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The Paleontological Society of Austin gets to go to the Lake Jacksboro site once a year.. Dallas Society also goes out there, so we try to make sure not to overlap, but surprisingly, the site is so productive, there's always great stuff to find! The Carboniferous Period- Pennsylvanian site is well known for its wide variety of fauna. I've been out there a dozen times and almost every time I find something new! It may seem a bit desolate, but it's worth the trek! My first happy find was a crinoid calyx. As with most Pennsylvanian sites, crinoids are prolific. But I've not found much complete crinoid material...but this time, I found two! Another fossil that is a special find out there is a little thing called a Rostroconch. It was originally thought to be a bivalve, but has been given it's own class. This is only the third one I've found. They are not common. Another of the most sought after fossils there are the Goniatites and Nautiloids. The big ones are rarely found whole, but you can also find tiny ones in the micro zone. Gonioloboceras and Tainoceras are the most common largeish ones and I have yet to find a GOOD complete one of either. I have found a few Gonioloboceras what were either almost whole or were so weathered that they look like zombies! This time I THOUGHT I had finally found a good complete one! This is what I saw and my heart did a flip flop! Unfortunately when I cleaned it up, the center was eroded but I actually kind of like the other side, even though it is weathered and a little "zombified" at least it's mostly whole! But the zigzag sutures are amazing! I found a few smaller ones in the field, but the big payday was the two 5 gallon buckets of micro matrix I brought home with me from the micro zone and found a PLETHORA of tiny goniatites this time! Top Row- R: Glaphyrites millsi C: Imitoceras grahamensis L: Neodimorphoceras texanum Bottom Row: Prouddenites grafordensis C: Wiedeyoceras pingue L: Unknown But this is kind of fascinating - it was encased in a little bit of matrix, so I tried to break it off but ended up kind of breaking the whole thing. But because of that, it released the tiny interior! Peritrochia sp. I certainly wish it were whole, but it's still fascinating to see the interior. Another new find was this little Brachiopod Fimbrinia - I'd been looking for one of these for a while and finally found one! Another nice little Brach with a surprising pearlescent surface - Kozlowskia splendens Also found this little Orbiculoidea missouriensis Here is an unusual coral called Palaeacis perpendicularis Found lots of cool gastropods, but my all time favorite is Cymatospira montfortianus I am already excited about getting back out there, maybe in the Fall because Texas summertime is NOT when you want to be out on those flats!
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I’m new to fossils - can someone help me put together what this is? It was found in a limestone creek bed in Garland, TX. Coral maybe? Hand for scale.
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For a little while now, @Mikrogeophagus and I have been trying to meet off the forum and hit some spots together. With spring break ending yesterday, we finally found the perfect opportunity before our classes resumed. Tyler had recently singled out a promising locale for middle Eocene crabs, one that neither he or I had visited. As it later turned out, I had passed by the spot before but never committed to its investigation. I was pleasantly surprised at its serenity, and Tyler and I found easy conversation as we weaved through beds of touch-me-nots and waded through silty waters. Our first efforts were concentrated on a small tributary that branched off and reconnected with the main stream. We knew we were looking for concretions, but did not know the nature of them and assumed most would be duds. It was with that attitude that it smacked open my first concretion of the day, decimating a crab inside! While certainly disappointed, we were both enthusiastic about the find - it meant we were in the right place and we now knew what to watch out for. Concretions started popping up quickly, sprouting out of the black banks like earthen easter eggs. Many proved fruitful, with a surprising proportion containing the crab Harpactocarinus americanus. At the time, we didn't know the name - content with just the thrill of discovery in a beautiful setting. We soon discovered some crabs were robust enough to have survived the currents of the stream and could be found in gravel - though just their carapaces. We each claimed one side of the bank and enjoyed success, while occasionally checking the gravel islands between us. One of my favorite finds was this unsightly avocado shaped concretion, bearing a claw that promises a beautiful specimen inside: Displaced carapace found among roots on the river bank: Notice the eye holes! Harpactocarinus americanus wasn't the only critter of note at the locale: Giant gastropods were found in unusual proportion compared to the famous Whiskey Bridge locality of equivalent age, but there was a conspicuous lack of shark teeth. Deep into the hunt, Tyler did find two - one irrecoverable blade in a concretion, and a smaller Negaprion(?) to act as the only success on the fossil vertebrate side for the day. Soon after, Tyler found a large Belosaepia ungula prong, shown here from its underside. These are uncommon cuttlefishes that had a horn (called the "prong") growing on its backside like a short, stiff upturned tail, a character that can still be seen reduced and vestigial in some modern cuttlefish. The hash around this spot was thick - so choked with shells that it resembled asphalt in some places: The site even had a nice sampling of extant fauna - a small Thampnophis proximus (western ribbon snake) could not escape gentle capture, and an alligator gar jaw laid out by recent currents caught my attention. I decided to hang on to it - it may prove a handy reference for general fish anatomy. One of the final finds of the day after a long stretch of barren ironstone was another H. americanus, peeking out of hard iron stones and covered by moss. I pulled it away easily, and upon turning it over was met with a beautiful sight: Look at that pincher! And so concluded a successful scout with a new friend, right as storm clouds rolled over and the first heavy drops of rain fell. Tyler and I walked back to our cars with an aura of victory, and I gave him another concretion. I'm excited to see the results of his upcoming freeze-thaw cycles. May y'all enjoy quality preps and fruitful hunts this spring!
