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I was in the Aubach today


Ludwigia

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Some of you may be wondering what and where the Aubach is, so first I'll explain (Of course @Everhardus already knows what I'm talking about, since he recently inspired me here to make the trip). The Aubach is a creek in the Wutach area whose undercut slopes expose in sections the entire Early Jurassic from the Hettangian to the Toarcian with even the Aalenian stage of the Middle Jurassic at the top. This is one of the very first exposures studied by the pioneering  German Paleontologists and Geologists such as Quenstedt. Geology students from all over southern Germany visit this site to learn on hand about the stratigraphy from their professors. The last time I was here, which was quite a few years ago, I bumped into a group from the University of Tuebingen. I didn't think to get a photo of the classic exposure before it was too late, but here are a couple of typical ones a bit farther upstream.

 

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My plan was to duck down to the classical exposure and then work my way upstream to the waterfall at the top. I wasn't expecting to find much, since this creek has been picked over by countless collectors over a stretch of almost 200 years, but new stuff comes down each year , so you never know. I was just in the mood for a nice adventure with no great expectations. I didn't quite make it as far as I wanted to, but more about that later.

 

I was however in for a big surprise when I arrived at the parking spot above the creek. I was just about to don my knapsack as I glanced down the hill and saw a bunch of fossils scattered about. Some other collector had obviously disposed of a few things which didn't aspire to his high standards. They weren't perfect, but some of them were worth having a closer look, so I dumped them into a bag and put them in the trunk. Off to a good start! Here's a photo I took of them once I got home.

 

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I then clambered down the slope to the creek and spent some time at the classical exposure breaking stone. Not to much avail, though. There were a lot of imprints and the odd piece of a living chamber lying about. Here's a typical looking one which didn't contain much.

 

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I then moved on upstream some more, taking my time and studying the rocks closely.

 

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There had been another collector there before me recently according to the fresh bootprints I kept seeing, so I decided to go other ways than his prints were showing. Good thing I did! There it was. Just lying in the stream under a fallen-down tree.

 

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A good size at ø 20 cm. Lucky me! That really made my day! Although the day was far from over for me, so off I went again.

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The going got slower as I moved on upstream, since it was getting narrower and an increasing number of slipped down trees were hindering my progression. I managed to get through this lot.

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But then just around the corner I was confronted with this.

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And it didn't look like it was going to improve farther on. I had found a few other tidbits along the creek, so, since I had already been underway for almost 6 hours, I clambered up the slope to the footpath which winds its way along above the creek with the intention of continuing on along it up to the waterfall at the end. After about a 20-minute hike, however, I realized that I had not come along nearly as far as I thought I had, so, since dusk was setting in, I turned around and headed back to the car. I must admit that I was pretty tuckered out at my journey's end, but it was well worth it, as well as the Doner Kebab which I picked up in Blumberg. Here's the ammonite and the few other things I found in a photo I took once I got back home.

 

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Looks like the same trip i made, only with better results which was to be expected ! Nice, i’m looking forward seeing what you actually found after prep.

 

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9 hours ago, Everhardus said:

Looks like the same trip i made, only with better results which was to be expected ! Nice, i’m looking forward seeing what you actually found after prep.

 

Sometimes you get lucky :)

 

9 hours ago, Everhardus said:

Btw, i think know where you had your Doner, at least i know where i would have had mine !

Picknick in Blumberg. Good thing you can get them take-away during this pandemie crisis. And the weather was warm enough to be able to sit on a park bench to consume it.

 

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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So, I got them all prepped over the last couple of days. I chucked away a few of the discarded ones, but some of them turned out quite alright for throw-aways:

 

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A belemnite which still needs to be identified.

 

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Protogrammoceras cf. depressum ø 7.5cm.

 

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Choffatia sp. ø 21cm. The shell is somewhat deformed at the top, but it's still existent.

 

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Macrocephalites macrocephalus ø 16cm.

 

And the following gastropod multiblock. Amazing to me that someone would throw this away. It's certainly not from the Wutach area. Maybe Cretaceous? Neogene? Paleogene? No idea actually, although I know I've seen these species somewhere before. Maybe someone here has a suggestion for me?

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And here are the things I found myself in the creek.

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Another as yet unidentified belemnite with serpula attached.

 

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This 21cm. Schlotheimia depressa has had its inner whorls squished, but it's only the second one to arrive in my collection and actually the first one which I've found myself. Nice lobes anyway.

 

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And to conclude, a Spiriferina walcotti brachiopod.

