocks & Minerals
    • Geology

Categories

  • Annelids
  • Arthropods
    • Crustaceans
    • Insects
    • Trilobites
    • Other Arthropods
  • Brachiopods
  • Cnidarians (Corals, Jellyfish, Conulariids )
    • Corals
    • Jellyfish, Conulariids, etc.
  • Echinoderms
    • Crinoids & Blastoids
    • Echinoids
    • Other Echinoderms
    • Starfish and Brittlestars
  • Forams
  • Graptolites
  • Molluscs
    • Bivalves
    • Cephalopods (Ammonites, Belemnites, Nautiloids)
    • Gastropods
    • Other Molluscs
  • Sponges
  • Bryozoans
  • Other Invertebrates
  • Ichnofossils
  • Plants
  • Chordata
    • Amphibians & Reptiles
    • Birds
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fishes
    • Mammals
    • Sharks & Rays
    • Other Chordates
  • *Pseudofossils ( Inorganic objects , markings, or impressions that resemble fossils.)

Blogs

  • Anson's Blog
  • Mudding Around
  • Nicholas' Blog
  • dinosaur50's Blog
  • Traviscounty's Blog
  • Seldom's Blog
  • tracer's tidbits
  • Sacredsin's Blog
  • fossilfacetheprospector's Blog
  • jax world
  • echinoman's Blog
  • Ammonoidea
  • Traviscounty's Blog
  • brsr0131's Blog
  • brsr0131's Blog
  • Adventures with a Paddle
  • Caveat emptor
  • -------
  • Fig Rocks' Blog
  • placoderms
  • mosasaurs
  • ozzyrules244's Blog
  • Terry Dactyll's Blog
  • Sir Knightia's Blog
  • MaHa's Blog
  • shakinchevy2008's Blog
  • Stratio's Blog
  • ROOKMANDON's Blog
  • Phoenixflood's Blog
  • Brett Breakin' Rocks' Blog
  • Seattleguy's Blog
  • jkfoam's Blog
  • Erwan's Blog
  • Erwan's Blog
  • marksfossils' Blog
  • ibanda89's Blog
  • Liberty's Blog
  • Liberty's Blog
  • Lindsey's Blog
  • Back of Beyond
  • Ameenah's Blog
  • St. Johns River Shark Teeth/Florida
  • gordon's Blog
  • West4me's Blog
  • West4me's Blog
  • Pennsylvania Perspectives
  • michigantim's Blog
  • michigantim's Blog
  • lauraharp's Blog
  • lauraharp's Blog
  • micropterus101's Blog
  • micropterus101's Blog
  • GPeach129's Blog
  • Olenellus' Blog
  • nicciann's Blog
  • nicciann's Blog
  • Deep-Thinker's Blog
  • Deep-Thinker's Blog
  • bear-dog's Blog
  • javidal's Blog
  • Digging America
  • John Sun's Blog
  • John Sun's Blog
  • Ravsiden's Blog
  • Jurassic park
  • The Hunt for Fossils
  • The Fury's Grand Blog
  • julie's ??
  • Hunt'n 'odonts!
  • falcondob's Blog
  • Monkeyfuss' Blog
  • cyndy's Blog
  • pattyf's Blog
  • pattyf's Blog
  • chrisf's Blog
  • chrisf's Blog
  • nola's Blog
  • mercyrcfans88's Blog
  • Emily's PRI Adventure
  • trilobite guy's Blog
  • barnes' Blog
  • xenacanthus' Blog
  • myfossiltrips.blogspot.com
  • HeritageFossils' Blog
  • Fossilefinder's Blog
  • Fossilefinder's Blog
  • maybe a nest fossil?
  • farfarawy's Blog
  • Microfossil Mania!
  • blogs_blog_99
  • Southern Comfort
  • Emily's MotE Adventure
  • Eli's Blog
  • andreas' Blog
  • Recent Collecting Trips
  • retired blog
  • andreas' Blog test
  • fossilman7's Blog
  • Piranha Blog
  • xonenine's blog
  • xonenine's Blog
  • Fossil collecting and SAFETY
  • Detrius
  • pangeaman's Blog
  • pangeaman's Blog
  • pangeaman's Blog
  • Jocky's Blog
  • Jocky's Blog
  • Kehbe's Kwips
  • RomanK's Blog
  • Prehistoric Planet Trilogy
  • mikeymig's Blog
  • Western NY Explorer's Blog
  • Regg Cato's Blog
  • VisionXray23's Blog
  • Carcharodontosaurus' Blog
  • What is the largest dragonfly fossil? What are the top contenders?
  • Test Blog
  • jsnrice's blog
  • Lise MacFadden's Poetry Blog
  • BluffCountryFossils Adventure Blog
  • meadow's Blog
  • Makeing The Unlikley Happen
  • KansasFossilHunter's Blog
  • DarrenElliot's Blog
  • Hihimanu Hale
  • jesus' Blog
  • A Mesozoic Mosaic
  • Dinosaur comic
  • Zookeeperfossils
  • Cameronballislife31's Blog
  • My Blog
  • TomKoss' Blog
  • A guide to calcanea and astragali
  • Group Blog Test
  • Paleo Rantings of a Blockhead
  • Dead Dino is Art
  • The Amber Blog
  • Stocksdale's Blog
  • PaleoWilliam's Blog
  • TyrannosaurusRex's Facts
  • The Community Post
  • The Paleo-Tourist
  • Lyndon D Agate Johnson's Blog
  • BRobinson7's Blog
  • Eastern NC Trip Reports
  • Toofuntahh's Blog
  • Pterodactyl's Blog
  • A Beginner's Foray into Fossiling
  • Micropaleontology blog
  • Pondering on Dinosaurs
  • Fossil Preparation Blog
  • On Dinosaurs and Media
  • cheney416's fossil story
  • jpc
  • A Novice Geologist
  • Red-Headed Red-Neck Rock-Hound w/ My Trusty HellHound Cerberus
  • Red Headed
  • Paleo-Profiles
  • Walt's Blog
  • Between A Rock And A Hard Place
  • Rudist digging at "Point 25", St. Bartholomä, Styria, Austria (Campanian, Gosau-group)
  • Prognathodon saturator 101
  • Books I have enjoyed
  • Ladonia Texas Fossil Park
  • Trip Reports
  • Glendive Montana dinosaur bone Hell’s Creek
  • Test
  • Stratigraphic Succession of Chesapecten

