Missourian Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 (edited) On Sunday, forum members Bullsnake, JeepDigger, Kebhe, two friends of Bullsnake, and yours truly checked out a few spots in Johnson County, Kansas. The temperature started out near freezing, but eventually made it to 60. It was a nice day. Our first stop was at an exposure of the Pennsylvanian Stanton Formation: The beds include, from bottom to top, the Vilas shale, Captain Creek Limestone, Eudora Shale (covered), and the Stoner Limestone. More specifically, we searched for Enteletes brachiopods in the Captain Creek: I find the repeating bedding of the limestone fascinating. That had to satisfy me, because we didn't find much in it. The Enteletes must have been hiding that day. What wasn't hiding was the Kansas highway patrol. A trooper stopped and came up to one in the group and said we had to leave because ramps are part of the interstate system. I've stopped at interstate ramps for 25 year and never had a problem. He also said that we're not allowed to be there because it is the property of the state of Kansas (wouldn't it be federal property?). I'm sorry, but I have doubts about this. And finally, he said "we can look but not collect". Um, I don't think there are any laws banning collecting fossils in Kansas. I heard the trooper was quite young, so who knows?.... Anyway, we were told to leave, so we'll move on to the second stop. Edited February 22, 2013 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) The next stop features the Plattsburg Formation, whichstratigraphically lies just below the Stanton and Vilas. The formationis made up of the Merriam Limestone, Hickory Creek Shale, and SpringHill Limestone. The Plattsburg can be seen across the highway. Our caravan is in the foreground: We made our way up to the top of the Merriam and started to collect fossils in the Hickory Creek: Almost all of the fossils are quite small: They include sponges, horn corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, a few mollusks, crinoid calices and fragments, trilobites, and shark teeth. Edited February 19, 2013 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) I'll start with sponges. Girtyocoelia and Girtycoelia (no relation ), along with one or more unidentified cylindrical forms: Girtyocoelia is like strings of beads, while Girtycoelia is somewhat more cylindrical. These two forms are almost never found anywhere else in the area. Heliospongia: These appear to have formed scattered 'garden patches' on the sea floor. The one in the middle is silicified and probably came from the overlying Spring Hill. The coral Lophophyllidium is the most readily collected: Brachiopodsand mollusks. Clockwise from upper left, they are an orthocone,Trepospira, Composita, Hustedia, Chonetinella, and Kozlowskia: Crinoid calices. These are small but quite diverse. The largest is Erisocrinus: Shark tooth. This may be Campodus, but I don't know for sure: Edited February 19, 2013 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 The underlying Merriam has some goodies as well. There are some excellent cross sections of sponges that are embedded in the top of the limestone. This is Girtyocoelia: Girtycoelia: Another Girtycoelia. This one appears to be branching: JeepDigger gave this one to me. It rounds out my sponge collection. Thanks again, Matt. Speaking of JeepDigger, he found a nice Stenodomatoceras. It is one of the rarer nautiloids. We had a good outing, but there is one more spot to visit. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) Bullsnake, JeepDigger, and I made it on to the final stop. At this road cut, there is a thick sequence of limestone. It is probably a combination of the Argentine and Farley Limestones. All beds are associated with a large algal reef mound that covers much of southeast Johnson County. We spent most of our time in the Farley: Various mollusks are easily seen on the fragments: Most conspicuous is the large scaphopod Paleodentalium kansasense: Other fossils found include gastropods (bellerophontids, Strobeus, Euconospira) and cephalopods (Tainoceas, Gonioloboceras), and plants (Cordaites leaves and seeds, fern fragments). In the past, I've seen bryozoans, other nautiloids (Knightoceras?, orthocones), ostracods, trilobite parts, a possible thylacocephalan crustacean, and a eurypterid. Ok, some pics. Tainoceras: Cordaites: Another Cordaites: The Farley beds are unique in the area. They have an interesting mix of marine and terrestrial biota. For some reason, there is a dearth of smaller fossils. Edited February 20, 2013 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 The lower (Argentine) beds are more typical of Pennsylvanian limestones: Many of the beds contain abundant phylloid algae. These are Archaeolithophyllum: These fragments may be green codiaceans: Some of the lower beds are highly fossiliferous, with well-preserved forams, horn corals, bryozoans, pelecypods, among other varieties. This is really good stuff, but we only had so much time.... Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeloiVarden Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 That is a lot of material. Hope you brought a big vehicle to haul it all home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 That is a lot of material. Hope you brought a big vehicle to haul it all home. Most of the large chunks were left where I found them. