masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) Well, the quarry hunting in eastern NC is becoming more sparce with new closings and other. I am very thankful to the office manager at Belgrade for allowing me to come and collect today. He is such a nice man and all the people there are a delight! I decided for sure last minute this morning that I was going to toot on over to Maysville, NC and check out what the recent rain may have uncovered. What a beautiful day for some travel and the cool 48 degrees quickly zoomed to a nice 61 degrees by late morning. The sun was shining and I have to just say the weather could not have been nicer. I arrived around 10:15 am and stayed until about 2:00 pm today. I had not been fossil hunting for over a month and I was due for a fossil fix! I was led to an area which I was at in December and that was exciting! The Belgrade Formation in NC is Oligocene and there are areas of Pliocene/ Pleistocene formations. The usual area was being blasted and all the machinery had enveloped that area. Not sure what will become of that awesome spot. Anyways, I was fortunate to meet several fossil hunters while I was wandering around. One person I have meet through the NC Fossil Club and the other gentleman through this forum. So nice to visit! There was a nice lady whom arrived before I was leaving and she found a large bone. Not a fossil, but we thought possibly a bear leg bone of some sort. The bone was LARGE! I made my way all over and then came to an area toward the back where there was running water, almost like an acquifor. There was quite a bit of "hauled in" material I am assuming from the usual area where the blasting was going on. I was able to find many bivalves and gastropods in this spot. I decided to try an remove a few from the sediment. These were not dry and very damp from being hidden under sediment. My mistake, some crumbled once the air hit them and others did not make the journey home. I am happy I decided to take a picture of the nice sized Busycon spiniger, mollusk before I wrapped it up. This one was removed from the damp sediment and I thought I could somehow preserve it. I am curious about how to approach these very damp and fragile shells. I am doing a test with some from today and trying to dry them out in hopes of a good outcome. If anyone has any thoughts on the matter it would be appreciated! Moving on, I just enjoyed being outdoors and the fresh air. I posted some of the finds from today. Have a great weekend everyone! Libby Edited February 16, 2013 by masonboro37 Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Insitu gastropods. I just love them! Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 The Busycon spiniger, so bummed about it! Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Pretty Galeocerdo cuvier, Modern Tiger..........I think. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 More fun finds! Little Conus (on the left of pic), possibly a Tritonopsis gilletti, mollusk (on the right of pic), snail and unidentified shell. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 My experiment: Very wet sediment with a nice mollusk and several other shells. Curious if this will dry enough to actually remove the specimens. I shall just wait patiently for a while! Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolmt Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) One technique is to wrap them damp in the field in saran wrap put a few tiny holes in the saran wrap with a fork when you get home then leave it somewhere that will not freeze or get wet for many months. The very slow drying out process will often let the matrix set up in a way that it will not crumble. If it is still unstable when you unwrap it you can impregnate the matrix with very dilute PVA in acetone using a soft brush.This works on some of the crumbly devonian clays up here. Edited February 16, 2013 by Malcolmt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 (edited) One technique is to wrap them damp in the field in saran wrap put a few tiny holes in the saran wrap with a fork when you get home then leave it somewhere that will not freeze or get wet for many months. The very slow drying out process will often let the matrix set up in a way that it will not crumble. If it is still unstable when you unwrap it you can impregnate the matrix with very dilute PVA in acetone using a soft brush.This works on some of the crumbly devonian clays up here. Thank you Malcolmt! I remember that MikeR had mentioned PVA to me too. I did not realize that it could be used on the matrix. This is interesting. I have the experiment on top a shelf, hidden away. I will try the PVA after all dries out. This stuff is so crumbly, wheww. Edited February 16, 2013 by masonboro37 Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudduck Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Pretty Galeocerdo cuvier, Modern Tiger..........I think. I would agree with you. Modern Tiger. A great tooth! A lot of great finds. Good luck with your shells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 I would agree with you. Modern Tiger. A great tooth! A lot of great finds. Good luck with your shells. Thanks Mudduck! Will see how the crumbly shell experiment goes. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I like the (possible) Tritonopsis gilletti. Such intricate detail. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 I like the (possible) Tritonopsis gilletti. Such intricate detail. Missourian, that is my favorite find today. It is so small, but perfect condition. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeDOTB Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I might be around next Friday, I wonder if they will let me in!? I hope so. Love the modern tiger shark tooth! Congrats! DO, or do not. There is no try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 I might be around next Friday, I wonder if they will let me in!? I hope so. Love the modern tiger shark tooth! Congrats! I bet they would. Nice folks there. Thanks about the tooth! Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 Was this the same area you me and Don looked in or a different area? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 16, 2013 Author Share Posted February 16, 2013 Was this the same area you me and Don looked in or a different area? It is different area in the quarry. The area we were all at is now being blasted. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 It is different area in the quarry. The area we were all at is now being blasted. Good. Maybe they will have a new area open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyce Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Love your finds! Great report. I want to get down to one this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 My experiment: Very wet sediment with a nice mollusk and several other shells. Curious if this will dry enough to actually remove the specimens. I shall just wait patiently for a while! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Love your finds! Great report. I want to get down to one this year. Thank you Joyce! Come on down, NC has some great areas. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Well, two ok specimens from the matrix. Some cracks, but looking better than expected! Will post pic this weekend. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 Nice finds... Sorry to hear about the quarry closures is it due to health and safety issues?... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Nice finds... Sorry to hear about the quarry closures is it due to health and safety issues?... Thank you Terry Dactyll! Yea, sad about some of these quarries. Not really sure the reasons though. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 22, 2013 Author Share Posted February 22, 2013 Well, two ok specimens from the matrix. Some cracks, but looking better than expected! Will post pic this weekend. Ok, here are the final specimens dried out and coated. I did the best I could and some were already damaged as they came out of the matrix. I will have to keep practicing once I get a hold of more matrix. Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Nice.... Practice makes perfect and then when you get a good one of each species, you'll be looking for somewhere else to hunt... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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