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Sth 4-22-12

Scylla

By Scylla
in Fossil Hunting Trips

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Scylla Regular Member

Scylla

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Finally made it to Shark tooth hill! Before I could drive, before the internet, before home computers, my dad took me up there with a hand drawn map from a friend of his who worked at the oil fields. "Just look on the ground, there's tons of fossils lying around" we were assured. We drove a couple of hours to find a locked gate and no tresspassing sign blocking our way :( Oops! I spent a few hours combing through the area road cuts and called it quits empty handed.

Fast forward almost 40 years. Now I live on the opposite side of the country. My sons watch a video of Shark tooth hill on The Fossil Forum and my youngest declares that that is what he wants for his birthday present. We often skip cake and parties in lieu of a family trip to some remote site for a hunt. Calvert Cliffs, Md; Monmouth Co., Nj; Herkimer, Ny. all have been prior victims of our peculiar family tradition. I happened to have a conference scheduled in San Diego for the same weekend and my parents had been pressuring me to bring the kids out to visit them. Well a short time later a lowball bid on priceline gives us some good news! Rob and Koral were very helpful getting us set up for the trip also, thanks so much!

What can I say about STH? First off it is clearly misnamed. Yes there are copious, large and beautiful shark teeth, but it should be named "Marine mammal bone bed." We couldn't even walk to the dig site without stepping on chunkosauruses. I really think all those concretions are underrated and would have filled the SUV with them if I didn't have to ship everything to New York. The digging is tough because it is so easy to break the teeth with picks and shovels. I thought that my arms and back would be sore from digging, but no. The muscles that get sore are the muscles in your hands from breaking up the clumps of clay. Screens are a must, and I was glad I brought lots of water, kneeling pads, etc. as the museum staff and Obsessed1 recomended.

We tired of digging quickly in the heat, especially since Grant (the b-day boy and youngest) was finding more teeth outside the screen than in it. So at the insistance of the boys we surface collected most of the day. There were several bonuses from our more mobile strategy, we met more people and more fossils this way. Interestingly enough whenever we returned to our "spot" where we left the shovels and screens, Grant kept finding more teeth. :o Initially I thought this was the effect of training our brains to recognise the enamel texture and shapes, but after one of the boys got hit by a flying tooth, I realised that it was raining teeth ;) Thanks to all the rainmakers :wub:

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Auspex Regular Member

Auspex

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"Raining teath"... :D

Great story!

Y'know, I got a birthday coming up... ;)

"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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Fossildude19 Regular Member

Fossildude19

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Excellent report, Gus! :D

Glad you all had a good time.

Raining teeth! Ha!

Can't wait for the pics!

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Tarheel59 Regular Member

Tarheel59

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Glad you all had a great trip, great report also and Happy Birthday to your son who made it all happen. :) I have heard of raining cats and dogs but not teeth. :) Wish we could get some of that type rain here all we get is water... and a few cats and dogs. :) Thanks for sharing.... Jeff

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Scylla Regular Member

Scylla

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We followed a father/son team from Northern California around to the other side of the hill where they showed us how to find teeth like this:

post-3451-0-13127700-1335534395_thumb.jpg

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Scylla Regular Member

Scylla

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post-3451-0-83127000-1335534591_thumb.jpgSo when I flipped it out of the dirt I had my best tooth of the day, actually, I think it may be my best tooth ever. Still under 3 inches though.
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Lloyd Regular Member

Lloyd

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I once had it rain frogs on me <really, in Indiana> but I have never had it rain fossil teeth.

Sounds like y'all had a great time and found lots of great stuff. Nice way to spend a birthday.

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xonenine Regular Member

xonenine

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great to hear you had such a nice trip Gus, sweet tooth you pulled out there also! :Bananasaur:

Edited by xonenine

"Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus

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Scylla Regular Member

Scylla

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post-3451-0-23612900-1335580614_thumb.jpg

Here's some of Grant's finds. He especially likes the mammal teeth even though they are boken (upper right corner)

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Scylla Regular Member

Scylla

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And Joseph's favorites. Upper left corner is a shrimp burrow trace with a small shark tooth in matrix. Upper right is a small mammal? bone (doesn't look hollow end on so not likely a bird). The shark teeth are self explanatory :Ppost-3451-0-72652600-1335581477_thumb.jpg

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jpc Regular Member

jpc

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cool... can you show us a better view of the mammal teeth? I'm a big fan. I first heard about STH 30 yrs ago when I started this fossil thing and finally made it out there this spring as well. Fun fossiling spot.

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xonenine Regular Member

xonenine

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I enjoyed the pictures Gus - was all geared up this morning to leave for 18 Mile Creek, when stepping out the door I saw some ninja Postal worker had been there already, Saturday 11 AM, with your thoughtful gift!

:bow: a big hurrah! for you Gus, mailing that box in the middle of your exciting trip was beyond thoughtful!!!! :bow:

I went right back in the house, and had to spend a few minutes with my hands in this stuff right away.

I will have to take pictures, but a large bone segment immediately came to hand, i have brushed it off, and it has the warmest richest patina, if it was any nicer I would have taken a bite out of it like a spare rib.I think it is a large vertebrae, but as it is bout the first vertebrate material I am handling, I will post it...

can't tell you how fun it was to see what folks talk about, and break up some matrix in my hands - how different from our local fossil collecting also!

thank you, Carmine :)

Edited by xonenine

"Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus

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Missourian Regular Member

Missourian

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We followed a father/son team from Northern California around to the other side of the hill where they showed us how to find teeth like this:

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=147574

Looks like Mandarin script on the tooth.

Very nice specimens and interesting report.

Edited by Missourian

Context is critical.

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Scylla Regular Member

Scylla

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cool... can you show us a better view of the mammal teeth? I'm a big fan. I first heard about STH 30 yrs ago when I started this fossil thing and finally made it out there this spring as well. Fun fossiling spot.

As soon as they arrive in New York I'll try and post those pics for ya.

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xonenine Regular Member

xonenine

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here is the first vert I found in the bonebed material - chunkosaur perhaps, exciting nonetheless to dig up and clean off the first time... :)

thanks!

post-4577-0-44283700-1335984762_thumb.jpg

post-4577-0-29452800-1335984770_thumb.jpg

"Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus

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