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Shellseeker

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I get out hunting as often as I am able.  In addition to the fossil finds, I am at a point in life where exercise has great value and fossil hunting the Peace River watershed 3 times a week does get the muscles moving and the blood flowing. Add the great feeling with getting out into nature which I share with numerous animals of all types and this is just about a perfect hobby,  BUT, not always a successful one. I think that I, over the long run, find one impressive fossil a week...

What about this week?  A lot of folks are saying that the Peace River water depth is dropping and this is open for success in fossil hunting. Last Sunday,  I went to one of my favorite locations that have been very successful for me in the past, as recently as last spring.  I usually kayak to to/from this location for an hour each way and hunt shovel and sieve for 5-6 hours --- good exercise. The Peace River is still high. Right this minute , the USGS gauge at Zolfo Springs is over 7 feet.  That is un_diggable, except in isolated spots.  You need to cling close to the banks and the currents are fast. !!!! I found a couple of chipped Equus teeth, turtle shell and spurs, 120 small teeth 70 % broken.  Largest of the small shark teeth were 3 30-40 mm hemipristis (2 lowers and an upper). I did enjoy the day, sunny, cold out in nature. 

So , Monday was my 2nd day out to the Peace River this week.. Somewhat better, with 2 frequent fossils hunting friends, staying close digging in a 2 foot layer that had been uncovered by the heavy summer currents. They found it and invited me to partake.

Not a show stopper , but some good fossils. I tend to remove (and donate) broken and small shark teeth from my "finds" photo. So the finds from a home to home 12 hour hunt.

Some osteoderms, barracuda teeth, a few larger Lemon and Hemipristis teeth, a broken tapir, broken llama incisor, Thresher tooth (relatively rare). and then some closeup photos below.

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I liked this last hemi best and another sun_shiny day in paradise :D

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The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Well to get my 3rd hunt out this week, had to add another post.  On Thursday , I decided to go far into a location that had been very successful for me in the past, but had , like most of my locations , heavy , heavy , digging over the last couple of years.  Our hobby is getting more and more enthusiasts recently ( and they are lots younger than I).

So here we go , into those places where I have to keep a lookout for the local fauna ( moccasins and gators AND especially wild boars. I saw a few of them). It was heavily over cast Thursday.  This water is usually very clear. I was watching out for heavy rains forecast for 1 pm. Swamp.JPG.8a45f0941da3727aa23a1ea28464a884.JPG

 

I started off good, but not great. A lot of the gravel had clearly been dug previously.  I was finding small shark teeth, broken pieces of Mammoth teeth, and then an un_erupted Equus tooth-- happy with that... I kept moving up stream as pocket after pocket played out.  I walked into a deeper pool (just as a precaution,  I tap a 5 foot steel probe in front of me like a blind man), but was soon up to my chest in water. Nothing trying to harm me, but I did notice gravel under my feet. Turned out to be about 4 inches deep ,  5 feet long, 3 feet wide.. In my 2nd sieve... Do you see it ? Neither did I,  at first. Note ALL these little yellow clams,, that at least for me makes it harder to focus.

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So what did I see? This is a BIG hemi, a trip maker  :fistbump:

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There were more goodies in that one hole. I probably found 80% of my good stuff in 5 sieves out of that deeper hole. Sometimes, you eat the bear !!!!

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Sandtiger1.JPG.373d7fb4c6a7a005f36f906f6cc590f9.JPGMastodonFragMerge.thumb.jpg.e7e1385f914558f9feae4cef19e441b8.jpg

ArmaDilloOsteoderm.JPG.2b5e839b0216d793fab1f434b7337412.JPGHemiPristissmall2.JPG.fdc1a9d9670b6d6d2e74da46165da231.JPG

 

I have a big smile on my face... :D:yay-smiley-1::megdance:This upper Hemi was just a tad under:

UpperHemiSize.jpg.81a09f335f9bf7816af75066776058a3.jpg

 

  • I found this Informative 17

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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Great report and pics Jack! I am happy that you had some success finding some great fossils!

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Great report and great finds! I was on the river Tuesday and can confirm how deep and fast moving it was!  I'll be posting a few finds in the ID section asking for some help with what they may be.  Seems the levels have been dropping the last couple of days and next week should have better conditions.

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56 minutes ago, caldigger said:

Man that river has a serious bivalve population!

At its worst in this photo, Not sure why... maybe safely under 5 feet of slow moving water... but agree   thems is lots of clams.

For any who did not spot the hemi....

HiddenHemi.JPG.b55431d593953c431c070deca2b4c5f0.JPG

 

Thanks to all for the kind remarks, good feelings, and marking the posts informative... :fistbump:Jack

The White Queen  ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"

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3 minutes ago, Shellseeker said:

For any who did not spot the hemi....

Yes, that would be me.:unsure:

 

It's supper time at my house.  All of those clams have me drooling.:drool:

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Great finds Jack, the color on that monster hemi is great :yay-smiley-1:

Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!

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Beautiful Hemi teeth! Love the intact serrations and coloring! :wub:
 

Nice report as well. :) 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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First rate report, Jack!

Thanks for posting your wonderful pictures and finds.  :wub: 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Wow, those are some great finds! I've been on the Peace before but always stayed near the easy access spots b/c I was worried about 'gators.  

-Dave

__________________________________________________

Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPhee

If I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPhee

Check out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/

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On 11/16/2019 at 6:03 PM, caldigger said:

Man that river has a serious bivalve population!

It's an exotic (Corbicula fluminea) originally from Asia that is widespread in Florida (and many other states). They are in virtually all Florida waterways where we fossil hunt. Some locations are so chocked-full of them that it is difficult to search for fossils as there are more clams than gravel in your sifter. Jack was undaunted and was rewarded with a killer hemi. :)

 

https://www.fws.gov/fisheries/ans/erss/highrisk/Corbicula-fluminea-ERSS-revision-July2015.pdf

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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Nice finds Jack. I'm glad somebody managed to get out there. I've been eyeballing that gauge and almost went one day last week, but my body failed me. I am aiming for right after Thanksgiving now. I bet it felt good to get out there on the river again.  :)

 

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