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  1. "Gracie" the mosasaur was finally freed from her 90 million year old South Bosque Member of the Eagle Ford Shale "prison" on February 1. Partly exposed before her discovery on Fossil Day 2023, she is four meters long, complete, and fully articulated - although part of her tail and trunk washed downstream on October 5, 2023. A good part of that float has been recovered. A trip report is attached as a PDF. Thanks go out to @Jared C, @JohnJ, @GPayton, @Mikrogeophagus, my wife Susie, daughter Angela, Stephen Kruse, and twelve other family, friends, and neighbors who helped - especially Dr. Mike Polcyn of SMU who is receiving Gracie as a donation for research. The skull still needs to be prepped and revealed as to what subfamily, genus, and species she is. That may take many months. My advice to prospective fossil hunters: keep checking out your active fossil sites - especially those subject to heavier erosion. You just never know what might pop out! Link to PDF file. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RyFiDksNXU78YbPqxtLLvsgANbgH4uYo/view?usp=sharing GRACIE THE TURONIAN BASAL MOSASAUR (FINAL) REDUCED & SECURED.pdf
  2. From the album: Texas Turonian (Cretaceous)

    Collignoniceras woolgari or Prionocyclus hyatti Upper Turonian Texas C. woolgari and P. hyatti both occur in the upper Turonian, as index fossils, but can be difficult to differentiate.
  3. "Gracie" the mosasaur was finally freed from her 90 million year old South Bosque Member of the Eagle Ford Shale "prison" today. Partly exposed before her discovery on Fossil Day 2023, she is 4 meters long, complete, and fully articulated - although part of her tail and trunk washed downstream on October 5, 2023. A good part of that float has been recovered. A trip report is following when I get the energy to update my ongoing report after the last 5 straight days of excavation. Thanks go out to @Jared C, @JohnJ, @GPayton, my wife Susie, daughter Angela, Stephen Cruse, and many others who helped - especially Dr. Mike Polcyn of SMU.
  4. Mikrogeophagus

    Brachaucheninae Pliosaur, Kamp Ranch

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Brachaucheninae Pliosaur, North TX Turonian, Cretaceous Jul, 2023 Within the subfamily Brachaucheninae, it is unclear whether this tooth belonged to the genus Brachauchenius or Megacephalosaurus, both of which are regarded as some of the final pliosaurs to exist altogether. It is unclear whether convergently adapted Polycotylid plesiosaurs brought about this extinction or simply filled the niche as it opened up.
  5. Mikrogeophagus

    Brachaucheninae Pliosaur, Kamp Ranch

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Brachaucheninae Pliosaur, North TX Turonian, Cretaceous Dec, 2023 This was a very fragile tooth to prep because it is only a thin fragment on a very weak matrix. After some delicate needlework and b72, I think it came out pretty good.
  6. Winter is the best time of the year for fossil hunting near the cliffs at the french coast. So like every year Natalie and I spend a few days at the "Côte d'opale" in northern France to prospect. The storms and tides cleaned up a lot of the boulders from the last cliff fals. The weather conditions were a bit harsh but we managed a few good prospections and we scored a few large ammonites.
  7. Jared C

    Pachyrhizodus caninus vertebra

    From the album: Texas Turonian (Cretaceous)

    cf. Pachyrhizodus caninus vertebra Middle Turonian Texas ID'd by Cretaceous shark researcher Shawn Hamm - honestly unsure how he narrowed it down but I'll trust his ID
  8. The Rio Puerco Valley was my introduction to fossils. For many years now, I have scoured its Late Cretaceous shales and sandstones in search of ammonites. Somewhere along the way, my fascination with the ornament grew into an investigation of its environment. Last week at the New Mexico Geologic Society's Spring meeting, I made my first venture into the world of paleontological science. With the help of Dr. Spencer Lucas of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, I presented a poster/abstract (Foley & Lucas 2017.pdf) exhibiting my ideas. I received some criticism for incorporating ammonite ornament and caught some grief for including a labeled map...otherwise, this was an amazing learning experience and I am ready to move forward. Back to the rocks!...I have a paper to write. Blue Hill Shale: Spathites puercoensis: Prionocyclys hyatti: Coilopoceras springeri:
  9. old bones

