kevinnix Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Took a trip out about 2 hours west of Mackay, Queensland, Australia. It was a warm day at 32 degrees celcius, so took off at dark o' clock at back home by 2 o'clock, spectacular countryside around the town of Nebo, a little different on the other side of the low mountain range that divides the coastal area of central queensland from the more western areas. But, I managed to find a some Permian outcrops with the help of online geological maps, and managed to bring home about 60 fossils of Brachipods and pelecypods, I don't know what type of rock they are in, so if you have any comments, please let me know. I also found just 1 leaf fossil in the middle of the dirt road, broken into pieces by the cars running over it. I think all fossils are Permian, Australian government stratigraphic database shows the age of this formation (gebbie formation) as 268 to 251 myo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinnix Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share Posted December 23, 2014 More pics from fossiling trip . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
izak_ Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) Wow, Nice leaf! Those brachiopods are quiet big? Do you need help identifying? Edited December 23, 2014 by izak_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Good work tracking down the exposures! This has to add quite a bit to the gratification, not to mention the knowledge gained. "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...
Doctor Mud Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) Good work tracking down the exposures! This has to add quite a bit to the gratification, not to mention the knowledge gained. Yes - well done on the geological detective work. Hard to tell what type of rock it is. I would look at a fresh piece with a hand lens. Is it a clastic sedimentary rock (made up of rock particles) or is it made up of carbonates (calcite) or tiny animal remains. The options could be a sandstone or a siltstone (you could see tiny rock particles) or a limestone. An acid test (a few drops of vinegar) would help test for carbonates. The geological map might provide a hint, but sometimes formations are made up of several rock types. Looking at the Australian Stratigraphic Units Database (http://dbforms.ga.gov.au/pls/www/geodx.strat_units.sch_full?wher=stratno=7078) it mentions the Wall Sandstone Member. Looks like you might have two different types of rock here - the type with the marine fossils and the rock with the leaf. The orange color is due to oxidized iron ("rust") Edited December 23, 2014 by Auspex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Cool stuff!!! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khyssa Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Very nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinnix Posted December 23, 2014 Author Share Posted December 23, 2014 If I had to pick a rock type from a stratigraphic report, and had no other choices, then in this case I would pick Siltstone. Here is what I DO know, my vinegar and lemon juice test is inconclusive so far, I would really like to see a reaction on a genuine piece of limestone as a base test, it would help. I tried the test on 2 brands of chalk sticks I had in the shed, but no reaction, I tried the test on my Brachipods fossil bearing stone, but no reaction. The ingredients list on the vinegar said "vinegar", the ingredient list on the lemon juice said lemon juice and ascorbic acid. I have cut off large portions of the fossil matrix from several of the specimens, some of them are very large and heavy, with fossils only visible on 1 edge, the colour is red to chocolate to brown, the dust cloud produced using a 9" dry diamond blade is the dustiest of all the many types of rock I have cut before, it is thick and very fine, the rock is soft to cut, the particles are very fine. Why are we sometimes driven to know everything about a certain subject, can we not be satisfied with the hunt for the fossil, the finding of the fossil, the identification of the species, the preparation of the specimen for display, and then the finished well displayed fossil. The answer I think is that a basic knowledge of geology plays a major part of the fossil experience. Thanks for your comments and helpfull hints, Cheers, Kevin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike from North Queensland Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 Kevin it is good to see you found the exposures after a bit of detective work. It always makes for a good trip to find something based on research not general knowledge. What is the scale for the finds? Mike D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinnix Posted December 25, 2014 Author Share Posted December 25, 2014 Hi mike, if you mean scale as in size of specimens, then I have posted a few more pics next to tape measure, if you mean something else I'm sorry for misunderstanding, While on the subject of size of specimens, I read something interesting in a lengthy report of the geology of the Bowen basin, I haven't read the entire report, but browsed through it trying to pick the eyes out of it, I will post these pics for now, but add another post after find the interesting paragraph again (forgive me, it's a 170 page report) Cheers, Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinnix Posted December 25, 2014 Author Share Posted December 25, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mammothman Posted December 26, 2014 Share Posted December 26, 2014 The photos look fantastic looks like a happy well worth adventure . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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