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Found 18 results

  1. Shaun-DFW Fossils

    First “prepped” echinoids

    I am new (12-14 months) to hunting for fossils and even newer to trying my hand at prep work. I have zero tools and I’ve mostly dabbled with a few air scribes doing volunteer work cleaning dino bones at southwestern Adventist university, who has a massive collection. But my friend let me practice with his air abrasive tool, which I had not used before. I was pretty happy to get these three hemiaster whitei echinoids prepped after finding them in Fort Worth. He advised me to hold the tool at least an inch away and do slow horizontal back and forth motions to blast away the tiny particles of matrix (and a few larger chunks) I had to free up. I managed to not chip any of them, thankfully! I will be trying my hand at some larger macrasters next. One of them still needs just a little work near the bottom.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. I went to an “easy walking” spot to enact my own play called The Rockcracker while my daughter went to see The Nutcracker. This Goodland formation spot is a guaranteed echinoid grab every time. I have a bunch of flawless hemiaster whitei echinoids and a small number of heterasters, plus perhaps the smallest ammonite I have and a few nice gastropods.
  5. I probably like echinoids more than some people do..I found these in Fort Worth formation, Grayson, and strangely one of them came from a creek at the woodbine/eagleford border in arlington, but I’m told it’s not likely to have originated from that formation. I have a crate full of little echinoids not shown here, these are my biggest ones. One of my best macrasters seems to have little spines stuck to the bottom. Maybe that’s something else?
  6. 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.
  7. Jared C

    Hemiaster beecheri

    From the album: Texas Campanian (Cretaceous)