    Post Oak Creek micros for ID

    Exploring a nice sample of Post Oak Creek micro matrix was a new fossil adventure for me. Each new matrix comes with an additional learning curve, and I have managed to identify most of the finds in this one with the help of the excellent collections of fellow TFF members: @ThePhysicist, @JamieLynn, @EPIKLULSXDDDDD, @Jared C, and the informed opinions of @Al Dente and @MarcoSr to name a few. I am also an avid collector of PDFs regarding each new matrix that I explore. I could use some help with these 4 finds. The scale is 1mm in every image. I am having trouble deciding if they are Onchopristis dunklei or Ischyrhiza mira, or something else altogether… Thanks for looking
  10. Hey everyone! Towards the end of my time down in Austin, I collected a dozen or so bags of matrix across three sites that covered the Bouldin Flags (Cenomanian), South Bosque (Turonian), and basal Atco (Coniacian) of Central Texas. Over the course of the last 6 months, I have processed and tried to identify everything that my sieve caught in order to complete this project of mine. I’m sure there are plenty of errors within this amateur study, but I hope that the overall information it provides will at least be of some use to my fellow hunters who are looking for a centralized place to figure out just what kind of tooth they stumbled upon in their local creek. I know that, especially in my first year of fossil hunting, the seemingly endless list of shark names looked like a mountain too tall to overcome. Perhaps this report might just help to demystify that obstacle. There were many expected finds and some total surprises. I learned a lot myself from this whole endeavor and am excited to share what I found. Special shoutout to @Jackito and @LSCHNELLE for so kindfully sharing their fantastic sites as well as their expertise. This could not have been done without their help! Also, if you have found a species of shark not mentioned in this report from the Bouldin Flags, South Bosque, or Atco of Central Texas, feel free to leave a reply with a photo and some info on your specimen! Enjoy! Abundant (), Common (), Uncommon (), Rare () Bouldin Flags (Cenomanian) The Bouldin Flags represents the end of the Cenomanian stage of the WIS in Central Texas. It carries much of the typical “Woodbinian fauna” that is often associated with Cenomanian sites from across the continent. The formation is “flaggy”, tending to split into layers. Much of the formation can be devoid of vertebrate life, but now and then, extremely rich layers may crop up and yield an extensive diversity of sharks, bony fish, and even reptiles to collect from. Processing the matrix can be difficult. I tried to process only the softest material I could find from productive layers as the harder parts were sometimes almost solid pyrite or totally cemented into an unbreakable stone. Even the parts that are soft tend to carry lots of grit that are rough on the hands and fossils. Nevertheless, the Bouldin Flags has some of the most diverse shark and reptile fauna as well as the richest layers, making it well worth the effort of locating. The majority of the collecting for this formation was done in the Lower Bouldin Flags, however, specimens that also occurred in the limited Upper Bouldin Flags sampling will be marked with an asterisk (*=Upper BF) Lamniformes *Carcharias saskatchewanensis Together with Cenocarcharias tenuiplicatus, these species make up the two most abundant sharks teeth to be found in the Bouldin Flags. They are typically only millimeters in size and tend to separate well from the matrix without breaking. C. saskatchewanensis can be easily differentiated from C. tenuiplicatus by its absence of fine striations on the labial faces of the cusps and cusplets. C. saskatchewanensis and C. tenuiplicatus are distinguished from Haimirichia amonensis by their significantly smaller size. I have also seen this species referred to as Microcarcharias saskatchewanensis. *Cenocarcharias tenuiplicatus A common tiny tooth found in the Bouldin Flags. They are easily identified by the presence of fine striations on the labial faces of their cusps/cusplets. Now and then, they may have an extra pair of cusplets. Cretalamna catoxodon Surprisingly rare given how abundant this genus usually is in other similarly aged strata of Texas. From the entirety of my material, I only came across one identifiable specimen in the final batch. Unlike mature Cretoxyrhina agassizensis, these teeth have a single pair of pointed cusplets and are usually more gracile. Unlike Cretodus semiplicatus, these teeth are more gracile and lack wrinkling on the base of the crown and cusplets. C. catoxodon is a relatively newly defined species within the genus Cretalamna and, to my knowledge, the only one documented from the Cenomanian. Cretodus semiplicatus One of the most coveted shark fossils of the Eagle Ford is the fearsome Cretodus. These are some of the biggest and most robust teeth to be found and can be spotted quickly by their size