First Texas Cretaceous Hunt

[historianmichael]

Well it is not my first ever hunt in the Texas Cretaceous, but it is at least my first hunt since moving to Texas at the start of this month. This past Sunday I had the chance to journey to several sites that expose the Early Cretaceous Glen Rose Formation. Through some research on known sites and scanning Google Maps for other potential localities worth checking out, I came up with a list of about more than a dozen nooks and crannies in Central Texas worth exploring. Virtually every place I stopped showed potential, although I did not find echinoids at every site, but that also meant that I could only accomplish half of my list. Sometimes the good comes with the bad. I will just have to save the rest of my list for my return visit to Central Texas. If I waited to photograph my finds until after I cleaned them all, I would probably never put a trip report together, so here is an assortment of photos from the field and a couple photos I recently took at home after a quick cleaning.

 

A telltale sign of the Glen Rose Formation- Orbitolina texana

 

Some claw bits of the hermit crab Paleopagurus banderensis

 

The giant clam Arctica gibbosa

 

And six different species of echinoids

 

Leptosalenia texana

 

 

Heteraster obliquus

 

 

Pliotoxaster comanchei

 

Balanocidaris(?) strombecki Spine

 

Coenholectypus planatus

 

Loriolia rosana

 

I also found several other bivalve and gastropod internal molds, annelids, echinoid spines, and some Porocystis globularis. I found a small stem section of the crinoid Isocrinus annulatus but lost it in the grass before I could take a photo of it. Hopefully I can find another one on my return visit to the Glen Rose Formation!

Edited September 24, 2021 by historianmichael

[Crusty_Crab]

Nice finds, especially for an initial recon!

[erose]

The Coenholectypus is a honker!

[Jared C]

those are some SWEET echinoids, well done

[facehugger]

Very nice! You found a few that I have been looking for.

[ClearLake]

Very nice finds!

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Killer club spine.  Not too common.

[MikeD]

Pretty good for a first try. Better than many recon missions I've had.

[tombk]

I find the Leptosalenia texana especially pretty

[erose]

Michael,  FYI, Paleopagurus has been placed in just plain Pagurus by pretty much all modern authors on Cretaceous decapods.  Doesn't change the species. It is still Pagurus banderensis Rathbun, 1935.