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The Fog


Guest bmorefossil

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Guest bmorefossil

This day turned out to be one of the spookiest trips i have ever had you couldnt see 20 feet in any direction!!! We couldnt see where the cliff was and had to use the beach as a guide and when we got to far off shore it seemed as if you were floating in the middle of nothing. When we got to the beach i started finding stuff right away, first a complete bird bone, then a shark vert. at 1.5in and a cow shark tooth both in the same block. We wern't finding anything and two people had already come down and left when we see a figure begin to walk out of fog. It ends up being Tony Holt, we walk the beach for awhile finding the usual stuff, he finds a few nice makos and then right in front of him I find another cow shark tooth and then another. I also found two nice Isurus Retroflexus and four good hemis. He bends down and picks up a nice squalodon tooth that was well hidden under the sand. A few more people come and we decide to leave.

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Nice trip. Don't know if I would want to walk the cliffs in a fog like that though.

Carpe Diem, Carpe Somnium

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The bird bone is a humerus (rt. side). I'll try to key it out; can you post a pic of the other side (and maybe end shots)?

The little pits, dimples, and bumps are what I need to see.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Very nice - any day out is a good day even if you can't see giant blocks of clay and earth about to tumble down on you. I think the cows are awesome. I never found a whole one - still searching.

Thanks

always digging for the truth...

PaleoDan

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Great day at the bay!! Sure beats the landscaping and lawn mowing I had to do. :angry:

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Sounds like a good trip! I know how spooky the fog is off shore when you gotta run slow and listen for oncoming boats. I had a gps unit installed in my boat so i knew where i was and where i was going but i didnt have radar so i didnt know about anyone else being around :mellow:

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Guest bmorefossil

when we were fossiling we had two different boats come in and ask us which way was north. lol

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when we were fossiling we had two different boats come in and ask us which way was north. lol

What did you tell them?

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Guest bmorefossil
What did you tell them?

well they were looking for the boat ramp and it was to the north so we just pointed to the north so at least they were heading the right direction lol

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Great shot of the cliffs with the fog...that would have been a fun trip!!!

LIFE IS SHORT...HUNT HARD!!!

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Now that's dedication. The fog shot is great.

Besides fossils,

I collect roadcuts,

Stream beds,

Winter beaches:

Places of pilgrimage.

Jasper Burns, Fossil Dreams

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here is the other side of the bird bone

So far, it's looking like a small Anseriformes; genus Oxyura is known from the period. I'll need to spend some quality research time to confirm/modify my first impressions.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Guest bmorefossil
So far, it's looking like a small Anseriformes; genus Oxyura is known from the period. I'll need to spend some quality research time to confirm/modify my first impressions.

thanks man i really appreciate your help

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The bird bone is a humerus (rt. side). I'll try to key it out; can you post a pic of the other side (and maybe end shots)?

The little pits, dimples, and bumps are what I need to see.

I don't know a darn thing about fossil birds, but are we sure thats not a chicken bone or another recent bird bone? This one doesn't look nearly as permineralized as the last one you found and I really didn't think they were as common as you are making them seem! Anything is possible but I have't seen that many bird bones from the cliffs as you seem to be finding. Seem to be great finds if they are indeed miocene!!!

EDIT

Actually the 2nd picture makes it look pretty solid, so I won't doubt it if you say its definitely fossil.

---Wie Wasser schleift den Stein, wir steigen und fallen---

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Guest bmorefossil
I don't know a darn thing about fossil birds, but are we sure thats not a chicken bone or another recent bird bone? This one doesn't look nearly as permineralized as the last one you found and I really didn't think they were as common as you are making them seem! Anything is possible but I have't seen that many bird bones from the cliffs as you seem to be finding. Seem to be great finds if they are indeed miocene!!!

EDIT

Actually the 2nd picture makes it look pretty solid, so I won't doubt it if you say its definitely fossil.

well you were right with your first answer it was a little to good so i desided to cut in half to see if it was white on the inside and it was, kinda sucks but it happens

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I don't know a darn thing about fossil birds, but are we sure thats not a chicken bone or another recent bird bone? This one doesn't look nearly as permineralized as the last one you found and I really didn't think they were as common as you are making them seem! Anything is possible but I have't seen that many bird bones from the cliffs as you seem to be finding. Seem to be great finds if they are indeed miocene!!!

EDIT

Actually the 2nd picture makes it look pretty solid, so I won't doubt it if you say its definitely fossil.

First thing I did was check whether it is an extant species; it appears not to be. Just from the pictures, it seems to be in extraordinary condition; just enough erosion of the fragile foramina in the pneumatic fossa to indicate that it is quite old. I've nearly exhausted the references that I have at hand; might have to resort to taking it (or really good photos) to the museum. So far, it's a "small duck" (size of a Ruddy).

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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well here is the new picture

hahahah well it might still be pleistocene and not completely permineralized. Auspex I think you would know...how common are bird bones at the cliffs anyway?

---Wie Wasser schleift den Stein, wir steigen und fallen---

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Guest bmorefossil
hahahah well it might still be pleistocene and not completely permineralized. Auspex I think you would know...how common are bird bones at the cliffs anyway?

they are rare but being how light they are its hard to tell if it is fossilized are not and since people dont like to pick up bones there are more for you to take. So far this year i have 3 fossil bird bones this one just happened not to be one.

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Hang on to it! I'd still like to ID the thing (I find this kind of puzzle kinda' fun; every bone gives me new knowledge). Given the color, I'd be pretty surprised if it were recent. If there's no sign of soft tissue inside the shaft, it could be Pleistocene, and could still have value for comparative osteology. I'd really like to get a good look at the capital groove (the horozontal groove just below the top in the second picture). In the photo, it's so large that it just didn't match anything I could find in the modern catagory. Might prove to be an "ancestral" Ruddy Duck, and the subtle changes over "only" 2 million years could be instructive.

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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