and diagnostic wrinkled crown bases on both the labial and lingual faces. To my knowledge, C. crassidens does not appear until the Turonian. C. semiplicatus, unlike Cretodus houghtonorum, typically exhibits a U-shaped basal concavity and U-shaped crown base border whereas C. houghtonorum is more of a V-shape in both departments. Both typically have gracile cusps. In my hunting at the Bouldin Flags site, I found one perfect tooth and a single, large broken off cusp to another tooth. Cretomanta canadensis This is one of the most interesting teeth to be had in the Bouldin Flags. Cretomanta has been interpreted as a planktivorous filter feeder. These teeth are sometimes confused with rostral denticles of Ptychotrygon triangularis, however the oral teeth of P. triangularis were not found at all in the Bouldin Flags Site. In contrast, the Atco Site (more on this later) did produce many of these oral teeth. I believe this suggests P. triangularis is likely not the culprit for the pictured specimens. Additionally, Cretomanta canadensis is commonly listed in faunas of other Cenomanian sites. Fairly recently in Northern Mexico, an amazingly preserved ray-like filter-feeding shark was discovered and named Aquilolamna milarcae. Sadly, no teeth were preserved, making it impossible to confirm synonymy between Aquilolamna and Cretomanta, but nevertheless there is a suspected connection between the two which future discoveries may one day prove. *Cretoxyrhina agassizensis On the right are the juvenile C. agassizensis ("Telodontaspis agassizensis") Cretoxyrhina are always a welcome sight and not all that rare for the Bouldin Flags. These are some of the larger teeth to be had and are generally well preserved. They typically do not have cusplets, however some specimens may have poorly developed ones as Cenomanian Cretoxyrhina were still in the process of diminishing them. C. agassizensis is a chronospecies of the genus Cretoxyrhina, representing the time period of the Late Middle Cenomanian to the Early Middle Turonian. Throughout the sifting process, I came across small, thinly cusped and distally curved teeth that somewhat resembled the larger Cretoxyrhina teeth I had as well. In researching possible IDs for these teeth, I came across the species Telodontaspis agassizensis which seemed like a decent match. However, Siversson makes the point that this taxon seems to appear only in places where larger, more typical Cretoxyrhina specimens also occur. It would seem that the two genera are synonymous and these smaller teeth instead belong to juvenile C. agassizensis. *Haimirichia amonensis Medium-sized teeth that are extremely abundant in the Bouldin Flags as well as many other Cenomanian deposits of Texas. A decent degree of heterodonty exists and lateral teeth may have many pairs of cusplets. This species was previously known as Carcharias amonensis, however the discovery of a new and well preserved specimen showed that it possessed enough morphological differences to warrant the creation of the family Haimirichiidae. I originally misidentified these teeth as Scapanorhynchus raphiodon which appears to not exist in the Bouldin Flags. *Squalicorax sp. Squalicorax is one of the most abundant teeth present. They are easily identified by their unique shape that highlights their generalist diet. There is currently much work to be done in properly separating the species of this genus across the Mesozoic, so I will simply refer to all teeth found as Squalicorax sp. Ptychodontiformes *Ptychodus anonymous The most common Ptychodus teeth found in both the Bouldin Flags and South Bosque. P. anonymous can be distinguished from other co-occurring Ptychodus teeth most easily on the basis of having a defined marginal area where the transverse ridges will merge instead of bifurcating and running all the way to the end of the crown. P. anonymous is known to have two distinct morphotypes (Cenomanian vs. Turonian), both of which are represented in this post. The Cenomanian morphotype is common in the Bouldin Flags and are typically smaller and more robust than their Turonian counterparts (however my Turonian specimens are just as small as my Cenomanian ones). Another key difference in the morphotypes is that Turonian teeth have an apparent concentric ornamentation of the marginal area whereas Cenomanian teeth have no such feature. It is possible, in the future, these differences may lead to the creation of a new species between the morphotypes. *Ptychodus decurrens This larger specimen in the lower 3 photos was misidentified. I now believe it to be a P. decurrens from the Upper Bouldin Flags. Ptychodus decurrens is a low crowned tooth that is also numerous in this formation. Like Ptychodus occidentalis, the transverse ridging gradually bifurcates to the edges of the crown as opposed to terminating at a distinct marginal area. These teeth are often broad and have the ability to get quite large in size. The bottom specimen shown was originally misidentified as P. marginalis. I have taken another look and