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First: Happy Fossil Day! I've been waiting to post my most recent report so someone has something new to enjoy reading on National Fossil Day. This past weekend Cole unexpectedly didn’t have to work on a morning that I also had off! He asked me what I wanted to do while I was grocery shopping at 6am for fruit snacks, jerky, chocolate rice cakes. I told him to take me to Fort Worth area! He asked me how serious and I got him the big bag of jerky and offered to pay for the toll road fee. xD I messaged my insta friend who lives out there and regularly hunts heart urchins! He gave me the location of one of his favorite spots in the woods, he couldn’t be there because of work obligations but he gave me the okay to park and hunt there, I’m forever grateful. Ya’ll on the forum have REALLY made me envious as I’ve always wanted to find my own urchins & echs! Living almost two hours away north east (that’s with morning traffic) makes it a little hard to go to Fort Worth where the echinoid goodies are plentiful. Anyways, we went out and about to Fort Worth! On the way out there I spotted a creek- we were still a while from our destination but wanted to check it out. *Adding pictures with captions* I pulled out my trusty TX geomap on my phone (which I strangely had a slow signal being in a big city!) and saw we were actually in the PawPaw formation. All I could find were stinkin’ oysters with an occasional different looking bivalve- and I combed the gravel good and walked down to many other sandbars. If there were echinoids here Im sure they are a little more uncommon in this spot, this area was well picked over, or isn’t very productive of the good stuff. I’m not in my usual hunting grounds anymore and all of these places are new to me! This isn’t my usual playground. We decided to leave for now and focus on the area my friend invited me to visit. No disrespect to the oysters, but I have plenty of those variety at home! I could come back later and see if any have pearls I guess! ***Im kicking myself because after returning to an area with better internet connection I found out PawPaw formation has asteroid/sea star fossils! I have no idea if these are found here at this site. I’ve been itching to find a sea star like CRAZY. It never crossed my mind they could be here! We finally arrived in the Goodland Formation and I was so excited! The woods were so interesting and a little different than the woods I have back home! Crazy how Texas can look so different depending on how many hours you drive in a given direction!? I was told there are deer so apples for deer: These don’t grow very often wild in my part of Texas. I love the juice of the purple “tuna” fruits they make! I started seeing the rocky, chalky looking exposure and followed it down and dove right in! I found a little ammonite piece (eek!) and knew I was in the right spot! I didn’t expect to find ammonites, even though I knew we were in ammonite territory. Again- not my usual playground! (I actually got stuck by a heartleaf nettle later!) Oh my stars! My first heart urchin EVER. I named it Mary. I haven’t seen coral fossils like this since I lived in Indiana! It was neat to see. So I have a video/reel of me actually finding this ADORABLE little Salenia mexicana urchin! I didn’t know you could find these types of regular urchins here! I came here with heart urchin goggles but the universe gave me this little button! I messaged my friend and he was like, “HOLD UP- you found one of those!?” with some happy emojis. Finding this was so cool, it was just chilling on the ground like, “Pick me Up!” It’s perfect. Im OBSESSED. Regular Urchins/Echs are now my new love. (I might have to request to change my username! J/P btw ) I want to come back and find another! OB-SESSED. ^ Poor Cole, who hasn’t found anything yet, was feeling sad so I told him he was right next to one! I had him look in a spot next to a stick. I told him where it was and he couldn’t find it! I showed him Mary and he scanned the ground with no luck. I gestured my hand over it and he said “how can you tell thats a fossil and not a regular rock?” I made him pop it out and he said “Oh.” LOL I found a mini honey hole! A ton clustered in this one spot! Yay! This should be enough- I came here not expecting to find anything TBH. There was more in there but I left them alone for next time to look through. Cole found me four more! He was so proud and happy and I told him I will keep all four for my personal collection. I was proud of him! Recognizing cars and insects are his knowledgeable thing… rocks not so much. He likes fossils a lot but isn’t good at finding them. He found lots! Yay! My fanny pack is FULL of cool stuff! 85% what is in here are heart urchins, I’m guessing are Hemiaster whitei AKA Pliotoxaster whitei (EDIT: This genus had a name change!) from the looks of it. We kept finding more, but we left them in the open for my friend to find like easter eggs! I’m responsible and never over-collect at a site. Cole gasps and points to the woods- personally, I’m hoping its a snake or other reptile species I haven’t met yet because I love the darn critters…but he finds me an ammonite fragment! There was more of it buried in the dirt. It looks like an oxytropidoceras! Also the negative of one in the dirt! I told him amazing job today, and we celebrated by me taking him out for Cane Rosso pizza! We each ate a whole pizza. xD We also visited that cute little rock gift shop in downtown. ***I wanted to visit other sites but he was so hungry and then we unexpectedly had to go pickup his new contacts at the Opt before they closed for the weekend. He promised another time! He actually REALLY loved finding fossils and asked me if it feels that cool ALL the time like that. He liked the idea when I told him how it’s special to find “lost sea friends” in the ground and show them to the world after millions of years! Back at home, noticing during their first wash one of these isn’t like the other! The “petals” design is different! *Gasp* I immediately message my friend the “ECHpert“ and asked if this was maybe a Heteraster and he thought it was so cool I found a Heteraster and Salenia in the same trip, first trip ever! Yay! Learning new stuff, finding new stuff! (phone camera zoom lens attachment) Hmm not sure what to name this one! *I name certain rocks and fossils. While I was cleaning I also found this little tiny one that got into my bag! It reminds me of the “spiny jewelry box” shells I used to find in Florida when I lived there- but TINY and Cretaceous! Adorable! I named it Julian. (I’m not sure of the species!) Spread: ^ Lots of Hemiaster whitei urchins, I spy lots of Pelecypods and a Tylostoma snail, other snails. I also found a tiny piece of coral and petrified wood. Lots of ammo Oxytropidocedas pieces. Some were glued back together! The rest I will have to simulate into the shape until I find a whole one. If anyone spots other kinds of urchins in the photo I’m mistaking for Pliotoxaster whitei please point them out so I can label them and study the details on how to ID them. I already know I have one Heteraster! I cant wait to clean the chalky limestone plaque off them later! I found that super hot water, a firm tooth brush, and dull pushpin work the best. No acid, Im too chicken to try any drops of vinegar. Im still super obsessed with Salenia. I might gloss it later! Wow! I need to find more regular urchins ASAP. I WILL RETURN! Next time more prepared and ready for the ammonites and other places my friend recommended when he has time off work. I even want to help him find a Salenia too since he is missing one! I will say this short impromptu mini trip really got me bit by the echinoid-bug so much I even ordered a book about the Cretaceous echinoid fossils of Texas online! Maybe I will eventually try Austin and San Antonio too, San Ant apparently has a good spot! I know this was a long post- thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed an insider to this awesome day! Also if anyone else recommends me back to PawPaw since I’m in search of sea stars please inform me if that’s a decent formation to find them in. If so- I’m sure I can find my own spot.

