Austin Chalk Adventures With Vertman - An Invitation I Couldn't Refuse

[sward]

As Richard (Vertman) kindly mentioned in his latest update regarding his "100 Hours Collecting in the Austin Chalk of North Texas", he invited me to join him in his adventures on Sunday, 21 April.

Having met Richard before, I jumped at the chance to be able to spend the afternoon hunting with him, regardless of the possibility of not finding much of anything. His knowledge and experience, along with his willingness to share that knowledge with a newbie like myself and train me how to spot and identify various formations, made the decision to join him a no-brainer.

The last time I met up with Richard, he took me to some locations he had hunted in the past. At one of the locations, he found a couple of Ptychodus teeth. I was not lucky enough to find any on that trip, so Richard made sure I was going to find some this time.

We went to a location with some Kamp Ranch formation exposed that he had success in before. Needless to say, Richard was going to make sure I found Ptychodus teeth this time.

My haul after a short time at this exposure:

"...WOW!!!..." was all I could say.

Also included were various other teeth:

This forum is full of tremendous members that are more than happy to help people to learn. I'm proud to be part of such a great group of people. THANK ALL OF YOU!!!

[Boneman007]

Classic "lightning strike" shark teeth from the Uppermost Eagleford group, Arcadia Park/Pliestocene rework zone. It is not the Kamp Ranch. Also, it is not Austin group!

Before you argue with me about the pliestocene mix, I have a unfossilized fetal mammoth tooth from the same zone. It ended all the speculation as to this layer being reworked during the pliestocene.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Boneman007

[Foshunter]

Nice haul, can't complain about not finding Ptychodus teeth. Thanks for sharing----Tom

Classic "lightning strike" shark teeth from the Uppermost Eagleford group, Arcadia Park/Pliestocene rework zone. It is not the Kamp Ranch. Also, it is not Austin group!

Before you argue with me about the pliestocene mix, I have a unfossilized fetal mammoth tooth from the same zone. It ended all the speculation as to this layer being reworked during the pliestocene.

Hey Brent!!!!!-----I bet you could put together one nice gallery if you had one----hint-hint----Tom

[Uncle Siphuncle]

stephen you'll get nothing but expert tutelage from richard. he probably still remembers one annoyingly focused newbie with too many questions... by the name of dan!

[vertman]

Classic "lightning strike" shark teeth from the Uppermost Eagleford group, Arcadia Park/Pliestocene rework zone. It is not the Kamp Ranch. Also, it is not Austin group!

Before you argue with me about the pliestocene mix, I have a unfossilized fetal mammoth tooth from the same zone. It ended all the speculation as to this layer being reworked during the pliestocene.

Kamp Ranch. Several of the teeth are actually found still within small blocks of the formation itself...

[vertman]

Kamp Ranch. Several of the teeth are actually found still within small blocks of the formation itself...

The reason I say Kamp Ranch is that there are large blocks of it all over the site, many of them that look to still be in situ. A good number of those blocks contain whole or fragments of teeth. It looks like a pretty classic Kamp Ranch site to me. I agree with you the teeth look extremely similar to that zone in the Arcadia Park. It may be possible that we somehow have a "mixing" of the two formations on this site, though I see no evidence of the Arcadia Park outcropping there at all. I am not an expert and have been wrong before...

Brent, let is rain a few times and I will take you out there. Maybe we can come to a consensus on the geology.

[vertman]

As Richard (Vertman) kindly mentioned in his latest update regarding his "100 Hours Collecting in the Austin Chalk of North Texas", he invited me to join him in his adventures on Sunday, 21 April.

Having met Richard before, I jumped at the chance to be able to spend the afternoon hunting with him, regardless of the possibility of not finding much of anything. His knowledge and experience, along with his willingness to share that knowledge with a newbie like myself and train me how to spot and identify various formations, made the decision to join him a no-brainer.

The last time I met up with Richard, he took me to some locations he had hunted in the past. At one of the locations, he found a couple of Ptychodus teeth. I was not lucky enough to find any on that trip, so Richard made sure I was going to find some this time.

We went to a location with some Kamp Ranch formation exposed that he had success in before. Needless to say, Richard was going to make sure I found Ptychodus teeth this time.

My haul after a short time at this exposure:

IMG_4282.JPG

"...WOW!!!..." was all I could say.

IMG_4284.JPGIMG_4285.JPG

Also included were various other teeth:

IMG_4289.JPG

This forum is full of tremendous members that are more than happy to help people to learn. I'm proud to be part of such a great group of people. THANK ALL OF YOU!!!

For you DFW guys out there, I find Steven to be an honorable man who is willing to put in the work on his own to gain knowledge. He would be a good collecting buddy for anyone looking to share their passion for paleontology. You do give me way too much credit, Steven. I am not an expert on anything by any means. But I have to tell you, I tremendously respect those willing to put in the work. I find it to be refreshing and I love to see guys like that rewarded with good finds.

[wfrr]

There seems to also be some local zones of kamp ranch like material appearing at different levels in the Eagle Ford. I encountered what I would call kamp ranch at the basal atco zone. It is packed with debris and small teeth. When reading about the Eagle Ford in the sherman sheet it states ..."some thin platy beds of sandstone and sandy limestone in middle and upper parts." sounds like the same description used for the kamp ranch. I'm convinced it's there. This rock though pretty much the same as Kamp Ranch might be what they are calling Bells Sandstone at the Atco and upper Eagle Ford levels.

Edited May 17, 2013 by wfrr