Shellseeker Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) I had an open day and Sacha already was planning to go hunting today, so we agreed to meet at a location on the river whenever we got there. This was around that area where Digit had found the May Fossil of the Month, Sacha found two mammoth teeth, and I found a juvenile mastodon jaw and a very stunning small meg. Our day was gorgeous, sunny and warm. Both the river valley and standing in the river kept us cool. The river was up a foot or a little more since I had been here last. Also Sacha and I were alone with nature. No one passed the whole day. Background: Sacha found some nice large upper hemis, a possible manatee tooth, and we both found camel premolars. There were horse and bison teeth but the bison was beat up. LOTS of little shark teeth and a glyptodont osteoderm for each of us. Then this: After you think about what this photo shows, you can see all of it below. Here is another find. Is it gator or croc? Size = 1.75 inches One for Auspex: 4.7 inches long. Hunting fossils is always better with someone who shares your enthusiasm. We talked fossils, hunting equipment, agatized corals, other hunters that we both know, the presence of (small) gators, and helped each other to find the best places by jointly probing the gravel beds. All in all, a very satisfying day. Hopefully Sacha and Shellseeker will go hunting a couple more times before end of season. Almost forgot. A chunk of fossilized gator jaw with 3 teeth and a couple of broken stubs in the tooth sockets. Note that the larger tooth is a "replacement". I did not realize that previously. A VERY unique fossil. x Edited June 15, 2015 by Shellseeker The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiggieCie Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 A great trip, THX for sharing...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Wow Jack, another jaw with teeth!!!!!!!! Very nice!!!!! Glad you guys has a good day Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacha Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 The river was deep and dark. Here's Jack experimenting with his birthday present. We spent most of the day in water this deep or a little deeper. It's hard to scrape up gravel when your feet are barely touching the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Wow! That jawbone with teeth is really neat. It is like an illustration showing a replacement tooth coming in! Beautiful. All the finds are exciting. Can't wait to find out about the bird bone. Great pictures, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacha Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Julianna, I started early in the day (6:00 AM and almost too dark to see) because I wanted to collect some matrix before the river went up too far. I managed to get a couple hundred pounds which I'll get out into the sun the next few days to dry out. Your summer supply is guaranteed! I was already worn out when Jack and I got started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 Julianna, I started early in the day (6:00 AM and almost too dark to see) because I wanted to collect some matrix before the river went up too far. I managed to get a couple hundred pounds which I'll get out into the sun the next few days to dry out. Your summer supply is guaranteed! I was already worn out when Jack and I got started. Yikes, John, that's a scary thought... standing in the the river, in the dark and all those alligators... Thanks for all your hard work collecting matrix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amour 25 Posted June 16, 2015 Share Posted June 16, 2015 (edited) Well sackaria sacky that looks like fun. But the water is wild also. Good job and well I am sure the place cleaned out now Almost forgot any pics of the Mammoth ,Mastodon jaw? Edited June 16, 2015 by Jeff L Nolan Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 16, 2015 Author Share Posted June 16, 2015 .....Good job and well I am sure the place cleaned out now Almost forgot any pics of the Mammoth ,Mastodon jaw? NOT cleaned out ---- You can read about the mastodon jaw in this thread http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/54855-may-mammoth-mania-2/ and multiple mammoth teeth in this thread. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/54684-more-may-mammoth-mania/ Enjoy!! The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Good on you guys to work till the last possible moment as the river rises around you. I'll let you borrow my scuba gear and then you can stand and dig while the water is up over your head. That gator jaw would be a trip maker for me for sure. I prefer my gator teeth/jaws well fossilized when I'm hunting in the river. Actually, the only time I've been hunting in the Peace River alongside gators was much further south (around Oak Hill). We had a small curious gator in the 4-5' range that kept popping up along shore about 20' from where we were digging. Even though it was just minding its business and we were in its territory making a mess of the river bottom, it was still a distraction to try to keep an eye on it to make sure it wasn't curious enough to come over for a closer look. Once or twice I launched a larger rock in its general direction but it didn't even flinch. All we ever saw was the head and it would submerge and pop-up again a distance away but it never really left our company for several hours while we dug and sifted. I give gators the same respect I do sharks--I'm not overly fearful of them and enjoy getting a close look when I can. I do not push my luck, however, when conditions are iffy and the animal in question is large enough that it would be foolhardy to tempt fate. I'm looking forward to getting back out to this stretch of the Peace River and to finally meeting up with 'Jawbone Jack' for a hunt. I've got some micro-matrix and Mazon Creek nodules to keep me company while I wait out the summer till the Peace River subsides after depositing some more treasures in all the deep holes we've dug. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptychodus04 Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Nice tibiotarsus! Amazing you pulled that from river gravels! Regards, Kris Global Paleo Services, LLC https://globalpaleoservices.com http://instagram.com/globalpaleoservices http://instagram.com/kris.howe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 17, 2015 Author Share Posted June 17, 2015 Nice tibiotarsus! Amazing you pulled that from river gravels! Thanks, I do not know a lot about bird bones. This one "seems" more modern than fossil. The Peace is a dark water river and darkens bones over time. Makes it a little difficult to differentiate Bos from Bison. There are numerous water birds in/on the Peace River, Ibis, Herons, Cranes, Osprey, Kingfishers, hawks, hoot owls, ducks, Anhingas, and many others which may have contributed this bone. and we have the assistance of the local gator and predator populations. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 (edited) Very nice finds, sounds like a great day!! Tony Edited June 17, 2015 by ynot Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 Note that I have decided to change my avatar photo to the excellent photo that Sacha took of me up to my armpits. It is more than past time when I should share credit with the true star of my fossil finds. The Peace River!! The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old bones Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 The new avatar looks good on you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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