I went back to cover more ground on my massive goodland exposure and found a bunch of additional hemiaster and heteraster echinoids. These are much smaller than macrasters, but I found two relatively large ones. I like the texture due to the bumps where spines once were. Tylostoma and other gastropods can be found there too. I’ll work on blasting the sand off. Tarrant county, TX in Fort Worth.

Another hundred or so prestine hemiaster and heteraster echinoids, some foldy and rough shape oxytropidoceras of various sizes, and my first complete engonoceras ammonite. I almost forgot the hamite. I like the cylindrical shapes of the gastropods, too. Not bad for 1.5 hours on a cold day. South Tarrant County, Texas.

With time running out before the start of the school year, I decided to spread my attention across three DFW formations to get a little taste of what each has to offer. Instead of shooting out a handful of smaller topics, I've decided to combine my trips into a single larger post. I wouldn't say any individual find is a jaw-dropper or museum-worthy, but they, all together, give a nice glimpse into what each formation can yield. In order from oldest to youngest: Goodland This adventure took place in Oliver Creek with the Dallas Paleo Society. It's a regular spot for the group on private property. The site is well known for its plethora of echinoids and highly sought after Oxytropidoceras (still working on the pronunciation) ammonites. A huge crowd of hunters arrived in Justin for the meet-up. I was worried it would be too crowded for the creek, but there was plenty of elbowroom and something for everyone. I'd say about half of the people spent the morning scouring the gravel beds whereas the others got to hammering away in the limestone ledges. Once my brother and I found the good layer, we were nonstop working out urchins and ammonites. The echinoids (A) were literally everywhere and preserved in great condition. We came out with a baggie full of them, but left many more behind. It was pretty easy to find ammonite fragments too. However, finding a complete ammonite with at least a little structural integrity was a tougher challenge. Luckily, fortune was on our side and we came away with four decent Oxytropidoceras's (B). The two pictured below are the largest and prettiest ones. Prepping them will be a challenge though. They are too fragile for the hammer and chisel, but a little too tough for my new dental pick (I bent it a bit already ). Along with these, we also got a neat selection of gastropods and bivalves (C). The Society continued on to a second location, but we decided to call it a day early since my brother was a bit tired of the heat and rock dust. A). Several Holaster whitei from the Goodland Limestone. The ones straight from the ground have amazing preservation. One urchin is covered in oysters (Plicatula?). A coating of b72 gave them a nice sheen. B.1). An Oxytropidoceras ammonite. B.2). The best Oxytropidoceras of the bunch. Its got an interesting feature that I am curious about. There seem to be some fragments of the original shell still attached in a couple of locations. These "shell fragments" have reddish orange splotches on a white base and have a distinct texture to them (I'm not sure if porous is the right word). I wonder if the red coloration is just staining or if they could be indicative of the shells original coloration. When I first noticed them I immediately thought of the red striped shells of modern nautiluses... but I am probably getting ahead of myself . C). An assortment of bivalves and Tylostoma snail. The two smallest clams appear to be Protocardia texana while the scallop is, I assume, Neithea. The largest clam is smooth and difficult for me to ID. Denton Clay Took a trip to a construction site. Didn't find anything and then got my leg cut on a rusty post. Got a tetanus booster and no lockjaw thankfully. 0/10 would not come back! Pawpaw I've been poking around a couple of construction sites located on the Pawpaw formation west of Ft. Worth. They've both been decently productive, though I wish I could've had more time to really look through them thoroughly. It's a really interesting layer with some notable dinosaur finds and shares some visual similarities with the Woodbine in my opinion. The sites I went to cut through I variety of levels in the Earth. I think they are all still within the Pawpaw, but I am honestly not sure. In a more elevated cut, I found the specimens shown in (A). I was super excited when I pulled my first Coenholectypus only to realize that it was very poorly preserved and covered