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April 2020 - Finds of the Month Entries


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REMINDER: PLEASE carefully read ALL of the rules below.

Make sure you include all the required information, IN THE REQUESTED FORMAT (below) when you submit your fossil! 

If you have a question about a possible entry, please send me a PM.


Please pay special attention to Rule #5: 

Before and After Preparation Photos must be submitted for prepped specimens NOT  found during the Month of the Contest.

In addition to keeping the contest fair, this new qualification will encourage better documentation of our spectacular past finds.


Entries will be taken until 11:59:00 PM EDT on APRIL 30, 2020

Any fossil submitted after that time, even if the topic is still open, will be deemed ineligible! 

 

Only entries posted with CLEAR photos and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll. 

Photos of the winning specimens may be posted to TFF's Facebook page.

 

Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month.

 

Shortly after the end of the Month, separate Polls will be created for the Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month.

 

In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the fossils. 

Tell us more about your fossil, and why you think it is worthy of the honor. 


To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery.

 

Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry!
Best of success to all, and good hunting!

 

***********************************


Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests

  1. Find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found personally by you are allowed. NO PURCHASED FOSSILS.
  2. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry. (Only two entries per member per contest category.)
  3. Your fossil must have been found during the Month of the Contest, or Significant Preparation * of your fossil must have been completed during the Month of the Contest.
  4. You must include the Date of Discovery (when found in the contest month); or the Date of Preparation Completion and Date of Discovery (if not found in the contest month).
  5. Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest. Please make sure you arrange for photos if someone else is preparing your fossil find and completes the prep requirements in the contest month.
  6. You must include the Common and/or Scientific Name.
  7. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the fossil was found.
  8. You must include the State, Province, or region where the fossil was found.
  9. You must include CLEAR, cropped, well-lit images (maximum 4 images). If you are proud enough of your fossil to submit it for FOTM, spend some time to take good photos to show off your fossil.
  10. Play fair and honest. No bought fossils. No false claims.

 

* Significant Preparation = Substantial work to reveal and/or repair important diagnostic features, resulting in a dramatic change in the look of the fossil. The qualification of Significant Preparation is decided at the discretion of staff. Any doubts as to the eligibility of the entry will be discussed directly with the entrant.

 

******* Please use the following format for the required information: *******

Date of Discovery   (month, day , year) 

Scientific and/or Common Name

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation

State, Province, or Region Found

Photos of Find

 

 

(Please limit to 4 clear, cropped, and well-lit images.)

(If prepped, before and after photos are required, please.)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

April 10, 2020

Petalodus ohioensis

Carboniferous, Conemaugh Group, Glenshaw Formation, Brush Creek Limestone

Pennsylvanian, United States


My 8th “shark tooth”, approximately 305 million years old. Finding these teeth over the past year has inspired me to attempt a formal research paper exploring all of the original Holotypes of the genus. I glued the tip back on. First photo is the back mold. The rest are of the crown. It’s also the widest tooth I’ve found of the 8.

 

 

 

petalodus-tooth-VIII-mold.jpg

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Fossils of Parks Township - ResearchCatalog | How-to Make High-Contrast Photos

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5 hours ago, cngodles said:

inspired me to attempt a formal research paper exploring all of the original Holotypes of the genus.

Go for it. That'd be a really cool thing to research and write about :) 

Also, very beautiful fossil you found!

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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Concretion opened 10 April 2020. (Collected Aug 2019)

Seed Bract / Lepidostrobophyllum

Pennsylvanian / Francis Creek Shale

Mazon Creek, Illinois, USA

 

Sharp/Crisp example of a single seed bract from Mazon Creek.

CIMG7479.jpg

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CIMG7478.jpg

bract1.jpg

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Date of Discovery: 4-18-2020
Common Name: Gastropod covered with Calcite and maybe original shell fragments. 
Age: Cretaceous - 75-90 million years ago
State: Delta County, TX, North Sulfur River

Gastropod is 3.5in x 2.5in without matrix

 

I am not sure the scientific name as I stink at that. Any help would be appreciated.

5e9b6c086947f_Gastro9.jpg.746abcd4bc8c2e878032b3f66a004f30.jpg

 

5e9b61dbde03a_Gastro4.jpg.4a553d2ac699a740c14d3bdbc4e36e3e.jpg5e9b61c170e61_Gastro3.jpg.d77c2675193364ccb5c5411893fcfecd.jpg5e9b61aa77733_Gastro8.jpg.8e5864a501c47d2d46a4d669defb57dc.jpg

Gastro 9.jpg

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While in the North Sulphur River I found and excavated a 6 foot portion of a mosasaur skeleton from the riverbed marl. The fossil was found in about 6 inches of murky water. I returned about a week later to finish removing all specimens from the site and to expand the search area for any other possible remains. 

