Bradenton Beach Fossil Shell Hunting

[digit]

Here is my trip report originally inspired by an announcement by Fossil Beach after noticing a large pile of shell hash laden material for parking lot fill that was spotted on Bradenton Beach. For reference, here is the original posting that instigated this trip: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/60966-fossil-shell-pile-at-bradenton-beach/

Kara (Khyssa) used this information to plan a (rather soggy) fossil hunting trip a couple of weeks ago when when was heading down to Tampa for a fossil club meeting. Her trip report (and her wonderful finds) is available through this link: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/61170-fossil-shells/

Through this forum, the source of the material in this pile was determined to likely be from SMR Aggregates of Sarasota. Jack (Shellseeker) had provided a great document from the Southeastern Geological Society (SEGS) that provided a great insight into the Pinecrest Beds of the Tamiami Formation that are very biodiverse in terms of shelled mollusks (over 1000 species recorded). For convenience, I'll repeat that link here as well: http://segs.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/SEGS-Guidebook-No-56.pdf

And now onto the trip report itself. My mother was in town visiting for a couple of weeks from the chillier latitudes of the Chicagoland area. She had planned spending the last week of her trip over on Sanibel Island on the gulf coast of Florida. A friend of hers had rented a condo there for a month and she figured she'd chill-out Sanibel style for the last part of her trip. Rather than making the 3-hour trip to Sanibel to drop her and return on the same day, I was looking for something else to do on this roadtrip. We earlier had considered stopping at the Peace River and doing some fossil hunting on the return leg of the trip but this year the river flatly refuses to drop to a huntable level. We made a quick stop at the boat ramp in Arcadia to show my mom what the Peace River looks like (albeit in flood stage) so she can better picture what it looks like since I've told her many stories about past fossil hunting trips on that river. This is what it looked like when we passed through Arcardia--not quite ready for prime time yet.

We continued west and soon arrived at Bradenton just in time to meet Pete for lunch. He's an ex-coworker of my wife's who was in Florida doing the snowbird thing. Post lunch we drove the final few miles to the bridge crossing over to Bradenton Beach (and the bumper-to-bumper traffic--and it's not even high-season). With the great intel provided by Fossil Beach we quickly spotted the shell pile and remarkably found parking spaces nearby on the beach side. We crossed over the street and noticed that in the lot where the big shell pile was dumped that there was a police car parked in the shade of the nearby trees. I walked over to the car and asked the officer if there was any problem with us scrummaging around in the pile to look for some fossil sea shells. His words were, "Knock yourself out." I joked that I hoped to be a bit more careful than that but he missed my dry sense of humor and stated that it was only a figure of speech meaning to do as I like. I smiled and thanked him taking his response taking it as tacit approval that he had no issues with us collecting shells before they are plowed into a crunchy mess in some nearby parking area.

We walked over to the pile and immediately saw the incredible density of shell hash in this paving material. As expected, much of the material was hopelessly crushed and broken given its less than gentle handling from its origin to this pile. With a little bit of searching (and sometimes with the aid of a poking stick--a screwdriver would have been a good idea) we started to find some nice shells that were still intact. We walked around the pile and up one side to a little caldera like valley that had formed at the top. You can see in the last photo below from the top of the pile the steady line of traffic just a short distance from the pile.

[digit]

Here are some in-situ photos of some of my finds so you can see how they initially appeared in the pile and when completely removed.

I haven't started to try to identify the shells to species yet but here are a couple of the first gastropods I spotted:

Here is a real shamer--a shell commonly called a Nutmeg that looked so good from one side only to be found to be crushed on the other. This was a frequent occurrence.

[digit]

Here is a large and still colorful Shark Eye that I spotted mostly buried. Unfortunately, while most of this was in good shape (and retained much of its original color), the edge of the shell was a bit beat up.

Here is Nutmeg take two--this one a nicely preserved specimen.

[digit]

Here is a gallery of some of the diversity of my finds:

[digit]

And the last of the gallery of interesting mollusks salvaged from this pile.

Hope you enjoyed this photo-rich trip report. We were pressed for time and actually spent less than an hour rummaging around through this pile. It was great fun and a novel experience for me and my wife (not to mention Pete and my mother). I thank TFF (and member Fossil Beach) for alerting me to this opportunity.

Cheers.

-Ken

[sixgill pete]

Excellent. An amazing diversity. Those are some great piles, thanks for sharing Ken.

[jcbshark]

Nice pics and finds Ken and Tammy I'll let you know if I stumble on any invert sites during my travels

[Search4]

Nice Cowries

[masonboro37]

I have so enjoyed your excursion! The trip report and specimens are fantastic. Thank you for sharing the trip and fossil finds.

