Ludwigia Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 I had the opportunity again last weekend to go collecting with a Swiss friend where we visited a Bajocian site in the hills south of Basel. To be specific, we dug into the Humphresianum zone and I was lucky enough to come up with these finds which I've just finished preparing. Stephanoceras humphresianum. 12cm. This must have been lying on the sea floor for quite a long time judging by the serpula and oysters attached to it. Normannites sp. 5cm. The microconch to the above with one of the Apophysen intact. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakoMeCrazy Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Nice one! Really nice job with the prep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted October 12, 2013 Author Share Posted October 12, 2013 Thanks, Brian. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 (edited) Was back for another visit to a similar site last week and just finished preparing the first find, another Stephanoceras humphresianum. More to follow later on. In the meantime, happy Easter! Edited April 19, 2014 by Ludwigia Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Your ammos typically look shiny.. is this natural or a result of your prep method? A fossiliferous Easter to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 20, 2014 Author Share Posted April 20, 2014 I almost always give them a coat of rember - a beeswax finish. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Oh that'll do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Killin' it Roger! Good stuff. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 21, 2014 Author Share Posted April 21, 2014 Thanks, Mike. I guess you can appreciate them all the more now that you've seen them "live". Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 This next one took a good deal of time to prepare. It's an almost complete phragmocone of a Cenoceras sp. Nautilus with a circumference of 15cm. I decided to expose the inner septal wall but the matrix was extremely hard, so I had to spend hours on end rocking back and forth carefully, so as not to damage the shell, between air scribe and abrader. It turned out okay in the end, thank goodness. It's overgrown with tube worms and oysters, which makes it particularly interesting. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nala Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Very nice finds again Roger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Thanks Gery Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Roger I always enjoy seeing your prepped finds. In Texas, most of our ammonites are exposed by erosion, so one side is often compromised. It's a double edged sword...erosion revealeth, and erosion taketh away...and our job is to show up before the taketh away part goes full swing. It seems that your finds tend to have 360 degree stellar preservation more so than what I encounter in Texas. And then your prep works reveals the full natural splendor. Keep up the good work! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Thanks for the endearing compliments, Dan. The reason most of our ammos over here show such good preservation is partially because people have been walking over every square mile out here picking up fossils for nigh on 300 years, so there's not much left on the surface to be found. That's why we have to dig, dig, dig and pry,pry,pry the things up. My friend and I had to dig down 2 meters and 1 meter back into the hillside at this site in order to get far enough into the layer that the humus acids weren't dissolving things.It's nevertheless often the case that one side is better than the other, usually the downside, but that's due to the taphonomic circumstances. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 (edited) The next fossil to get finished is a Megateuthis gigantea belemnite rostrum. These things were the largest of their kind ever and could reach lengths of up to 3 ft. My friend found it in 3 pieces lying next to each other and gave it to me. Unfortunately the tip was lost to the years. Edited April 26, 2014 by Ludwigia Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 I wasn't sure about the ID on this one at first, but my friend has confirmed for me that this is with a circumference of 7.5cm. an exceptionally large Normannites sp., the microconch to Stephanoceras. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Thanks, Mike. I guess you can appreciate them all the more now that you've seen them "live". I was appreciatin' the heck out of them when they were just photos on a screen...in hand, stupendous! That coat of wax is excellent. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 That coat of wax is excellent. I find it makes the fossils a bit more presentable than au natur. At the time that they were roaming the seas they were certainly much more colorful originally. Nature has taken that away from them over the years, so I just like to give a bit back to them again. Of course that's just my personal stand on that. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 28, 2014 Author Share Posted April 28, 2014 Here are the last things to show from this trip. A few Brachiopodes. Not quite sure about the ID, but I took a stab at it anyway. Left: Ornithella subucculenta. 2.5cm. Right Heimia mayeri 3cm. Gigantothyris gigantea 3.5cm. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Well...I thought they were the last ones, but there were still a couple of things in the bottom of the bin...Just finished this one. The ammonite's nothing special, but the association with the Actinostreon marshii bivalve makes it interesting. It's 7cm. long. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Ooooooh, that is a very cool specimen. Nice work. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 freaky cool association! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Thanks guys. I kinda like it too. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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