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

  1. Stormywx

    Help identify unknown fossil

    This is an item that was with NSR fossils, but I'm not 100 percent sure it was from there. It's obviously broken, but has a similar shape to other much smaller item posted earlier. Any thoughts as to what it is are welcomed. almost looks like a wishbone.
  2. Hello, everyone! Below are a few finds from the North Sulphur River and Post Oak Creek, and I’d love to get some help with identification. The ruler is in centimeters. 1. This first picture includes two mammal teeth (top two)(fossilized or no?), ???, and a small bone that appears to be fossilized. these were found at Post Oak Creek. 2. This bone was found at the North Sulphur River. 3. Nautilus found at NSR. Could anyone help with identifying the species? 4. Jaw fragment? Found at NSR. 5. Coprolite? It appears to have fragments of bone(?) in it. Found at NSR. 6. I found this tooth at NSR a while back, but someone recently IDed it as Latoplatecarpus (mosasaur). I can’t find too much literature on Latoplatecarpus; could anyone give me more information on this tooth and the animal it comes from? Thank you!
  3. jenwat

    Ladonia Fossil Park Finds

    Hello, everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve been on this forum, but I was finally able to make my way back up to Ladonia this week to hunt a little. I didn’t walk too far from the bridge and mostly just surface-searched through gravel bars; unfortunately, I didn’t fulfill my dream of finding a mosasaur tooth, but I did find some other cool things! (Please note that all measurements are in centimeters) 1. My favorite find today was this Xiphactinus tooth. I found it just sitting on top of a submerged (but very shallow) gravel bar. 2. I accidentally found this point after just picking up what looked like a black rock in the water. I’d love to learn more about it; I was thinking perhaps a Gary Point? 3. Next up is a tooth(?) that is so worn down I’m not even sure if it’s identifiable, but I thought I would put it out there in case anyone had any ideas. I was thinking perhaps Ptychodus, but someone suggested to me that it could possibly be Globidens. Any thoughts? 4. Fish bone? 5. Mosasaur vert? This is an unfamiliar shape to me so I’d love some insight. 6. Another mosasaur vert. 7. Bone fragment #1. Not sure if it’s possible to identify this, but it had a distinct shape, so I decided to just post and see. 8. Bone fragment #2. Also not sure if this will be identifiable. That’s all that I have for right now!
  4. Mikrogeophagus

