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Found 19 results

  1. Hi folks! I'm relatively new to the Dallas area (about 4 years now) and very new to rockhounding/fossil hunting. I've done some of the basic hunting in the fossil parks, but I'm looking to branch out and find new things. I keep seeing the Atco and Kamp Ranch names thrown around, but I have no idea how to actually locate them. I understand that they are part of larger formations, but as someone who doesn't have any training in natural sciences I'm not really sure where to look. The few times I've attempted to find somewhere off the beaten path I've been unsuccessful at finding anything besides calcite. If anyone is willing to share any helpful hints or trusty references I would appreciate it!
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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
  5. Mikrogeophagus

    Inoceramid Pearl, Kamp Ranch

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Inoceramid Pearl, DFW Turonian, Cretaceous Apr, 2023
  6. Mikrogeophagus

    Ptychodus decurrens, Kamp Ranch

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Ptychodus decurrens, DFW Turonian, Cretaceous Apr, 2023
  7. Mikrogeophagus

    Ptychodus mammillaris, Kamp Ranch

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Ptychodus mammillaris, DFW Turonian, Cretaceous Apr, 2023
  8. Mikrogeophagus

    Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Kamp Ranch

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Cretoxyrhina mantelli, DFW Turonian, Cretaceous Apr, 2023
  9. This month I decided to take on the challenge of finding my first Kamp Ranch sites. It's not the easiest thing to do since, to my knowledge, the elusive layer is not mapped anywhere. I spent a lot of time scouring the waterways of North Texas and by the end, I came up with two distant potential spots for a couple days worth of hunting. I traveled to the first site one sunny morning and after a long walk, I finally made it to the water's edge where I met endless limestone slabs filled with Collignoniceras woollgari impressions, meaning I was just in the right place. I readied my rock hammer and began the search. It was mostly just oyster fragments initially, but soon enough I started picking some nice Squalicorax and tiny Ptychodus anonymous. The Kamp Ranch was pretty hard, and that meant that the Squalicorax rarely survived extraction. Even the Ptychodus, which are usually quite resilient, ended up shattering more than I'd like to admit. I built up a steady flow of Ptychodus anonymous before spotting an enigmatic crusher tooth. I was excited since it appeared to be very large and of a rare species, but it turned out only to be a fragment. What's strange about it is the flat crown and few yet thick transverse ridges on top. The only species I know of this nature is Ptychodus latissimus, but in Texas those are better known to begin in the Basal Atco (Early Coniacian). I did some research at home and found that P. latissimus has been observed in Middle Turonian outside of Texas, so I suppose it is a possibility here. Possible Ptychodus latissimus After some more finds like a huge Xiphactinus tooth and Cretoxyrhina cusp, I at last flipped the slab that would yield the definitive best find of the day. In perfect condition was the biggest Ptychodus anonymous I had laid eyes on. I was familiar with the fact that the Turonian P. anonymous morphotype was supposed to be larger, but it's always different seeing it in person. Initially, I wasn't totally sure if it was P. marginalis instead, but the taller crown and anonymous-esque marginal area led me to believe it was the former. P. anonymous A couple weeks later, I ventured out to my second site. This locality had a smaller exposure on timid waters, so I was looking forward to being able to hunt for freshly eroding fossil from the limestone wall. When I first showed up, I was once again greeted with limestone slabs containing Collignoniceras woollgari impressions, however I was struggling to even find a single shark tooth among them. I recalled reading in the past that the Kamp Ranch can be spotty, so the possibility that this locality might be barren was looming in my head as I traversed the creek. Once I reached the exposure, I pulled out the probe and danced my way through the limestone blocks. I skimmed through the whole exposure pretty quickly, but only came out with a few Squalicorax teeth and a big Cretoxyrhina from the gravel. I was a bit disheartened. This was such a nice looking location, how could that be all there was to offer? Cretoxyrhina mantelli in the gravel Desperate to salvage the day, I got down low and searched the under side of the lowest slabs. After dodging a spider, I spotted the outline of a Ptychodus sticking out from a shaley layer cemented to the underside of the limestone. The matrix was soft enough I could dig it out with my fingers. Then I noticed another... and another. This layer was extremely productive and soon I pried off a slab of it to process atop a boulder. I could not believe the number of teeth I was finding. Pristine teeth from just ONE slab Not only were the Ptychodus numerous, they were also diverse. Shawn Hamm in a recent paper listed six species of Ptychodus occurring in the Kamp Ranch. I didn't know it at the time, but after some cleaning, I have EVERY one of those species represented from only a day's worth of hunting! Some of the more special ones included P. mammillaris which was a new species for me. Also, I found an upper medial file tooth of P. marginalis(?) which are always a neat tooth position with their unique proportions. P. decurrens is one I usually don't associate with the Turonian in Texas, but they made it through and I managed to snag a textbook one. Ptychodus mammillaris Upper medial file Ptychodus marginalis(?) Ptychodus decurrens The Lamniformes were also plentiful, though difficult to bust out in one piece. Dallasiella willistoni, a common smaller tooth from the Turonian Huge Cretoxyrhina mantelli One of the coolest finds was not a tooth at all or even from a vertebrate for that matter. The Kamp Ranch is a bit famous its fossil pearls. When I spotted a perfectly spherical curvature from the slab I put in 110% effort to pop it out cleanly and not have it fly away into the flowing water below. It came out in one piece and after looking through the microscope, it has the polygonal structure expected for a Kamp Ranch pearl. Inoceramid Pearl. That rock it came from also had two Ptychodus anonymous and a Cretoxyrhina mantelli as well Towards the end of my slab-splitting, I found an enigmatic fossil. Its flat and a fishy bone look with a bunch of holes on one side. The other side is completely smooth. My best guess is it's from a Plethodid fish, but it looks pretty different from the South Bosque (also Turonian) Plethodid fragments I have in my collection. Possible Plethodid After a long and rewarding day hitting the slabs, I turned around to head for the car. Of course, my eyes were locked on the gravel anything I had missed on the way in. No teeth were to be had, but I did find a thin shale ammonite entirely separate from matrix. I have no idea how it managed to survive in the gravel. It's so delicate and even has the tubercles of the shell intact on both sides. It's obviously not from the limestone, but would this still be Collignoniceras woollgari? It was a great day. I'll be visiting both of these sites again in the future for sure! Finds at the second site: Top L to R: P. marginalis, P. mammillaris, and Undescribed species Bottom L to R: P. anonymous, P. whipplei, and P. decurrens Top: Cretoxyrhina mantelli Bottom L to R: Plethodid?, Dallasiella willistoni, Inoceramid Pearl, Cretalamna sp., and Squalicorax sp. Thanks for reading!
  10. Mikrogeophagus