now realize P. decurrens is a stronger ID. Despite it being a fragment, I do not think the tooth shows signs of a concentric orientation of transverse ridges and instead seems to follow the hooked on one side and straight on the other ridge pattern more typical of larger P. decurrens. Also, I initially misidentified the formation the tooth came from as being South Bosque based on visuals alone. After getting the chance to process the matrix for micros, it shares much of the same microfauna with the Lower Bouldin Flags and has little faunal overlap with the South Bosque outcrop. I now believe the location to be Upper Bouldin Flags. Ptychodus occidentalis Ptychodus occidentalis is rarer in the Bouldin Flags than the other Ptychodus. They can be identified by the bifurcating nature of their ridges as they travel through the marginal area of the tooth to the edge of the crown. The crown height tends to be higher than that of Ptychodus decurrens. In comparison to P. anonymous, P. occidentalis generally possesses finer and more numerous transverse ridges. This species is also capable of producing some very large teeth. Ptychodus rhombodus is a smaller-toothed species that commonly occurs in the Cenomanian WIS that also shares bifurcating ridge features. It has been suggested, however, that these may represent a juvenile form of P. occidentalis. Orectolobiformes *Cantioscyllium decipiens Common little teeth that belonged to a Mesozoic nurse shark. The teeth look similar to Chiloscyllium, but have striations present on the labial face. Sclerorhynchiformes *Onchopristis dunklei Although not the rarest to find, Onchopristis dunklei represents an order of sharks that hardly seems to be found in the Bouldin Flags. This species tends to preserve both oral teeth and rostral teeth. The rostral teeth are quite iconic, being best known for the multiple barbs decorating its edge. These teeth are fragile and rarely collected in one piece. From the Lower Bouldin Flags, I collected a handful of oral teeth and broken rostral specimens. In my small sample of Upper Bouldin Flags material, I only collected one O. Dunklei rostral and it happened to be the single complete one in the collection. Hybodontiformes Indet. Hybodontiformes Only a singular specimen of a Hybodontiformes tooth fragment was recovered. I don’t believe enough is present to make a confident determination as to whether it belongs to Meristodonoides or some other genera. It has striations on both sides of the tooth and a slight curvature. Other Fauna Amiid? A single, tiny arrow shaped fish tooth was collected. It is difficult to confidently lay down an identification, but Amiid is a candidate for this morphology. Coniasaurus crassidens Coniasaurus crassidens may be found in the Bouldin Flags on rare occasion. Most commonly, teeth, jaw fragments, and vertebrae are found disarticulated amongst shark teeth and shells. Because of their position within the order Squamata, Coniasaurus vertebrae share many visual similarities with larger mosasaur vertebrae from younger strata such as the Ozan. Although Coniasaurus teeth exhibit heterodonty, most of their teeth have a characteristically bulbous shape that distinguishes them from all co-occurring sharks and fish (though anterior-most maxillary teeth may be quite gracile in contrast). While Coniasaurus seems to be restricted to the Cenomanian in England, American specimens cross the Cenomanian-Turonian oceanic anoxic event (OAE 2) and reach the Middle Turonian with some reports even further beyond. Enchodus sp. Typical of just about every Cretaceous exposure in Texas is the saber-toothed Enchodus. The Bouldin Flags is absolutely filled with them. The teeth are generally quite small and vary in shape. Most commonly, they are flattened and take on a recurved shape. Sometimes they may be conical and completely straight. They may be smooth or have striations. Pachyrhizodus minimus These are very small and resemble miniature mosasaur teeth. They are smooth around their circumference and have a strong distal curvature. Pachyrhizodus is a genus known for having relatively large heads, similar to modern Grouper fish. Protosphyraena sp. Protosphyraena was a genus of fish that heavily resembled modern swordfish. Their teeth are common finds all over Texas. They generally take on a flattened shape and bear two cutting edges. They can sometimes have a slight curvature or stay completely straight. The ones I collected were among the larger fish teeth found. Known but missing sharks Pseudomegachasma comanchensis Despite not having personally collected one, Pseudomegachasma comanchensis is known from the Bouldin Flags. Similar to Cretomanta, these sharks are suspected to have been the oldest elasmobranch planktivorous filter feeders. The lingual protuberances on these teeth are so large, they almost look like backwards root lobes. Ptychodus marginalis Ptychodus marginalis is better known from the South Bosque, but has been previously found in the Bouldin Flags, though it is on the rarer end as far as Ptychodus go. They can get large, sometimes to the size of a golf ball. P. marginalis is distinct from other Texan species of the genera in that its ridges go on to form concentric rings as they travel towards the edges of the crown.
