Search the Community

Last weekend I made a trip to New Mexico to hunt the Rio Puerco Valley with @PFOOLEY in search of Upper Cretaceous ammonites, mostly in the middle Turonian Carlile Shale. Mike is incredibly knowledgeable about the Upper Cretaceous of New Mexico and the stratigraphy of the area and I had a blast collecting alongside him. Before making my way to New Mexico I had told Mike that my goal was to find a Placenticeras. Placenticeras and Sphenodiscus are my two favorite Upper Cretaceous ammonite genera. Despite Mike's warning that the areas we would look had been consistently collected over the years, I was excited to explore a new area and collect some new fossils for my collection. Going into the trip, I had told myself that if anything I would get to spend a weekend collecting amongst a beautiful surrounding. I met Mike early on Saturday before we made our way to the Carlile Shale. After we exchanged some quick pleasantries, Mike gifted me an amazing Placenticeras pseudoplacenta embedded in a large concretion. At the very least, I was not going to leave New Mexico without my Placenticeras! Once we arrived at the site, Mike explained to me which horizons hold the best fossils and what color concretions I should be looking for. He also said that rattlesnakes can be found out here and that he hoped we would see one -- that made one of us. I am happy to report that we did not see one! With Mike's two dogs guiding the way, we found ourselves over the next several hours climbing up and down several slopes on the hunt. Given that we were in the Prionocyclus hyatti zone, Prionocyclus hyatti made up the majority of our finds, but to both of our surprise, we were still able to find quite a variety. I found a couple Placenticeras pseudoplacenta of my own as well as two "Franken-ite" ammonites that I wrapped and glued back at home, including an uncommon Romaniceras mexicanum. Mike found his first ever Scaphites carlilensis, which was cool to see. Prionocyclus hyatti Placenticeras pseudoplacenta Romaniceras mexicanum Indeterminate Collignoniceratid While the ammonites were the obvious draw to the site, I also enjoyed picking up a couple of the other invertebrates lying around the hills, including a double valve Inoceramus howelli. Cameleolopha bellaplicata Cyprimeria sp. Nuculana sp. Inoceramus howelli After walking the full stretch of the exposure, Mike said that he wanted to check out one more site, an exposure of the Santonian Satan Tongue, before heading home. Once again Mike gave his fair warning that he had only found a few fossils in the past from this formation but that he had always thought it worthwhile to check it out as a last stop before calling it a day. As we walked around I could see why he had given his warning. I could find nothing! Mike came up to me to ask how I was doing and when I said I was empty handed, he handed me to my surprise two Baculites codyensis and showed me an interesting oyster he had picked up. I have no idea how he could find these things! Baculites codyensis We walked around a little bit more, and just as Mike said "I hope this stop was not a waste of time," I spotted a Placenticeras syrtale peeking out of the ground. I quickly called Mike over, and as soon as I looked at the ground again, I saw another one less than half a foot away from the first. We spent a few more minutes searching this horizon and each collected a few more pieces. Placenticeras syrtale Shortly thereafter Mike left me to head home for dinner, but before he did, he pointed me in the direction of another area worth checking out. Mike must have the magic touch for ammonites, because after he left I did not find much else. Nonetheless I still managed to find another Prionocyclus hyatti and a couple other invertebrates. Prionocyclus hyatti Pecten sp. Cardium sp. Eoacteon sp. Before flying back home in the afternoon on Sunday I wanted to make one more effort at finding some ammonites. Returning to an area Mike and I had visited the day before I decided to go right while we had gone left. That decision turned out to be a poor one. I spent the next hour hiking with nothing to show for it except a few isolated broken Prionocyclus hyatti chunks that I left where I found them. Believing that I might not find anything for my day, I made my way back towards my starting point, and just as I arrived there, I spotted an interesting concretion on the ground. Crouching down to examine it, I decided to split it open. No luck. Just more tiny Prionocyclus hyatti fragments. But as I spun around from my seat I saw what looked like the shell of a decapod. Mike had joked with me the day before that he had found a crab in association with an ammonite several years ago and when he donated it the researchers had wanted to break off the ammonite to preserve the crab. He said that decapod material is rare, so I did not have much hope of finding one myself. The concretion had broken into four pieces so I made sure to collect everything and wrap them appropriately. Since returning home and consolidating the specimen, I have struggled to identify it. Yesterday I spoke with one academic who asked to see it in-person. I will report back once I have a definitive identification. Unidentified Decapod All in all, I had a great time in my short visit collecting from the Upper Cretaceous of New Mexico. I found some great fossils and multiple personal trip makers. I cannot thank Mike enough for his hospitality and generosity. I cannot wait to pay him back on a potential trip to the Upper Cretaceous of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. As a funny aside, I did not have enough space in my checked bag for all of my finds, so I had to store a couple of them in the two backpacks I carried onto the plane. TSA pulled one bag aside but not the other, and when the agent came to look at the bag closer, she asked me, "are these rocks?" My guess is that TSA agents see a lot of things come through security, but "rocks" was a first for her.

