phillycheez Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) I came across this while hiking last weekend; I took a picture as I was leaving and didn't realize what it might be till after I had left. It's about 2ft across. I plan to go back this weekend to take more pics. It's on BLM land so I don't think I'm allowed to touch it. Edited April 18, 2012 by phillycheez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) Not sure on the ID but you are correct that you are not allowed to collect it. Contact the local museum, I'm sure they would love to know where it is. Just a bit of FYI, Brontosaurus was recently changed to Apatosaurus. Edited April 18, 2012 by Auspex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 18, 2012 Author Share Posted April 18, 2012 i thought fossils were normally embedded in rock, but the soil around it is very soft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 18, 2012 Author Share Posted April 18, 2012 which makes me believe it has been recently exposed; my head is swirling, but i think i read that it's important to unearth quickly once the fossil itself is exposed to the elements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeloiVarden Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I don't know about the laws up there, but it looks really cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 18, 2012 Author Share Posted April 18, 2012 i think any vertabrate fossil needs a blm permit, which is only granted to those with advanced degrees in related field Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Correct again, I know it's tempting to collect it, but the right thing to do is bring it to the attention of a museum there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Hi phillycheez... these guys are right... if its is on BLM land, you should report it to your local museum ... is there even a natural history museum in Jackson? Where did you find this? That's often useful in telling what formation and age you are dealing with. As for your comments about rock and mud... a lot of the mudstones that bones are found in out here (I'm in Casper) are such that they weather into something approximating mud, but if you dig a bit, you'll find that the mud quickly becomes stone as you get past the weathering zone. If you do go back, feel free to take a landscape shot and I can maybe tell what formation it is in. The museum I work in has a BLM permit and we do use it every now and then... if this thing is not too far we may be able to find time to investingate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 18, 2012 Author Share Posted April 18, 2012 i have a landscape pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Just from that picture, I'm not really sure what the object is. "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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 It's a caaaaaaaanyon! KOF, Bill. Welcome to the forum, all new members www.ukfossils check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 it does look like the end of a dino femur. Like others have said, digging on BLM land is a big no-no. Jail time and fine type no-no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tj102569 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 great find and the antisipation afterwards is awesome. Just to be a part of a find like that is out of this world. Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opisthotriton Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 That is some beautiful outcrop. Perfect dinosaur territory. That's not near Jackson WY, is it? Looks more eastern than Jackson, got to get out of the mountains. I hope JP can go visit it with you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 here are some more of the area; I think I errantly posted somewhere regarding the green river formation; after a lot of wikipedia and a lack of sleeping, I'm understanding formations vs locations better. but the more I'm learning, the more I realize how very little I know or understand about this stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 but, this is what caught my eye on google earth and started this whole thing; don't know what it is, but I like it will try to post a vid on youtube when we go back this weekend. Location update: after careful study of my various pics and google earth, I figured out the coordinates and....(sigh) it is indeed BLM land; it's in that tricky checkerboard area of 1 mile blocks where BLM owns the evens, while the odds are privately owned (rock springs grazing association) <= has anyone dealt with these people? anyway, I have to go to bed...wait! I have to get ready for work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opisthotriton Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Looks like Morrison Fm, but I'm no expert on the Jurassic. Since you already know your coordinates, you should be able to find the formation on this map: http://geology.uwyo.edu/geologicmapofwyoming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 19, 2012 Author Share Posted April 19, 2012 Thanks, will check it out once I get back to a pc. Now, I've had 2 people say they think that it might be concretions?- one sent a pic of a beach, in California I think, and they looked like a bunch of bowling balls. I guess it's a possibility because it seems so large, but the area in the middle seems to be so bone like in texture; as I've been reading different things, it seems all the big, big stuff is northern wy and mt, where this is closer to rock springs/g river and I hear a lot more about aquatic stuff. But didnt 'Al' the allosaurus(?) come from rock springs area? The blm guy is hot to trot to get out there, but I gave him a list of requirements (that it doesn't leave wy, I want a casting of it, if its a new species- i get to name it, etc) and haven't given him a time frame when I can take him there yet- I hope I didn't ###### him off too much... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truceburner Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 You can also add a .kmz to Google Earth for the Wyoming geologic units. I've been using these state-by-state overlays to check formations recently, and it really helps. I recommend using that layer as a 50% transparency. Available here. http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/state.php?state=WY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 philly - as far as your requirements....it is protocol that the scientist describing a new species gets to name it. It is quite often named after the discoverer, but the person making the find doesn't have "naming rights". You might have some issues with "demands" because you don't own the property, nor the fossil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 ...I gave him a list of requirements (that it doesn't leave wy, I want a casting of it, if its a new species- i get to name it...) Naming a new species is the prerogative of the scientist who publishes the formal description; this would not be within the BLM's ability to guarantee. EDIT: X-Man beateth me! "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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 eocene, bridger formation; thanks everybody!! this pic was off the web.. from the 2nd link: Fine-grained mixed clastic rock A mixture of clastic sedimentary rocks varying from mudstone to sandstone, dominated by rocks containing clay-sized or silt-sized particles This category is also used for fine-grained mixed clastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillycheez Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 this pic was off the phone.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raistlin Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Forgive my ignorance but what is BLM? RobertSoutheast, MO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgrilusHunter Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Forgive my ignorance but what is BLM? BLM = Bureau of Land Management "They ... savoured the strange warm glow of being much more ignorant than ordinary people, who were only ignorant of ordinary things." -- Terry Pratchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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