    Ptychodus anonymous, Kamp Ranch

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Ptychodus anonymous, DFW Turonian, Cretaceous Apr, 2023 This week I made my first venture into the Kamp Ranch of DFW. It was a great spot with loads of Ptychodus. Most of them were only fragments, but I got a handful of keepers. This specimen was the find of the day. I thought it was P. marginalis at first, but @LSCHNELLE suggested P. anonymous was an option and I took a second look. It's a bit higher crowned than most P. marginalis and the marginal area is indistinguishable from the other P. anonymous of the day. I had read that the Turonian morphotype of this species was larger than the Cenomanian and could often reach 20 mm, but this is the first time I've directly observed this increased size.
  11. Mikrogeophagus

    Ptychodus latissimus, Kamp Ranch

    From the album: Eagle Ford Group

    Ptychodus latissimus, DFW Turonian, Cretaceous Apr, 2023 Ptychodus latissimus is a rare species and is better known from Early Coniacian deposits like the Atco. However, they are not unheard of from the Middle Turonian. This fragment of a tooth is extremely low crowned and possesses few very yet thick transverse ridges. It also has a unique margin. I don't think there is any other Ptychodus species that can match this design better than P. latissimus. I've got a couple more potential Kamp Ranch sites circled so fingers crossed I can find a more complete specimen in the near future.
  12. I finally found a fossil pearl. It's from the Kamp Ranch limestone. It's almost perfectly round with milky inclusions.
  13. LanceH

    Lance's 31 July 2022 tooth

    Any ID on this tooth I found this morning?
  14. ThePhysicist

    Undescribed squamate tooth

    From the album: Squamates

    Originally believed to be an anterior position of Coniasaurus, this is an undescribed squamate reptile tooth from the Turonian of North TX (via pers. comm. with Mike Polcyn; discovered 4/20/2022). It has only a distal carina which is offset, some faceting on the labial face of the crown, and textured enamel which becomes smooth on the mesial edge.
  15. ThePhysicist

    Coniasaurus tooth

    From the album: Squamates

    A small tooth from a small aquatic reptile that lived during the Turonian of North TX. They are small, squat teeth with textured enamel, and possess only an indistinct distal carina (no mesial carina).
  16. I stopped by a housing development that cut into Kamp Ranch Limestone and found a few teeth. Most of the teeth were in a chunk of sandy matrix I broke up at home.
  17. ThePhysicist

    Russellosaurine tooth

    From the album: Squamates

    This small tooth is likely from a juvenile small, early mosasaur. In just a few million years, these aquatic reptiles would diversify and grow to large sizes.
  18. ThePhysicist

    Possible Dallasaurus tooth

    Hi y'all, I have been acid prepping some Kamp Ranch matrix for weeks and today I saw this peeking out. I'm thinking it's a Dallasaurus turneri (basal mosasaur) tooth. It's posteriorly recurved, has no mesial carina, and has a circular basal cross section. The crown height is 3 mm. I believe there's a hairline crack, so I may try a little glue before attempting to finish getting it out (if I decide to). More knowledgable eyes would be appreciated! @JohnJ @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon ^ from Bell & Polcyn (2005) they appear to be about 3-5 mm in height.
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