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Hardly anybody ever talks about the Cambrian fossils of the southern midcontinent (USA). They're super-underappreciated. Show us what you've got! Here's one to start us off: Thorax and pygidium of a trilobite, possibly Orygmaspis, typically referred to as "Orygmaspis cf. Orygmaspis llanoensis" but probably a different species altogether. Note the two pairs of macropleural spines marking the final thoracic segments. Davis Formation (late Cambrian: Furongian), south side of Highway 8, St. François County, Missouri.
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Any thoughts on if this is a coprolite. Tarrant County, Texas. Thanks
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Found this rock hounding in Texas, is this a tooth? Thanks for any and all help!
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A few different creek finds, not sure if it's anything. NE Austin, TX
kaleidoscopica posted a topic in Fossil ID
1. Looks boney: 2. Some kind of shell?: 3. No idea at all: 4. Hoping it's something cool, but prepared to be let down, ha!: 5. Same as 4, no idea: Thanks in advance
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Hey guys new here, I found this a few days ago in west Texas and was hoping someone could help me out with an ID.. any help on this is greatly appreciated
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So I am 90 percent convinced the site is Austin Chalk Formation. I have found a couple of fossils that lead me to that conclusion, a gastropod and a nautiloid specifically. That being said, I cannot quite figure out what these bacultes are. From the HGMS book the Boehmoceras arculus seems to be the closest but it says it is a curved shaft, which these most certainly are not. But the strong nodes on these are really not falling under any other possibility. Any insights? 3.5 inches 2 inches 1.5 inches this is the only one that you can really see the suture patterns. The nodes don't show up very well but they are there
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North Sulfur River in Texas - An attempt was made
Opabinia Blues posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
This weekend I find myself northeast of Dallas, hoping that I might manage to catch a glimpse of Monday’s solar eclipse. I figured while I was in there area I’d try my hand at fossil hunting the Cretaceous Ozan Formation in the North Sulfur River near Ladonia. It’s a fairly famous fossil hunting site which is open to the public, so I was quite excited to give it a go. When I arrived I noticed that quite a few people were in the same spot, some hunting for fossils and others enjoying the water on a cool day. Someone in the parking lot was showing off a huge Scapanorhynchus tooth they had found, which I was able to identify for them. My hopes were quite high, but pretty quickly I realized that the North Sulfur River wouldn’t quite be the fossil buffet I had imagined. Fossils seemed to be few and far between, so imagining that the area near the park entrance was simply heavily picked over I walked about a mile and a half west to try to get to fresher pastures. Alas, the only fossils I netted myself today were Inoceramid clams, some baculites (the red-zone ones, not the pretty black ones) and two fairly large grypheid oysters. Oh, and some petrified wood too. I found zero vertebrates, save for a bone fragment. I don’t fault myself. Although I was not the first to arrive, I was the last to leave. I combed over just about every gravel bar I came across, remembering @PaleoNoel’s advice: “It pays to be thorough.” At one point I walked back to my car to replace my sopping wet hiking boots for my water shoes, and kept on pushing. But it did not net me much. I have to say I’m slightly disappointed. Maybe I’m just spoiled rotten when it comes to fossils having grown up on the Front Range. But I will say, this is the hardest I’ve ever worked for a few crappy baculites. I talked to some other fossil hunters, and most seemed to be having about the same luck I had. But one person had managed to find about a half dozen shark teeth, a mosasaur tooth, very nice black baculites, and a partial mosasaur vertebra. The proof that there were treasures out there to be found drove my persistence, and ultimately amplified my frustration. Perhaps I went at a bad time - a lot of people are in the area for the eclipse and I was told that it had been a while since there had been good flow. Maybe that’s just the way it goes at this site. Nonetheless, I’m considering trying again within the next year. My sister lives in Waco, and I heard that unfortunately the North Sulfur River won’t be accessible to fossil hunters past 2025 due to the removal of the dam that exposed the rock unit in the first place. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful day and it’s always fun to discover new things! As much complaining as I did in this post it is super awesome to find my own fossils from a new rock unit for the collection! I caught a diving beetle too, which I intend to take home and add to my aquarium (I have an aquarium specifically for diving beetles, but they aren’t out yet in Colorado)! Some pictures for your enjoyment:
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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Reptile Mosasaur cf. Russellosaurus Austin Chalk Formation
JamieLynn posted a gallery image in Member Collections
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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From the album: Texas Cretaceous Fossils: Reptiles and Amphibs
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