 

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Very nice! :wub:

 

Bad form for someone to discard things out of place.  It would be easy to create a lot of confusion that way.  I have had that happen with regard to shark teeth.

 

Don

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2 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Very nice! :wub:

 

Bad form for someone to discard things out of place.  It would be easy to create a lot of confusion that way.  I have had that happen with regard to shark teeth.

 

Don

 

51 minutes ago, Everhardus said:

Wonderful sutures on the Schlotheimia. Very nice leftovers also, amazing indeed....

 

Well, at least I know more or less what belongs in the Wutach and what doesn't. Besides, they were at a spot where it was absolutely obvious that they had been dumped. Maybe the guy just didn't have the techniques available to make something out of them. I sure would like to find out where those gastropods come from though.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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A practiced eye can almost always find fossils in a heavily collected area. College student usually take a decade to acquire a good eye. I now live up to my Indian Guides name: Little Eagle Eye.
 

Here is what I found while collecting for stromatolites and plant fossils north of Phoenix at a campsite. I don’t think that the slabbed piece was even from Arizona.

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My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned.   

See my Arizona Paleontology Guide    link  The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere.       

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1 hour ago, Ludwigia said:

Well, at least I know more or less what belongs in the Wutach and what doesn't. Besides, they were at a spot where it was absolutely obvious that they had been dumped. Maybe the guy just didn't have the techniques available to make something out of them. I sure would like to find out where those gastropods come from though.

Would you say the Protogrammoceras is from Wutach ? The multipiece gastropods is quite nice but it does not ring any bells with me either.....

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2 hours ago, DPS Ammonite said:

Here is what I found while collecting for stromatolites and plant fossils north of Phoenix at a campsite. I don’t think that the slabbed piece was even from Arizona.

 

Probably from Afghanistan by the looks of it.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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1 hour ago, Everhardus said:

Would you say the Protogrammoceras is from Wutach ? The multipiece gastropods is quite nice but it does not ring any bells with me either.....

 

The Protogrammoceras is definitely from there. I found a few partials along the creek in the same type of matrix.

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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  Excellent trip report Roger.  and lots and lots of great pictures too.  I love the multi gastro pieces!  

 

RB

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24 minutes ago, RJB said:

  Excellent trip report Roger.  and lots and lots of great pictures too.  I love the multi gastro pieces!  

 

RB

Thanks Ron. I sure hope I can find out more about that gastropod piece.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Very nice to see dry ground and running water from your trip report. Thanks for sharing. Seeing the ammonites keeps me going as will be 2 months before the snow and ice will be gone at elevation here. My experience is the spring runoff cuts new exposed areas, just have to very carful as material is actively moving until it dries out. The best spot I have found for ammonites came from float washed down the drainage where I was biking in the mountains and tracked back to the source deposit. 

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1 hour ago, AK hiker said:

Very nice to see dry ground and running water from your trip report. Thanks for sharing. Seeing the ammonites keeps me going as will be 2 months before the snow and ice will be gone at elevation here. My experience is the spring runoff cuts new exposed areas, just have to very carful as material is actively moving until it dries out. The best spot I have found for ammonites came from float washed down the drainage where I was biking in the mountains and tracked back to the source deposit. 

Glad you enjoyed the report. I must say, however, that you sure are lucky to have such pristine sites at hand in comparison to most of mine which have been picked over for decades, if not for centuries.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Hi Roger. That site looks familiar. Is that one of the sites I visited with Ralph And Asa? Nice finds, pics, and report! The Protogammoceras, Macrocephalites, Schotheimia all look exquisite and that gastropod matrix is outa sight! I wonder where that came from. 

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40 minutes ago, Jeffrey P said:

Hi Roger. That site looks familiar. Is that one of the sites I visited with Ralph And Asa? Nice finds, pics, and report! The Protogammoceras, Macrocephalites, Schotheimia all look exquisite and that gastropod matrix is outa sight! I wonder where that came from. 

Could very well be that you visited that place with your colleagues. I've sent some pics of the gastropods to Joachim Gründel, our German expert, so I'm hoping for some positive feedback.

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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6 hours ago, AK hiker said:

Very nice to see dry ground and running water from your trip report. Thanks for sharing. Seeing the ammonites keeps me going as will be 2 months before the snow and ice will be gone at elevation here. My experience is the spring runoff cuts new exposed areas, just have to very carful as material is actively moving until it dries out. The best spot I have found for ammonites came from float washed down the drainage where I was biking in the mountains and tracked back to the source deposit. 

I know! I can't wait!!!!!

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