My Big Fish Story - The One That Didn't Get Away!

[GPayton]

WOW, what a day! Today I had the pleasure of finally meeting @Jared C after over a year of reading his trip reports and admiring all of the incredible finds he's made exploring the Cretaceous formations of Central Texas. We have a lot in common: both of us are pursuing a career in paleontology, are both (almost) the same age, and are both attending universities in-state that are only an hour and a half away from each other. Needless to say, I can't believe it took us this long to finally go on a hunt together. 

 

Jared drove up from his new place in College Station this morning to meet me at my apartment and from there we set off in search of an exposure of the Eagle Ford formation I wasn't sure existed. Last spring I became very active in the geology society here at Baylor, and as a result I found a treasure trove of old literature published by the university in the '70's and '80's. More than a few of the many booklets, articles, and papers I searched through contained almost exact directions to several interesting locales that were apparently known for producing vertebrate material, specifically shark teeth. I cross referenced Google Maps, marked the spots likeliest to be the ones I had read about, and then....did nothing. I was a little too busy with school work at the end of last semester to have the energy to go scout out new locations with a high probability of finding nothing, and so I sat on the information I'd found. Flash forward to earlier this week when Jared and I were talking to each other on Instagram about the incredible plesiosaur tooth he recently found and the topic of the exposure I had read about got brought back up. It wasn't long before he had made plans to visit and help me do some legwork in a formation he was much more familiar with than myself. 

 

Just after noon we arrived at the spot. Getting to the location I had predicted to be the exposure was incredibly easy, and in no time my hunch was proven right when we found ourselves facing a steep wall of grey shale. 

 

It's worth saying now that I'm a believer in luck, specifically as it relates to fossil hunting trips. Almost all of my best finds have been found when I was with other people. With Jared being so notorious here on the forum for the insane rarity of some of his finds, I had high hopes that some of that luck would rub off on me today - and it seems like it did! Less than a minute after arriving at the Eagle Ford exposure I spotted a Squalicorax falcatus tooth lying on top of some loose shale.

 

 

 

I was incredibly excited, as the only shark teeth I've ever found coming fresh out of the formation they originated from is the Grayson that's exposed most famously at the Waco Pit. Even better, finding a tooth this fast meant that that there must be a lot more to be found. 

 

Jared congratulated me on the find and the two of us immediately started scanning the shale for a line of shell hash that might indicate more teeth. After what could only have been two or three minutes at most, I laid eyes on my best find to date. Sandwiched between a couple of roots and a thick layer of sandstone was a line of tooth sockets extending directly back into the wall of shale. 

 

 

If I thought I had been excited by the shark tooth just a few minutes prior, I was wrong - NOW I was excited! After several exclamations of "oh my god I found a jaw!" Jared hustled back over to where I was standing and confirmed that yes, my eyes weren't deceiving me. 

 

We took a bunch of pictures from several different angles of the bone as it was without being disturbed in case it turned out to be a significant find or if there was articulated material covered up by the shale. Here's a view of the shale wall with my gardening knife marking the spot just below where the jaw was located:

 

 

 

After examining what portions of the jawbone we could see that were already exposed, Jared ruled out marine reptile pretty fast. That left bony fish as the only real contender. Based on the shape of the jaw and the differently-sized sockets, I reasoned that we had a Xiphactinus on our hands. 

 

With a tentative ID, probably as many pictures taken in the span of a few minutes as possible, and the exact location marked on my phone, all that was left to do was excavate the fish. This proved to be incredibly challenging. Shale is a lot easier to separate and break apart than something like limestone, but unfortunately it's also more similar to soil - roots surrounded the fossil on almost all sides and would be a pain to remove. Jared's pocketknife and the serrated edge of my gardening knife were both pretty blunt, but after several minutes' worth of sawing away we were able to remove the offenders and clear away some of the overburden in the process. What was immediately clear was that what was exposed wasn't a jawbone, but instead the maxillary, with what seemed like a fair amount of the skull and facial elements attached. Traversing the rest of the exposure to find more shark teeth no longer seemed like the direction the day was headed, but to say I didn't mind would be an understatement!

