JohnJ Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 While we wait on this month's entries, tell us the main thing you consider before voting in this contest. Carefully read the rules below, make sure you include all the required information, and submit your fossil! Please pay special attention to Rule #5: Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for Prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest. In addition to keeping the contest fair, this new qualification will encourage better documentation of our spectacular past finds. Best of luck to all and good hunting! Entries will be taken through September 30th. Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month.To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery.____________________________________________________________________________________Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests1. You find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found by you.2. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry.3. Your Fossil must have been found during the Month of the Contest, or significant Preparation of your Fossil must have been completed during the Month of the Contest.4. You must include the Date of your Discovery or the Date of Preparation Completion. 5. Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for Prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest.6. You must include the common or scientific name.7. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the Fossil was found. 8. You must include the State, Province, or region where the Fossil was found.9. Play fair and honest. No bought fossils. No false claims.Shortly after the end of the Month, separate Polls will be created for the Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month.In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the fossils. So, only entries posted with a CLEAR photo and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll.Within a few days, we will know the two winning Finds of the Month! Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry! The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 (edited) I said to myself I wouldn't enter anything more here unless something unique pops up while collecting and now something has...literally. I found this ammonite in a creek on a recent hunting trip and as I got down to preparing it and was busy removing some matrix with the air stylus, part of the shell popped off, revealing a good portion of the crystallized phragmocone. It looked so nice that I figured I'd try removing the rest of the "cover" and lo and behold, it worked out. A Staufenia staufensis phragmocone with 9cm. circumference. Found in the Krottenbach in the Wutach area, southern Germany. It could only have dropped out of the Middle Jurassic staufensis bank, bradfordensis zone, upper Aalenian, since it's the index fossil of that horizon. The crystalline content consists of Calcite, Gypsum and Limonite/Siderite. Discovered on Sept. 1st. Prepared on Sept. 3rd. Roger Edited September 8, 2015 by Ludwigia Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 While we wait on this month's entries, tell us the main thing you consider before voting in this contest. I like aesthetics, quality, and I like to be surprised. My vote usually goes to that which captures my sense of wonder. "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...
ZiggieCie Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 As Bob Ross used to say; "A happy little mistake" Now we have to work harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 I'll go along with Chas on aesthetics and quality to begin with and would add rarity and of scientific interest to that. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 As Bob Ross used to say; "A happy little mistake" It certainly was! I'm still grinning from ear to ear Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Well, I did find some nice fossils while on my vacation recently but only one is possibly worthy of entry into this months contest. It's a crayfish from the Eocene aged Green River formation found at the Warfield Quarry near Kemmerer, WY. The detail is not great, some of it flaked off before I got a preservative coat on it, but it is a somewhat rare find. I found it on Sept. 5th as I was trimming fish slabs down to reduce their weight. -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guguita2104 Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Two amazing fossils! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Well, I did find some nice fossils while on my vacation recently but only one is possibly worthy of entry into this months contest. It's a crayfish from the Eocene aged Green River formation found at the Warfield Quarry near Kemmerer, WY. msg-1408-0-30699700-1441667437.jpgmsg-1408-0-86224000-1441667437.jpg The detail is not great, some of it flaked off before I got a preservative coat on it, but it is a somewhat rare find. I found it on Sept. 5th as I was trimming fish slabs down to reduce their weight. Nice rare find, Dave! It's always a nice surprise to find the unexpected when you're trimming down matrix. My best ones were a crab claw and a plesiosaur vertebra, both while preparing ammos from the Wutach. Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvestersen Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 I found this very small, but still very well preserved fish yesterday. It only measures 15mm from head to tail and it stil possible to see the all the ribs and individual finrays. Close up showing the pectoral and pelvic fin I found the fish in the Fur Formation, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_Formation) Lover Eocene, Denmark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankh8147 Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 (edited) For this month, I would like to enter my Xiphactinus tooth from Monmouth County NJ, late Cretaceous, found last weekend. I had a great summer of fossil collecting and this was icing on the cake. Puts my other x-fish teeth to shame; I didn't even know they got this big on the Atlantic coast, but don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining! Edited September 10, 2015 by frankh8147 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoWilliam Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 I found this very small, but still very well preserved fish yesterday. small_fish.JPG It only measures 15mm from head to tail and it stil possible to see the all the ribs and individual finrays. small_fish-001.JPG Close up showing the pectoral and pelvic fin I found the fish in the Fur Formation, (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_Formation) Lover Eocene, Denmark For this month, I would like to enter my Xiphactinus tooth from Monmouth County NJ, late Cretaceous, found last weekend. I had a great summer of fossil collecting and this was icing on the cake. Puts my other x-fish teeth to shame; I didn't even know they got this big on the Atlantic coast, but don't get my wrong, i'm not complaining! Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleoWilliam Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 I said to myself I wouldn't enter anything more here unless something unique pops up while collecting and now something has...literally. I found this ammonite in a creek on a recent hunting trip and as I got down to preparing it and was busy removing some matrix with the air stylus, part of the shell popped off, revealing a good portion of the crystallized phragmocone. It looked so nice that I figured I'd try removing the rest of the "cover" and lo and behold, it worked out. A1077.2.jpg A Staufenia staufensis phragmocone with 9cm. circumference. Found in the Krottenbach in the Wutach area, southern Germany. It could only have dropped out of the Middle Jurassic staufensis bank, bradfordensis zone, upper Aalenian, since it's the index fossil of that horizon. The crystalline content consists of Calcite, Gypsum and Limonite/Siderite. Discovered on Sept. 1st. Prepared on Sept. 3rd. Roger Amazing detail! Nice find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted September 9, 2015 Share Posted September 9, 2015 Wow, you guys have been busy. There are some great entries so far... and the month is just beginning!!! Looking forward to seeing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I'll throw this proboscidean vertebra in the ring. I found it as you see in the first picture along the banks of the Brazos River in Fort Bend County, TX on September 7, 2015. Pleistocene. I have found a few in the past, but usually broken and worn down to just the centrum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyc Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 One more pic of the vert..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Here's my best Mazon find of the year. Found last Sunday, and she popped tonight. The preservation of the fins are awesome, and there still are some scales present. This is my first example of this species. 'Elonichthys' peltigerus Francis Creek Shale Mazon Creek, IL Carboniferous period ~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...
Triceratops Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Lovely find Charlie!! -Lyall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylvestersen Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Here's my best Mazon find of the year. Found last Sunday, and she popped tonight. The preservation of the fins are awesome, and there still are some scales present. This is my first example of this species. 'Elonichthys' peltigerus Francis Creek Shale Mazon Creek, IL Carboniferous period IMG_20150917_212322.jpg IMG_20150917_213607.jpg IMG_20150917_213645.jpg IMG_20150917_213742.jpg Amazing - very nice indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) Here's my best Mazon find of the year. Found last Sunday, and she popped tonight. The preservation of the fins are awesome, and there still are some scales present. This is my first example of this species. 'Elonichthys' peltigerus Francis Creek Shale Mazon Creek, IL Carboniferous period IMG_20150917_212322.jpg IMG_20150917_213607.jpg IMG_20150917_213645.jpg IMG_20150917_213742.jpg Wow!!! That's one of the most beautiful Mazon creek fossils I've ever seen. Edited September 18, 2015 by Doctor Mud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeySRT8 Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Here's my best Mazon find of the year. Found last Sunday, and she popped tonight. The preservation of the fins are awesome, and there still are some scales present. This is my first example of this species. 'Elonichthys' peltigerus Francis Creek Shale Mazon Creek, IL Carboniferous period IMG_20150917_212322.jpg IMG_20150917_213607.jpg IMG_20150917_213645.jpg IMG_20150917_213742.jpg Amazing find!!! Perfect!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Thanks, guys. I appreciate the kind words. ~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...
evannorton Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Here is my entry for FOTM, I found this is the spring time of this year. This is my best Mazon Creek find (Francis Creek Shale; Mazon Creek, IL; Carboniferous period) This is the first bone I have ever found in a concretion. I am still trying to ID the specimen but one carboniferous fish expert believes it may be the parasphenoid skull bone from a sarcopterygian. Amphibians also have this bone - so it may be from an amphibian (but I am not making that claim as of yet). Below is the unprepped picture. I will follow my post with a reply with the prepped version which was created by gluing the two halves back together - and then working down from one side. I received the fossil back from the professional who did the prep work this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evannorton Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 prepped bone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeySRT8 Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 prepped bone. prepped bonev2.JPG Very cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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