    Globidens alabamaensis

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Globidens alabamaensis, NSR Campanian, Cretaceous Mar, 2023 A shell-crushing mosasaur not uncommon for the NSR. They first showed up in the Early Cretaceous, shortly after the disappearance of ptychodus from the seas.
  5. I took off early last Wednesday morning and drove to the North Sulfur River. I hadn't been there since early in the year and wanted to see it again, even though I knew that after such a long dry spell, it might be tough finding much. That thought proved to be right. The stretch of river bed I walked was completely dry, and had obviously seen lots of visitors. I hiked quite a distance, slowing down in all the areas that had been productive in the past, but picked up nothing. So I put on the kneepads, and began searching for smaller fossils. I've always had a tough time hunting NSR for small stuff. There are Hamulus worm tubes everywhere, and I always have to pick up some, but finding anything else small is always hard for me, and Wednesday was no exception. It was slim pickings. But I did have questions about a couple of the things I did find, so I'll post this report. Here are some in situ photos.
  6. Hello, everyone! Back in February I was hunting in the North Sulphur River, and I found a few fossils that I am curious about, as well as a broken artifact. If anyone could give me any insights on these pieces, I would be grateful! 1: Pictures 1-3 are of the artifact. 2: Pictures 4-6 are of a tooth. To me, it seems mor conical than a shark tooth, but it does have a flat part underneath. 3: Pictures 7-8 Unknown 4: Pictures 9-11 Unknown 5: Pictures 12-14 Unknown
  7. Notidanodon

    North sulphur river mosasaurs and fish

    Hi guys, I recently trade for these, and I was wondering if it was possible to assign them to a species thanks 1. 2. 3. looks like a bit of fish rostrum? 4. best preserved one, the enamel has regular flat edges, like a polygon I guess 4. enchodus libycus? thanks
  8. dannbethrfriends

    North Sulfur River Bone

    Hi all, my daughter and I found this bone in the north sulfur river up near the Dallas/ Fort Worth Texas area a few weeks ago. It seems to be a reasonably complete structure of some kind but I sure don't recognize it! I really appreciate any help!
  9. Mikrogeophagus

