Scott's Valley Fossil Trip

[jsw]

Well, I just got back from my once a year trip to Scott's Valley, CA during which I always dedicate some of my vacation time hunting for fossils. Started off my hunting at a road cut on Bean Creek road that is well known but still has tons of fossils to collect. I was only there for a little more than an hour but brought back plenty of sand dollars, Astrodasis spatiosus I believe, to keep me busy cleaning them for a while!

The next trip I took was to Capitola Beach. Unfortunately, the tides didn't cooperate and I wasn't able to make it at a good low tide. I was able to get down there though and look around. I was also able to collect several fossil shells.

The last site I visited was another popular site off of Lockhart Gulch Road in Scott's Valley. I had pretty good luck there, finding about 65 teeth in 3 1/2 hours. I also founf quite a few bone fragments. I also found the largest tooth that I have ever found so I was pretty excited about that! All in all it was a very good trip. I'm not sure about the ID's for all of these and would appreciate any pointers anyone could give my. I'm particularly interested in the large tooth. Is it from a mako? Thanks. Here's the pics:

[worthy 55]

Looks like you had a great vacation hunting fossils.

[Plantguy]

Hey JSW, enjoyed seeing some California material again! I collected out there years ago, but further north of the SF area than the sites you mentioned. Yep, there were a ton of those little Astrodapsis in some of the bay area outcrops.

I believe at least 2 of the marine snails (the larger ones on the right and left in the one photo)are probably Nassarius sp. but I'll let the others who work those formations/locations confirm that, as well as provide some info on the other specimens!

Thanks for sharing the photos. Looks like you had a great time collecting! Regards, Chris

[jsw]

Thanks for the comments. It really was a great trip. As I've said before, there aren't a lot of fossil sites up where I live so I always look forward to visiting the Santa Cruz area. Thanks, Chris, for the ID on the snails!I'l be back in the area in about a month for my cousin's wedding. I just might have to try and find a way to sneak in some collecting time!

- Josh

[Auspex]

The "big tooth" is well worn, but it seems from the picture to be pretty chunky...

If I found that at Calvert Cliffs, I'd probably be thinking Meg.

[siteseer]

Great stuff. I liked that Lockhart Gulch site. The teeth were usually heavily worn but there was always a chance at finding something really nice. One of the fossil dealers in Tucson liked the naturally-polished bone pieces and used them in her jewelry.

I have a specimen like those in the second photo and was told years ago that it was a piece of a grinding tooth of a sheephead fish, Pimelometopon. I'm interested in seeing if there is confirmation or other opinions.

[dwt]

Congrats on the finds! How Exactly do you clean the sand dollars? I have one I would like to clean up but do not know how.

[jsw]

Great stuff. I liked that Lockhart Gulch site. The teeth were usually heavily worn but there was always a chance at finding something really nice. One of the fossil dealers in Tucson liked the naturally-polished bone pieces and used them in her jewelry.

I have a specimen like those in the second photo and was told years ago that it was a piece of a grinding tooth of a sheephead fish, Pimelometopon. I'm interested in seeing if there is confirmation or other opinions.

Thanks for the comment, Siteseer. And congrats on MOTM, by the way. Most of the teeth I've found, except for the really small ones, have been pretty worn down, but I still really enjoy collecting them. You can find some neat colors on some of the teeth. I think I read somewhere that the specimens in the second photo that you mentioned are pieces of a grinding tooth, but I'm not sure from what type of fish. I found a couple small pieces of the same material a couple years ago at the same site as well.

As for the sand dollars, I clean them by soaking them in vinegar for a while to loosen up the sand and gravel that is stuck to them. I then use an old toothbrush to get rid of the loose stuff and a toothpick or pin for the snad that won't come off after brushing. It seems to work well though I'm sure it depends greatly upon what type of matrix your fossils are in. Here are a couple pics of some that I have already started cleaning.

- Josh

[dwt]

Those cleaned up really nice! I will give the vinegar a shot. It is just sand stuck on the bottom of it for the most part. Thanks for the help!

[iamsharky]

The "big tooth" is well worn, but it seems from the picture to be pretty chunky...

If I found that at Calvert Cliffs, I'd probably be thinking Meg.

Thats what i was thinking, Meg.....

[MOROPUS]

Hi! Thanks for the explanation about the cleaning of that little echies! I have some, and I dind`t know how to get rid of the sandy matrix!

By the way, the bivalve that is just above the Nassarius sp., looks a lot to a Anadara sp.Could you take a pic of the other side of the shell? Thanks!

[jsw]

Thanks Moropus for the tip on the bivalve. Here's the pic you asked for.

[deborah]

Hello,

I went to Lockhart Gulch area on July 31, 2010 and was chased out by some guy repairing his fence... It was so bizarre like Deliverance... Just exactly where are you at?

I was over by Lockhart Gulch/Geyser Rd.by the storage units. Also by an abandoned Quarry so all these fossils you are getting are on private property?

Every where I looked I saw no trespassing signs and ###### hats who would not let you park on a public road.

