Deep in the Heart (Urchin) of Texas

[PaleoPastels]

First: Happy Fossil Day! I've been waiting to post my most recent report so someone has something new to enjoy reading on National Fossil Day.  

 

This past weekend Cole unexpectedly didn’t have to work on a morning that I also had off! He asked me what I wanted to do while I was grocery shopping at 6am for fruit snacks, jerky, chocolate rice cakes. I told him to take me to Fort Worth area! He asked me how serious and I got him the big bag of jerky and offered to pay for the toll road fee. xD 

 

I messaged my insta friend who lives out there and regularly hunts heart urchins! He gave me the location of one of his favorite spots in the woods, he couldn’t be there because of work obligations but he gave me the okay to park and hunt there, I’m forever grateful. Ya’ll on the forum have REALLY made me envious as I’ve always wanted to find my own urchins & echs! Living almost two hours away north east (that’s with morning traffic) makes it a little hard to go to Fort Worth where the echinoid goodies are plentiful. Anyways, we went out and about to Fort Worth!  On the way out there I spotted a creek- we were still a while from our destination but wanted to check it out. 
 

*Adding pictures with captions* 

 

 

 

 

 

I pulled out my trusty TX geomap on my phone (which I strangely had a slow signal being in a big city!) and saw we were actually in the PawPaw formation. All I could find were stinkin’ oysters with an occasional different looking bivalve- and I combed the gravel good and walked down to many other sandbars. If there were echinoids here Im sure they are a little more uncommon in this spot, this area was well picked over, or isn’t very productive of the good stuff. I’m not in my usual hunting grounds anymore and all of these places are new to me! This isn’t my usual playground. We decided to leave for now and focus on the area my friend invited me to visit. No disrespect to the oysters, but I have plenty of those variety at home! I could come back later and see if any have pearls I guess! 
 

***Im kicking myself because after returning to an area with better internet connection I found out PawPaw formation has asteroid/sea star fossils! I have no idea if these are found here at this site. I’ve been itching to find a sea star like CRAZY. It never crossed my mind they could be here! 
 

We finally arrived in the Goodland Formation and I was so excited! The woods were so interesting and a little different than the woods I have back home! Crazy how Texas can look so different depending on how many hours you drive in a given direction!? I was told there are deer so apples for deer: 

 

These don’t grow very often wild in my part of Texas. I love the juice of the purple “tuna” fruits they make! 

 

 

 

I started seeing the rocky, chalky looking exposure and followed it down and dove right in! I found a little ammonite piece  (eek!) and knew I was in the right spot! I didn’t expect to find ammonites, even though I knew we were in ammonite territory. Again- not my usual playground! (I actually got stuck by a heartleaf nettle later!)  

 

 

Oh my stars! My first heart urchin EVER. I named it Mary. 

 

 

 

I haven’t seen coral fossils like this since I lived in Indiana! It was neat to see. 

So I have a video/reel of me actually finding this ADORABLE little Salenia mexicana urchin! I didn’t know you could find these types of regular urchins here! I came here with heart urchin goggles but the universe gave me this little button! I messaged my friend and he was like, “HOLD UP- you found one of those!?” with some happy emojis. Finding this was so cool, it was just chilling on the ground like, “Pick me Up!” It’s perfect. Im OBSESSED. Regular Urchins/Echs are now my new love. (I might have to request  to change my username! J/P btw  ) I want to come back and find another! 

 

 

OB-SESSED.  

^ Poor Cole, who hasn’t found anything yet, was feeling sad so I told him he was right next to one! I had him look in a spot next to a stick. I told him where it was and he couldn’t find it! I showed him Mary and he scanned the ground with no luck. I gestured my hand over it and he said “how can you tell thats a fossil and not a regular rock?”  I made him pop it out and he said “Oh.” LOL 

 

 

I found a mini honey hole! A ton clustered in this one spot! Yay! This should be enough- I came here not expecting to find anything TBH. There was more in there but I left them alone for next time to look through. 

 

 

Cole found me four more! He was so proud and happy and I told him I will keep all four for my personal collection. I was proud of him! Recognizing cars and insects are his knowledgeable thing… rocks not so much. He likes fossils a lot but isn’t good at finding them. He found lots! Yay! My fanny pack is FULL of cool stuff! 85% what is in here are heart urchins, I’m guessing are Hemiaster whitei AKA Pliotoxaster whitei (EDIT: This genus had a name change!) from the looks of it. 

 

We kept finding more, but we left them in the open for my friend to find like easter eggs! I’m responsible and never over-collect at a site. 

 

 

Cole gasps and points to the woods- personally, I’m hoping its a snake or other reptile species I haven’t met yet because I love the darn critters…but he finds me an ammonite fragment! There was more of it buried in the dirt. It looks like an oxytropidoceras! 

 

Also the negative of one in the dirt! 
 

 

I told him amazing job today, and we celebrated by me taking him out for Cane Rosso pizza! We each ate a whole pizza. xD We also visited that cute little rock gift shop in downtown. 

