anjayenunciates Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Hi! My boyfriend is in the US forestry service, and was recently on a week-long, no communication, survival challenge in the Lassen National Forest. While he was there, he stumbled across a riverbed with some fossilized shells (so exciting). He brought me back a great specimen. If you have any information about its potential age, type, etc., please let me know. It looks like some type of surf clam shell to me! Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Nice. I'm gonna guess we are looking at a Cenozoic deposit. Dont know what the big clam is...might be able to narrow it down if you can determine what rock formation it came from. I am also really curious what the egg shape in the lower middle of the photo is...almost looks like maybe a sand dollar/echinoid???When we were up there many many years ago backpacking we saw volcanic material in the park itself. You'll have to look at the geologic map http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/maps/mapview/ and drill into to see where in the forest he was and look at the legend to see if they have it mapped and name assigned. Then you can do a literature search for any write ups about the geology/formation/rocks and fossils contained within and their specific ages. http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/maps/mapview/ Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anjayenunciates Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) Nice. I'm gonna guess we are looking at a Cenozoic deposit. Dont know what the big clam is...might be able to narrow it down if you can determine what rock formation it came from. I am also really curious what the egg shape in the lower middle of the photo is...almost looks like maybe a sand dollar/echinoid???When we were up there many many years ago backpacking we saw volcanic material in the park itself. You'll have to look at the geologic map http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/maps/mapview/ and drill into to see where in the forest he was and look at the legend to see if they have it mapped and name assigned. Then you can do a literature search for any write ups about the geology/formation/rocks and fossils contained within and their specific ages. http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/maps/mapview/ Regards, Chris Wow! Thanks so much Chris for all of the information! He just sent me some more pictures. I feel like the egg shaped pieces is something interesting myself--it looks like there's a pattern toward the center of it. Also, looking at the pieces from different angles, it looks like there are a lot of shells stacked on top of each other. Most fossils I've found near me, in SoCal, are Ice Age (sorry for the non-scientific name) dated; where do you think this one falls? Excited to hear more about it! Edited February 10, 2016 by anjayenunciates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Yep, looks like there are quite a few shells in that specimen. I'm not smart enough to tell you what kinds of clams you have just from the pieces you have. Some of the wavy looking shells might be an oyster of some sort. I suspect that oval with the pattern is a sand dollar relative...Is the pattern you see like that of a present day sand dollar with its "petals". May need a clear closeup of that animal with a scale visible. As for age you'll need to go the geologic map and find out what the formation name is (they'll be an abbreviated code like in this picture and each has a diff color) for where they are found. The picture above is in the general area and shows the variety of rocks found. Also, I know you said these were found in a National Forest. Usually collecting in that type of setting isnt legal for the average collector but there may be some allowances due to his working for the govt/activities/job. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anjayenunciates Posted February 12, 2016 Author Share Posted February 12, 2016 Thank you so much for the additional information! I'm anxious to get the specimen in my hands and find out more. I should have it in person in the next week or so, and I'll have to post more pictures! From my understanding, it was permitted to collect because he is part of the forestry service (he's really rule-governed, so I don't think he'd take something if it wasn't legal--fingers crossed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faunafarm Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Wow!! I am very excited about your specimens, and particularly where they were found. I live in this area of northern California and have a favorite collecting spot in Lassen National Forest. The specimens I relish in finding are ammonites from antelope creek ( found at 40.24319, -121.85907). Other fossil sites in mill creek and deer creek. I have not found fossils like yours, so very excited about new places in and around the forest. Oh, to dispel some concerns on fossil collecting in National Forests, Obama signed into law the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) which allows for causal non-commercial collecting, with some exceptions. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faunafarm Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 This is my favorite ammonite from antelope creek so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted February 14, 2016 Share Posted February 14, 2016 Wow!! I am very excited about your specimens, and particularly where they were found. I live in this area of northern California and have a favorite collecting spot in Lassen National Forest. The specimens I relish in finding are ammonites from antelope creek. Other fossil sites in mill creek and deer creek. I have not found fossils like yours, so very excited about new places in and around the forest. Oh, to dispel some concerns on fossil collecting in National Forests, Obama signed into law the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) which allows for causal non-commercial collecting, with some exceptions. Thanks for the update on being able to collect there. Nice Ammo! Ever run into any Buchiid clams in those sections? Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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