RyanNREMTP Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Today I decided to go out and explore the fossil area nearby. It's my first time visiting there and it won't be my last. I went out with a plan to find myself an echinoderm and then whatever else I came along. I went by the Corp of Engineers and got my permit. It is free and they are pretty friendly at the office. I drove back down the road to the parking area and unloaded my gear. The weather was nice at first. A lot of clouds and a nice breeze. I walked/hiked down the trail and found the pit area. I started to my right and went exploring. There are tons of shells out there. You could fill up a five gallon bucket pretty quickly. It took my forever to find any trace of an enchinoderm. I managed to only find one possibly two spines and a couple of plate fragments. I'm going to start ID'ing them today. Here is one fossil I found that I thought was interesting. Overall picture of my haul. Trace fossil I found. Are these worms or something else? They remind me of snail poop. So all in all, not too bad. I will be going back soon before it gets too hot here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 looks like u nailed a nice pycnodont mouth plate. good find! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Are those tube worms in the last pic? Nice finds! Looks like a nice place to spend a day. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Nice finds, Ryan. There is a world of microfossils there too. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Nice finds, Ryan. There is a world of microfossils there too. Yep http://www.mbfossilcrabs.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KansasFossilHunter Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Cool stuff, I love that Ptynodont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 The tooth plate is really a great find. They don't often come with that many teeth attached. Complete echinoderms at the pit are often far and few between. Plates and spines of a cidarid (genera anyone?) are not uncommon and there are numerous crushed Coenholectypus specimens everywhere. But the only complete ones I have seen from there are a few heart urchins (again not sure what genera) and these guys: Goniophorus scotti. They can occur in small bunches. And they are rather small. The largest complete one in that photo is less than 15mm in diameter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 Thanks everyone. The pycnodont is my first vertebrae fossil I've found. I guess if I had found a complete echinoderm on my first visit then I wouldn't want to go back. Next time I go I'm planning on taking my son. Plus I might organize it as a group visit like we did last month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Very nice fossils and I love that tooth plate! I didn't realize they could be found there.. Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katfish61 Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Very nice Ryan, would like to visit that site. Let me know when you go next, Jeff and I will join ya'll!! Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Will do. Whenever we do will be in advance. Permits are acquired Monday through Friday only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Killer pycnodont tooth plate! Congrats. "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...
mikecable Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Will do. Whenever we do will be in advance. Permits are acquired Monday through Friday only. The permit folks at the Waco Pit have always been very happy to fax me a permit if I plan on arriving on the weekend. If you need the contact info PM me and I will dig it up. We did get reprimanded for hunting beneath the spillway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 Went by the Corp of Engineers today to get my permit for this week and had my wife and youngest kid with me. We stopped by the research area to show them what I have been up to lately. While down there the kiddo picked up a shell and a lid for a shell. I got them home and cleaned them up. One has what appears to be a baby shell that was growing on it I think. Here are the pictures: Magnified: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Looks like one of the Plicatula sp. oysters that are common at that location. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Looks like one of the Plicatula sp. oysters that are common at that location. "Kitten Paw", in the common vernacular (the name is a favorite of mine). "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...
RyanNREMTP Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 "Kitten Paw", in the common vernacular (the name is a favorite of mine). Hadn't heard of a kitten paw. That's an interesting name. Thanks y'all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Great finds and thanks for sharing! Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 I found it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Trip #2. I headed out to the research area again this morning. Weather was great, temps got down into the upper 30s last night which is odd for Texas in May. I started at the general area of where I found some echinoderm spines and pieces last week. After putting nose to the dirt I found two more spines, another plate and four very small pieces of horn coral. Keeping a close eye to the ground I spied something white. At first I thought it was a piece of broken shell. Then I saw the rest of it. A shark tooth! My first! This is a itty-bitty little thing. I kept looking in that area for another 20 minutes but didn't find any more teeth. I stopped for a break and got a drink of water. Looking around to look for other people or animals I eyed a section of cliffs that looked interesting. I grabbed a few things and hiked over to it. I followed a deer path up to the cliffs but never saw any signs of a human being there. No footprints, no trash or anything. I started looking around and started seeing some of the same stuff I had already found but these specimans were bigger. I found a few gastropods and the sort but nothing exciting. Moving up the cliff some I saw some rocks in a clump of grass. I reached in with caution, not a time to find a rattlesnake and pulled out a golf ball size rock. The part of it that grabbed my attention came into full view. My first complete enchinoderm. I was so excited. I had found what I was looking for and I was happy. I studied the rock some more and I think there might be two smaller ones in the rock with it. This trip was more fulfilling than the last one. First time I was there about 3 hours and found some stuff but this trip last about 90 minutes and I found a lot more that interested me. I'm taking a small group Saturday and I can't wait to see what I find again. I now have a great place to find some great Cretaceous fossils. Horn coral: I also found a small fish vert: Closing shot of the enchinoderm after some prep work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 It's really nice to get 'settled in' to a site, and start seeing with acclimated eyes; it's half the excitement for me "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...
RyanNREMTP Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 I totally agree. I found this piece today as well but didn't notice much about it till I got home and took the loupe to it. Close in of the shell. The other ones like this I have found have never been this much in detail. Plus another enchinoderm plate. Sorry the pictures are so blurry. I need a better camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Ok, this is a better picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 cool. you may have found a nice hemiaster calvini Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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