Rockin' Ric Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I got to go fossil hunting on Saturday for Carboniferous/Pennsylvanian fossils. When we got to the site we were greeted with frost covering everything! Some of the stone was frozen in the piles and we had to wait for a thaw before removing any that looked interesting. The first picture shows some of the frost crystals present on some of the stone. The first 4 hours on site I didn't find what I was looking for...fern fossils and a possible trackway? As we were wrapping up to leave I came across this slab of shale partially buried with a fern frond visible on the surface. Being the fern collector I dug the stone out to split thinking the entire 3' x 2' stone contained fern fossils. As I began to split not only did I find ferns but these Tetrapod Tracks! The stone didn't split evenly like most do, and this one was aggravating an example in in the 3rd picture where two different set of tracks can be seen on two different layers! The tracks and trackways were split as shown into many pieces instead of a continuous track across the slab. These are a few my favorites including other fossils found in that one slab, not including the partial Nautiloid in the last picture. I was told these tracks and trackways belong to the Cincosaurus cobbi and Nanopus reidiae? Love the first picture, if you see at the bottom there is a Alethopteris pinnue impression overlapping one of the tracks. Also the detailed pos/neg print of the Whittlseya...I did get my ferns as well as the tracks and other fossils to boot! 8 9 Link to post Share on other sites
Misha Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Those are so cool! I didn't know that plant fossils and tracks could be found together like this Link to post Share on other sites
nala Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Wow! i would dream to find tracks! Link to post Share on other sites
Fossildude19 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Amazing finds, Ric! Awesome. Link to post Share on other sites
FossilDAWG Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Looks like you had a great day! I'm sorry I couldn't make it, looks like I missed out on a lot of fun. Don Link to post Share on other sites
historianmichael Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 That first trackway is really impressive! What is a Whittlseya? I have never heard of it before. Link to post Share on other sites
PaleoNoel Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Nice! Always love seeing these tracks. Link to post Share on other sites
RJB Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 Wow, I didnt expect those when I opened up this post! Quite nice indeed! RB 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jeffrey P Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Congratulations Ric. Those tetrapod tracks are very impressive- museum worthy! Thanks for sharing them. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Bonehunter Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 WOWSA!!!!- great ones!!!! Bone Link to post Share on other sites
deutscheben Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Holy mackerel, another great set of prints. These are so cool! Link to post Share on other sites
Fossilis Willis Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 This such a cool find. I'm guessing the slab that these were found in wasn't in situ? It would be neat to "follow" them to see where they lead. One of my plant fossil localities turns up the occasional set of bird tracks, but have yet to find one. Link to post Share on other sites
FossilNerd Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Great finds! Love the trackway. Link to post Share on other sites
Nimravis Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 Those are great tracks, someday I have to get out to a location with trackways. Link to post Share on other sites
erose Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 A ++++! Those are seriously nice specimens...of everything. Link to post Share on other sites
Al Tahan Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 A++ for those trackways. Heck of a find! Link to post Share on other sites
FossilsNS Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Very impressive tracks! Your posts are making me eager to get back out into the field once the snow melts. Link to post Share on other sites
stats Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Those trackways are very nice! Seeing those little fingers and toes is cool! Cheers, Rich Link to post Share on other sites
Sjfriend Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Excellent finds. Beautiful examples of tracks. As @Fossilis Willis stated, would be great to find in the bedding plane and see how far you could follow Link to post Share on other sites
Nautiloid Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Great finds! Those tracks are quite interesting Link to post Share on other sites
cngodles Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 I hunt the late Carboniferous, as I understand it the Pottsville is Early to Middle. This gives me hope for finding tracks some day. They are, without a doubt, one of the coolest things to find, next to a Trematopid skull. https://fossil.15656.com/research-pages/fedexia-striegeli/ Link to post Share on other sites
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