Texas Coast Pleistocene

[JamieLynn]

I am on the Texas Coast for the second time this year!! My husband and I stayed in the Tarpon Inn in Port Aransas for New Years, just for a couple of days and now, this week, my parents rented a house in Port A so I am here for the Second time in 2022....more beach time in the last two weeks than the last two years!! I love the Texas Coast in the winter. Right now it is 74 degrees and I'm hanging out under the tiki cabana writing this. Tomorrow will be cool and possibly rainy, so I am getting my fossil (and shell) hunting in today. 

 

So, as for the fossils. They may not seem like  much, but I am SUPER excited because they are not only my first beach fossil finds, but also my first Pleistocene finds! (Aside from a vole molar I found in some Post Oak Creek matrix, but that wasn't really IN the field). 

 

On New Years Day I was beachcombing hoping to find shark teeth, but found this instead, which actually is even better, in my opinion! A small bit of turtle shell!!  1 inch

My first find of the year!

 

So now today, now that I know that fossils can be found here....I'm looking HARD for them! Not finding anything washed up, I scooped up a bucket of shell hash and looked through it when I got back to the "cabana" and was happy to find a little albeit broken vertebra. Yay!! It's not much, but it's at least something!

 

And just because these are awesome, a picture of the crab claws I found. Not fossils, sadly! Big one is the size of my thumb!

 

So I shall continue my beach fossil hunting and hopefully have some more to add in a few days! 

 

[Jared C]

Sweet! Galveston is also widely known for loads of Pleistocene stuff, just an fyi 

[JamieLynn]

@Jared C - yes, I have been there a couple of times trying to find stuff but have had no luck. I've seen lots of amazing stuff people have found there but no finds for me...hopefully my "beach finds" bad luck has been broken!

[FossilNerd]

Congrats on the first find of the year, and the first find from the Pleistocene!

 

Enjoy your time at the beach and good luck in the hunt.  

[strochim]

Good job. It's great to see Texas producing fossils in so many different locations. 

[Plax]

Your crab claws could be fossil or sub fossil.

[JamieLynn]

@Plax - I wish they were, but pretty sure they are modern stone crab. They may feel like rock....but I guess that's why they are named such: https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishing/sea-center-texas/flora-fauna-guide/salt-marshes/animal-life-on-the-salt-marsh-1/stone-crab

 

[sharko69]

Your crab claws are indeed modern stone crab claws. Those tend to catch my attention a lot as I look for teeth. They have the same coloration in the water. Great to see someone else that enjoys hunting the Texas coast Pleistocene.