    Red Zone Road: NSR Highlights

    With my limited time in North Texas before my move south, I decided to revisit my favorite sites as opposed to scouting new ones. The NSR is a classic locality, but I had never actually gotten to check out the famed red zone for myself. Yesterday, I made the drive to the fossil park. I was supposed to hunt with a couple others, but it unexpectedly turned into a solo hunt. I won't complain though. The vast river emanates a magical aura that is uniquely felt when you're exploring on your own. The primary goal of the day was to snag a decent specimen of the red zone ammonite, Trachyscaphites spiniger! In an attempt to beat out the stiff hunting competition and high afternoon temps, I arrived to the site in the early hours around seven. Unsurprisingly, I was far from being the first car in the lot. As luck would have it though, none of the people there before me had their sights set on the distant red zone exposures. It's a long and taxing trip that only so many people (the crazy ones) are willing to undertake. After crossing under the 2990 bridge, I took in the view and tried to visualize where the destination might be. It was quite daunting, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Red Zone Road It was gonna take a lot of walking to reach the mouths of the red zone creeks, so I tried to keep the gravel hunting minimal along the way. Nevertheless, my eyes were still scanning the ground around me and the vigilance steadily began to pay off. After a few Enchodus fangs and a Carcharias holmdelensis tooth, I came across the first prize of the day. Cemented together in red zone matrix was a mass of turtle shell that I had never before seen a similar specimen of. It has some good weight to it and cool three dimensional character. I don't know enough to identify it to a genus assuming that's even possible. I believe Archelon and Ctenochelys are known from the NSR as well as other genera I'm sure. Articulated turtle shell fragments in red zone matrix Some time later, I came across an interesting bone fragment that I don't have much of a clue about. The texture seems like fish. It has pronounced ridges running longitudinally and a U-shaped spongy cross section. I held onto it in case it might be something cool. Mystery bone Here and there I came across various red zone ammonite chunks to whet my appetite. None of them were keepers in part because I had high hopes for what lay ahead. Maintaining my steady pace brought me to the mouth of the first creek I had circled. Yesterday's 25 foot rise was still draining and the sound of rushing water filled the air with occasional thuds from falling shales. In the high cliffs I could see a distinct red band of matrix slicing through the grey shales. Tracing it with my eyes, I followed the line upstream until it was within reach. It was absolutely filled with phosphate chunks and nacre-covered Baculites. After a short time, I locked onto a Trachyschaphites that was just poking out. Excitedly, I threw out my tools and began excavating. My enthusiasm was quickly washed away as I realized the chunk sticking out was just a chunk. This sequence of events repeated itself along the entirety of the creek and before I knew it, I was exiting with a bag of assorted Trachyscaphites pieces. The only interesting things to show were a beat up red zone mosasaur vert and some snails. Red zone mosasaur vert Gastropods from the red zone Now the temps had crossed into the 90s and beads of sweat were covering my face. Wanting to take a break from the red zone, I began a thorough search through the massive gravel bar outside the creek. It took awhile to warm up my hunting goggles, but eventually I spotted the first keeper of the bar: A big ole worn mosasaur tooth. Sadly, it was sliced in half and had chunks busted out of it. Not too long after, though, I got it a smaller, much more complete friend. Likely Tylosaurus proriger After these mosasaur teeth, I scored what I like to call a "pseudo-mosasaur" or its other name, Pachyrhizodus. It was pretty easy to spot the difference since a little bit of bone was attached beneath the crown. Still a cool little fish tooth. Pachyrhizodus I'm not very good at spotting artifacts despite having spent many hours in the creeks of Austin. Now and again though, I manage to blindly stumble my way into a killer point or two. Wedged into the sand beneath the receding waters, was the unmistakable base of a Gary. Haven't found one of these before, so I was pretty happy to add this NSR classic to my collection. Gary in situ Gary point The last and most interesting find of the bar was a huge chunk of Xiphactinus jaw! It seems to match up exactly with the very distal end of the lower jaw. Within two matrix-filled tooth sockets are a couple of emerging teeth. Distal end of a Xiphactinus lower jaw with a couple of teeth. Finally, it was time to set my sights on the creek across the river. To my knowledge it doesn't have a name as it is quite small. The disappointment of my previous red zone expedition set my hopes low. Although the tree cover was nice, with it came swarms of mosquitos and some sort of biting fly. I spent most of my walk through it flailing my arms trying not to become a walking buffet. The red zone was much better exposed and I quickly spotted a couple of Squalicorax that sadly weren't keepers. There were many Trachyscaphites fragments to waste my time, but at long last I ran into exactly what I was looking for! With careful swings, I worked the heteromorph out of the shale and quickly stored it safely in its own private Ziploc bag. With the primary objective met, it was time to quickly evacuate the mosquito hellhole and return to the safety of the sweltering sun. Trachyscaphites spiniger heteromorph (my favorite ammonite). There is a significant crack that hasn't completely split. Hopefully the b72 will hold. It was about 4 pm and I was close to my limit. There was another spot further ahead known for arrowheads that I wanted to see, but I was saving that for the people I was intending to meet (no cell service so I didn't know plans had changed). It became apparent no one was coming, so I gathered my bucket and pack for the long trek home. The adrenaline of fossil hunting had definitely carried me through the day. The river now seemed endless and every step of foot sucking mud taxed me more and more. After retracing my route at home, it seems I river walked at least 5 miles! As I crawled into my blistering hot car, I told myself one red zone hunt was enough for the rest of my life. But after a good night's rest and cataloguing my finds, I'm ready to go again . I guess we'll see how I feel next summer. Thanks for reading!
  10. Mikrogeophagus

    Tylosaurus proriger

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Tylosaurus proriger, North TX Campanian, Cretaceous Jun, 2023
  11. Mikrogeophagus

