Search the Community

Hey folks, Here are some pics of a few vertebrate bits from the Lower Member of the Glen Rose Formation (Albian) here in Texas. I have found the fish teeth before and they are no surprise, but the small vertebra is. I have some indeterminate non-fish bone bits from this same level and at least one sure turtle bone from the formation elsewhere, but suggestions for what this could be are welcome. There are two other items of concern: Round discs that remind me of button corals. I have several handfuls of them and they have eluded identification so far. They hide amongst the GR forams (Orbitolina texana) but are obviously not one of them. The second two items are possibly part of the aristotle's lantern of one of the larger echinoids that occur at this level. But again I could use a hand here. These may take a few pages to post but here goes.

What's up people, I am new to this so bear with me. I am venturing to Wyoming in the near future by truck and was wondering what type of potential collecting sites I could stop at along the way? South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming fossil collecting sites would be greatly appreciated. As I will be traveling by truck, I will make multiple stops along the way to break the monotony of driving. Fee or free, I just need places to collect along the way. I am open to just about any type of fossil collecting, hunting and exploring so feel free to suggest anything. I appreciate it, bones

Hi everyone. I just found this forum and am hoping to get some useful information. I have been doing a lot of research, and have been for most of my life on Fossils, stones and bones. I'll be attending college soon to study Paleontology and geology. It's been a dream of mine since I was very young. I do have some questions though, as I was not able to find answers. As far as collecting vertebrates, all the research I have done, I have concluded that I cannot even keep vertebrate fossils, I must turn them over to the public museums etc. I do see people buying/selling bones, and teeth and am not sure how they're doing it? I know the laws on collecting invertebrate specimens but can't figure out how one becomes a fossil dealer or one who is able to sell bones on Ebay. Can anyone give me some advice/information? I'm at a loss. I do have some bone fragments and teeth, that I'd bought from local stone shops. I don't have a clue on how they're able to sell them, but I am interested in this. Again, I cannot find any information whatsoever on how people become fossil dealers or even sell them. Where does one start when looking for vertebrates? Thank you all in advance!

"It ain't worth beans" a discouraged prospector would say when disgusted over the year's panning gone sour. When in my home during the frequent summer trips, it was a 1956 VW, 900cc lawn mower engine, practically NO HEAT, NO Power to get up a mountain road, nor room for two people to stretch out for getting some sleep on a long trip... beans and tuna in a can were the menu. Potato chips. Canned corn. Apples. A huge watermelon. Those doughnuts with the white powdered sugar... This was the diet of young fossil collectors, and I am proof that it was healthy, as I am still moving around with minor ailments. Once I was married... things changed. Unfortunately... AFTER we were married. The "this is so cozy honey..." went to "we need the two story, 75 square foot apartment made from canvas. Of course, after a 50 mile per hour, gusting to 65 miles per hour Wyoming wind... we were sleeping under the Stars... But that thought was quickly forgotten about the star canopy and snuggling up in a sleeping bag made for one. Then it was..." I will stay with Mom and you go on" and ... "have fun collecting, or whatever you do". Somehow the romance of getting out into the field, camping in pure squalor, mice running over your head after sunset... was no longer on the short list of things the Mrs. wanted to do. Honey... these small rattle snakes... never... crawl into the sleeping bag (or do they?) when you are gone collecting during the day. Scorpions in your shoe... just in those old western movies. (or do they?) She had me wondering, now. Well, beans, tuna and corn topped with a can of icy cold Coca Cola in an ice chest the size of a modern woman's purse... with a sugar frosted doughnut days came to and end. It was now time to step up in the world. Dinty Moore beef stew. Propane cook stove. Pots, pans, wash tubs, clean underwear, deodorant, tooth paste, shaving razor... now a 3/4 ton 4x4 Chevrolet pickup to haul the Mrs. and all of our home belongings... to hunt fossils in the Nebraska Badlands. Then tent camping at a camp ground with showers, running water, flushing toilets... restaurant, horse back riding, art classes... and maybe time to... hunt fossils. Somehow things were getting out of whack. No longer was I leading the troops into the unknown. It was going to the Playhouse on Thursday, ice cream social on Tuesday, swimming at the Hot Springs in South Dakota for Saturday. I went from Rooster to a Hen Pecked explorer wanna be. I had become... domesticated. After 17 years of transformation the Mrs. wanted me to quit my business and join hers. Setting up computer systems and programming for Desk Top publishing and Advertising Agencies needing computer consulting. Computers? Software. My question... "do these plug into a wall socket?" After the divorce... she left me with the rocks and fossils. She married an older guy who worked for a medical magazine publisher, a good client of hers. I had my... beans, tooth brush, tuna in a can and some Dinty Moore with an expiration date "good until"... that might even be good today. And best of all... MY 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser and extra rock hunting equipment, that she apparently forgot to take. She wanted everything else. That worried me, a lot. Today I have a wonderful understanding wife. She is not into computers was my first question when we met. She loved camping. She loved dogs! That other woman that was so starry eyed at the beginning,...hated dogs and my fossil hunting friends. Now after 22 years of happily being married, we have two Blue Heelers, a 23 foot trailer and cannot wait for mid April to begin our camping season. We still have beans with hot dogs from time to time. Tuna in a can... for me at times. I still love cold corn in a can, but keep it to myself. My wife cooks like a French Chef... but without the accent. I finally found my partner for LIFE. When she has had enough tromping through the gullies and hills... out comes a book and she will read. Now we have a house on wheels, showers, heat, running water, refrigerator... a bed. If you do not like the scenery... hook up, start up the truck... gone. Now this is, of course, the unabridged and unedited (at the present) story. My wife loves my fossil friends, well... what is left of them from the last situation. Stuart in Laramie, Wyoming has always hung in there, but he is still single and can do what and whenever. I have few restrictions today. Actually, age has added some conformity to my relationships... unless they bring up Creationism... and then I bring up the possibility of the next Great Extinction, which will take care of that problem. But, I wander again. Now the title BEANS was intended to keep JohnJ from flagging my photo or deleting my post... so... keep this quiet for a bit. Post YOUR beginning with the girlfriend/boyfriend to Mrs./Mr. and since you are really anonymous and I am hanging out there in the wind for now... lets hear it. Sometimes an interest becomes the glue that bond two people for life. I love my wife so much, that it is Valentines Day every day. Our wedding day was March 21st, the first day of Spring, or at least always close to the first day of Spring. How could I be so lucky? I am certain that it was probably... ... the Beans. I should have known. This was my Valentine for 2014 to my wife and friends who follow the Fossil Forum.

After 121 years, identification of 'grave robber' fossil solves a paleontological enigma, PhysOrg, Nov. 19, 2012 http://phys.org/news...ber-fossil.html Mystery Molelike Mammal Survived Dino Extinction Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience, Nov. 19, 2012 http://www.livescien...extinction.html Press Release - http://www.eurekaler...n-a1y111912.php Rougier, G. W., J. R. Wible, R. M. D. Beck and S. Apesteguia, 2012, The Miocene mammal Necrolestes demonstrates the survival of a Mesozoic nontherian lineage into the late Cenozoic of South America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in press. doi:10.1073/pnas.1212997109 http://www.pnas.org/...997109.abstract Best wishes, Paul H.