 

I ended up with 24 vertebrae (cervical and thoracic), a good number of associated ribs, a broken quadrate, the parietal, a portion of the pterygoid, and the braincase. Generally, I retrieved from the back portion of the mosasaur’s skull to right before the rear paddle, with no paddles, jaws, teeth, or caudal vertebrae.  

  • April 1, 2020
  • Platecarpus (Mosasaur)
  • Cretaceous, Taylor Group, Ozan Formation
  • North Sulphur River, Texas, USA

 

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Below is the best one I have found in a while

4-19-20

Peripristis semicircularis

Pennsylvanian

Cen Texas, Coleman County

 

Thanks for taking a look

Fossil 4-21-20 IMG_2022.jpg

Fossil 4-22-20 IMG-1995.jpg

Fossil 4-22-20 IMG-1996.jpg

Fossil 4-22-20 IMG-1997.jpg

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On 4/18/2020 at 4:34 PM, Planko said:

Date of Discovery: 4-18-2020
Common Name: Gastropod covered with Calcite and maybe original shell fragments. 
Age: Cretaceous - 75-90 million years ago
State: Delta County, TX, North Sulfur River

Gastropod is 3.5in x 2.5in without matrix

 

I am not sure the scientific name as I stink at that. Any help would be appreciated.

5e9b6c086947f_Gastro9.jpg.746abcd4bc8c2e878032b3f66a004f30.jpg 5e9b61dbde03a_Gastro4.jpg.4a553d2ac699a740c14d3bdbc4e36e3e.jpg5e9b61c170e61_Gastro3.jpg.d77c2675193364ccb5c5411893fcfecd.jpg5e9b61aa77733_Gastro8.jpg.8e5864a501c47d2d46a4d669defb57dc.jpg Gastro 9.jpg

:wub:

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I live on the New River and while doing some yard work I discovered this gem encased in some riverbank clay.

Date of Discovery: April 22 2020
Carcharocles Angustidens Shark tooth

Oglocene period 35-22 million years ago

Jacksonville North Carolina 

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Since its a slow month and most people are stuck home, Ill throw one in for consideration. It took me a year and a half of digging to pull this out. I'm calling it the COVID Meg

 

Date of discovery: 4/11/20

Name: Meg Tooth

Age: Miocene

Formation: Round Mountain Silt

Location Bakersfield CA

Size: 4.3"

Meg3.jpg

Meg4.jpg

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2 hours ago, JBMugu said:

It took me a year and a half of digging to pull this out. 

That must have been some hard matrix! ;)

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Dorensigbadges.JPG       

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2 hours ago, caldigger said:

That must have been some hard matrix! ;)

No just lack of Megs in Bakersfield as you well Know! How many years did it take you to get your first?

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5 long years from Bakersfield region.  I have found more on my side of the valley 

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Dorensigbadges.JPG       

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Recent permission to visit private property yielded this Isotelus gigas. Sort of a bitter sweet story as I’m missing a triangle shaped piece that would have really made this amazing. I made a mistake and left my backpack with the counterpart (with part of trilobite still in connterpart) behind and it got grabbed by someone on a 4 wheeler. Still very happy even though I have to live with my horrible error. I still am very lucky to have found this but the regret will sting for some time. 

Date of discovery: 4/25/2020

Scientific name: Isotelus gigas

Geologic age: Middle Ordovician 

Geologic group: Trenton 

State/region: Herkimer county, New York
 

704BC568-DF53-4C69-BC1C-BEB16A32A7A5.thumb.jpeg.032b6de12f314c1d898aa2c37361b51f.jpeg

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2nd submission. Seems like a light month so I’ll put this one in as well. No tragedy regarding this find I’m glad to say. This is from the same private locality as the last submission. This Triarthrus is excellent quality. Very hearty outer shell and is 3D. I wasn’t expecting this so I’m very thrilled. Could use a little prep to expose the rest. Hopefully this year that will happen. 
 

Date of discovery: 4/25/2020

Scientific name: Triarthrus eatoni 

Geologic age: Middle Ordovician 

Geologic formation: Trenton 

State/region: Herkimer county, New York. 

 

73F87A14-856A-40AA-A8DC-BDCBDFCE27D2.thumb.png.dda763a42725e12bc26208a4441835de.png

 

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A friend of mine lives in the "boonies" of Northern Kentucky where he has a creek flowing almost right next to his house. We've affectionately called the area, "Burrow Valley" due to the amount of ichnofossils this area yields, in addition to a lot of fossil hash, whole trilobites and a few crinoid calyxes such as this one. This Ectenocrinus calyx was found on a huge block of shale, beautifully prepped by nature itself (lucky we found it when we did). What makes this specimen more unique is the fact that it still preserves the fine ramules on the right most arm, most specimens are found fully enclosed which completely conceals them. We ended up using an angle grinder to cut the shale around it in a rectangular shape and to thin out the base. I finally used my trusty hammer and chisel to free it. Unfortunately, a crack had formed in the specimen before we had even touched it, resulting in it falling apart in two main pieces in addition to a few smaller portions. Managed to glue it back together, even replanting the small free arm ossicles that came off save for a few. Many calyxes are preserved in the Cincinnatian Series, but its rare to find one with the free arms preserved along with the ramules.