    Xiphactinus audax

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Xiphactinus audax, North TX Campanian, Cretaceous Jun, 2023 Two teeth are erupting from the sockets. This is the distal end of a lower right jaw.
  12. Mikrogeophagus

    Trachyscaphites spiniger

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Trachyscaphites spiniger, North TX Campanian, Cretaceous Jun, 2023 My new favorite ammo in my collection.
  13. JacksonFarmer

    JacksonFarmer NSR finds

    This will be my first attempt at identifying and photographing my collection of NSR finds. Please correct any of my mistakes. I can easily modify the photo captions. Sadly I haven't figured out how to italicize the font on my photo editing app yet. The only phosphatic mold of a bivalve that I have found. It's a dead ringer for the same specimen photographed in the NSR Fossil Hunter's Guidebook. Current consensus is that the Guidebook is wrong for labeling this A. argentaria.
  14. JacksonFarmer

    My "small" collection - microfossil ID

    My small collection - not sure how to even begin to identify these. These all came from seiving about 3 gallons of gravel from the Eastern portion of the NSR. Any help on identifying these would be greatly appreciated!
  15. Mikrogeophagus

    Anisomyon sp.

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Anisomyon sp., Fannin Co. Campanian, Cretaceous Aug, 2021 One of my earliest finds and I had no idea what it was. It was included in my first post on this site and identified by @DPS Ammonite. Thanks!
  16. Mikrogeophagus

    Tylosaurus proriger

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Tylosaurus proriger, NSR Campanian, Cretaceous Mar, 2023 A fantastic mosasaur crown from the renowned NSR. Complements my rooted tooth well as that specimen is beat up around the crown.
  17. Mikrogeophagus

    Ischyodus sp. Spine

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Ischyodus sp., NSR Campanian, Cretaceous Mar, 2023 Not a common find for the NSR.
  18. Mikrogeophagus

    Ischyrhiza mira

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Ischyrhiza mira, NSR Campanian, Cretaceous Mar, 2023
  19. Mikrogeophagus

    Cretalamna sarcoportheta

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Cretalamna sarcoportheta, NSR Campanian, Cretaceous Mar, 2023
  20. Mikrogeophagus

    Shark Coprolite

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Shark Coprolite, NSR Campanian, Cretaceous Mar, 2023 The classic spiral pattern of shark coprolites is apparent on this specimen.
  21. PaleoPastels