    Hemiaster beecheri Campanian Texas The Ozan may be known for inverts around the NSR, but those invertebrates are overshadowed by the charismatic vertebrates characteristic of the formation. Those northern exposures far overshadow its southern exposures, in both vertebrates and especially invertebrates. Now knowing that, this echinoid is a rare find for the Ozan, and its delicate nature means that once exposed it wouldn't even survive a single rain.
  8. Apologies for the dramatic title. I thought it sounded cool and stuck with it even though 90 + 80 + 80 is only 250 . Anyways... This past 30 days, I decided to make it a point to check out some new spots. I won't be living in Austin soon, so I thought it would be good to branch out and scout some new locations with potential. I've found lots of creek-worn mosasaur bits and pieces over the past year. I'm ready to find things in situ, and, one day, something articulated. It's a tall order, I know, but I feel like it's the next step and really the ultimate goal I've always had. So, the first step towards this objective was to find locations and, of course, take a look. This is what I saw! Location 1. Austin Chalk: In my usual Ozan stomping grounds, I've come across a variety of fossils ranging from the Eagle Ford to the Ozan itself. Included, was an assortment of spectacular Austin Chalk invertebrates along with the occasional and highly sought-after mosasaur vertebra. They can be readily distinguished from their Ozan counterparts by their yellow-orange preservation and lack of pyritic elements. Honestly, I come across them just as commonly as I do Ozan verts, so I took this to be a sign that the Austin Chalk could be a good bet. In Austin, it's a pretty wide formation with lots of members to look into. I did some research and found a place with some potential. When I arrived, it was a hot afternoon. I picked up my backpack and swapped my school notes out for a rock hammer and a couple of icy bottled waters. Walking down a little trail, I came across the first large exposure of Austin Chalk in what I believe to be the Dessau member. Literally within the first minute, I had to take a double-take at a white glint on the ground. "Surely there couldn't already be a shark tooth," I thought to myself as I kneeled for a closer inspection. Sure enough, it wasn't just a shiny piece of shell; it was indeed the enamel to a bleached tooth from the king shark of the Late Cretaceous seas, the infamous Cretoxyrhina mantelli! Thankfully, it popped out in one piece. A recreation of the tooth in situ and after extraction. I poked around the rest of the surrounding exposure. There were a couple of mangled echinoid bits and gastropods, but not much else, so I continued on to search the main creek. Unfortunately, the only apparent path forward was along a narrow and steeply banked feeder stream. Many of you will know that navigating through these can be a real pain. The brush was densely packed and smelly stagnant water had to be avoided with every step. There were thorny vines dangling from each limb and I was constantly tasked with picking off the burrs that snagged onto my clothing and in my hair. Last year, I was in a similar situation when I was suddenly attacked by a hive of wasps (don't worry, I managed to avoid getting stung too much). It's a fun story to tell friends now, but I must admit that the thought always crawls back into my mind when I am in a position that's a bit difficult to get out of in a hurry. Anyways, after about twenty minutes, I took the final hop over a fallen tree to get to the main creek. It was nice to breathe in the fresh, open air as I sat my backpack down and took a rest, of course, with my eyes perusing along the limestone bed. After the brief sit-down, I began to notice the beauty of the area I was in. The air was filled with the drip-drop of water leaking from the fern-covered bank and the reflection of the greenery was simply mesmerizing. I couldn't help but snap a quick photo. A beautiful, hidden place away from the city. Though, not too far... there's a shopping cart wedged in the gravel just out of frame. In terms of fossils, this place was loaded. Just about everywhere I stepped, I was standing over piles of clams and oysters along with the occasional baculites segment. I didn't bother taking any of these with me, however, as I have plenty already. I noticed there was a decent amount of chert as well, so artifacts were on my radar when I came across a preform. A little farther down the creek, I found a nice ammonite fragment. I didn't intend on keeping it, but sometimes it's nice to have something to hold so I took it along with me. By now, much of the afternoon had come and went. It was about time I turned around and faced the prospect of navigating my way through the dreaded feeder creek in reverse. As I was coming to a stop, I saw a girl walking along the slanted banks of the creek who almost certainly did not enter the way I did. I tried my best to get her attention without spooking her (keep in mind I look and smell like a swamp monster at the moment). She was nice enough to come close to the limestone ledge and introduce herself as I trudged my way through knee deep waters towards dry land. Turns out, she's a local who often hikes by the creek. We chatted for some time and I ended up giving her the preform and ammonite fragment, hopefully inspiring a future hobbyist. After explaining the situation I was in, she laughed and pointed out a trail that led back to the road. When I climbed out and exited the trail sore and tired, I kicked myself. My car was right in front of me. I could have taken this path from the beginning, but instead I took the road never traveled and boy did it make all the difference. Location 2. Ozan Formation: Although many of the mosasaur verts I come across are from the Austin Chalk, a significant portion are still from the good ole Ozan. With that in mind, I took a trip to a creek I usually don't hunt that had a decently-sized exposure. Something in a book tipped me off to this particular site, so I had high hopes. The trip from the road to the waterway wasn't as troublesome as the feeder creek from the week before, but it was still a challenge. I worked my way along the dirt bank to a place I could safely enter the waters when I saw what I was more so wary of. Across the lazy stream was a tent set up along a slope with a clothesline and shopping carts around it. On the initial drive to this spot, I did take notice of the pronounced homeless presence in the area. From the cover of the trees, I took a moment to scope out the tent and the surrounding area. The last thing I wanted was to have an unexpected encounter in a secluded place like this. Luckily, it seemed nobody was home, so I entered the creek, though making sure to have my rock hammer visibly in hand. When I approached the first gravel bar, I was greeted with tons of broken down blocks of Ozan shale and various Austin Chalk fossils. Curious, I started splitting the blocks open to see what the area had to offer. Each one was filled with heart urchin spines and plates! Most were fragmented and all were extremely fragile. Still, I took this to be a good sign. After hours of splitting the loose slabs, I finally found a complete irregular urchin. It's a definite upgrade from the half of one I had found a while back in the Ozan (though that one did have a nice red color). A compressed heart urchin. Looks to be Pliotoxaster/Hemiaster? It may appear round, but it is totally flat! The slab splitting continued with some compressed ammonites and enchodus teeth, but not much more, so it was time to move on to the main event. As I walked the rest of the gravel bar, however, I was forced to once again stop in my tracks. Lying in the mud right in front of me was, by far, the largest mosasaur vertebra I had ever seen in person. It had the preservation of what I assume to be Austin Chalk (of course as soon as