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A pit 2 nod popped a few days ago (into twenty or so pieces......ugh). But i didn't have this species and it was a good sized one. So i spent my sweet time constructing the 300mya jigsaw puzzle back together. After it was together again i roughly cleaned it, but more prep may come in the future to expose more of the pinnule tips. Here she is.

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~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

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Pit 11 just keeps on giving!

Great fossils :wub:

You've got that right, Auspex! Wait until you all see what charlie pulled out of mazon today. Well, at least we're hoping he scored huge. RCFossils may need to clarify our ID. If we're right I couldn't be happier for the guy! However, I'm still calling it beginners luck! :P

Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time.

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Yeah I want to see what he found. We filled our bucket about a 1/3 of the way. I seriously thought about driving back to WI ...switch to my truck and grab my canoe..lol.

I was thinking about staying an extra day as I can't get a hold of my friend in Iowa for some geode hunting, but who knows.

...I'm back.

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Yeah I want to see what he found. We filled our bucket about a 1/3 of the way. I seriously thought about driving back to WI ...switch to my truck and grab my canoe..lol.

I was thinking about staying an extra day as I can't get a hold of my friend in Iowa for some geode hunting, but who knows.

Ahhh, so you were the couple i saw before i left. I wish i would have known, i would have stopped and chatted for a bit. Im glad you guys found some. Let Rob or i know when you're planning on going down next, maybe we can help.

~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

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You've got that right, Auspex! Wait until you all see what charlie pulled out of mazon today. Well, at least we're hoping he scored huge. RCFossils may need to clarify our ID. If we're right I couldn't be happier for the guy! However, I'm still calling it beginners luck! :P

Hahaha, thanks Rob. Today (yesterday) started off a bit rough, but from our first stop i knew we were going to do well. One or two more hours we could have met our quota. Today was definitely "beginners" luck. It's my find of a lifetime.....for now. Mwuahaha.

~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

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And so what did Charlie find this time? I'm out on expedition half a world away on the Great Barrier Reef at the moment (starting a month-long survey of the reefs). I've scanned this topic several times to see if I've missed Charlie mentioning what you are all hinting at but do not see mention of his latest treasure. Spill the beans--what rarity did that lucky boy pull from Mazon Creek this time?

Cheers.

-Ken

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I found a very rare, almost complete, large Tully Monster!

Here, http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/49183-my-monster-monster/

~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

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  • 1 month later...

I haven't posted in here in a while, but im continuously finding new stuff. I'll try and post IDs a bit later.

Annularia radiata

post-14584-0-26689000-1412861023_thumb.jpg

post-14584-0-55993400-1412861036_thumb.jpg

Alethopteris sullivanti

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Lobatopteris lamuriana

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Large Polychaete Worm

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Mayomyzon pieckoensis (Lamprey fish)

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Shark Egg case

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Large Essexella Jelly

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Coprolite with petrified wood association

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Unknown squashed Shrimp (yes, "squashed" is a scientific description....lol)

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Petrified wood

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Cyperites (one of my favorites)

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Belotelson magister (Shrimp)

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Peachocaris strongi (Shrimp)

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Cyperites

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~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

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And my two best finds IMO so far.

8 3/8" Tully monster 90-95% complete

post-14584-0-06914300-1412865281_thumb.jpg

post-14584-0-55161200-1412865296_thumb.jpg

Lobetelson Shrimp (Beautifully preserved)

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~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

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Wow Charlie! :wub:

You've had a great collecting season this year!

Congratulations on your finds!

You should be extremely proud of them. :)
Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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Thanks Tim! For my first year hunting Mazon id say I've done pretty good. I've learned a ton and got a late start. Hopefully next season will be more productive. Plus, this season's not done yet.....haha!

~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

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Hahaha, ironically i came home and found my first "Blade" tonight!!! What Esconichthys apopyris really is is still unknown. It's been described as a larval Lungfish, or even a larval amphibian of some sort. Strange.........

Esconichthys apopyris (named after E.S.C.O.N.I)

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The dark spots are the large eyes.