    Wintermester fossils 2023

    Hey forum! It’s now spring break for me and we’re out road tripping and camping all over Texas Since I’ve got time to burn between destinations I’d love to reflect on some cool fossils Ive found over the past few chilly months! *So first of all I want to throw this out there: I followed heart and I started college! Last year in summer I found out everything about how I’ve been a brain trauma victim with amnesia and when I came back to Texas after some time in Iceland the first thing I wanted to do was go back to college to be a paleontologist like I originally planned to years ago. A LOT has changed. I was tired of doctors and family telling me behind closed doors “she’s not ready yet, its only been ___months” or “she needs more time to process” so I took lessons, read, studied my tailfin off to make SURE that I WAS ready! Trying to learn again to restore lost knowledge from high school during the holidays was the hardest thing I think I’ve ever done. My amazing scuba/nat geo filmer/dental assistant mother especially believed in me and taught me to use spite to fuel my passion. In January I took my TSI tests and passed! I was enrolled in classes 3 days later, whatever seats were available for classes I signed up. I proved everyone who doubted me wrong! It’s going to be a LONG journey but I’m excited about college. I’m working a FT job and a side hussle out of pocket for each class to pay upfront and avoid loan interest rates. My science/biology undergrad is at campus & online classes mixed and then for a masters Austin is looking promising for vert & invert paleontology AND marine biology. Wish me luck! So incredibly thankful to anyone who has helped me- especially the forum people who remembered me. I WON’T forget such kindness and I’ll make ya’ll proud. ——— Moving into fossils, the reason ya’ll are here, I had SO many fun trips and already made some great friends! The end of January we had a small winter storm here in North Texas. So of course for me that means as soon as it was just warm enough to melt the ice I was going to hit up the river- no competition from other Texans still warming up! I went out camping again actually that weekend even though it was miserable. I threw on my best Icelandic wool, grabbed my rock climbing gear, and slinged down the 30ft cliff into the North Sulphur. I got VERY muddy and a little stuck on the way back up but I made it out! Me actually 90° on the cliff! Scapanorhynchus texanus I have no idea about mammals but this tooth find was cool! I held onto it just in case it’s something interesting. Pachyrhizodus tooth? Doesn’t scream mosasaur at me- not even a pterygoid. (I’m actually taking a few teeth & verts down to a friend soon in late March including ones I have questions about! ) A tooth shard of Globidens alabamensis fishy jaw Shark coprolite Quality Enchodus fang Pretty sure these are just Pachy teeth but cool finds! Later that week, my good friend @EPIKLULSXDDDDD wanted to hang out again! He also wanted to bring a friend along, @Aidan Campos would be joining us in some Grayson Marl & PawPaw adventures! I’m still regaining lost knowledge, and need to learn how to drive all over again. I was SO proud I drove with confidence from Mckinney to Denton at the meetup spot with my roommate Cole in the car- 4th time ever driving since I’ve been “back.” We drove out to the locality and it was seriously a beautiful sparkling place with crystals everywhere! The four of us marched out onto the soil: an entomologist, a botanist/photographer, an aspiring dentist, and future marine paleontologist. A diverse rainbow of scientists out to save some old dead ocean life before construction covers them to be lost again under concrete. I liked to think of us as heros out there! Little regular urchin test plates all over the place! I was happy with the amount of tiny Mariella ammonites everywhere! Despite these being common around the Fort Worth & Denton area, these were my first finds of them ever! I bet they were stinkin’ adorable when they were alive, I imagined them swimming and clinging onto things stuck to the seafloor the entire time we were here. I found this tiny little ammonite! I still have yet to ID this little one, but I know this formation is one of the “last call!” places in age for Mortoniceras here in Texas. It looks a bit like the bigger Mortoniceras I have but could be wrong. Anyone who has a better guess on baby ammonite feel free to chime in your thoughts! All the fossils here are minis so nothing big found here except oysters and urchins. Like a bright shiny penny in the sun, I spotted this fish tooth out of the corner of my vision! We’re looking in the Albian and the first fish genus that came to my mind was Aidachar- a predatory fish from over in Asia I recognized from a book. I showed the boys and after a quick google search this actually might be a little Xiphactinus a. tooth! Being so used to them in my Campanian grounds (and a bigger size!) I didn’t realize they also lived during the Albian too. All of these other fossils we were finding were “new faces” to me…so the idea of an X-fish find made me feel more at home. I found a second baby ammo! Back at home: I grabbed this at the Grayson site without an in-situ pic but I suspected this was a chunk of urchin with spines still attached! After a muddy cleanup turns out I was correct! ID’s are most welcome. Magnified 40x : After a great afternoon at the first site, all four of us hopped over to some PawPaw territory! EPIK was very kind to guide us to a new spot he found that would also be lost under concrete someday soon. The pickings were slim but it was a memorable hunt! I’ve got an eye for nodules after watching videos of people in the UK and Illinois break them open so when I find something suspiciously small & round- I break it! I managed to find my first Engonoceras s. ammonite in this nodule! Unfortunately it was so fragile, however, I managed to save it because it has that beautiful iridescent sheen to it from the aragonite layer. “Iridescent” or “pearl” is my favorite color next to periwinkle. Aidan found a nice crab carapace! It wasn’t long before I found my own as well! My books or sources could be outdated but an ID I had in mind for this is Xanthosia aspera. EDIT: Steorrosia aspera Thanks, EPIK! I was at this point bent over dying of laughter at all of us doing the “muddy shoes scrape-off dance” in the street on the walk back- we must have looked SO silly. I was so happy to hang out with friends and explore some fossils in western formations that felt a little unknown to me! Amazing learning experience and I had a blast! (Thanks again you three!) Back at home: I’m happy I held onto that Engonoceras nodule because 40x on a microscope I was rewarded with these beautiful views which would have never been appreciated. My dad who loves nautilus and ammonites would be over the moon if he could see these! PART 2 SOON- to be continued!
  22. Mikrogeophagus