 

During the hours we spent crouched amongst the loose shale, slowly chipping away at the earth around the fossil with a dental pick and a knife, I was immensely glad that I had waited to explore this location with someone else who knew what they were doing when it came to articulated remains (and in this formation no less!), as I had never come across anything like it before. Jared's knowledge from his mosasaur excavation and time spent in the Hell Creek was a lifesaver. Thankfully he had also decided on a whim this morning to bring Paraloid pellets and acetone which saved us a trip to the local Lowe's. 

 

 

 

After a while it became clear that there wasn't an end to the fish in sight and more overburden shale would need to be cleared out of the way before we continued any farther. Jared produced a roll of aluminum foil from his backpack and we got to work wrapping what was already exposed. Once protected by the foil, the risk of falling shale damaging the fossil was greatly decreased. 

 

 

Once the overburden was cleared it was time to get rid of some more pesky roots. 

 

 

Distinguishing between shale and bone became increasingly difficult as the hours wore on. In many places the bone was the exact same color as the shale that surrounded it. As a result, a couple of pieces were broken off by accident, however, videos were taken explaining where they came from before they were glued back into place. 

 

 

After a while Jared and I both needed a break and some time to stretch our legs. We ended up following the exposure further away from the direction we came from. I followed Jared, and so I squinted my eyes to try and see if I could spot a shark tooth he might have overlooked. That's why I was so surprised when I found an ammonite right next to the snakeskin he'd just been examining. 

 

 

Jared had just started walking away again when I pulled the ammonite out of the shale, flipped it over, and spotted a tiny Ptychodus tooth clinging to the underside of it. 

 

 

After getting home and pulling the tooth out of the matrix tonight, my best guess is that it's a posterior tooth from Ptychodus anonymous, one of the more common species from the Cenomanian; although decurrens is also a possibility. 

 

On our way back to the dig site Jared spotted a large slab of limestone with some really eye-catching gastropod internal molds. I wonder why they all seem to be facing the same direction? 

 

 

Finally, after several more hours spent uncovering and preserving the sections of bone we could see, the sun was beginning to set and that meant it was time to leave. The chances of getting the skull out in one piece before we left were looking very unlikely. Jared had initially been optimistic and I wanted to be as well as I knew the forecast for this upcoming week looks like multiple days of rain. Unfortunately it just wasn't doable. 

 

 

We both decided it would be best to cover up the bone still in place with tinfoil and take the assorted loose fragments with us. I took another look at what he had exposed and did a quick mockup later of what the portion of the skull I think we uncovered today looks like (although it's debatable whether or not the orbital is part of that portion just yet): 

 

 

All-in-all, today was one of the best days of fossil hunting I've ever experienced, made even better by great company, amazing finds, good weather, and excellent ice-cold lemonades from Sonic after Jared and I headed home. 

 

Some time this week I plan to speak with the paleontology professors at Baylor that I know personally and get their opinion on what should be done next. There is obviously more bone to be found than just what Jared and I were able to uncover today, and I don't have the equipment or the expertise needed to do it properly. Luckily I know quite a few graduate geology students who would be more than willing to help. With the direction of a professor or two we should be able to get the fish out in one piece. I'll make sure to keep everyone posted! I know this is just the sort of thing that I'd be waiting every week to hear more about. Until then.... 

 

- Graham 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by GPayton

[Jared C]

This was AWESOME. You can of course expect it from a washed out herper to completely overlook an ammonite because he was too busy trying to pry an ID out of a tattered up snake skin 

 

Needless to say, we’re all quite curious where this excavation will go. There was an enormous sheet of solid bone behind those jaws- never seen anything like it. A Xiphactinus cheek from a huge individual is all I can imagine it being.

