New Member/Fossil Hunter. Looking to ID some NSR and Austin Fossils/Artifacts!

[Mikrogeophagus]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm a newer member to the fossil hunting community. I first started as a little kid, but have only really gotten into it over the pandemic as a hobby. I've done some hunting up around Dallas where I'm originally from, visiting famous spots like NSR and POC. For college, I'm currently living in Austin and have checked out a few nearby spots. These past few months I've been frequenting a local creek that runs through the Ozan layer and have been finding some cool fossils/artifacts. The items I am showing you today are collected from two places. The first assortment (lots 1 and 2) are from the NSR and contain Cretaceous/Pleistocene fossils. The second group (lots 3 and 4) was collected in Austin and contains Cretaceous fossils as well as some artifacts. For some objects, I am fairly certain of their identity, but for others I have no clue. Some fossils/artifacts have additional closeup shots for greater detail. Any comments or tidbits of wisdom concerning their identities or fossils in general would be greatly appreciated!

 

Lot 1: NSR fossils I am fairly certain of

1A: Vertebra I believe to come from a mosasaur.

1B: My favorite piece from the NSR: A mosasaur tooth with a sizeable chunk of seems to be bone/root(?). It's a bit weathered, but there's still enough to get the imagination running!

1D: A nice little red bivalve from the red layer.

1E: A fragment of Pleistocene tooth I would love to know more about! From looking at the folds on it and doing some researching, I feel that it could be from a horse.

 

1G: The nicest piece of baculite I found that day.

1H: I'm not sure if this is a piece of coprolite or just a random cluster of two fossils. There is an identifiable baculite fragment and gastropod. 

 

Moving on to the second lot from the NSR, these are the things that I have very little notion concerning the identity of:

2A: Could just be an oddly shaped piece of sandstone (as it has that texture), but it does make me think of a scute. I would love to hear what y'all think!

2B: I truly have no idea what I am looking at. It feels like a fossilized "something", but that is all could really say. Here are some closer pics:

2C: Petrified wood?

2D: Very strange texture. My initial thoughts were some type of bone or petrified wood.

2E: Rock with fossilized bits of something that is difficult to identify. Maybe fish parts?

2F: A piece of cylindrical bone I believe. 

2G: Piece of turtle?

2H: No clue. 

2I: Petrified wood?

 

Lot 3: Fossils from Austin Creek that cuts through Ozan layer

3A: Fairly certain this is an ammonite valve. Found quite a few in this creek for some reason. They never want to be whole.

3B: Good size vertebra likely from a mosasaur

3C: Really don't know what this is. My best guess is some really weathered down ammonite. It has symmetry and an overall spiral shape. It kind of reminds me of a curled up shrimp. Would love to know more about it! Here are some closeups:

3D: Nice little heart urchin.

3E: Nice urchin. I had only ever found heart urchins until this one, so it was an exciting find.

3F: Gastropod.

3G: Have yet to find a complete shark tooth from this spot, but here is a fragment. Might not be enough to secure an ID, but it's worth a try.

3H: Strange little fossil. Seems like some bryozoans grew on it at one point. When I look at it I get thoughts of echinoids and crinoids. Would be interested in hearing y'alls thoughts.

 

Lot 4: Artifacts from the Austin creek (I know this isn't an arrowhead forum, but I figure there's a lot of overlap in hobbyists so there could be some insights):

4A: I believe this is a part of a larger tool like 4B. Not sure if these are knives, scrapers, or something else.

4B: Knife, scraper, or something else?

4C: My favorite artifact. Super pretty and thin. My guess is an atlatl dart point? 

4E: another point, though not as visually appealing as 4D. The base looks a lot different too. Could this be an atlatl point?

4H: The base of some point.

Would love to know more about the names or dates of any of these!

 

If anyone would like more closeups of a specific item, feel free to let me know!  

[Fossildude19]

@EPIKLULSXDDDDD

 

You can post your artifacts under ARTIFACTS AND RELICS. 

[Mikrogeophagus]

@Fossildude19Thanks for the tip!

[val horn]

I would love to see more of the tooth 1b, up close and with size,  i am not sure what you have but am excited by it.

[Brandy Cole]

2G does not look like turtle to me.  I could be wrong, but it seems to lack the very porous internal structure common to turtle pieces. Maybe side view pictures would show some.  But right now it looks more like smoothed rock to me.