May be its because I am a girl.

Thanks Deborah

[Rhinofly]

I have read that the Lockhart Gulch locality has been developed and is now closed to collecting. Is this a different spot than the one at this link?

www.gtlsys.com/Sharks/Sharks.html

>clickable link<

[jsw]

It is right next to the old site. The site where I go is just down Lockhart Gulch Rd. right next to the mini storage. I'm not sure if the land is owned by the same company as the mini storage or not. When the old site was closed down and developed, people moved next to it and continued digging there. There is one small, maybe 4 foot, section of fence that is being used to hold back the sand from falling into the raod and it does have a sign stating, DANGEROUS CONDITIONS, NO TRESPASSING, POSTED. However, this is the only sign and fence along the entire property and it is half buried as it is. However, under CA law, a property must be completely fenced or have no trespassing signs posted at every entrance and three signs per mile. Be that as it may, if the land owner tells you to leave, you must do so immediately. There are clear trails leading up the hill and a lot of evidence of digging at the site. One word of caution, some of the people who dig at the site have undercut the cliff quite a lot. The cliff above is mostly loose sand and there have been several collapses so I would not recommend digging to far into the cliff.

[MOROPUS]

Thanks Moropus for the tip on the bivalve. Here's the pic you asked for.

Yep, Anadara of some sort.

This animal still lives today, and it is consider as a living fossil, due to some facts (the taxodon dentition-very similar to many Paleozoic shells-, is the only shell with haemoglobin in their blood, so they got red blood!).

Anadara wiki

It is quite difficult to ID the subespecie, so I will say only Anadara sp.

[nickkcin11]

It is right next to the old site. The site where I go is just down Lockhart Gulch Rd. right next to the mini storage. I'm not sure if the land is owned by the same company as the mini storage or not. When the old site was closed down and developed, people moved next to it and continued digging there. There is one small, maybe 4 foot, section of fence that is being used to hold back the sand from falling into the raod and it does have a sign stating, DANGEROUS CONDITIONS, NO TRESPASSING, POSTED. However, this is the only sign and fence along the entire property and it is half buried as it is. However, under CA law, a property must be completely fenced or have no trespassing signs posted at every entrance and three signs per mile. Be that as it may, if the land owner tells you to leave, you must do so immediately.

There are some nice finds in there, especially the big tooth. Do you think it would be worth trying to find the location while Im at the Sand dollar one? Or are they the same? And Im a little confused about the parking situation, do you park elsewhere and walk to the location since I assume it says no parking and no trespassing? And is it really easy to find the location you are talking about, the place with only one sign?

[Boesse]

I can improve on that bivalve ID - it's the species Anadara trilineata, and it's very common in the Purisima Formation, and can be found at many Purisima Fm. exposures. The ones from Capitola still preserve original pigment, and muscle attachment scars. Bobby

[jsw]

Thank you Moropus and Boesse for that ID. I've been busy prepping sand dollars and thought I'd share some pics of some of the nicer examples so far. The plate is about 8 1/2 by 6 inches and very fragile. I plan on stabilizing it with something, probably the acetone and duco mix. If anyone has any better suggestions, please let me know.

[Auspex]

The plate is wonderful

What a display piece!

[jsw]

Thanks Auspex. Like I said, it is very fragile. Does anyone know if the duco/acetone mix will work OK or should I get some Butvar? I'll do some tests on some single sand dollars and a smaller plate I have before trying the big one.

[jason longboard]

Thanks Auspex. Like I said, it is very fragile. Does anyone know if the duco/acetone mix will work OK or should I get some Butvar? I'll do some tests on some single sand dollars and a smaller plate I have before trying the big one.

is this area hard to find, any maps or info I could get. Im in Bakersfield around 5 hours I think from Santa Cruz. South, closer to LA.

Very cool finds by the way.

[Geno]

Dear JSW,

could you be a little more specific about the location of the sites?

Is the Lockhart Gulch Rd site north or south of the ministorage? (south being close to the Mt. Hermon intersection).

How far north of downtown Scotts Valley did you go on Bear Creek Rd. to get to the sand dollar site?

Thanks.

Regards

[Wayne Thompson]

I've been collecting at both of these sites for the past 34 years and can help out some with the id's. The bivalve is indeed an Anadara trilineata and the sand dollars are Astrodapsis spatiosus. The big tooth is most likely a Carch. You have two nice Nassarius grammatus on the outer edges. The three plated white teeth are Pimelometopon, the sheephead fish; they used their plated teeth to crush mollusks. Often you will find the Anadaras with boring chambers of marine polychete worms preserved on the siphon end of the shell.... the worms were mooching a meal from the incurrent siphons and liked to hang out on the Anadaras more than other clams preserved in the Purisima here more for some reason. Most of your teeth there are from the two Makos; Isurus planus and Isurus hastalis. Hope this helps... Wayne Thompson, Scotts Valley, CA.

[fossiladdict]

Looks like you definitely had fun finding...I like the white colors in the teeth.