I return to the Ozan). The underside of the vert was badly weathered, but it was, nevertheless, far heavier than any others in my collection. Plus, I only need one decent side to show in my picture . Gargantuan mosasaur vertebra. I wonder how long the whole lizard was. Welp, there's really no better motivator than something like that, so I took the short walk to the main exposure. A large expanse of creek bed was Ozan shale ripe for the picking. I got straight to working chiseling out every strange thing just poking out of the ground. Most of them were only oddly shaped pyritic accumulations, I'm guessing originally bivalves and poop. Now and then I would come across a Hamulus squamosus worm tube or piece of fish bone. The bed was a little difficult to see as the lack of recent rain meant that the detritus and algae had yet to be washed away. I didn't find much in the water. Thankfully, the dry parts of the bed were easy to probe. Eventually, I came upon something unmistakably bony. Before I could stop myself to snap a photo, I was already digging. It popped out easily and was instantly apparent of being mosasaur, the very thing I was seeking most. Frantically searching for a continuation of the vertebral column, I spotted what I thought was the head of the next vertebra behind. In my mind, I could see it all right in front of me. The ultimate prize was right there! Just some minor excavating and I'll have done it! Perhaps in theme with fool's gold, I was fooled by the imprint of the very fossil I had just pulled out . I was bummed out for a second, until I had time to realize that this was my first ever mosasaur vert found in situ! Out popped my first in situ mosasaur vert! Cleaned up, it is a real beauty. The color of the cuboidal pyrite outgrowths looks amazing when moved under the light. "Fool's gold" is a real disservice as far as names go. And with that, the sun was already starting to set. The finds of the day. 2 mosies, a flattened echinoid, a Hamulus squamosus tube, an Austin Chalk ammonite, and an Austin Chalk Exogyra tigrina. Location 3. Ozan Formation: After crossing such a major milestone, I had no choice but to head out for the Ozan again once a brief rain had passed. This new location was similar to number 2 in that it was a large expanse of Ozan creek bed. Unfortunately, the route to reach it from the road was a treacherous one. I didn't intend on swimming across a sudden deepening of the creek waters, so I had to search along the steep banks for ways to traverse the barrier. There was somewhat of a flattened trail along a slope with various obstacles that seemed the most doable to me. For the most part, I side-stepped my way across, hugging the dirt and tree limbs to avoid losing balance or putting too much weight on the unstable ground. Now and then, I'd have to cross through a bush that would replenish the population of burrs covering every part of me. By that point, I couldn't have complained too much as things were going relatively smoothly. That is until I made one misstep and had to quickly catch myself by snagging an exposed tree root. Regaining my composure, I heard the rustling and sliding of a plastic bag followed by a loud splash of water from underneath my feet. I usually carry my dirty pair of tennis shoes in a plastic bag since I swap between them and water shoes on my excursions. Now they were just a white shimmer far beyond reach. I hopped off the bank and landed on firm ground. Most of the bed was readily exposed to the air. There was a high density of deer and raccoon tracks. I was entertained most by the shale claw marks I saw at the bottom of shallow pools that I interpreted to be raccoons taking a refreshing swim. From way up the creek, I even caught a glimpse of a coyote jumping from out of the foliage. He sniffed around a bit before noticing me and darted off the other way. I settled down to catch my breath and inspected broken bits of Ozan shale nearby. Pretty soon I spotted the first regular echinoid I've seen in the Ozan. Unfortunately, it was too fragile and didn't survive the journey home. A regular echinoid and a mess of urchin spines surrounding. This portion of the Ozan is rich in echinoid material, though heavily compressed and often very fragile. Denture clams are the other most common find of which fragments can also be seen here. After some rehydration, I got up to start looking for bone. It took some time, but I eventually found a peculiar specimen sticking out of the shallows. It was too suspect to ignore, so I began excavating. Spongey thing as originally found. I was hoping it would be a rib or something, but it just didn't look right. The pores of the cancellous bone were much larger than what I was familiar with for reptiles and the thing didn't seem like fish at all. Typical for fossils in this layer, there was pyrite all over. However, there was an additional mineral I hadn't encountered before. Encrusting the entirety of the underside were selenite(?) crystals in prismatic shapes. As I dug deeper and deeper, the form continued on. The spongey thing was long and had curvature. There was another short one layered just underneath it intersecting close to the hammer. If it's vertebrate, I have no idea what bone it would be. I suspect it's invertebrate in nature. Revealing more of it showed that a separate, shorter piece was present just underneath. Both structures were flattened, fragile, and had to be removed in chunks. From what I could tell, their spongey structure remained consistent across the entirety of their lengths. Once extracted, I searched the surrounding space, but found no sign of continuation. Post extraction I was completely stumped by what I had found. All I could think was spongey, pores, spongey, pores. I am embarrassed to admit it took me way too long to cut off the "y" and realize that it's likely a sponge. Pore bearing (porifera) is about as accurate as you can get when describing it. So, I settled with that as my final guess for what this mystery structure could be. Though, this is still up for debate, so let me know if there are any opposing opinions. From there, I took a couple of paces before stumbling upon the next thing of interest. It was a robust black protrusion with some apparent symmetry. Okay, if the last thing was pseudo-bone, surely this had to be the real thing. As per usual, there was pyritic encrusting on it. From how it was positioned, it was hard to say how long it could be - if there was much more to try and dig out. I got to chiseling and it popped right out within the first few swings. Instantly, I knew I had once again fallen for some pseudo-bone. That being said, it was the first time I had found carbonized wood in the Ozan. I don't usually keep fossil wood, but this guy is interesting enough to warrant it. A pyritized deposit of coal, pretending to be a mosasaur rostral. The fossil wood with a pyritized denture clam and Serratolamna(?) tooth on top. A piece of an artifact and irregular urchin on top. The clam on the right is a cool optical illusion. It's only 3/4 of an inch tall. Here and there I made some other nice smaller finds. A fragment of an artifact, some shark teeth, and an even better flattened irregular urchin to name a few. Though, I had spent a lot of the recent weeks hammering away at things in creeks, so I thought it would be best to call it early and head home to have a nice meal and reflect on my prizes. No articulated mosasaur bits, but a great many lessons learned and special memories to reminisce upon in the future. I know I'm preaching to the choir with this one, but there are few things as magical as traveling alone and exploring a side of the outdoors you hadn't encountered before. It's hard to explain, but I love just parking somewhere and walking into a part of the brush where few people go, if ever. It's freeing in a sense. But for now, I've creek walked way too much. I'm gonna go hunt a roadcut or something
  9. Ludwigia