    A Classic Hunt on the NSR

    I think North Texans will relate when I say that now and then, the urge to take a drive out to the NSR and spend the day hunting some Campanian gravel bars can spontaneously take complete hold. I had one of those moments just after the series of heavy rains and powerful winds our region encountered some days ago. Previously, my luck with weather at the NSR had been rather poor. Each time, the temps were either nearing a hundred degrees or only just above freezing, making a full on adventure crossing muddy waters and crawling atop unshaded gravel beds too much to handle. I had yet to experience a proper adventure at this historic site, so I decided that this week would be the one where I changed that. Luckily, my friends @PaleoPastels(Lari) and Cole where kind enough to invite me out to their special spot along the river. After waking up bright and early, I got in my car and followed the rising sun. After jumping out of our vehicles and exchanging brief greetings, we quickly slid our way down to the shale bed and beelined for the first bar. Cole has a bit of an aversion for water, so he stuck around at the entrance for most of the day while Lari and I got our clothes wet hopping from bar to bar. The weather and water temp were absolutely perfect, and the lack of footprints assured us it would be a productive day. It's not often you beat the crowd to a place as popular as this! Although I maintained measured expectations coming in, the sheer variety of strange and interesting fossils/artifacts that are known to come from this area kept me on my toes from the outset. When we arrived to the first bar, we started off strong, picking up a variety of shark teeth. Lari had an eye for them, immediately spotting a few super big Scapanorhynchus texanus, a staple of the Ozan Formation. Despite my protests, she was very generous in donating a few to me due to my limited NSR collection . Finally one I spotted myself! Scapanorhynchus texanus Scapanorhynchus texanus of the day. Some may be Carcharias samhammeri as I am still working on differentiating the two. In between crawling the gravel, I did some sifting which yielded a few interesting specimens including Squalicorax kaupi, Cretalamna sarcoportheta, Carcharias samhammeri, and a vole tooth which I will ignorantly assume to be Pleistocene in age. Cretalamna sarcoportheta, Squalicroax kaupi, and Carcharias samhammeri Sifting also yielded a plethora of shark vertebrae and I was fortunate enough to come across a beautiful spiral shark coprolite. I found one solitary coral which I assume is Trochocyathus sp. Shark verts, shark coprolite, and Trochocyathus sp. As I scanned the gravel looking to spot a complete Cretalamna, I was instead met with the first mosasaur tooth of the day! It was mostly in tact and showed some nice detail. I was relieved to know the entire trip was already made, and I could spend the rest of my time playing with house money. The only other mosasaur tooth previously in my collection has a beat up crown, so this new specimen certainly complements it. Don't know much about mosasaur genera in the NSR, but I will go with Tylosaurus proriger for now. Throughout the day, we also found tons of very large Enchodus fangs and jaw sections. I'm so used to finding these teeth in their miniature forms as I sift for micros, I almost forgot how big they could get. Lari did good with spotting the Ischyrhiza mira rostral teeth and quickly built up a small collection. She was nice enough to give a large one to me. Top: Fused fish vert and Pachyrhizodus tooth. Bottom: Enchodus jaw section and large fangs. Ischyrhiza mira By now we had hopped a couple of gravel bars and there was still plenty ways to go. It took me longer than it should have, but reaching the third bar finally brought me a large tumbled mosasaur vertebra. Not far from it, there was a section of finer gravel. Used to the routine, I once again got close to the ground and began scanning every pebble. After tossing the millionth shrapnel of shark tooth, I finally locked eyes with the most perfect mosasaur tooth I had ever seen. As I picked it up, I could tell something wasn't right, however. Of course the best side was on full display, but the rest of the tooth was cleaved cleanly off. Oh well, at least it'll look nice in pictures. Not long after, I found a second mosasaur tooth that was decently complete and hooked albeit tiny. Two nicest mosie verts. A slice of an exquisitely preserved mosasaur crown. The next oddball find came awhile later. My initial impression was that it might have been a segment of a Xiphactinus tooth, but the curvature suddenly ended along one of the edges of it. At this sudden end, there were two columns of small protrusions running longitudinally. I was debating on throwing it out, but my history of carelessly tossing neat finds convinced me to play it safe and take it home for identification. I'm