 

To everyone else: those teeth were also crazy. While broken from weathering, the intact enamel at the base was a mixture of blues, reds, and cream whites. It almost reminded me of opal. @GPayton definitely update us if a complete tooth reveals itself! 

Edited August 22, 2022 by Jared C

[Coco]

Hi,

 

What an adventure ! I can’t wait to know the rest ! No doubt you will have many more outings together !

 

Coco

[Ludwigia]

Great stuff you guys!!

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Wow! What an amazing day you guys had! And, yes, I too am a firm believer in luck rubbing off. My biggest find to date was also made with a friend who showed me the ropes around a quarry I hadn't found anything in first time I visited. And it seems that whereas I know where to look for the right types of fossils, it's often my wife who finds (me, luckily ) the best fossils. I think, in part, this also ties in with what caused Jared's blindness to the ammonite, as you'll find that which your eyes are trained to find. As an archaeologist, I specialised in pottery, so would often find mainly pottery when performing a site survey (though I believe I would still also find a fair amount of stone artefacts), whereas others would just find the stone artefacts being absolutely blind to anything except for the most obvious ceramic fragments

 

But I'm excited to read where this story will take you! That does seem like an awesome find! Congratulations! And I hope you'll be able to fully recover it soon!

[Alex S.]

That is incredible congratulations. I look forward to seeing the rest of it.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Great read, I'm looking forward to the follow up posts. 

Well done, Graham. 

[JohnJ]

Congratulations, Graham!  That's how it's done...from start to finish!  Major kudos to @Jared C too for his dedicated assistance. 

 

@GPayton looking forward to this story's conclusion...but based on the forecast, your find could be washed away this week if you don't kick a salvage operation in gear.  

[garyc]

Awesome find… congrats!

[FranzBernhard]

What a find, thanks for sharing the whole story with so may pics! Both of you are good story tellers, too, @GPayton and @Jared C!

 

I have one question:

Is nobody else seriously prospecting in that general area / formation?? Fantastic fossils are just lying and sticking around in every new place you go, ready to be picked up (more or less). Whats going on (or not) in that part of Texas ?

 

Franz Bernhard

[FossilNerd]

@GPayton  @Jared C
 

Great story and find! Well done you two! It’s awesome to see two forum members come together for such and adventure. I can’t wait to read what happens next! Good luck on getting the rest of it. Hopefully the rain doesn’t beat you to it!  

[digit]

Now this is a great trip report full of photos to take the readers there. Looking forward to updates.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Jared C]

23 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

Is nobody else seriously prospecting in that general area / formation?? Fantastic fossils are just lying and sticking around in every new place you go, ready to be picked up (more or less). Whats going on (or not) in that part of Texas ?

 

The Eagle Ford formation s productive, but like any other formation, it's mostly vast stretches of barren rock interrupted by small, densely fossiliferous pockets. The folks who make great Eagle Ford finds are usually the ones who are willing to explore both the hard to reach spots and the spots that by every means and measure seem unlikely.

[mr.cheese]

I really enjoyed that and as has been said the pictures do take you there! Excellent find/s and very much looking forwards to what happens next!

[FranzBernhard]

40 minutes ago, Jared C said:

The folks who make great Eagle Ford finds are usually the ones who are willing to explore both the hard to reach spots and the spots that by every means and measure seem unlikely.

Yeah, its everywhere the same . There are only very few die-hard, serious prospectors in between all the casual collectors  .

Thanks again for sharing your adventures!
Franz Bernhard

[rocket]

that´s a day in the field you never forget! Great find, wow 

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Superlative finds, and you young guys with your boundless enthusiasm remind me of myself 20 years ago (although I wasn't exactly young then). 

 

By the way, your "gastropod" slab might actually be a bunch of Moremanoceras ammonites.  I've found them in that same interval in association with Ptychodus, Cretodus and plesiosaur material.

[fifbrindacier]

Nice stuff guys, i too will look forward to updates.