in lots of matrix. I tried some vinegar on it which cleaned it a bit, but the way it's shattered and degraded on the other side makes me think this is as far as I'll go with it. In a lower layer, I found some really interesting fragments of purple ammonites and a bivalve (B). I tried hard to find something complete, but the best I could come away with was the tiny purple heteromorph I added additional pics of. I think the sites needs some rain as many of the fossils were covered in dust and hard to spot. Definitely places I will check out again when I'm back home. Lastly, I decided to include an updated pic of the micro Engonoceras that is seen in my pfp (C). I only just recently acquired paraloid b72 and have been enjoying it immensely. After applying some to my micro ammonite, it has obtained that beautiful "wet" look that really brings out its color and details. I've got some older pyrite ammonite encased in paraffin wax that I may try replacing with b72. I have a feeling they will look much better. A). Bivalve and damaged Coenholectypus urchin. B). Purple fragments of typical ammonites, heteromorphs, and a bivalve. A complete ammonite of this nature still eludes me despite my efforts. C). My Engonoceras with a fresh coat of b72. Eagle Ford Despite the fact that I've been actively fossil hunting for about a year, my experience with the Eagle Ford is focused mostly on only a couple of brief visits to Post Oak Creek. I decided that now was a good time to finally jump in and try to figure this famous formation out. I hit up a few spots at a local creek with huge exposures of bluish shale. Despite the urban sprawl immediately surrounding the area, the tranquility of the creek made me feel like I was out alone deep in the wilderness. There was plenty of foliage and animals to populate it. Something about the place made me wonder if I had somehow traveled back in time. I was quick to get to work, scanning the shale and splitting open some slabs. The matrix was loaded with tons of fragile fish parts. Every slab contained a smattering of scales (I think) and other miscellaneous fish parts. Most of the small things were so delicate they would poof away when exposed to the air. The bigger things were a bit stronger and I was thankfully able to stabilize them before they were mostly destroyed. Early on, I got lucky with a beautiful little Enchodus jaw (A). I believe it's a piece of the lower one. To go with it I always came across a couple of jaw sections with larger fangs (B). Unfortunately, the tips of them immediately popped off and disappeared into the ether before I could preserve them. One slab surprised me with a broken shark tooth that I assume is Cretoxyrhina mantelli (C). It was the only shark tooth I came across that day, but it gives me hope for future expeditions. Of the thousands of fish scales I found, I decided to try and preserve a larger one (D). These guys were very fragile so I'm happy he made it out mostly in one piece. Once again, a slab surprised me... this time with a tiny ammonite, something I don't usually associate with the Eagle Ford (E). And to round off the day, I noticed some protrusions jutting out of the shaly bank. When removing them, I noticed they were rounded orbs containing a concentration of fish parts. I assume that these are coprolites. I don't know much about these sorts of ichnofossils so please inform me if I'm wrong. If they are coprolites, are they from a fish or a reptile and how can you tell? A). Lower Enchodus jaw? B). Some Enchodus fangs and jaws. Tips broke off when revealed. These guys are both consolidated in b72 and were originally in multiple pieces. Reattaching the fangs was some tedious work. C). Cretoxyrhina mantelli? D). Fish scale preserved in b72. E). A tiny ammonite in the shale F). A crappy ending with some suspected coprolites. In Conclusion I had a nice summer break with plenty of time spent exploring the world of fossils surrounding where I grew up. It was a lot to take in, but I truly learned a great deal about the oceans that once swept over North Texas. The diversity of marine creatures is astonishing and it impresses me every time I split open that next slab of shale. With the school year starting up again, I am moving back to Austin. It's been a hot second since I've traveled to my usual Ozan spots and I am excited to get back into business. I'll take the sudden burst of rain today as a sign of good things to come. I can't help but think of all the freshly revealed marine fauna that have finally gotten the chance to take their first gulp of water in roughly 80 million years.

