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Well, with the seemingly permanent closing of the Waco Pit/ research area, I figured why not start a thread that summarizes the best experiences the members here have had with it. As they say - don't be sad it's over, smile because it happened! I feel close to the site because it was my first anchor when I began fossil hunting. If not for the generous richness of the site, I may have burnt out in my early days with the frustration of not being able to find my targets locally. So, here are some of my favorite snap shots of the time I spent romping up and down those big exposures. My very first shark tooth, ever. Cretolamna appendiculata (It's still one of my best representatives of the species) and in situ: And what is the Waco Pit known for if not its fantastic array of invertebrates? Not only are the ammonites famous for their preservation, but their insular dwarfism also makes them biologically interesting. It's also known for its echinoids, which I was oblivious to in my early days of exploring the pit. Cidarid plates are an occasional find, and collapsed tests of other echinoids litter the landscape. Unfortunately, I never took a closer eye and hunted the site with the technique one is supposed to - inching by just a few square feet at a time, on your hands and knees. Who knows how many echinoids of a variety of species I missed. Fossils are cool because they were alive once, and so It would be wrong to ignore some of the living members of the Waco Pit. Here's a juvenile plain bellied water snake (nerodia erythrogaster) that my friend and I found on a hardcore, all-day romp spent in the furthest areas of the pit. I'm glad I got familiar with this site before it closed. I know it peaked in the first couple decades after opening, but even catching it on its tail end was a pleasure. Let's see what ya'll have found!
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