[GPayton]

Thank you for the kind words everybody! I'm glad I was able to share my excitement with all of you. 

Unfortunately I don't have much in the way of an update yet. I spoke to my invertebrate paleontology professor on Monday and she seemed just as excited about the find. However, she admitted that she didn't know exactly what to do and even if she did, she doesn't have the authority to organize some sort of retrieval operation. She emailed the lead scientist at the Waco Mammoth Site who hasn't responded yet but whose graduate student did - she believes that the bones are from a mosasaur (although I definitely disagree ). 

I've emailed other professors in the geology department at Baylor and heard back from the department chair who wants to meet to speak with me on Friday. I've also asked the Mayborn Museum, which is the museum associated with Baylor in Waco, for their opinion and haven't heard back. 

Overall the general response has been "I don't know what to do or I'm busy right now, so here's the email of someone else who might be able to help you." It's a little disappointing but I can't fault them for it - I'm sure they have much more important long-running research projects to occupy their time and don't want to add yet another one to their schedule. 

I'm likely going to return to the site myself this week to see what can be done in the way of clean-up after the rainstorm we had most of the day Monday. The good news is that the forecasted rain has slowly been pushed back to next week. Hopefully by the weekend I'll have a better update! 

[pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon]

Man, I so hope this find doesn't get bogged down by bureaucracy - which is kind of what it sounds like right now... I can also fully imagine how disheartening this response may be for the incipient palaeotologist like yourself!  Hang in there, though! This is a great find. And one way or another it will be possible to recover it before it gets lost to what Shakespeare called "nature's changing course"...

Edited August 24, 2022 by pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon

[Jared C]

15 hours ago, GPayton said:

Overall the general response has been "I don't know what to do or I'm busy right now, so here's the email of someone else who might be able to help you

Honestly, if one is willing to slave away on your own, who needs a team 

Obviously one will want to try and keep the entire specimen in one piece, but that's not always possible. I think your specimen might demand being taken out in the largest possible chunks at a time as well, and then glued back in a more controlled environment. 

Plus, while the approach is steep and overgrown, I don't think getting a wheelbarrow there is wholly unreasonable

[JohnJ]

54 minutes ago, Jared C said:

Plus, while the approach is steep and overgrown, I don't think getting a wheelbarrow there is wholly unreasonable

 

In lieu of a wheelbarrow, I've used a plastic utility tub to move a couple hundred pounds of petrified wood on more than one occasion. 

 

[FossilNerd]

3 hours ago, JohnJ said:

 

In lieu of a wheelbarrow, I've used a plastic utility tub to move a couple hundred pounds of petrified wood on more than one occasion. 

 

Yup. No need to carry it either if the ground isn’t too rocky. They slide well enough over all but the most uneven surfaces. A rope can slow it’s decent down a steep grade and make it easier to drag.

[siteseer]

I think this is all a great lesson in what research can do for you.  A lot of older publications (many papers before the 90's) provide good directions or at least a starting spot for productive scouting.  A lot of old sites haven't been visited in years or even decades.  The old-timers don't go there anymore because it might be too rugged or remote for their comfort and they already have what they want from there anyway.  The new kids don't know about it because it's not mentioned online.

 

It's true that you will probably learn that the site is gone now.  A friend checked every site in a "fossils of California" kind of guide and every one of them was either paved over, landscaped over, built on, or fenced off.  That didn't deter him.  He just looked for more publications!  He found a "new" old site just a few years ago where no one had been collecting - no sign of previous digging at all.

 

I hear people say they don't have time to go to the library and yet they have all kinds of time to go fossil collecting.  I hear people say that they did go to the library but didn't find anything.  It's true you might need to go to a university life sciences/earth sciences library and it might be at least an hour away but you will find interesting, if not valuable, information there but only if you look.  I used to find all kinds of information at the USGS library in Menlo Park, CA before they closed it. 

[jpc]

Great find.  Definitely a large fish like Xiphactinus, not a mosasaur jaw.