I wish it was better preserved, but beggars can't be choosers.

~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

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Really neat finds Charlie. What an incredible variety of critters and plants. I sure do enjoy looking at your nodule finds.

Julianna

 
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A pit 2 nod popped a few days ago (into twenty or so pieces......ugh). But i didn't have this species and it was a good sized one. So i spent my sweet time constructing the 300mya jigsaw puzzle back together. After it was together again i roughly cleaned it, but more prep may come in the future to expose more of the pinnule tips. Here she is.

attachicon.gifIMG_20140827_233420.jpg

Charlie

You really have a lot of very nice Mazon Creek finds. I haven't collected nodules that require freeze/thaw to open, so this may be a dumb question, but couldn't you coat your nodules with a hardener but leave an open band which would help them split where you wanted them to and help prevent them from breaking into twenty pieces?

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Really neat finds Charlie. What an incredible variety of critters and plants. I sure do enjoy looking at your nodule finds.

Julianna

Thanks Julianna! The variety of finds is amazing, and that's what keeps me going back! There are many finds that are still not yet described!

Charlie

You really have a lot of very nice Mazon Creek finds. I haven't collected nodules that require freeze/thaw to open, so this may be a dumb question, but couldn't you coat your nodules with a hardener but leave an open band which would help them split where you wanted them to and help prevent them from breaking into twenty pieces?

Marco Sr.

I had asked the same question in the past. But there's usually no indication of the fossil on the nodule. So to guess and hit the correct plain the the fossil is preserved on is almost impossible. Also some fossils need to break into pieces to uncover all of it, because sometimes they preserve on different layers. And due to the three dimensional nature of most Mazon fossils they will break into pieces just because.

~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

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Charlie

Are you able to do any kind of prep on these nodules if they don't open quite right? Or do you pretty much just leave them alone as is?

Marco Sr.

It all depends on how it opens and what can be seen. Yes, I've done quite extensive prep on some (mainly flora).

This one i literally had to break it all apart, cut off pieces of matrix, prep the hard edges and some details, then reassemble the pieces the best i could. The practice from my micro hunting definitely helps when im glueing tiny pieces of broken fern pinnules back together. Haha

post-14584-0-46643700-1412962619_thumb.jpg

The whole middle of this piece had to be cut out because the nodule just refused to split on both plains. And i knew it was fully intact underneath, so i took the gamble.

~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

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This one i literally had to break it all apart, cut off pieces of matrix, prep the hard edges and some details, then reassemble the pieces the best i could. The practice from my micro hunting definitely helps when im glueing tiny pieces of broken fern pinnules back together. Haha

attachicon.gifIMG_20140801_195918.jpg

The whole middle of this piece had to be cut out because the nodule just refused to split on both plains. And i knew it was fully intact underneath, so i took the gamble.

Charlie

You did a really nice prep/restoration on this specimen. It really looks good. I wouldn't have guessed what had to be done to get the specimen to look like it does now.

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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Great work Charlie. I'm back from the Great Barrier Reef and I've cycled a few plastic shoe boxes full of last June's nodules through the freezer a couple of times in the week I've been back. I've determined that several of the stubborn nodules were cooperative in revealing their contents when motivated with taps from a hammer. In effect I've added some physical force to the expansion of ice as a means of separating the nodules on the fossil plane. Some of the nodules were cross-fragmented with white calcium infilling. These shattered into pieces when tapped. Some of the ferns on the fossil plane seemed pretty weathered already (though not actually exposed) while other nodules split nicely along the fossil and avoided multiple additional freeze-thaw cycles. It's not that I'm getting anxious or tired of cycling it's just that they looked like they needed a bit of coaxing.

When I have a moment (still catching up after being out of the country for a month), I'll take some photos of the nicer fern leaves that have revealed themselves. I have a few Franken-fossils that have been glued back together to form two "Humpty Dumpty" halves. Still none to compete with the brilliant nodules you've wrested from weathering and displayed here on the Forum but I have a few that I am happy with. It was my desire last June (on my birthday) to finally experience hunting for Mazon Creek fossils with some results. I've succeeded admirably (with the help of several from this awesome Forum). Now any fossils I obtain from those nodules will be testament to a birthday spend doing what makes me happy--and that's all we can really ask for in life.