I have no clue what this is, not sure how much is missing so that makes it hard along with still learning about the Goodland formation. Doesn't quite look like a gastropod or ammonite hopefully the little bumps are a clue someone recognizes.

I found this bivalve yesterday while fossil hunting North Central Cooke County near Red River. These area has mixed Walnut Clay, Goodland and Antlers Sand formations. Closest similar one I found on the Internet was Gyrostrea from Commanche Peak formation in Hood county, but I doubt it.

Last Saturday the Paleontological Society of Austin ran a field trip up to a site we had not visited in quite a few years. There is a small regional park on the SE side of the lake just above the dam. Bluffs of alternating rubbly limestone and clay make up the exposure which you hike down to and then scramble up thru the talus and carefully the actual cliff face. Now I had always been told it was Kiamichi Formation at the top and Goodland Formation lower down. The site is mapped (TX Geo Bed Rock Atlas) as Goodland but Kiamichi is close by. When I read the descriptions of both formations in the atlas it isn't any clearer. The Kiamichi layering of Limestone and clay sounds right but should be weathering a lot more yellow. The color is correct for Goodland but the layering seems odd. So here is the question for you Texas collectors of more northern persuasion: GOODLAND or KIAMICHI? or BOTH? and if so what defines one or the other. I am attaching photos taken with the app Thedolite as well as pictures of the fossils collected. See second message for fossils.

A couple of relatively nice Oxytropidoceras sp ammonites I found on a spring hunt with the Dallas Palaeontological Society to Oliver Creek in Denton County, Texas a couple of years ago.

I surprised my wife for our 30th anniversary with a trip to the Choctaw Grand Theater in Durant, Ok over the weekend. And, I convinced her (after studying my geologic maps of the area ) that cutting down through Gainesville and Decatur to Weatherford and then back home to Abilene would be a shortcut. I located a couple of likely road cuts and asked if she minded if I stopped for a look. So, she said, well, you made my weekend, so, sure! You can stop at a road cut or two. The couple I found were in the Goodland/Walnut Clay most likely, or possibly in the Kiamichi. Found these irregular urchins on my stops. Not in the best shape, but I'm happy with them. Looks like they are Pliotoxaster whitei and H.mexicanus, but, I'm sure open to opinions.

Found these cone shaped fossils in the Goodland Formation, Lower Cret., in Benbrook, TX just south of Fort Worth. They are about one half inch wide and about the same tall with a concave underside. Found among gastropods, heart urchins, and oxytropidoceras ammonites. 1. Also found are these tube shaped fossils about half inch long and about 1/4 inch in diameter. They have long tube shaped lines along their sides. 2. Thanks in advance for your help.