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudduck Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Ah! Love seeing pictures from Home! I grew up in SEK! Also Kansas City, Mo. Spent a lot of time in Johnson County. As a kid, we used to visit a hill that we called fossil hill. Your photo's remind me of those times. I remember finding all kinds of fossils. We did not know what we had but knew that they were fossils. The cylinders, I remember those very well. We also found a lot of markings on rocks that was left by the Indians as well as some arrow heads. I hope to come back soon! Funny, most think of Kansas as flat. Little do they know..lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Great post..thanks....I too like the limestone bedding! Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Funny, most think of Kansas as flat. Little do they know..lol! No doubt. Have them come and drive our streets during icy conditions. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepDigger Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Had a great time with everyone again. That shark tooth is pretty cool, I'm glad it turned out! I'm editing pictures right now so I'll get them on here ASAP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepDigger Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 hmm.... no luck with the photo editor and hotels internet connection. I guess it will have to wait until I get home tomorrow evening... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 hmm.... no luck with the photo editor and hotels internet connection. I guess it will have to wait until I get home tomorrow evening... Are they bigger than 2500 pixels or 2 mb? Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepDigger Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 yep. I took some really good pictures with my DSLR and they are too big. (also not the best lighting in a hotel room) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down under fossil hunter Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Great report I always like to see members getting together to hunt, just got to watch out for the fossil police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepDigger Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 I had another cop pull up right after you guys pulled away at the end of the day. She said that several people had called me in and wanted her to make sure I was okay. Complete lie, it couldn't have been more than 10 seconds after you guys pulled out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kehbe Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Tiny spirifer from the Hickory Creek Shale, Johnson co. Kansas. It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. Charles Darwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foshunter Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Interesting, thanks for the post----Tom Grow Old Kicking And Screaming !!"Don't Tread On Me" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 ...Complete lie, it couldn't have been more than 10 seconds after you guys pulled out. Kinda' depends on how rough-looking the gang that left was... "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...
Missourian Posted February 19, 2013 Author Share Posted February 19, 2013 Kinda' depends on how rough-looking the gang that left was... Fo shizzle! Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrguy54 Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 60 degrees in mid-February. A perfect day to go out "browsing" the road cuts!! Great finds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I finally took some time to get some of my finds cleaned up and photographed. Since Missourian already covered the site shots and stratigraphy, I'll start with some in situ shots. First up, gastropods - Wyandotte fm. Next, Scaphopods - Wyandotte fm. Pieces collected: Continued... Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) I also found some Cordaites, and I believe a seed pod. One of a few firsts for me that day! Wyandotte fm. A piece with Cordaites on one side, and Scaphopod on the other: Seed pod(?): 1cm+ Continued... Edited February 20, 2013 by Bullsnake Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 (edited) Hickory Creek shale finds. Thanks to Missourian for showing us what to look for, I finally have sponge specimens (another first): Loose pieces: And 3 different perspectives in matrix ( 2 different cross section views, and a 3D piece): Crinoid cups, and a stem encrusted with Bryozoan: Various Brachiopods, Horn coral, and a tiny Trilobite pygidium (just above the 4cm mark on the ruler): And finally, another first, part of a Cladodus shark tooth: I had to spotlight it with a flashlight to get any detail out of it! I think everyone had a great time, and found some neat stuff, but... wait 'til you get a load of JeepDigger's finds. He did pretty well that day! Edited February 20, 2013 by Bullsnake Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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