glad I did because after the hunt, I immediately googled my hunch and it seems to be correct. This is a fragment of a hybodont spine! I wish I could pin down a more specific ID, but the info on them seems limited. I will say that, out of Moss Creek, I had found a tooth belonging to Lonchidion babulskii last year which could be the culprit. Quite an uncommon find for the NSR! Wondering if any shark experts here might have any ideas @ThePhysicist@Al Dente. Hybodont fin spine. Lonchidion babulskii is a candidate. By the penultimate gravel bar, I thought the best finds had surely been made. All day Lari had been talking about how this was THE spot to find Globidens teeth and how every visit she would find at least one fragment. Well, the walkable land was starting to run out and she expressed how disappointing it would be not to come across one that day. I find Globidens to be really interesting, but I think of it as one of those finds I would never expect to make on any given hunt. For me, not finding one would not define the day as a let down. As I was beginning to form those thoughts into words, I reached down to pick up a circular fragment of a tooth with a peculiar texture. Finding the right angle of light soon revealed the undoubted best find of the day: The top of a Globidens sp. crushing tooth! The whole day I had been hallucinating "finding" Ptychodus teeth. Funnily enough, this may very well be the tooth that ended their supremacy as shell crushers of the WIS. Seems too coincidental that Globidens suddenly appears right around the last occurrence of Ptychodus. I wonder if they directly competed Ptychodus out of existence or if Ptychodus went extinct on its own and mosasaurs simply filled in the niche . I don't think the Globidens of the Ozan Formation has been formally described yet. Globidens sp. Mosasaur teeth of the day! Despite having hunted for over a year in the creeks of Austin, I am surprisingly bad at spotting artifacts. Throughout the span of the day, the both of us had found a few chert flakes, but no sign of anything more even as I was trying to make a conscious effort to spot one. On the same bar as where the Globidens sp. was found, I noticed a worked edge of stone so big even someone as archaeologically blind as me could never miss it. Without an ounce of self control, I yanked it from the sand before I could finish yelling the word "arrowhead"! I seriously need to work on milking the moment . I did a little bit of searching online later and found that the point is likely a Darl or Hoxie. Both put its age in the thousands of years! Darl or Hoxie point. It measures 8.5 cm in length. On the way back, we kept our eyes peeled for anything we may have missed. I was sifting random spots of gravel, but not having the most luck. Lari casually handed me rock with a pearly white exterior and triangular shape. It was the most textbook mastodon I had ever seen, but she wasn't very impressed with it. She told me she had many of these already and that nonmarine fossils didn't interest her. I won't say I understand her terrestrial prejudice, but I will withhold my complaints since it meant I had acquired my first significant chunk of proboscidean . Mastodon enamel, mammoth enamel, and vole tooth. We finally reached Cole at the entrance. In our absence he had wondered off the other way and found a neat spider to pique his entomology interests and pocketed a few fossils. We managed to make it out by the mid afternoon, but I was so exhausted and content, I couldn't bother checking out any other spots along the river. The spoils of the hunt were amazing, but most of all I was happy to finally experience a classic hunt on the NSR as I had seen so many post about before. Doing it with a couple of friends made the adventure even better! Sadly this place has got not much time remaining, so those of you who have stumbled upon this post, maybe take it as a sign to give this historic spot one last go before the opportunity floats away. Thanks for reading!
  23. I was finally able to take a trip to the NSR in 2023. We had a good 11 foot rise so I was optimistic. My whole goal this trip was to find a point, I couldn't find one to save my life, I however did find a few cool fossils. I don't know if i just don't have the eye for it or if i am just looking in the wrong places. The last two pictures are of an item im not sure about anyone have an idea? Possibly a set of fused vertebrae with the two end ones broken off? The haul The vert The mosasaur thing The in-situ And the I don't know what this is
  24. Mikrogeophagus

    Squalicorax kaupi

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Squalicorax kaupi, Fannin Co. Campanian, Cretaceous Dec, 2021 A favorite of mine from the NSR!
  25. Mikrogeophagus

    Scapanorhynchus texanus

    From the album: Ozan Formation

    Scapanorhynchus texanus, Fannin Co. Campanian, Cretaceous Dec, 2021
×
×
  • Create New...