 

2F also doesn't look like bone to me because it doesn't look cancelous enough in the center.

 

Sorry I can't be more help with the other IDs.

[Mikrogeophagus]

@val horn I'm glad you've taken interest! Here are some more pictures:

@Brandy Cole I appreciate the feedback! I also don't see anything porous on 2G. For 2F, it's a bit difficult to capture on my phone, but I think there is some porous texture on the ends. Here are come extra closeups of both specimens:

Please forgive the use of a highlighter cap for size reference. I couldn't find anything better in my dorm!

 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

First of all, welcome to the forum! Seems like you've made quite a number of great finds already!

That rooted mosasaur tooth is really nice! I think I see some prism faces and labiolingual curvature, which would make it mosasaurine. 1A and 3B are mosasaur vertebrae both, which can be identified by their procoelous nature (anteriorly concave and convex posteriorly), with both being postpygal caudals.

 

3A indeed shows the suture-lines of an ammonite, or what you'd call a "cat's paw", whereas 3C, in contrast, due to it's smooth suture lines, to me looks like a nautiloid. I have no idea what 2A is, but looks a lot like the internal mould of an ichthyosaur vertebra, from what you'd call a popper (see images below). Can't help you with the rest, though, I'm afraid...

 

[Mikrogeophagus]

@pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon I appreciate the warm welcome! 3C being a nautiloid sounds awesome as I have never found one of those before. 2A being an internal mould of a vertebrate is really interesting and something I would have never considered. Thanks for the extremely informative insights!

[fifbrindacier]

Welcome on  man !

2b could be a rudist.

Edited November 16, 2021 by fifbrindacier

[DPS Ammonite]

On 11/13/2021 at 12:46 AM, EPIKLULSXDDDDD said:

2A: Could just be an oddly shaped piece of sandstone (as it has that texture), but it does make me think of a scute. I would love to hear what y'all think!

 

 

Anisomyon sp., a limpet-like gastropod. Note ridge from crest of shell. Listed as a genus present in area per the Fossil Collector’s Guidebook to the North Sulphur River by Dallas Paleontology Society.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2021 by DPS Ammonite

[BobWill]

Welcome. Nice assortment and I agree with the suggestions others have offered. It's an awful lot of things to take in in a single post though. Consider breaking them up into more posts with smaller groups so we're not constantly scrolling back to see what's being referred to. At least you went to the bother of labels. Thanks for that.

 

It has taken me some time to get used to nomenclature terms so don't take this as criticism but you described 2A, I believe it was, as an ammonite "valve." We usually describe them as sections or if there is a septum on both ends and none in between it could be called a chamber. Valves are what we see on bivalves. Some gastropods and ammonites have valve-like opercula but they seldom survive as fossils. 

[DPS Ammonite]

28 minutes ago, BobWill said:

It has taken me some time to get used to nomenclature terms so don't take this as criticism but you described 2A, I believe it was, as an ammonite "valve." We usually describe them as sections or if there is a septum on both ends and none in between it could be called a chamber. Valves are what we see on bivalves. Some gastropods and ammonites have valve-like opercula but they seldom survive as fossils. 

 

He described 2A as a possible scute. Look at pictures of Anisomyon; 2A along with several that I found at NSR are cap-like structures with concentric growth rings and a pronounced ridge that goes from the peak to the edge.

Edited November 25, 2021 by DPS Ammonite

[BobWill]

1 hour ago, DPS Ammonite said:

 

He described 2A as a possible scute. Look at pictures of Anisomyon; 2A along with several that I found at NSR are cap-like structures with concentric growth rings and a pronounced ridge that goes from the peak to the edge.

 

You are right John, it was 3A being described as a valve. That's a perfect example of why posting fewer items per post is better

[MrR]

Some very cool fossils there. Congrat's. You have a good eye to have found that nautiloid(?). The mosasaur tooth is great too. Nice haul for you.

[Mikrogeophagus]

3 hours ago, DPS Ammonite said:

@DPS Ammonite There's definitely a lot of similarities between 2A and the photo/description you shared so I am inclined to agree with your ID. Limpet fossils are something I have never heard of before so that makes it very exciting to me, personally!