ENCI trip 2nd okt 2021

[Indagator]

Hi, 

 

I would like to share some finds of the latest trip to the ENCI in Maastricht, the Netherlands. It has been some time since I shared a trip report. I always forget to take pictures of the in-situ finds. This time was not an exception. The finds are nice enough to share though. 

 

First a friend of mine and I went for a layer, we know contains small sea-urchins like Oolopygus pyriformis and Hemiaster prunella. 

 

I mostly found Oolopygus but also one Hemiaster I think. Most still need a good cleaning though. I also found Belemnites and some brachiopods but these are not in the pictures. The last picture is of Oolopygus in a chunk of flintstone. This was a fun find as three were clustered together. 

 

After checking this layer out for about an hour, We went to the Lichtenberg layer which is famous for a good chance of finding a lot of decent fish, shark and mosa teeth. My dad was checking out a part we digged at like a month ago and he was able to get decent chunks of this layer out of there. Sadly the teeth content was quite low. He got only a Pseudocorax affinis out and a shark vertebrae. 

 

 

 

 

Then he picked up a stone and the find of the day was found. It was part of a Saurocephalus woodwardii jaw. This is quite and impressive fish. We managed to get it out in three pieces which i had to glue back and prep out. I know these types of jaws to be extremely fragile so this was going to be quite a delicate operation. I sawed the block in two pieces, quite narrow to the bone, before I glued them back on the main block. This to ease the pressure on the jaw while scratching of the matrix. I am quite happy with the end result  

Close up: the next set of teeth was already present

 

Regards,

Arno

Edited October 10, 2021 by Indagator

[Fossilis Willis]

Cool finds! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Fossildude19]

Nice finds and report!

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Cool trip report and nice finds, Arno! I one day also hope to get back to the ENCI, as I haven't visited since I was a child, now over 30 years ago!

[FossilDAWG]

Thanks for the report.  You and your father made some nice finds.

 

I am curious about something though.  It was reported here a couple of years ago by a Netherlands paleontologist that ENCI had been closed and was being converted to a park.  All the quarry walls were being smoothed out and grassed over.  Nothing was going to be left of the exposure, not even a small bit for scientific research.  This was a big concern as this was the stratotype section for the Maastrichtian.  Yet now you post a collecting trip to ENCI, and you mention another a month ago.  What changed?  Has an area been preserved for collecting?

 

Don

[fossilhunter21]

Awesome finds!

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Indagator]

23 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Thanks for the report.  You and your father made some nice finds.

 

I am curious about something though.  It was reported here a couple of years ago by a Netherlands paleontologist that ENCI had been closed and was being converted to a park.  All the quarry walls were being smoothed out and grassed over.  Nothing was going to be left of the exposure, not even a small bit for scientific research.  This was a big concern as this was the stratotype section for the Maastrichtian.  Yet now you post a collecting trip to ENCI, and you mention another a month ago.  What changed?  Has an area been preserved for collecting?

 

Don

 

Hi Don, 

 

You are correct. This is/was the plan for the ENCI to make it a park. However, we are still allowed via the geological association of Limburg and the foundation "Natuurmonumenten" to go on collection trips a few times a year. The number of collectors is limited though. They also have a plan to do guided tours for non-collector but i don't know if this definitive or not

 

The situation of the quary now is that nature can take over and this makes it tougher for us to find decent fossils as it is harder to spot or dig out material. If i don't forget to take pictures this saturday i will post pictures of the current situation of the ENCI.

 

Regards,

Arno