Photos soon....

Cheers.

-Ken

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Thanks Ken! I hope your trip was well. Hopefully you're willing enough to share some pics you took while visiting our mates down under. :D

~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

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Thanks Ken! I hope your trip was well. Hopefully you're willing enough to share some pics you took while visiting our mates down under. :D

Surely. I gave out a little early Holloween eye candy on another long-running thread: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/45660-wildlife/?p=537743

The trip was successful as we surveyed 165 sites along the GBR from Cairns to the northern tip of Oz (Horn Island) over the course of the month. Saw lots of stuff (including multiple sharks on virtually every dive). Some sites were in less than happy shape due to cyclone Ita (category 4) that created a bit of a mess earlier this year or from periodic infestations of Crown-of-thorn Starfish (COTS) which have a habit of consuming a dinner plate size piece of coral nearly every day. Our dive sites are at pretty much random locations around the windward and leeward sides of the ribbon reefs and small islands that make up much of the GBR. Occasionally, we would find some really spectacular sites with good visibility underwater to enjoy them. I wrote a blog about the one that stood out for me on the trip (http://www.livingoceansfoundation.org/best-dive-at-the-great-barrier-reef/). I invite anybody who is interested in coral reefs to follow along with the blogs and Facebook photos during our next mission (in a couple of weeks) to the Solomon Islands. There is a place on the Living Oceans Foundation's home page where you can enter an email address to get email copies of our blog updates (so you won't have to keep checking the home page to see if something's been updated). They don't use the email address for any other purpose but to push out the blogs.

Enjoyed the GBR and the Australian scientists (and those from other countries) who joined me on this mission. The water temps (low 70s) were a bit low for this thin-skinned South Floridian as we were just coming out of the Australian winter into their spring. The constant trade winds made for rough seas and made it difficult to keep the core body temperature up between dives but a good jacket and judicious hiding spots helped.

Cheers.

-Ken

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Thanks for the link Ken. Beautiful shots!

Is there a specific reason why you go there this time of season? Migration of a species? Seasonal species?

~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

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Lots of places to visit and a busy schedule so timing is not always optimal for all locations. The ship was in for a major dry dock overhaul this summer to have the hull tested and repainted and the engined rebuilt. She cooks along at 17 knots+ now which makes long transits a bit shorter. We're off to a rescheduled Solomon Islands trip shortly--Cyclone Ita caused major havoc there earlier this year as well with devastating consequences for the locals (though it is a story that likely got no coverage on our news here in the State). After another short time home again we'll be off to Palau and then either Palawan in the Philippines or the Tanimbar Islands in eastern Indonesia. I've got to get my fossil fix in between these trips as the focus for this year and next will be coral survey heavy. I took another 11,900+ images on this trip and it will be interesting to see what the total is at the end of the Global Reef Expedition at the close of 2015.

Till then I've still got some nodules in the freezer and I've got relatives arriving today who have expressed some interest in the novelty of finding fossil shark teeth in Florida. A friend has provided a possible location for them to experience this as part of their Florida tour (the rivers and creeks are still way way too high and swift to even get near).

Photos of my fern bits from Pit 2 hopefully either this afternoon or tomorrow.

Cheers.

-Ken

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Had a moment to photograph some of my fern bits that have recently emerged from the nodules from our June hunt up in Pit 2.

The one on the left in the first photo is my current favorite. It's about finger size/shape and the fern pinnule takes up the entire nodule. With some slight provocation from the business end of a hammer--few taps here and there--it split nicely into two. Likely reason for its clean split was that the fossil plane was basically the entire nodule (once several layers of "egg shell" shale had peeled off from the nodule during several freeze/thaw cycles. I got several other fern fragments and a couple of Annularia whorls to break up the regularity of ferny bits.

Cheers.

-Ken


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