HemiHunter Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Merry Christmas to everybody! I am just catching up posting some cool finds from a few short trips I've made recently in Maryland--going back through time--Miocene, Eocene, Paleocene. (In the interest of time, I'm only posting the highlights, not everything I found, and not all of what my kids found.) Miocene-- After some heavy rains I snuck out early on a Friday for a quick solo trip to the Calvert Cliffs. Conditions were actually not great, as the water was still a little muddy and the waves were pretty rough due to blustery winds. After a couple of hours I was not finding much and getting ready to head out (dejected) to warm up with a hot cup of coffee. But just then the fossil gods took pity on me and uncovered this awesome mako. At just over 2", it's in perfect shape and my personal best! I took a quick video collecting it to share with my kids here: https://youtu.be/SItWtdYw7SQ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemiHunter Posted December 25, 2020 Author Share Posted December 25, 2020 Eocene-- Inspired by my big find, my daughter and I set out a couple days later for an Eocene trip on the Potomac, taking advantage of a favorable tide and warmer weather. Conditions were ideal, with very clear water, a nice falling tide and modest waves, but we were only finding a few teeth here and there. The funny thing is that they were almost all otodus--which is the opposite of normal. We found a few dozen in the end, so these are just my nicer ones. (Top row #3 is pristine!) I took the in situ shot of the biggest otodus in a foot of water just to show how nice the water was. I don't think we missed much with these conditions--the giants just weren't there. This was about 3 hours searching altogether. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HemiHunter Posted December 25, 2020 Author Share Posted December 25, 2020 Paleocene-- Finally, despite cold conditions and overcast, my middle son and I headed out to catch the late afternoon low tide on the Potomac at a Paleocene spot. This was like the opposite of the the Eocene trip--all sand tigers and hardly any otodus! Anyway, the day was producing just the average finds here and there for the most part. At one point, though, my (impatient) helper quickly passed over this little rivulet of rain runoff coming from the cliffs without taking much of a look. I've had some success in these mini-streams in the past being kind of like natural sieves. So I stopped for a close look and sure enough spotted this dark shape which turned out to be my find of the day--this gorgeous croc tooth. (And I made another collecting movie clip for the ride home: https://youtu.be/YGi0-X7a_vg ) It would have been nice to find another half dozen big teeth, although I was really happy for just the one beauty for just a few hours trip. But, of course, the time outdoors by myself and with the kids was priceless! I hope you enjoy the pix and vids! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historianmichael Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Nice finds! Follow me on Instagram (@fossil_mike) to check out my personal collection of fossils collected and acquired over more than 15 years of fossil hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoNoel Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Nice finds, especially that croc tooth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 Very nice finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now