2021 First Texas Hunt - Echies & Shark & Crab, Oh MY!

[JamieLynn]

January in Texas is usually, weather wise, fantastic hunting. For seasonal allergy sufferers (like me) it can be miserable.  But, we had a GREAT rain...two days of decent downpours and the temps were in the upper 60s, so, hoping the cedar pollen had been knocked out of the air a bit by the rains....I donned my mask and spent three hours out in the great outdoors and was I ever rewarded for my "perseverance"!!! hahahahha  I had been hoping to find a Glen Rose Formation (Lower Cretaceous) Shark Tooth for a couple of years.  I knew they could be found! Erich ( @erose) told me so and I believe him, usually! hahhaha.   Well, Mother Nature decided to gift me one on this first hunt of the year!  Plus, it was a bit of an Echinoid bonanza....nothing "new" to me, species wise, but a couple of really nice examples (four actually, of differing sizes!) of Hyposalenia phillipsae and a better preserved Paraorthopsis comalensis than I had. But what really tricked me was the Pygopyrina hancockensis. They are usually oval and i found this one (which turns out was just squished) and REALLY thought I'd found a Pygaster (which I DON'T have) so I got really excited until I got it home and realized I'd been fooled. Ah well, I found a Shark Tooth (Plus a nice big crab claw, too)  so......it was a GOOD DAY.

 

Shark Tooth  Protolamna sp.  5/8 inches (15 mm)

 

In situ (with lotsof Foramnifera Orbitolinas! 

 

A Quartet of Hyposalenia phillipsae echinoids: (Biggest is 3/8 inch)

 

A very nice Paraorthopsis comalensis  Size: 1/2 inch

 

A very squished Pygopyrina hancockensis   Size- 3/4 inch

 

And a big honking crab claw - Pagurus banderiensis    Size 7/8 inch

 

 

[facehugger]

Looks like a great hunt to me - I need to spend more time in the Glen Rose, apparently!

[JamieLynn]

3 minutes ago, facehugger said:

Looks like a great hunt to me - I need to spend more time in the Glen Rose, apparently!

It is probably my favorite. So many Echnioids! There are at least six species that I have not found yet. And so many other interesting things...it is incredibly diverse! 

[facehugger]

Just now, JamieLynn said:

It is probably my favorite. So many Echnioids! There are at least six species that I have not found yet. And so many other interesting things...it is incredibly diverse! 

I don't have any of those urchins yet, trying not to drool lol

[digit]

29 minutes ago, JamieLynn said:

A very squished Pygopyrina hancockensis   Size- 3/4 inch

Squished and evidence of a prehistoric bandage to boot!

 

Really cool echis--I love pentagonally symmetrical fossils.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[JamieLynn]

@digit - right?? I am not at all sure, but I THINK that is a fragment of a heart urchin (Heteraster) that somehow got stuck on the Pygo??  

[digit]

I see similar debris plastered to echinoids here in Florida. The placement of this one was perfect for the hole in the test.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[JohnJ]

You capitalized on perfect hunting conditions. 

 

Great finds, Jamie!

[will stevenson]

Love that tooth

[Fossildude19]

Great report and finds, Jamie Lynn!

Thanks for posting. 

[Nimravis]

Great finds and I love the in situ pic and the little caterpillar that ended up in the shot.

[sixgill pete]

Great finds Jamie. Your hunts have been paying great dividends lately.

 

[RuMert]

Great finds! Nice you can hunt for fossils in January, all we have here is snow

[Monica]

That's a very cool-looking shark tooth!  And the crab claw and echinoids are very nicely-detailed - thanks for the show-and-tell!

[Clint08]

Thanks for sharing! That tooth looks really cool, it was just waiting to be found!

[JamieLynn]

Thanks y'all!  @RuMert - Snow....no thank you!  I've lived in Texas almost 50 years and it has snowed three times in my memory- at least enough to cover the ground (the occasional snow flurries don't count) and while it is beautiful, fortunately, it doesn't stick around long. I have lived in areas that had "real winter" full snow and ice all winter long and I don't care for that at all! hahahha I

[JamieLynn]

@RuMert - Well, I get to use a well loved Southern expression - "Well, Shut My Mouth"....it snowed in Central Texas yesterday! Last snowfall was in 2017 and it's usually about 10 years between snows, but......surprise! Big Fat snowflakes swirling all over! So yeah...Shut My Mouth! hahahah

 

[RuMert]

We have -15C this week, so you're still warm

[Huntlyfossils]

Nice finds we are the opposite here in Queensland my usual fossil spot is way too hot to go to temps of over 40c are normal and as its the wet season here so there is a risk of getting trapped by floodwaters. I went in late October last year and that was pushing it, it was a 42c day and severe storms so I dig most of my digging under lamps at night. Winter is the best time of the year to go hunting here. I’m getting itchy feet waiting for conditions to get better so I can get back there.

[FossilNerd]

Nice finds Jamie! As usual I love those echinoids. Glad you were able to get out and take advantage of the weather. Thanks for the report! I can live vicariously through you.