SDAmmoniteHunter Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 My fiancé brought this home for me from right outside the Badlands in South Dakota. Is it something that is worth the time to slowly break through to possible find a fossil?? Thanks for any and all advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 (edited) That question is not possible to answer firmly without something more to go on. I can't see anything that looks like a fossil emerging from it but if you do then it may well be worth the effort. Just because of where it came from is rarely a good reason except for some layers of some formations like the Green River which can reliably contain fish fossils. Otherwise we never break open rocks or even dig in the ground without something showing on the outside. Smashing open random rocks in passing when your having an unproductive hunt is not so uncommon when the urge hits you but the kind of careful preparation done around a fossil takes too much effort if you don't know something is there. After all, if you expose something accidently and brake it in the process it can be glued back together easily enough. My advise, bust it into dust and watch for fossils as you go, but don't bother going slow. Edited August 19, 2014 by BobWill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 I agree with BobWill go at it but no need to move at a snails pace unless you see something. I hope you run into something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 19, 2014 Share Posted August 19, 2014 It's very clastic; who knows what might be waiting to be liberated? "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...
SDAmmoniteHunter Posted August 20, 2014 Author Share Posted August 20, 2014 Thanks Everyone! I'll break it apart tonight... Maybe I will get lucky and find something! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNGray Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 Soak it in a bucket overnight. Looks like it would turn into mud, then you can look for even small fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted August 21, 2014 Share Posted August 21, 2014 I'll second the soaking in water overnight. Just don't use the bathtub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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