Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 I've been eyeballing a creek in the Upper K Anacacho fm (Campanian) for a while here in TX and finally contacted adjacent landowners to see if they minded me poking around the creek. Both turned me down, but one showed me all the stuff he had found over the years, mostly nice ammonites, some large, some rare. Then I took my case to a higher power - Texas Parks and Wildlife. I spoke with a rep, discussing exactly what I wanted to do and where. He said it sounded OK but suggested I talk to the county game warden. The warden backed up the legality of my trip as well so long as I parked and walked down to the creek at a county road bridge and didn't walk on any vegetated land up on top of the creek terrace. No problem. In case nearby landowners thought they owned the creek I kept both phone numbers in my backpack. The numbers weren't needed though. 30 knot winds obscured the steady "ching, ching, ching" of steel on steel as I beat out several ammonites including a rare heteromorph, nautiloids, and an echinoid. A few curious passers-by however did stop and stare at me from the bridge to try to figure out exactly what I was doing. I may need to run back there after the next big flood. The moral of the story is that ownership of Texas waterways is an obscure concept, so when in doubt, the local game warden is a good person to talk to as landowners tend to interpret things to the exclusion of collectors. Still, things are open to interpretation among wardens, so I contacted one that I heard was pro little guy. I also spent a little time crawling around in the Escondido fm (Maastrichtian, uppermost K) and grabbed a few shark teeth. I got lots of teeth, probably a couple hundred, but most were very worn by reworking/redepositing. In the image you'll see some Serratolamna serrata, a few Squalicorax pristodontus, one Ginglymostoma lehneri, one Rhombodus binkhorsti, a pycnodont tooth in matrix, a small shark coprolite, 2 small verts, etc. Have fun out there this weekend and have a Merry Christmas! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrocklds Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 awsome heteromorph dan keep up the good work!! brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorman Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Great finds and a great story, thanks for sharing Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Great finds and a really nice variety of teeth. I love the nurse shark tooth, have only found one and it came from AR.. Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Interesting post, Dan! Is the shark coprolite a common find? I think I have one from the Cretaceous of NJ, but they are not common in Florida. Happy Holidays! ----Harry Pristis http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Owens Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Dan. Nice finds! That's an interesting looking ammonite. Can't say I ever ran accross one like it. Kinda reminds me of a Texas Cow Pattie. Mike -----"Your Texas Connection!"------ Fossils: Windows to the past Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 Mike It would take a whole pile of cow patties to make a good trade for that Didymoceras reevesi. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kauffy Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 amazing fossils dan and a great story, as usuall!!! Hopefully will get out tomorrow (boxing day) its christmas day here in Australia....MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!! "Turn the fear of the unknown into the excitment of possibility!"We dont stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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