    Hemiaster sp. (Agassiz & Desor 1847)

    From the album: Echinodermata

    2x1.5cm. Cretaceous. Ericeira, Mafra, Region Lisbon, Portugal. Thanks to Vieira for the trade.
  10. It's been quite a while since I found any echinoids that I haven't found before - that's the problem with being a "sophomore" hunter...I've found all the basic stuff (but am always happy to find a better quality one, of course) but finding something that is not in my collection is getting harder and harder! I am going to have to start ranging further afield to find them.....sounds like time for some road trips! So I was quite happy this month when I made a couple of trips to Austin and managed to find TWO new to me echies! Both are a bit water worn, being tumbled in a creek for who knows how long, but that's okay. Both were found in Georgetown/Buda Formations. I initially thought this was a Leptosalenia mexicana because of it's size and shape, but then realized that this creek does not go through ANY Fredericksburg formations and was therefore more likely a Leptosalenia volana! YAY!!! First new Echie in quite a while! Size 3/8 inch 1 cm. Then in another creek in South Austin, I found this critter just waiting to be picked up! A little Hemiaster calvini ! Size 2 inches 5 cm. I took a day trip up to Hillsboro and went to a spot on Lake Whitney I had hunted a number of years back, I wasn't even sure it was still there, but it was, albeit very grown over! But found a few nice things - a couple of big Macrasters that were very "crunchy" but also a couple of nice smaller heart urchins. Although they are both small, I think they are Macraster texanus. Size 1 1/2 inch Size 2 inches And lastly, found another Holaster simplex. Not in great shape, but some of the test has good detail. Size 2 inches. And although this one isn't NEW, it is a new species! I was cataloguing my echinoids and turned this one over to get a good picture and lo and behold....it's a Coenholectypus ovatus rather than a C. planatus which I assumed it was! So yay!! Another new species! Plus, I found another better Goniophorus scotti. Not new, but better is better! Size 3/16 inch 5 cm So I am now at 34 different genus/species! Only a few more to go.....hahhahaha!! Okay, I might be JUST over half way there....maybe.
  11. I found these sea urchin fossils, in the Cretaceous in the Atacama Desert, near Antofagasta, Chile in South America. I think they are genus Hemiaster.?
  12. Quer

    Hemiaster_batalleri_3.JPG

    From the album: Campanian/Maastrichtian echinoids from SE Pyrenees

    Hemiaster (bolbaster) batalleri (Lambert, 1933)
  13. Quer

    Hemiaster_batalleri_2.JPG

    From the album: Campanian/Maastrichtian echinoids from SE Pyrenees

    Hemiaster (bolbaster) batalleri (Lambert, 1933)
  14. Quer

    Hemiaster_batalleri_1.JPG

    From the album: Campanian/Maastrichtian echinoids from SE Pyrenees

    Hemiaster (bolbaster) batalleri (Lambert, 1933)
  15. elcoincoin

    hemiaster buffo 2

    From the album: Vaches Noires - may 2013

  16. elcoincoin

    hemiaster buffo 1

    From the album: Vaches Noires - may 2013

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