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Back to the Ram (New Jersey Cretaceous Collecting)


Jeffrey P

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Since Thanksgiving I'd only been out collecting once. Snow and cold, car repair, work, and other personal matters effectively kept me out of the field. Finally, yesterday I was able to get back out again. I wasn't waiting for ideal conditions and it was COLD!!!!! Temperature only reached 38 degrees and there was little sun for warmth. Winter collecting for me is usually the Cretaceous brooks of Central New Jersey, two hours south of where I live in New York City's northern burbs. Most of the time I go with frankh8147, a great companion, but unfortunately not free that day. He was out collecting Pennsylvanian ferns. Normally we go to Big Brook, but since I was going solo I decided to hit Ramanessin instead. I have a favorite spot I hadn't been to in many months I thought worth checking out again. 

 

After I arrived I first I hit a different spot that's closer (and much easier to get to) where I found a hadrosaur tooth last year, a small area that's either hot or not and this time it was not. After a half hour of sifting I decided it wasn't worth staying in that spot so I moved upstream to my favorite area. Getting there was a challenge since there were more downed trees and one I had to crawl under, getting my clothes wet and muddy in the process. Finally got there and started sifting. The first sift turned up what I believe is a small crocodile tooth, 5/8ths of an inch long. It is only my second Cretaceous croc tooth I've ever found and knew already it was going to be my find for the day. A bit later I found a Protocallianassa morton (ghost shrimp) claw, one of my best (includes the bottom pincer). Besides those two finds it was nothing to write home about: The four common shark teeth, Archaeolamna kopeingensis, Cretolamna appendiculata, both mackerel sharks, Scapanorhynchus texanus (goblin shark), and Squalicorax sp. (crow shark), a small shark vert. I picked up a few of damaged goblin shark teeth as giveaways. Also found a small Anomoeodus phaseolus (a pycnodontid shell crushing tooth) and a small Enchodus fang.  Also found a partial rodent (beaver) incisor. Most likely recent but could be Pleistocene. 

 

I left a bit early because of the cold, but over all this was, after a long hiatus, a fairly nice return. Looking forward to more outings this spring with Frank and then up to New York's Paleozoic sites. 

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Nice stuff. Glad you were able to get out to the brook!

I was there last week for some surface collecting but I really found nothing other than a few very small teeth and a tiny fish jaw fragment.  It was a lot of work scrambling up and down the banks for very little pay out. Hopefully the next thaw will bring some new material down into the brook.

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And the ghost shrimp claw. It could use a little cleaning, but it looks pretty fragile:

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Looks like you did well there, Jeff!

Congrats on a productive, (but cold) hunt! :) 

Thanks for sharing your finds. 

    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
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  • Fossildude19 featured and unfeatured this topic

Glad you got to get out the Jeff! I’m anxious to start the hunting season myself. 
 

Thanks for sharing your finds and letting me live vicariously through you. :) 

 

Hopefully you are dried out and warm again! 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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Thanks for sharing. Definitely a good appetizer to start the season off.

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Glad to see you got back to Ram Jeff! I need to trek out there myself. That is a killer croc tooth, congratulations.

: )

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Looks like a good hunt! That Croc tooth is awesome! Congrats!

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Hi Jeff. Good to see that you got out. That croc tooth and the ghost shrimp look great. I wouldn't mind finding the other things either, since they're not available in the field around here. I would have to drive hundreds of kms. to get into the Cretaceous.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Crawling under that tree in the cold water sure sounds like fun. I'm glad you were rewarded for all your efforts. The croc tooth and the shrimp claw are worthy accomplishments. Pat yourself on the back for getting out there.

Start the day with a smile and get it over with.

 

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I always saved the brooks for warmer weather.  Collected maybe over ten years before moving away and in all that time reptile teeth evaded me.  I found one tiny scrappy hadrosaur tooth frag, one nearly complete pliosaur tooth and only a few mosasaur bits. I would have loved to include a croc tooth in my collection...Congrats on a good find.  Oh, The Callianassid isn't too shabby either.

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On 3/7/2021 at 9:31 AM, Fossildude19 said:

Looks like you did well there, Jeff!

Congrats on a productive, (but cold) hunt! :) 

Thanks for sharing your finds. 

Thanks Tim.

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On 3/7/2021 at 11:24 AM, Trevor said:

Glad to see you got back to Ram Jeff! I need to trek out there myself. That is a killer croc tooth, congratulations.

Thanks Trevor. I certainly look forward to more trips.

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On 3/7/2021 at 11:44 AM, Familyroadtrip said:

Looks like a good hunt! That Croc tooth is awesome! Congrats!

Finding good specimens helped me deal with the cold. Very happy with the croc tooth, especially since it's only my second from New Jersey, ironically found in the same spot where i found my first 3 years ago. 

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On 3/7/2021 at 8:40 PM, erose said:

I always saved the brooks for warmer weather.  Collected maybe over ten years before moving away and in all that time reptile teeth evaded me.  I found one tiny scrappy hadrosaur tooth frag, one nearly complete pliosaur tooth and only a few mosasaur bits. I would have loved to include a croc tooth in my collection...Congrats on a good find.  Oh, The Callianassid isn't too shabby either.

Thanks Eric. The reptile material has slowly accumulated over the years. Still hunting for my first Pliosaur tooth. Maybe next time. 

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On 3/7/2021 at 6:03 PM, Pagurus said:

Crawling under that tree in the cold water sure sounds like fun. I'm glad you were rewarded for all your efforts. The croc tooth and the shrimp claw are worthy accomplishments. Pat yourself on the back for getting out there.

Thanks Mike. The cold conditions weren't exactly fun to deal with but some good finds made them a bit more tolerable. 

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On 3/7/2021 at 4:16 PM, Ludwigia said:

Hi Jeff. Good to see that you got out. That croc tooth and the ghost shrimp look great. I wouldn't mind finding the other things either, since they're not available in the field around here. I would have to drive hundreds of kms. to get into the Cretaceous.

Thanks Roger. When things getter better, maybe you can make it down here and collect from the source with Ralph, Frank, and I. 

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On 3/7/2021 at 1:48 PM, traveltip1 said:

Nice report. Cool croc tooth.

Thanks Greg. 

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On 3/7/2021 at 9:37 AM, FossilNerd said:

Glad you got to get out the Jeff! I’m anxious to start the hunting season myself. 
 

Thanks for sharing your finds and letting me live vicariously through you. :) 

 

Hopefully you are dried out and warm again! 

Thanks Wayne. I returned the next weekend with Frank and Historian Michael to Big Brook. It was a bit warmer and pleasant. 

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On 3/7/2021 at 10:15 AM, DoyouthinkhesaurusRex said:

Thanks for sharing. Definitely a good appetizer to start the season off.

Thank you. Hopefully this whets everybody's appetite. 

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29 minutes ago, Jeffrey P said:

Thanks Roger. When things getter better, maybe you can make it down here and collect from the source with Ralph, Frank, and I. 

Sure would be nice!

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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2 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

Finding good specimens helped me deal with the cold. Very happy with the croc tooth, especially since it's only my second from New Jersey, ironically found in the same spot where i found my first 3 years ago. 

Association? Probably not, but definitely an odd coincidence if not haha. 
I got super lucky and found a Croc on one of my first hunts, but I pretty much stopped going & still haven’t found my first Mosasaur tooth:( 

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