  11. Even after having a night to sleep on the fact, I'm still in shock. I was tempted to not even go on this trip since part of me wanted my plesiosaur tooth from last week's Woodbine adventure to be my final impression on North TX. The other part of me wanted one last crack at the Kamp Ranch and a new potential site. It's fine to return to already known locations, but I was thirsting for one more journey into unknown territory where the risk of failure is greater, but the taste of victory is sweeter. After swimming/wading a ways, I found the first small outcrop of Kamp Ranch. I've had some previous experience with this layer in the past, and the knowledge I picked up from then proved useful. While most of the outcrop was relatively devoid of vertebrate material, there was a thin pasty layer cemented to the underside of the thickest limestone that proved to be rich in teeth. I pried out the odd Ptychodus tooth here and there, but pretty soon I was out of real estate. The thick limestone slab looked precarious and the rest of the pasty matrix I was after was nestled deep in the crumbly wall. Noticing the slick shale beneath my feet, I decided jumping away from an avalanche was out of the question and it was time to move on. Ptychodus from the outcrop. All P. anonymous except the top right which may be a P. marginalis(?) lateral. On the walk over to the next outcrop, I made sure to scan the loose pieces of Kamp Ranch matrix scattered about. Most of them were only comprised of oyster bits and Collignoniceras woollgari impressions, but once in awhile there would be some shark. I went for a rock with a shiny black Ptychodus anonymous that had caught my eye. As I dug it out to have a closer look, I saw there was a tiny tan mosasaur situated next to it! Unfortunately it's cracked and in super hard material. If I try to bust it out, it will probably explode! Ptychodus anonymous and mosasaur tooth (Russelosaurine?) Just a few feet further I found an absolute heartbreaker. I could see black striations coming from the edge of a slab and my hopes shot up. As I turned the rock, I realized it was a shattered piece of a pliosaur tooth . Don't even think it's worth keeping... Pliosaur tooth, likely Brachauchenius lucasi I picked up my pack and headed to the last outcrop of Kamp Ranch. I was relieved to see the thick limestone was much more secure. As I examined underneath, I had my mind set on small Ptychodus teeth when I almost fell on my back from surprise. Cemented to the slab was a truly astonishing sight: Pliosaur Tooth! If that wasn't crazy enough, just centimeters below was a limb bone jutting out. I got out my excavating gear and carefully went to work. I don't carry b72 in the field, so each tooth fragment was extracted separately. Afterwards, the bone slid out pretty cleanly. I didn't find other similar material, so I'm not sure if the two are associated or it's just coincidence. Maybe someone familiar with reptile anatomy can say if the bone came from a pliosaur. The tooth came in 6 pieces Once I was home, I got straight to cleaning and gluing. The fragments had held up alright along the journey thankfully and the prep went smoothly. By the end, I was holding up the newest and greatest tooth in my collection! It is most likely Brachauchenius lucasi although Megacephalosaurus eulerti is also a rarer possibility (I don't have access to the paper distinguishing their dentition). Both of these pliosaurs represent the youngest pliosaurids in the fossil record which adds some extra coolness factor. That Woodbine plesiosaur tooth (possible basal Polycotylid) I found last week is interestingly tied evolutionarily with the demise of pliosaurs such as B. lucasi. Polycotylids had traditionally been placed in Pliosauridae until more recent findings moved them to Plesiosauroidea instead. This confusion is likely due to convergent evolution. As pliosaurs disappeared in the aftermath of the Cenomanian-Turonian Anoxic Event, it seems some Polycotylids evolved to fill a similar niche, moving away from gracile dentition (like my Woodbine specimen) and into a more robust form similar to B. lucasi. At least that is how I understand it. Brachauchenius lucasi most likely The second half of the neat discoveries is this reptile bone I found several centimeters below the tooth. I'm not sure it's associated. The high energy nature of the Kamp Ranch makes me wonder if it was just coincidence. Anyways, it seems to be a limb bone. If you look closely, you can see toothy scrapes that are probably from scavenging sharks. I tried to look for signs of serrated teeth, but I didn't see anything obvious. Some of the attached matrix is vertebrate rich with tons of little fish verts and other goodies. Anyone know if this is pliosaur in origin? @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Reptile Limb Bone So glad I decided to have one last exploration before my move. I guess it's not like I will never hunt in North TX again, it's just that it will be much, much more rare. I've added so many new, fun, and interesting sites to my list this past half year, I'm a bit sad to leave them all behind. At the same time, I'm itching with excitement to make new discovers in the southern half of our big state. It won't be easy though! Look forward to more trip reports in the not-so-distant future . Thanks for reading
