RyanNREMTP Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 I woke up this morning with a nice cloudy overcast cool day. So I did what everyone else would do, load up the equipment and go fossil hunting. I got down to the Waco Pit around 8:30 and started looking in a trench next to the pathway. I started off with a shark tooth just begging to be picked up. Within 30 minutes I had found three shark teeth and some other interesting things. I went back to my little area where I found that seastar arm a couple of months ago. I was determined to find more of it. While scanning the dirt with my nose to the ground I spied what I thought was another shark tooth. With a set of tweezers I pulled it up. Not a tooth but just a rock. But underneath it was something else. I carefully picked it up with the tweezers and took a close look. It was a crab. Sorry the pictures are blurry. I was still in the field with just my phone. I searched some more and found some pieces of echnoids which I really like to collect. Overview: After about three hours of poking around I called it a day. I came home and soaked the little treasures in some water while I went and soaked myself in a shower. After eating some lunch with my youngest offspring I gathered up the fossils and started cleaning them up. The crab looks more like a crab. There are crabs that have been found out there at the Waco Pit but I didn't see any IDs on them in just the quick look through my books. I really need to get a camera that shoots macro a lot better than what I currently have. Underside: Frontal view: Top view: On top of a quarter: Oh and one of the shark teeth in situ: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Ryan, I knew it was just a matter of time before you found a nice crustacean. The dorsal view appears to be another Caloxanthus americanus; Alex (MB) may be able to confirm or refute. Try using a small piece of an artist's kneaded eraser to position tiny fossils for photographs. It will eliminate the possibility of any hand-held movement. Super find! 2 The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 Thanks, I'll take a look at that paper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 That crab is awesome...little legs and all! Well done sir. Congrats on a very cool find. "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...
old bones Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 What a cute little crab... looks like it has a lot of details preserved. Good spotting that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Great report and excellent finds! Awesome little crab! Thanks for posting them. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I love the crab! Good going on all the fossils, Ryan! Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted October 10, 2014 Author Share Posted October 10, 2014 Thanks everyone. Today's trip was one of those where I just got lucky. The crab would never had been found unless I pulled that rock out first. Just as one of the shark teeth I didn't know was a tooth until I pulled it out of the dirt with the tweezers. This was just a lucky day and one that I will probably never have again. But I'm fine with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReadySetToke Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Wow, really nice finds! I need to make it up to Waco one of these days! I've been told there are some shark teeth in my area, but so far I have found none. Hopefully tomorrow or this weekend I'll find something nice to post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ha, sweet lil' crab Ryan!!! Pretty cool finds for only a few hours! ~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...
hashemdbouk Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Great finds! That crab looks awesome, and everything else looks really cool! I have GOT to coordinate with you and try to plan a trip over to Waco! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharko69 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Very cool finds! Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Ryan, I knew it was just a matter of time before you found a nice crustacean. The dorsal view appears to be another Caloxanthus americanus; Alex (MB) may be able to confirm or refute. Try using a small piece of an artist's kneaded eraser to position tiny fossils for photographs. It will eliminate the possibility of any hand-held movement. Super find! Yep, it seems... usually I would say congrats Ryan, but sincerily I'm jealous Seriously, I would love to see more detailed pictures of this crab. http://www.mbfossilcrabs.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Nice crab! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castle Rock Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I will echo the others in saying CONGRATS on the finds and especially the crab! The size reminds me of a favorite line from the Beatles tune "Come Together": Got to be good looking cause he's so hard to see! Dave in Midland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoreBack Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 That little crab is a GREAT find! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katfish61 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Super find there Ryan!! Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Ok, went back out today for two hours and found more stuff. It was vertebrae day I guess as I found three nice large ones right off the bat. I think one is a shark and the other two might be fish. Found a nice crystal inbedded one plus a small but nice ammonite. Since I found that crab last week I have been picking up every little rock and looking carefully at them. So with that I found another crab today. This one reminds me more of a horseshoe crab but I'll let the experts take a ponder at it. Bottom side: Frontal: Top: Shark Teeth: The verts: The crystal thingy: Ok, I find a lot of these but this is the first time I have found them like this. Does anyone know what they are? I heard worm tubes but not sure. So that's it for today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Great find, Ryan. You've certainly found the right strata. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 That final photo is in fact worms. Not the actual worm but the tube structure they built. Modern analogy would be feather dusters I believe. "Serpulid" is the junk genus name for most of them. I have found many different varieties different and distinct in size/diameter; degree of taper or expansion; attached or loose; colonial or singular; ornamentation: keeled, smooth, transverse vs longitudinal striations, etc. They are so very common but there is a dearth of literature for making identifications. Personally, for just being "worms" I am very intrigued by them and would love to know more and be able to put better IDs on my collection. Oh, and that CRAB is way cool... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 Thanks, that was the first time I've seen them wrapped like this. Usually I find a singular piece here and there but not like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Hey Ryan, nice finds. Yeah its amazing once you get a bit closer sometimes what shapes and other things come into view. Congrats! More good luck when you get out again. Crabs are really nice. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Went back for two hours this morning. Found some stuff, nice pieces of echinoid test, another hilli and a piece of a crab. This looks like a large front pincher. It's strange that the pincher is the same size of the bodies of the other two crabs I had found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Plus I found another tooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanNREMTP Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Finally I found this rather nice echinoid. I don't find too many like this. About 7mm wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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