My wife and I had a Belize trip scheduled last week to celebrate our 9th anniversary, but canceled it last minute to avoid Covid related travel inconvenience. Taking travel logistics back into our own hands, we threw together an impromptu driving itinerary to some wonderful parts of northern New Mexico, courtesy of our tenured friend, Pee Fooley. While Pee couldn’t join us, my wife’s Jeep faithfully delivered us to panoramic environs many miles off pavement. The air was crisp, skies clear, and the ground was dry. Biting winds kept us bundled up. I figured cell service might be spotty, so we clipped old school walkie talkies to ourselves, because married people still walk at their own pace, ha! The first cuesta we visited seemed promising, so off we went across the desert floor to the foot of the bluff composed of Carlile Shale (equivalent of Eagle Ford Grp of Texas) capped by Semilla sandstone.

Hello, I was out fossil hunting the other day and found this. At first, I thought it was a piece of ammonite and I am very new at this so I have no clue really. I have found a few ammonites now and the more I look at this thing the more I think it looks different. It's very clearly what looks to be bone(?) or solid shell that is the same shape on both sides, it has 7 extrusions going around the sides of the bottom half and the second half of the upper bone portion has broken off. Any ideas? Thanks Thanks to PFooley for helping me check out some new areas in my state!

Went out to Windmill Site in the Rio Puerco Valley today(11/27). It was very cold but very worth it. Found some ammonite pieces, a few oyster shells, and a lot of teeth. We are unsure who the teeth belonged to. Can anyone help us identify these finds? Thank you in advance. Beautiful day in New Mexico.

Hello to the Fossil Forum I am joining the forum to broaden my knowledge and help me enhance my enjoyment of exploring the land for fossils and other trinkets across the land of enchantment. I live in the Galisteo Basin and by just hiking around and finding petrified wood, concretions, and other interesting things, my interest grew and now I am here...creating an account on a Fossil Forum. Besides the the Galisteo Basin, I have been making some trips to the Rio Puerco area and planning to hit some spots in the Jemez. An ex-coworker and I have begun exploring together which makes it all the more fun. I am by no means an expert here so I look forward to posting some finds and participating in what ways I can. Warm Regards, William

Hi Everyone, First Fossil ID post. This item was found in the Rio Puerco area around Cabezon Peak. Supposedly, this specific area is an outcrop of the upper Cretaceous, likely a transgressive sandstone deposit of the Mulatto Tongue of Mancos Shale. The specific location is termed Shark Tooth Ridge by many locals. I was initially told to be Bryozoan but have no further information. Any help with identification would be appreciated. There are two pieces that fit together as seen in pic Rio Puerco-0000. The main objects look to me (Extreme novice) like some bone or stem. The ribbing imprint seems come from the lower part what I see in Rio Puerco-0001 and Rio Puerco-0003. But the outside ribbed imprint on Rio Puerco-0004 was made by something not found. This was just laying clumped together on the surface of a ridge with washout flow. This is my first "potential" fossil find. I included a map for location purposes only. Thank you for any help coming my way. William

On Tuesday, August 30th, I had the pleasure of collecting with fellow members @Pilobolus and @Jeffrey P out in my beloved Rio Puerco Valley. I present a photo collage, from my point of view, of that great adventure with both old and new friends. Enjoy.