  12. Hey all! It's good to be back and writing a trip report again - I've certainly been busy this summer. As some of you may recall, my step brother and I found a basal mosasaur in September of 2021. I haven't spoken much about it publicly, but rest assured it hasn't been forgotten! Research and preparation of the specimen is reaching a fever pitch this summer, both of which I'm happy to say I'm actively involved in. The reason for the silence has been to avoid leaking details that might scoop our paper. However... This year at A&M I'm participating in a grant for science communication, and because of this I have permission to show a little more about our animal now, since it's research is the subject of my internship with SMU right now. So! What's been happening with the mosasaur since the last trip report of it (below)? Here is the very abbreviated continuation... January 2022: On a whim, I decided to return to the site - just in case we missed anything. It felt almost foolish to hope for more, considering we already had a significant amount of skull material and a few verts. I came in with no expectations. I did not take long to see more of the animal. I started working several feet away from the pit we had dug, with the idea to work inwards, but instead almost immediately found the terminal vertebrae of the tail.... in near perfect articulation Below: Four vertebrae with haemal arches locked together (several are shrouded by a white layer of paraloid b-72) Realizing what I had, I strenuously chopped a trench out around the block with three chisels and a rock hammer, then somehow lifted the entire thing and walked back the distance to my car. Here it sat below: One year later, these terminal verts were prepped. I think they are spectacular. Let's zoom back to the moment though... I realized we now had both ends of the animal - the back of the skull from September, and the end of the tail from today. Where was the middle? I called Christian (my step brother) and let him know what I found, telling him that we had to attack the site together again to see what more there could be. The following weekend we did just that, expanding our pit until eventually were were met with this sight: This was huge, and we realized we had potential for the entire animal being buried here now. I called up the researchers at SMU i had just connected with, and was instructed to glue the block back into place until a more formal excavation could carry out. Months pass. Multiple attempts at resuming the excavation professionally are made, each falling flat due to unlucky weather or last minute personal commitments. This string of bad luck continued until one day in October... October 2022 Realizing we might not reach years end with an excavation, the folks at SMU suggested I borrow some power tools for the weekend and conduct one on our own. Christian unfortunately couldn't make it, since he had just moved to Washington. Despite his absence, I constructed the best team I could think of.. @JohnJ, @LSCHNELLE, and my dad. For an entire day we happily slaved. I took absolute loads of photos and videos, to avoid the same configuration confusions the SMU folks and I have encountered already. John's experience is the stuff of folk legends, and he has performed many excavations on his own finds before, while Lee practically has Eagle Ford shale running through his veins. Their presence proved to be invaluable and I will never be able to thank them enough. It was an epic hail-mary to undertake in a single day, but we finally extracted the bulk of the animal in several large blocks. I still can't share photos of diagnostic bones, but here are some images from the day below: From left: My dad, John, and I making a trench. Below: An unusual symphyseal ptychodus tooth found while trenching: As the day neared an end, our pace picked up - we were on a serious time crunch and had to make it out of the site soon. With 30 minutes to spare, we all together lifted one of the final slabs and were met with a sight that can hardly be described with words... Lying before us was a pair of dentaries, in amazing condition apart from where the slab split them. Fortunately, the damage is not irreversible - the part and counter-part fit back together absolutely perfectly. Part and counter-part, below: The site, after the end of a long day. Four exhausted, fulfilled men walked away from here. Fast forward to this spring, were I got accepted in a science communication grant program, allowing me to take the research of this mosasaur to new levels with my mentor at SMU. By the end of the summer, we strive to have an abstract for our paper. The work is building to a breakneck pace, but I love and it's what I hoped for... until next time!
