DinoMike Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 (edited) Here are photos of my fossil finds from the now-closed Caloosa Shell pit in Ruskin, Florida. These were found over a period of years from around 1997 til 1999. Distal end of a Bobcat humerus Gator vertebrae Horse teeth (The largest tooth was not found by me. It was given to me by our guide, Mr. Frank Garcia, on a day at the mine when I pretty much found NOTHING but some scrappy bits of softshell turtle shell.) Giant ground sloth claw tip Giant armadillo armor plate Edited June 19, 2015 by DinoMike 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Nice finds, thanks for sharing: ) I'm still looking for a sloth claw myself 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...
ZiggieCie Posted June 18, 2015 Share Posted June 18, 2015 Great finds. We have to enjoy the sites we can get into, because we never know when they will be closed to us for unknown reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DinoMike Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 So true! In Caloosa's case, it was being converted into a wetland preserve: http://www.sptimes.com/2006/12/17/Tampabay/Presto__Convert_a_min.shtml I wish I still had ALL of the stuff I found there. Some pieces went missing during a rather chaotic move, namely a deer antler tine and a glyptodont scute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DinoMike Posted June 19, 2015 Author Share Posted June 19, 2015 (edited) Original post edited to correctly attribute one of the horse tooth finds to the actual hunter that found it. Edited June 19, 2015 by DinoMike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Nice finds...I missed the oppty to see what was going on there when it was still available for hunting...darn it. Thanks for sharing the photos. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DinoMike Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 (edited) You're welcome! The best finds I saw there... weren't found by me. One guy found the almost-complete plastron of a giant tortoise. The thing was a good 3 feet long, just missing 2 plates at the rear left. Another hunter found a complete horse mandible. The day that I found the sloth claw tip, EVERYONE was finding parts of that animal! One person was jacketing a scapula, another a vertebra complete with unbroken processes. A person hunting the other side of the pile that I found the claw in, found 2 of its phalanges. (They left to hunt another pile right after that. I started TEARING THAT PILE APART trying to find the rest of that claw! I guess it had been severed by the dragline bucket, the claw base was probably still in a pit wall somewhere.) Finds that I heard of at the club meetings included a saber-toothed cat molar & a giant beaver skull. Most of the time there, I was Captain Turtleshell. If there was a scrapped-out piece of fossilized softshell turtle to be found, odds are it would be the ONLY thing in the hole I was digging. I once tried collecting EVERY piece of shell that I found in a given hole & gluing them together. I got about a 4" more-or-less square piece out of that hole... and TONS of smaller bits that would not fit together in any way! Alas, that bit disappeared a few moves back, along with my deer antler tine & glyptodont scute. Edited June 20, 2015 by DinoMike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Yep I've heard about some of the pit finds around here. I've been known to bring turtle shell home..probably way too much in fact. Puzzling pieces together has not produced anything...i think I should have kept my scroll saw...may have helped the cause...textures and shapes do get me going.. regards, chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinP Posted August 22, 2021 Share Posted August 22, 2021 Hi, are there shell pits around today? Does anyone know (preferably east central FL) how to access them or any of the piles people find old dirt roads and find so many cool things, I am trying to google and research but struggling. Thanks… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellseeker Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 On 8/22/2021 at 6:18 PM, KristinP said: Hi, are there shell pits around today? Yes Does anyone know (preferably east central FL) how to access them Yes or any of the piles people find old dirt roads and find so many cool things Yes , I am trying to google and research but struggling. Yes Thanks… Kristin, Welcome to the fossil forum. It is a great place to form relationships with fossil enthusiasts, maybe even some in your area of the world I saw your question on Sunday night, but I was preparing to go hunting fossils yesterday and decided I did not have time to answer then. There are fossils in Florida everywhere. For geological reasons, they are easier to find on the West side of Florida than on the East side of Florida. In some cases, Google and research can tell you where the fossils were at some point in time. There were a number of "Fossil hunters Florida" guides put out in the early 1990s. and where ever there were once fossils, there might be a few left. https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00003729/00001/11x This forum is a huge resource. If you search for "Peace" as in Peace River, there are 1000s of threads going back 10 years that describe hunting trips to the Peace River and Bone Valley. To a lesser extant, that exists for other famous Florida sites. You need to make connections with people who share enthusiasm for fossils. It is hard to get started. I joined local Fossil clubs, SEGS (SouthEastern Geology Society) , rock and mineral clubs, etc. After years , I have great friends who regularly invite me to go hunting. I typically travel about 2-3 hours by car to reach a hunting site. The University of Florida requests volunteers for fossil hunting digs. Lots of Fossil enthusiasts there.. Search for "Montbrook Hulbert". I have done all the above and enjoyed the journey. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinP Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Thank you for responding. I forgot to come back and check responses...we went to Ruck's pit 2 days ago, will have some pics to post about possible fossils.... I am very tired, will check out the info - I am afraid of Peace River, the gators...do they stay away? Yikes! I know alot of people go there all the time though...afraid to kayak too, being from WI I miss relaxing in the lakes haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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