Echies of Texas - A WHOLE Pseudodiadema, finally!

[JamieLynn]

I FINALLY found one of the echinoids I've been looking for - a Pseudodiadema from the Lower Glen Rose formation of Texas. I have collected fragments from no less than FIVE different locations and @JohnJ assured me there was (to paraphrase) one out there with my name on it. So I believed him! And yes, i did finally stumble across my Pseudodiadema! Albeit hella squished! But that's okay...it's "technically" whole even if it won't be winning any beauty awards....I love it. I apparently have a thing for squished echinoids. Three of my favorites (that I have only found the single specimen so far ) are rather squished.  Not broken, amazingly, just.....squished. Geologic forces at work, I guess. 

 

So this day....another really nice warm winter Texas day (but windy as heck- not good for my allergies, but I wore my mask), I headed out to another of my favorite Glen Rose spots (where I found that Heterosalenia last month), not really expecting to find much of anything, just out and about and saw this little lump sticking out of the clay. I dug it up and saw it was a big echie of some kind or another. Took it home, washed it off, and thought i had found a Tetragramma tenerum (wasn't really looking at it closely, just saw the tuburcles were perforate so not a phymosoma) and fortunately, John saw the picture and gave me the happy news that it was a Pseudodiadema! So while not exactly adding a new one to my collection...at least adding a better specimen! 

 

Also found a nice big Pagurus banderiensis crab claw - complete with top and bottom pincer (usually just find one or the other) 

 

And while I am showing the stuff from the Glen Rose, I also brought home a bag of dirt from the other site (the other day) and found some nice little tiny  Crab Claws plus something.....really odd. Round Black Crinoids.  I have found Isocrinus (the star shaped crinoids there) and a few of them were black (they are usually beige) but I have never seen nor heard of round crinoids from the Glen Rose Formation. Anyone know anything about that? They are mostly TINY - 2-3 mm but I did find one that is 6mm.  I swear it looks just like the New York Devonian crinoids, but the matrix in the center is definitely Cretaceous! Strange strange....Anyways...here's the pics! 

 

Pseudodiadema aguileria    2 inches 

 

Top view....see how squished??

 

Didn't look like much in the ground, but it caught my eye! 

 

Crab Claw Calianassa sp   3 mm

 

Crab Claw Pagurus banderiensis 25 mm

 

Crinoid 6 mm

 

Little ones - 2-3 mms

 

 

the first one I found attached to the underside of a star shaped Isocrinus:

 

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

On your echinoid. I rather love the Pagurus claw as well. 

[JamieLynn]

3 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

On your echinoid. I rather love the Pagurus claw as well. 

 

It's definitely the biggest one I've found so far! 

[grandpa]

Excellent, JL.  You're really killing it!  You make me anxious to get out and do some fossil sleuthing myself.  Your posts are good for my soul.

[LabRatKing]

That solidified my resolve. I’m coming down to go fossil hunting with you this August. PM me and I’ll share details and proposed itinerary. I have a grant to do so...

[JamieLynn]

15 minutes ago, LabRatKing said:

That solidified my resolve. I’m coming down to go fossil hunting with you this August. PM me and I’ll share details and proposed itinerary. I have a grant to do so...

 

Cool! Can't guarantee you'll find one of these 'cause it took me three years!  But we can find you some good stuff! 

[LabRatKing]

14 minutes ago, JamieLynn said:

 

Cool! Can't guarantee you'll find one of these 'cause it took me three years!  But we can find you some good stuff! 

No guarantees needed...just sick of solo field work and would like to have a guide or two. PM me as I have to submit itinerary for grant and I’d like to add you and your sites!

[JohnJ]

  Congratulations, Jamie!  Glad to give you the good news on this one.  

[FossilNerd]

Congrats on finding the elusive Pseudodiadema!

It may be a little squished, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it looks lovely to me! 

[Ludwigia]

Yay!!

[Jeffrey P]

Way to go Jamie! Congrats on that rare find. Thanks for sharing it.

[Clint08]

Awesome find, congratulations!

[JamieLynn]

Thanks y'all! 

[LabRatKing]

On 1/19/2021 at 5:47 PM, LabRatKing said:

That solidified my resolve. I’m coming down to go fossil hunting with you this August. PM me and I’ll share details and proposed itinerary. I have a grant to do so...

Or June, depends on the weather in Montana and Wyoming- heat doesn’t bother me but snow is awful.