  13. Hey all! It's good to be back and writing a trip report again - I've certainly been busy this summer. As some of you may recall, my step brother and I found a basal mosasaur in September of 2021. I haven't spoken much about it publicly, but rest assured it hasn't been forgotten! Research and preparation of the specimen is reaching a fever pitch this summer, both of which I'm happy to say I'm actively involved in. The reason for the silence has been to avoid leaking details that might scoop our paper. However... This year at A&M I'm participating in a grant for science communication, and because of this I have permission to show a little more about our animal now, since it's research is the subject of my internship with SMU right now. So! What's been happening with the mosasaur since the last trip report of it (below)? Here is the very abbreviated continuation... January 2022: On a whim, I decided to return to the site - just in case we missed anything. It felt almost foolish to hope for more, considering we already had a significant amount of skull material and a few verts. I came in with no expectations. I did not take long to see more of the animal. I started working several feet away from the pit we had dug, with the idea to work inwards, but instead almost immediately found the terminal vertebrae of the tail.... in near perfect articulation Below: Four vertebrae with haemal arches locked together (several are shrouded by a white layer of paraloid b-72) Realizing what I had, I strenuously chopped a trench out around the block with three chisels and a rock hammer, then somehow lifted the entire thing and walked back the distance to my car. Here it sat below: One year later, these terminal verts were prepped. I think they are spectacular. Let's zoom back to the moment though... I realized we now had both ends of the animal - the back of the skull from September, and the end of the tail from today. Where was the middle? I called Christian (my step brother) and let him know what I found, telling him that we had to attack the site together again to see what more there could be. The following weekend we did just that, expanding our pit until eventually were were met with this sight: This was huge, and we realized we had potential for the entire animal being buried here now. I called up the researchers at SMU i had just connected with, and was instructed to glue the block back into place until a more formal excavation could carry out. Months pass. Multiple attempts at resuming the excavation professionally are made, each falling flat due to unlucky weather or last minute personal commitments. This string of bad luck continued until one day in October... October 2022 Realizing we might not reach years end with an excavation, the folks at SMU suggested I borrow some power tools for the weekend and conduct one on our own. Christian unfortunately couldn't make it, since he had just moved to Washington. Despite his absence, I constructed the best team I could think of.. @JohnJ, @LSCHNELLE, and my dad. For an entire day we happily slaved. I took absolute loads of photos and videos, to avoid the same configuration confusions the SMU folks and I have encountered already. John's experience is the stuff of folk legends, and he has performed many excavations on his own finds before, while Lee practically has Eagle Ford shale running through his veins. Their presence proved to be invaluable and I will never be able to thank them enough. It was an epic hail-mary to undertake in a single day, but we finally extracted the bulk of the animal in several large blocks. I still can't share photos of diagnostic bones, but here are some images from the day below: From left: My dad, John, and I making a trench. Below: An unusual symphyseal ptychodus tooth found while trenching: As the day neared an end, our pace picked up - we were on a serious time crunch and had to make it out of the site soon. With 30 minutes to spare, we all together lifted one of the final slabs and were met with a sight that can hardly be described with words... Lying before us was a pair of dentaries, in amazing condition apart from where the slab split them. Fortunately, the damage is not irreversible - the part and counter-part fit back together absolutely perfectly. Part and counter-part, below: The site, after the end of a long day. Four exhausted, fulfilled men walked away from here. Fast forward to this spring, were I got accepted in a science communication grant program, allowing me to take the research of this mosasaur to new levels with my mentor at SMU. By the end of the summer, we strive to have an abstract for our paper. The work is building to a breakneck pace, but I love and it's what I hoped for... until next time!
  14. Mikrogeophagus

