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So I have not posted in quite some time as I mostly do the Facebook updates because it is so easy to deal with the photos, but I thought I should get this one in now that I think it is over. I went on a hunt around the middle of January that turned out pretty well. I had walked a good ways and had found nothing which can quickly put me in a bad funk, but I finally came across a mosasaur vert encrusted in matrix, so my disposition changed a little. Always nice to find something to get rid of the skunk (sorry, fishing term). Not too far from the exit point, I just happened to glance across and my eye settled directly on a mosasaur tooth socket. I knew exactly what it was when I spotted it from over 15 feet away. I went straight away to collect what was a small section of jaw with a couple of broken off teeth (pretty typical of the NSR). When I reached down to pick it up, I realized that there was another piece of the jaw and that it would connect with the piece I was retrieving. Score! Now a nice 6 or 8 inches of jaw would look better all glued up, but then I gained a little more focus and realized that what I thought were rocks, were the edges of more bones, and more important was that the fact that the other bones were in the shale and not sitting on top! I gathered myself and beat away the excitement as I knew that I had just found the resting place of a mosasaur. It was getting dark and there was rain in the forecast, so I figured that I would pull out the few pieces that would get washed away. When I went for the first vert, I had totally missed that there was a visible tooth half way in the matrix. I scratched a couple of times near there and that is when it hit me! That jaw bone was going into the ground and there should be more of it! I have a long story about a hike out as I was not prepared for such that I will spare you from, but I had finally found some jaws with teeth whether I would destroy them getting out of there or not. There is more to this story, but I wanted to at least share what got me so excited and the reason I spend hours wandering around in the middle of nowhere.
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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Short 3 hr NSR hunt between the 35 ft rise and the current 8 ft rise. I had very little area to hunt but still had a great day. The Tylosaur jaw section made my day. My new 4x4 saved me once again when I slid down the ditch while parking.
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Fun North Sulphur River Texas hunt. The big Tylosaur tooth and coprolite were my favorite finds of the day.
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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I had a fun hunt today at NSR. I found a nice variety of fossils. My buddy made a friend with a small wild boar. We hiked 4 miles all together. Here's some pics of my finds. Mosasaur jaw section, Xiphactinus jaw section, Enchodus jaws and teeth, Shark teeth, Fish verts, Mosasaur tooth and verts, Tylosaur jaw fragment, Mystery bone and Old marble. The Mosasaur tooth was my first find of the day.
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
North Sulphur River Mosasuar verts, Turtle shell and huge baculites. -
It has been a while since I posted last. School has been hectic, and I have been out of the country as well. I was blessed with the opportunity a few months ago to go to some of the best hunting areas in Texas, all of them places I had wished to visit for years. My mother was a real sport crawling down to the rivers, avoiding the snakes and leeches... We arrived in Ladonia, and drove by the river to get an idea of what the hunting would be like. We skipped on going to the park, knowing it would be well picked over, particularly since the last month it had been flooded, shifting everything. So I got a map and found a different overpass, and we got out to look. (Just so you know, if you ever plan to go here take LOTS of bug spray, sun screen and water. There are chiggers and mosquitoes and lots of spiders. And it is hot. Very, very hot.) It was a very steep climb down to the river bed it's self, so I would advise taking good boots and a walking stick. It started pretty slow, but we managed to find several giant oysters (Name seems to escape me at the moment!) Stumbled over a small creek that flowed into the main river, and headed down it. The goal was to find some mosasaur related material, but we were not having any luck. And just after we headed back to the car, I looked down to see a huge vertebrae! Not going to lie. I was ecstatic! (And yes, it was a lucky coincidence that I happened to be wearing a Jurassic Park T-shirt, haha) I cleaned it up a bit, and this photo was taken back at our bed and breakfast that we were staying at. Good explanation for the terrible lighting. It was a good start to the trip! The next morning we were up and at it again, early. Got out on the river probably by 8. Found some bits and pieces of a Xiphactinus bone, but no more mosasaur for the rest of the trip. There were some nice ammonites and baculites, and then took the afternoon one of the days to head up to Sherman and get teeth. The teeth are of course abundant, and it was so much fun finding them! We ended up with 70+ teeth before heading back to the car. If you have not been there, it has a steep incline if you choose to go to the small bridge rather than the highway. I filled up a five gallon bucket to take home and sort through. About 60 lbs! It was interesting getting it up the incline. We got back to Ladonia, and searched for fossils again, (My goal was to get a Mosasaur tooth) but were unsuccessful, so turned in for the night. We then headed out the next morning again, and saw several water snakes, They are completely harmless though, but a good reminder of the Cottonmouths that inhabit the same waters. And, the leech was an added but unnecessary bonus haha! And no, I didn't kill it. It wasn't doing anything so i just...took it really far off and put it back in the water. The mosy vert was nice, but I decided to split some of the shale because there are ammonites in it. They are just very fragile. Took a while, but I was picking up a large slab, and it split perfectly, all by itself when I lifted it out of the water. I need to prep it, but since this is a very delicate job I am considering hiring someone who has more experience. The special thing about this fossil is the fact the ammonites beak is preserved. I fell in love with it immediately. (Unfortunately I had my camera in a checked bag going to Africa, and it...doesn't work now. So I had to take these with a phone.) I am going to try to see about getting some better ones, because in these photos it is hard to tell what you are looking at. Continued in next post....
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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I had a good day hunting North Sulphur River and NSR creeks. I even ran into a fellow fossil forum member. The Tylosaur vert is my best find yet. The large worn bone I think is Mosasaur, The jaw fragment with partial tooth I'm guessing Mosasuar. The vert with the hole in it and smooth on one side is kind of odd. I just started finding Rudists and now seem to find them every trip. The deer antler is modern but cool so I picked it up. I probably walked over 5 miles today.
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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Good day hunting at NSR creeks. For the first half of the day I helped a friend retrieve a Civil War grave marker from a creek. We researched it and got it back to the family who will return it's proper resting place. We decided to hunt a few hours and had some good luck. My friend Mick found two of the largest Tylosaur verts I have ever seen. I found a nice size broken Tylosaur vert, two smaller Mosasaur verts, bone fragment and a nice piece of Rudists. The huge verts in the last pic were found by my friend Mick but thought I would share the impressive pic.
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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From the album: North Sulphur River Texas
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