Douglas Point 6-4-21

[bthemoose]

I went out to Douglas Point (Paleocene, Aquia Formation) in Maryland yesterday to see what fossils the recent rains helped bring out. I tried last weekend as well, but I didn't find a ton as it was too close to the storms and the Potomac River was running choppy and high with little beach exposed, even at low tide. Yesterday the water was calmer and lower and I had a more successful hunt. 

 

It's definitely the time of year for snakes! (They're almost all non-venomous around here.) I encountered this one a few minutes into my hunt and saw four others throughout the day.

 

 

This is the most complete bone I've found from the Potomac. I'm fairly certain it's fossilized though I haven't subjected it to the burn test yet. If it passes, I'll post it separately for ID.

 

 

I found a half dozen or so small shark/ray and bony fish verts.

 

 

My first Otodus of the day:

 

 

I've found Pachygaleus lefevrei teeth while hunting micro matrix at home, but given their size it's rare for me to find them beach-combing. I was low to the ground when I spotted this one with just its root sticking out of the sand. The tooth's in pretty good shape, and I was quite happy to find it. I also found a couple of small angel shark teeth yesterday.

 

 

Sadly, not all Otodus are found intact.

 

 

This is my favorite find of the day -- tentatively IDed as a first or second upper anterior from a juvenile Otodus.

 

 

 

Another nice Otodus:

 

 

This is my second Ostracion sp. dermal plate and the first I've found in the field. I previously found a small fragment of one while searching through matrix at home.

 

 

 

Here's an extremely worn tooth with almost all of its enamel peeled away. From the size and shape, it's most likely an Otodus.

 

 

A better one:

 

 

Here are a couple of photos to give a sense for what it's like to explore this location. Now that the leaves are fully out, it's a bit more challenging to hunt the shoreline in places. There were some nice exposed gravel beds yesterday, though not as fossil dense as they sometimes are or as I'd expected.

 

 

 

A box turtle (thought you might like this one @Tidgy's Dad):

 

 

My largest vert of the day (about a half inch in diameter), though quite water worn:

 

 

And finally, a group shot of some of my best finds of the day:

 

 

Thanks for looking!

Edited June 5, 2021 by bthemoose

[Tidgy's Dad]

Thanks for the alert.

Nice finds and the boxie is very pretty, though could do with a shower. 

[Jeffrey P]

Great finds! Some excellent Otodus there and I love the dermal plate. Congrats. Nice photos too. I miss that place. Good to see the local reptilian fauna. 

[RuMert]

Nice report, conveys the atmosphere

[FossilDAWG]

Very nice finds!  I did not manage to find an Otodus (or a Paleocarcharodon either, unsurprisingly) on my one visit there.  Lots of "sand tiger" type teeth, though.

 

I hope you don't mind me asking, what is your process for collecting material to sort through later?   Would window screen be fine enough for sieving?  Do you collect from the beach, or from actual outcrop?  The next time I pass near that area I'd like to get some material to sort under the scope for the smaller species.

 

Don

[Bjohn170]

Nice finds for this time of year!

[siteseer]

Hi B,

 

Great finds.  I've always wondered what it would be like to hunt for Paleocene vertebrates.  I was wondering about that bone.  You should shoot from multiple angles - straight on views of the side, from above, and at both ends.  If it's from a Paleocene mammal, it's going to be something really weird.  The Paleocene was a time before nearly all the known modern mammal families and even orders appeared (no rodents, rabbits, dogs, cats, weasels, skunks, horses, deer, etc.).  There were mammals of the Paleocene that died out before the end of the epoch.

 

Jess

[bthemoose]

13 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Thanks for the alert.

Nice finds and the boxie is very pretty, though could do with a shower. 

 

12 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

Great finds! Some excellent Otodus there and I love the dermal plate. Congrats. Nice photos too. I miss that place. Good to see the local reptilian fauna. 

 

9 hours ago, RuMert said:

Nice report, conveys the atmosphere

 

8 hours ago, Bjohn170 said:

Nice finds for this time of year!

 

Thank you!

[bthemoose]

9 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Very nice finds!  I did not manage to find an Otodus (or a Paleocarcharodon either, unsurprisingly) on my one visit there.  Lots of "sand tiger" type teeth, though.

 

I hope you don't mind me asking, what is your process for collecting material to sort through later?   Would window screen be fine enough for sieving?  Do you collect from the beach, or from actual outcrop?  The next time I pass near that area I'd like to get some material to sort under the scope for the smaller species.