 

April 9, 2020

Ectenocrinus simplex

Ordovician, Cincinnatian Series, Edenian Stage, Kope Formation

Kentucky, Pendleton County

ectenocrinus.thumb.jpg.2e9a6b1b77f4aa5e0278244cfeb22510.jpgectenocrinus2.thumb.jpg.b19af1bc5a643aa68b8034a7a9a193e0.jpg

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So, I'll submit this as the best of 3 foraminifera I "found" on April 20th 2020. I cleaned all 3 the best I could in vinegar and water washes with 30gauge needle prep, then placed the best one in blue clay to hold it. Appreciate the reference from Clear lake as it looks like Ozawainella ciscoensis.  Researching numerous databases, identification is far more complex and I am not prepared to i.d. beyond Foraminifera. I have asks into several specialists in foraminifera and am willing to send them all for specific i.d.s. It (and all 3) measure 860-900um diameter (My initial post was incorrect as I had the wrong objective selected :( ). Here's the rest of the details

 

Date found 4/20/2020

Date cleaning completed 4/27/2020

Foraminifera

Pennsylvanian

      Winterset Limestone

Kansas City, Missouri

 

5ea7abd248628_ForaminiferaOzawainellaciscoensisApril202020III.jpg.0ee3ce5e2cdd75ee7aa30d6588acfb16.jpg5ea7abd12041b_ForaminiferaOzawainellaciscoensisApril202020I.jpg.550714ab33b385c99b8b080f3d2b4f9a.jpg5ea7abd1b22b2_ForaminiferaOzawainellaciscoensisApril202020II.jpg.498cc0871999484b2d23eebde04a2dc8.jpg5ea7abd07e0ba_ForaminiferaedgeApril202020IV63435.jpg.a3705ed494ff5cd1d943418474192697.jpg

 

Thanks for looking and all the help of the forum!!!    Bone

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My invertebrate to submission.

 

Date of discovery: 4/26/2020

Scientific name: Clypeaster sp.

Geologic age: Miocene (Burdigalian) 

Geologic formation: Calcarenitos e margas da Fonte

State/region: Sesimbra/Portugal

 

Fossil in situ

 

IMG_3921gg.thumb.jpg.7cbba16e1a47972f0df24a382071ec95.jpg

 

Just washed with water:

 

IMG_3956.thumb.JPG.dfd2a22958fb010da4ba5c2cdca5d796.JPG   IMG_3955.thumb.JPG.0fbe2d668a5d41b8156d340ebd0ec849.jpg

 

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I will add another shark tooth (and another Carboniferous one too, for that matter!) to the running. I finally finished prepping this one over the weekend. 

 

Date of Discovery: 10/6/19, finished prepping 4/26/20

Scientific Name: Glikmanius occidentalis 

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: La Salle Limestone Member of the Bond Formation 

State, Province, or Region Found: La Salle County, Illinois

 

Photo before prep:

5d9c1920b0ec3_2019-10-0708_38_06.thumb.jpg.cc6ca51591ecbdedbc2d08383f6b93d9.jpg

 

Photos after prep:

20200426_182649-1.thumb.jpg.531bd81ab5e78f0c8c47c2af5ed8f3c0.jpg

 

20200426_182629-1.thumb.jpg.544b92c2d9f2e195f9dabd8364a06243.jpg

 

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On 4/27/2020 at 8:29 PM, Al Tahan said:

Recent permission to visit private property yielded this Isotelus gigas. Sort of a bitter sweet story as I’m missing a triangle shaped piece that would have really made this amazing. I made a mistake and left my backpack with the counterpart (with part of trilobite still in connterpart) behind and it got grabbed by someone on a 4 wheeler. Still very happy even though I have to live with my horrible error. I still am very lucky to have found this but the regret will sting for some time. 

Date of discovery: 4/25/2020

Scientific name: Isotelus gigas

Geologic age: Middle Ordovician 

Geologic group: Trenton 

State/region: Herkimer county, New York
 

704BC568-DF53-4C69-BC1C-BEB16A32A7A5.thumb.jpeg.032b6de12f314c1d898aa2c37361b51f.jpeg

 

On private property? Where did the rider come from? That’s a crying shame!

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine

"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else."

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I tried to add this 2nd photo to my 1st submission of the Isotelus gigas but I’m unable to edit it. I had some of the missing piece (not the most important part) of my isotelus so I glued it into place. I think it makes it look a little better at least :headscratch:

 

7C915E88-003D-49A1-BB19-239F89AC5D2C.thumb.jpeg.941debe3e7411c5aedb6c5d3df452f12.jpeg

 

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