 

***I wanted to visit other sites but he was so hungry and then we unexpectedly had to go pickup his new contacts at the Opt before they closed for the weekend. He promised another time! He actually REALLY loved finding fossils and asked me if it feels that cool ALL the time like that. He liked the idea when I told him how it’s special to find “lost sea friends” in the ground and show them to the world after millions of years!   

Back at home, noticing during their first wash one of these isn’t like the other! The “petals” design is different! *Gasp* I immediately message my friend the “ECHpert“ and asked if this was maybe a Heteraster and he thought it was so cool I found a Heteraster and Salenia in the same trip, first trip ever! Yay! Learning new stuff, finding new stuff!   

 

(phone camera zoom lens attachment) 

Hmm not sure what to name this one! *I name certain rocks and fossils. 

 

 

While I was cleaning I also found this little tiny one that got into my bag! It reminds me of the “spiny jewelry box” shells I used to find in Florida when I lived there- but TINY and Cretaceous! Adorable! I named it Julian. (I’m not sure of the species!)

 

Spread: 

 

^ Lots of Hemiaster whitei urchins, I spy lots of Pelecypods and a Tylostoma snail, other snails. I also found a tiny piece of coral and petrified wood. Lots of ammo Oxytropidocedas pieces. Some were glued back together! The rest I will have to simulate into the shape until I find a whole one. If anyone spots other kinds of urchins in the photo I’m mistaking for Pliotoxaster whitei please point them out so I can label them and study the details on how to ID them. I already know I have one Heteraster! I cant wait to clean the chalky limestone plaque off them later! I found that super hot water, a firm tooth brush, and dull pushpin work the best. No acid, Im too chicken to try any drops of vinegar. 

 

Im still super obsessed with Salenia. I might gloss it later! Wow! I need to find more regular urchins ASAP. 

 

I WILL RETURN! Next time more prepared and ready for the ammonites and other places my friend recommended when he has time off work. I even want to help him find a Salenia too since he is missing one!  I will say this short impromptu mini trip really got me bit by the echinoid-bug so much I even ordered a book about the Cretaceous echinoid fossils of Texas online! Maybe I will eventually try Austin and San Antonio too, San Ant apparently has a good spot!
 

I know this was a long post- thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed an insider to this awesome day! Also if anyone else recommends me back to PawPaw since I’m in search of sea stars please inform me if that’s a decent formation to find them in. If so- I’m sure I can find my own spot. 
 

 

[PaleoPastels]

*Additional photos that wouldn’t fit in first post!* 

After a nice long hot water bath and intense scrub session! Fossil spa. (No acid added to my water)

^ most of these waiting in line to be cleaned! 
 

See? I need to find a sea star now to complete my personal symbol/shop logo represented by REAL fossils I have found myself!  I’m SO happy I found a heart urchin! These were the Texas fossils I wanted to find most when I moved here. (besides a mosasaur tooth!) I think if I complete these 3 first I might get lucky and find a tooth later after my original goals are met! =) 

[Mikrogeophagus]

Wow that salenia is something special! I wonder if it might be mexicana. Probably best to ask the guy with the salenia pfp @JohnJ . Also nice to have some variety with the irregular echies in that heteraster. Looks like a fun hunt.

[Tales From the Shale]

Those sand dollars are truly something to be jealous of. Excellent finds!

[JohnJ]

Given the local geology and the couple of photos, I think Leptosalenia mexicana is the likely ID.  

 

The "jewelry box" bivalve looks like a Plicatula species.

[FossilNerd]

Nice finds and report! I don’t have any echinoids in my area. Very .

[Tidgy's Dad]

What a terrific haul.

A jolly good day. 

[Pagurus]

Thanks for the enjoyable trip report. Congratulations on your finds! 

[PaleoPastels]

*I wanted to drop a note here for any future readers I just found out Hemiaster whitei is no longer a valid taxon- the specie’s genus is renamed to Pliotoxaster whitei. I learned something new yet again!  

[Mart1980]

Great report to read, immediately get motivated to hit the road again this weekend. Thank you! 

[traveltip1]

Nice haul

[NSRhunter]

Great trip post and congrats on your awesome finds! Especially loved the part about Cole getting to find some too and him loving it, always enjoy hearing about people getting fascinated by what we do! It's like the kid inside of us comes out  Keep it up and wishing you both more luck on future hunts. 

[erose]

GOOD STUFF! Echinoids (urchins) are addictive aren't they....;)

 

That little Plicatula is a good specimen.  Sometimes the smallest stuff is the nicest.

 

[PaleoPastels]

On 10/15/2022 at 2:40 PM, erose said:

GOOD STUFF! Echinoids (urchins) are addictive aren't they....;)

 

That little Plicatula is a good specimen.  Sometimes the smallest stuff is the nicest.

 

 

I agree! I tend to always look for the smaller stuff, the bigger stuff Ive noticed is always more worn or broken. Some of the coolest finds people have complimented me on are fingernail size (or smaller! ) I love how pristine the little specimens are! I find and collect smaller things for my transportable “pocket museums” on my shelf. Takes up less space too!  

[gwestbrook]

Those heart urchins are so nice and detailed! Great finds. 

[gwestbrook]

Awesome finds! I especially love those little regulars.