 

Don

 

Thanks! I've just collected river gravels from the water's edge/beach into gallon zipper bags and brought those home to search. I haven't brought a sifter with me yet to the river, but it's a bit of a hike back to the car, so sifting a little at the beach to weed out larger rocks and shells and sand might be a smarter way to go to maximize your returns and save your back. At home, I sort by size using green stackable sifting pans that I bought online before searching. I have them in 3 sizes -- 1/4", 1/8" and 1/20".

 

I posted some of my finds from the first gallon bag that I searched at home here (I've since brought home and searched another 4 gallons): 

 

6 hours ago, siteseer said:

Hi B,

 

Great finds.  I've always wondered what it would be like to hunt for Paleocene vertebrates.  I was wondering about that bone.  You should shoot from multiple angles - straight on views of the side, from above, and at both ends.  If it's from a Paleocene mammal, it's going to be something really weird.  The Paleocene was a time before nearly all the known modern mammal families and even orders appeared (no rodents, rabbits, dogs, cats, weasels, skunks, horses, deer, etc.).  There were mammals of the Paleocene that died out before the end of the epoch.

 

Jess

 

Thanks, Jess! The bone passed the burn test. I've posted more photos in the ID forum--curious if you have any thoughts on what it might be: 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by bthemoose

[PaleoNoel]

Nice finds! Looks like a fun trip. I should really get back down to Maryland & Douglas Point soon. I'm interested in seeing what the consensus on that small limb will be as I found one very similar in the Hell Creek formation a few years ago. That makes me think it's either turtle or crocodilian (I suppose you don't have many other options in the Paleocene Aquia fm., aside from the minimal chance it's mammalian).

Edited June 6, 2021 by PaleoNoel

[bthemoose]

1 minute ago, PaleoNoel said:

Nice finds! Looks like a fun trip. I should really get back down to Maryland & Douglas Point soon. I'm interested in seeing what the consensus on that small limb will be as I found one very similar in the Hell Creek formation a few years ago. That makes me think it's either turtle or crocodilian (I suppose you don't have many other options in the Paleocene Aquia fm., aside from the minimal chance it's mammalian).

 

Thanks! Yeah, I'm assuming it's from a reptile of some sort -- hopefully someone recognizes it!

[historianmichael]

Awesome finds! Those Otodus teeth are really nice. The fish plate is not bad either. Congratulations!

[minnbuckeye]

Great finds! I commend you on the number of in situ pictures provided of your hunt!!! I wish I would remember more often to do this. Excitement of finds usually makes me scarf up the fossil before I think of taking a picture. 

 

 Mike

[bthemoose]

4 hours ago, historianmichael said:

Awesome finds! Those Otodus teeth are really nice. The fish plate is not bad either. Congratulations!

 

Thank you!

 

3 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

Great finds! I commend you on the number of in situ pictures provided of your hunt!!! I wish I would remember more often to do this. Excitement of finds usually makes me scarf up the fossil before I think of taking a picture. 

 

 Mike

 

Thanks! When I first started fossil hunting last year, I couldn't help grabbing the fossils as soon as I saw them, but I've since trained myself to capture more of them with my camera phone first. In addition to sharing the photos, they're nice to look through on those days when I can't go fossil hunting but wish I could.

[Clint08]

Those are some really beautiful Otodus! Hoping I can get out to that location soon, it has been about 2 months since I have been to that area, the joys and time it takes to move homes lol.

[Family Fun]

Super finds, and I do love the pictures as you first see them.  Wish I could do the same, but the Peace River doesn’t lend itself for the same.  

[Kurt Komoda]

Great finds! I've only been there once- back in April. Was thinking of checking it out again next week. Hope it isn't too crowded.

[HemiHunter]

Bruce--you are killing it over there!  Awesome otodus.  And I love the in situ pix.  

[bthemoose]

8 hours ago, HemiHunter said:

Bruce--you are killing it over there!  Awesome otodus.  And I love the in situ pix.  

I’m still dreaming about finding a bigger one (2-2.5”), but I’ve had pretty good luck with Otodus this year!

[fossilhunter21]

Nice finds!

 

Thanks for sharing.  

[HemiHunter]

On 6/10/2021 at 8:57 AM, bthemoose said:

I’m still dreaming about finding a bigger one (2-2.5”),

Hah!  Aren't we all? I have broken the 1.5" barrier so far, but nothing close to 2"