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Hey everyone Weather and tides look good for Motunau and possibly Glen Afric this weekend. I'll be driving through from Ashburton, is anyone keen to join? I've never been to Motunau so this would be an exciting exploratory trip for me.

Hi All, I am a rookie fossil hunter here in New Zealand looking and one of my goals is to find a crab. I always seem to come back with bits of bone but never a crab. I think the problem for me is identifying a round rock, amongst all the other round rocks on the beach that may hold a crab. I could go down to my local rock shop and buy a crab. However you can't buy the experience of actually finding one. I am hoping some of the more experienced can offer some tips and tricks for identifying possible fossil bearing concretions. When I go out hunting the things I look for are: • Round or Kidney shaped rocks. • Sandstone with no signs of metamorphosis. • Signs of legs sticking out. My questions are: • Are crabs more likely found in hard or soft sand stone or both? • Is there a particular colour matrix I should look for? • Are crabs often found with other fossils such as shells? Or a crabs generally covered in off shore sediments away from shells?

Hi all, This is a very long shot, however is it possible to identify what sort of animal this bone may have came from based on texture alone? It was found in 2.5 mya marine sediment at Motunau beach, NZ. Thanks all

Hi everyone, Recently I found this partial maxilla and lower jaw fragment of a baleen whale (~2.6 Mya). It is not the most attractive piece but I find it interesting and as it is my second ever fossil find and survived a few million years to get here, I thought I might spruce it up a bit. That being said, does anyone here have any advice they may impart on me about how I could/ should prepare this specimen so it looks nice and could be displayed. My partner reckons this is an outdoors fossil but i'm not sure I could let that happen. So if I get it looking good I may be able to convince her that this is the perfect table centre piece. Here it is: The maxilla of the whale seems to run across the full length and height of the piece. The matrix appears to be made from relatively hard sandstone, with a number of fractures running through it. All significant cracks have been reinforced with Paraloid b-72 adhesive and the exposed bone has been consolidated with a dilute solution of Paraloid b-72. Would it be wise to chisel away the matrix that is covering part of the maxilla? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance.

Hi all, I have this shell fossil that I found and was wondering if anyone could name it. I've read some literature to try find the answer but as I am an amateur I need some help. It was found in Motunau in the South Island of New Zealand where the fossil age of this location is said to be about 2.5 MYA, Nukumaruan stage of the Pleistocene. My best guess was that it may be a Cyclomactra Ovata. However the literature says that they are 60-70mm wide, where mine is more 40 mm. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for you help.

Hi all, As an amateur fossil hunter/ enthusiast I am calling on the wealth of knowledge from members on this site to help me accomplish my goal to find a fossilised crab concretion in the South Island of New Zealand. Attached is a photo of what I though might be a crab bearing concretion however now I'm not so sure. Please share you tips and tricks to help me identify fossil bearing concretions. Many thanks in advance.

Recently on my first fossil hunt I found a nice piece of whale bone. So yesterday I returned to the same spot and found this. It was found in Motunau I think fossils in this location are from the pliocene to miocene. Usually marine fossils are found here. Photos to follow. What do you think It could be?

Hi all! On a resent trip to Motunau beach in the South Island of New Zealand I found what looks to be petrified wood. As I am a complete amateur and this is the only fossil I have ever found, I ask all on this forum to please help me identify this "Fossil". The fossil appears to have a grain running along the side and circular holes when looking at the end grain which become coarser towards the centre. I cannot see any indication of growth rings. The colour is a dark brown on the outside which changes to a lighter brown in the centre. The shape appears to be almost triangular in cross-section. The "fossil" seems to be in a mixture of sandstone and a conglomerate of pebbles. Below are some photos I took, hopefully they're clearer than my use of geological terminology. Thank you all in advance.