Upcoming - Shark Tooth Hill - Public Paleo Dig

[DitchDiggerDos]

One week and counting until the Shark Tooth Hill public Paleo dig with Buena Vista Museum. Come join us launch the new year as we hunt middle Miocene. Registration can be found on the BVM website - www.sharktoothhill.org

January 17th, 18th, 19th

If you can make it this month they are having another public dig February 21st, 22nd, 23rd. Below are some finds over the past few years to wet your whistle.

Whats on your Miocene wish list this year?

- James

Edited January 12, 2014 by DitchDiggerDos

[DitchDiggerDos]

some more photos for continued whistling...

[caldigger]

Jim, is that yellow monstrosity (first pic) yours? I was going to go this last Friday and Saturday, but the gods were not in favor and my back went out. Which days are you planning on going? I might be able to pull myself back together for this next weekend.

[DitchDiggerDos]

Jim, is that yellow monstrosity (first pic) yours? I was going to go this last Friday and Saturday, but the gods were not in favor and my back went out. Which days are you planning on going? I might be able to pull myself back together for this next weekend.

The Yellow'ish Meg is my brothers tooth DitchDiggerUno, a slow curve find!

I'm sorry to hear about your back. I frequent the chiropractor to keep alignment.

The weather is shaping up nicely for the weekend. I will be there all day Sunday.

[espeton]

I will be there Saturday and Sunday

[DitchDiggerUno]

I will be there Saturday and Sunday

Are you coming out from Philadelphia?

[DitchDiggerUno]

My brother and I on the final dig of last season. You can see why we call outselves "Ditch diggers"

Also, an example of the bone bed, just to wet your whistle.

[PRK]

Ouch. Look at those chopped up bones!!

Edited January 17, 2014 by PRK

[espeton]

This time I am flying from Washington DC. 3 hours more and I will be in the airport...

[DitchDiggerDos]

This time I am flying from Washington DC. 3 hours more and I will be in the airport...

Awesome. Safe journey to you. See you Sunday!

[TNGray]

Have a great time guys! We did a whole day dig with my son and two grandsons last week. Great place!

[megateeth]

That would be cool. I hope you find something great!!!

[caldigger]

PRK, the bones at those quarries are like that most of the time. They tend to be very crumbly and almost impossible to get out whole without damaging.

[PRK]

Only speaking from personal experience, that's the way chopped up bone looks. With a "little" care in collecting and hardener you would be surprised. It even looks like the bone on the right may be a cross section of a pinniped jaw

[siteseer]

I see what PRK is saying because those look like fresh breaks. The STH teeth and bones that are white or off-white are very brittle but it looks like you are at a site where the fossils are darker and better mineralized (possibly Bob Ernst's west quarry) so you should be able to find more complete bones. However, to do that you have clear off an area of overburden and work down to isolate a large chunk of bonebed. After that, you can break down the chunk with smaller tools and have a better chance at less breakage.

If you are hitting the layer from the side, you are going to break more specimens that were whole. In any case you are going to break something and you don't want to be paralyzed by the fear of that, but if you are careful, you will get some great bones (especially vertebrae and pinniped toe bones). I have a good number of them myself.

Having said that, you will also encounter a good number of bones that were damaged long ago (perhaps while the sediment was in the process of settlling/compaction and some researchers have thought some were sheared by the bites of large sharks like megalodon). I've seen bones that looked like the only thing holding them together was the sediment that infiltrated the cracks

PRK, the bones at those quarries are like that most of the time. They tend to be very crumbly and almost impossible to get out whole without damaging.

[DitchDiggerUno]

Only speaking from personal experience, that's the way chopped up bone looks. With a "little" care in collecting and hardener you would be surprised. It even looks like the bone on the right may be a cross section of a pinniped jaw

Its impossible not to break bones at this site. The density is extremely high. Siteseer sums it up very well with his above post.

Edited January 20, 2014 by DitchDiggerUno

[PRK]

I would absolutely love it, but it is impractical any more

Actually ive done my share at STH, I was just giving a heads up

Edited January 20, 2014 by PRK

[espeton]

This is my best find in this trip:

An almost 3.5 inches lower Isurus Hastalis

[caldigger]

Yes, that was incredible when you showed it to me. The 2.5" upper you got the day before was a great find also. Good job buddy!

[TNGray]

Beautimus Maximus!

[espeton]

Caldigger, it was a great weekend digging with you guys in Bakersfield. Here is a picture with all the five teeth that were 2 inches or more.

On the other hand I would like to ask for some advice about removing the black manganese nodules on the big Mako. They are kind of hard to remove from the root and I am afraid to break the tooth in the process. Should I leave it like that or you guys know a easy way to do it?

Thanks in advance

[LouiefromFlorida]

Espeton was the rockstar on Sunday with that find. Jimmy gets honorable mention with that big creamy Meg!

[siteseer]

Espeton,

It's a great specimen as it is. I would leave it alone because the manganese is usually harder than the root. You might take off some of the root if you tried to flick it off.

However, if you are gambler, you could try removing it with a Micro-Jack, the scribe with the finer tip used for precision prep. If you're going to do that you will want to harden the root with a Butvar solution. Some people prefer Vinac or at least think it's just as good. In a pinch you can just dab on some thin superglue then dab on a little acetone to dull the shininess left by the glue. The acetone will also help the glue penetrate.

Jess

.

Caldigger, it was a great weekend digging with you guys in Bakersfield. Here is a picture with all the five teeth that were 2 inches or more.
On the other hand I would like to ask for some advice about removing the black manganese nodules on the big Mako. They are kind of hard to remove from the root and I am afraid to break the tooth in the process. Should I leave it like that or you guys know a easy way to do it?

Thanks in advance

[AeroMike]

Man! that is on my bucket list~! I am going to make that trip some day. I need to concentrate and I know I will have some time off from my current job in two years where I can take a few months off~!

[Fallingfossils]

Wow! Those are some nice finds, that 3+ incher is just awesome

I've used the vinac/acetone combo with good results on unstable tooth roots before. That being said, with a tooth as special as that, you may not want to even risk having something go wrong as Siteseer mentioned.