    Dallasiella willistoni, South Bosque

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Dallasiella willistoni, Central TX Turonian, Cretaceous Dec, 2022
  15. Mikrogeophagus

    Squalicorax sp., South Bosque

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Squalicorax sp., Central TX Turonian, Cretaceous Dec, 2022
  16. From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Pseudoscapanorhynchus compressidens, Central TX Turonian, Cretaceous Dec, 2022
  17. Mikrogeophagus

    Johnlongia parvidens, South Bosque

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Johnlongia parvidens, Central TX Turonian, Cretaceous Dec, 2022
  18. Mikrogeophagus

    Ptychodus anonymous, South Bosque

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Ptychodus anonymous, Central TX Turonian, Cretaceous Dec, 2022
  19. From the album: Texas Turonian (Cretaceous)

    Ptychodus cf. mammilaris (lateral file) Turonian Texas
  20. Jared C

    Ptychodus mammilaris

    From the album: Texas Turonian (Cretaceous)

    Ptychodus mammilaris Turonian Texas Textbook P. mammilaris tooth, medial file.
  21. Jared C

    Scapanorynchus raphiodon

    From the album: Texas Turonian (Cretaceous)

    Scapanorhynchus raphiodon. Turonian Texas Differentiating S. raphiodon and S.texanus is tricky, and in the cases of lateral teeth like this, it gets trickier, as S. texanus has variable laterals that share characteristics generally associated with S. raphiodon, such as weakly striated blades. According to Becker et. al in the 2003 paper "Chondrichthyans from the Lower Ferron Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale (Upper Cretaceous: Middle Turonian) of Emery and Carbon Counties, Utah, USA", S.raphiodon can be distinguished from the later occurring S. texanus by its smaller size, less pronounced vertical striations, and its tendency to bear cusplets on anterior teeth. This barely helps eliminate options when no anterior teeth are present in your sample. So, concerning lateral teeth, one must rely on age. Becker et. al continue their analysis of Scapanorhynchus with the following: "According to Niedzwiedzki and Kalina (2003), S. raphiodon has a chronologic range of Cenomanian-Coniacian and may represent the predecessor of the lineage that later became S. texanus, which is known from the Campanian-Maastrichtian (Case and Schwimmer, 1988; Welton and Farish, 1993)" They confirm this by citing several papers reporting S. raphiodon within the above chronologic range: "Extensive literature exists on S. raphiodon, and the species is known from an associated dentition from the Niobrara Chalk of western Kansas (Hamm and Shimada, 2002). Turonian specimens of S. raphiodon in North America have been previously identified from the Codell Sandstone of Colorado (Edwards, 1976), Tres Hermanos Formation of New Mexico (Wolberg, 1985), Blue Hill Shale of eastern Nebraska (Kirk- land, 1989), upper Eagle Ford Group of Texas (Welton and Farish, 1993), Greenhorn Formation and Cariile Shale of Arizona, South Dakota and Wyoming (Williamson et al., 1993; Cicimurri, 2001, 2004), and the Semilla Sandstone Member of the Cariile Shale of central New Mexico (Johnson and Lucas, 2003). From the Straight Cliffs Formation of the Kaiparowits Plateau in south-central Utah, S. raphiodon is known from the Turonian Tibbet Canyon Member, and the genus is reported from the Coniacian-Santonian John Henry Member (Eaton et al., 1999)" Thus, this confirms pretty strongly for me that despite the overlapping morphology, a middle turonian specimen such as this almost without a doubt represents S. raphiodon.
  22. Jared C

    Ptychodus sp. (undescribed taxon)

    From the album: Texas Turonian (Cretaceous)

    Ptychodus sp. (undescribed taxon) SCALE BAR= 1cm Turonian Texas This tooth belongs to a species of Ptychodus that's similar to P. anonymous that will be described in a paper set to publish very soon. ID of this tooth was verified by Shawn Hamm.
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