Huge Fan Pro-Am

[Daveos]

I've been doing paleo work for about 24 years now. Started very young in southern UT and never gave up on it. Had considered a career in it for a while, but ended up doing other things.

 

I'm a huge fan of pro-am partnerships and have been fortunate to work with some amazing paleontologists over the years. I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting sites.

 

This is my latest find. Happenstance discovery in Pima county AZ a few months ago. Currently under excavation by the county. Second proboscidean I've found so far in the southwest

 

The tusk is obvious, there were a few other bones eroding out. From what I understand they've uncovered some ribs with the tusk so far.

 

Cheers!

David

Edited December 8, 2022 by Daveos

[Ludwigia]

Very interesting, but I can't quite make out what part of the proboscian we are looking at. Can you please extrapolate?

[Daveos]

Just now, Ludwigia said:

Very interesting, but I can't quite make out what part of the proboscian we are looking at. Can you please extrapolate?

 

Absolutely.

 

This is a tusk eroding out of the hill. They don't fare well once exposed out here in the deserts. You're looking at a cross section of the conical growth rings inside of the tusk. 

David

[FossilNerd]

Very cool! Congrats on the find, and kudos for the desire to have professional and amateur collaboration. It’s something we encourage here. 

[Tidgy's Dad]

[rocket]

interesting, first view I would not expect that its a fossil, looked like erosion of a fold

but, great find!

[Daveos]

6 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

Very cool! Congrats on the find, and kudos for the desire to have professional and amateur collaboration. It’s something we encourage here. 

 

Thanks! 

 

Most of my experience is late cretaceous marine and terrestrial stuff. New to the pleistocene finds but find them very exciting. 

 

Was glad to learn this site encourages working with the professional community. 

[Daveos]

4 hours ago, rocket said:

interesting, first view I would not expect that its a fossil, looked like erosion of a fold

but, great find!

 

Yeah, pleistocene sites can be hard to spot in the desert because it's rare that bones come out in one piece. I found my first mammoth site in 2017 in Utah. It didn't look much better than this at the surface. 

 

Having a good understanding of geologic context led me to both sites. I knew I was in pleistocene fluvial deposits so pleistocene fossils were on the mind.

[JohnJ]

1 hour ago, Daveos said:

Was glad to learn this site encourages working with the professional community. 

 

You may have seen THIS.

[Sjfriend]

Congratulations on a great find! I've spent a bit of time wondering the AZ desert but never found something this good. And yes, working with the pros can be exciting. 

[Daveos]

5 minutes ago, JohnJ said:

 

You may have seen THIS.

 

I browsed through this for a while. Some pretty awesome stuff.

 

I started working with professional paleontologists when I found my first plesiosaur at 14. I've always had a fondness for the hard science that goes into this work and the people who dedicate their lives to it. I also understand it can be a contentious subject in some circles. I report everything important I find to proper authorities. I'm also not against people collecting on private land. I just obey whatever laws are in place. 

[Daveos]

9 minutes ago, Sjfriend said:

Congratulations on a great find! I've spent a bit of time wondering the AZ desert but never found something this good. And yes, working with the pros can be exciting. 

 

Thanks!

 

The first one I found in UT, I was out hunting meteorites with a metal detector when I spotted some flood plain deposits I couldn't fit within my understanding of the geologic sequences in the area. Lo and behold, they didn't fit. They were much younger pleistocene deposits with some very neat fossils that included mammoth and bovid remains. A kid from USU just completed his master's thesis on the site - the collected material is being prepped and studied at UofU in SLC.

 

For this one I was out chasing storms, hiking back to my vehicle I was aware the area was pleistocene sediments but never imagined I'd find another mammoth. I walked right by this tusk about 4 times before I spotted it on the way back to my vehicle.

 

Always got to keep that eye pealed for the unexpected!