[digit]

I've been reading through the SEGS report on the SMR Aggregates quarry this morning and enjoying learning about the different layers that compose the Tamiami Formation from which the material in the shell pile originates. Here is the stratigraphic figure from that report:

While describing the composition of the stratigraphic units, they mention the following: "Unit 3 is composed of common, beautifully-preserved, paired, marine mussels, Perna conradiana (Plate 1, Figure , in a matrix of fine, clean quartz sand." The image they show in Plate 1 of the report and results from Google image searches seems to confirm that the mussel shell I found in the mound is indeed P. conradiana.

I also seem to have names for a few other of my finds including Vermicularia recta with its twisting worm-like shell, Lirophora latilirata with its deeply-grooved shell, and the incredibly rugged Arcinella cornuta with its valve covered with horny projections (cornuta = horn). I also recognized the elongated muricoid shell, Pleioptygma lineolata, with the thin raised ridges running along its whorls and several additional species from my haul. Visual references from reports on the fossil material you've collected are an interesting way of learning more about your finds.

Further reading has uncovered this nugget of information in the report: "Unit 4 is a very silty, dark brown, sandy horizon in which most shells are stained brown or dark blue-grey." My mother was quiet taken with the "blue shells" and spent most of her time looking for unbroken shells with this coloration. This now explains shells like this:

Cheers.

-Ken

Edited February 23, 2016 by digit

[digit]

Two other shallow marine/estuarine mollusks are mentioned as also being common in Unit 4 though my finds are not blue so I'm assuming the are also found in other units from which my finds originated. These seem to be a pretty good match for Pyrazisinus scalatus and Anomalocardia sp.

Coincidentally, I happened to have photographed these two species one after the other and in the order that they were mentioned in the report. Unit 5 below that seems to be characterized by the colonial gastropod Vermicularia recta of which I only found a small example curled like a pig's tail--or maybe some sort of curly fry at a fast food restaurant (pictured in postings above). Unit 6 below that apparently contains a dense layer of the oyster Hyotissa haitensis (as does Unit 9 below that). I believe the smaller example is likely this species and possibly the larger hamburger-shaped one as well.

While doing image searches to try to confirm my putative IDs for my finds I came across an image that linked back to a website I know well (TFF). I had almost forgotten about the blog posting by MikeR on the forum detailing the Tamiami Formation. I had read through many of Mike's posts about this formation but since I hadn't really hunted these fossil layers, the information hadn't left but a fleeting trace in my gray matter. Now, with renewed interest due to my recent fossil hunting trip, I'll be re-reading all of Mike's posts in greater detail. Another example of the utility of TFF as a repository of great information provided by its knowledgeable membership.

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/blog/101/entry-197-the-lower-pinecrest-beds-tamiami-formation/

Cheers.

-Ken

[bookishgeologist]

Love your photos and information!!! Thanks for sharing.

[MikeR]

Hi Ken

Nice report. I'll be checking it out in April.

In regards to your identifications:

Not Vermicularia recta but Petaloconchus sculpturatus H.C. Lea, 1846

Not Pleioptygma lineolata but Pleioptygma carolinensis (Tuomey & Holmes, 1858)

Not Pyrazisinus scalatus but Cymatosyrinx lunata (H.C. Lea, 1843)

Not Anomalocardia sp. but Eucrassatella speciosa (A. Adams, 1852). I have also found recent E. speciosa on the beach in front of you.

And lastly not Hyotissa haitensis. The left bivalve is Plicatula marginata Say, 1824. The one on the right could be Plicatula hunterae Shaak & Nicol, 1974 but I would need to see it from the top to be sure.

Mike

Edited February 24, 2016 by MikeR

[digit]

About what you'd expect from a rank novice trying to make sense of the biodiversity of this species-rich formation. Thanks for pointing me in the correct identifications and the nudge up the steep learning curve.

Did I ever mention that it is incredible to have such a depth and breadth of knowledge brought to this forum by its members--never ceases to amaze me.

Let me know when you are down in April and, if I'm free, maybe I can join you an receive more education while fossil hunting.

I've screened some of the micro shell hash from inside of some of the larger shells while cleaning them. As I enjoy sorting through micro-matrix I figured I'd take the opportunity to pick through the half cup or so of finely ground shell material. Surprisingly there are quite a number of intact tiny shells hiding among the hash. There are quite a number of assorted bivalve halves that would make a lentil look enormous and a good variety of nice gastropods. Additionally, there are quite a number of barnacle carapace/shells likely all of the same species but showing a variety of form and color. Will try to make some time to get some photos of the micros unintentionally collected during this outing.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Shellseeker]

What a fantastic thread.. and a great trip. Ken, I am trailing in YOUR footsteps relative to knowledge of Inverts, even those 1000s I have been blessed to find at SMR. Thanks to both you and Mike. I will bookmark this thread for future reference.

Jack

[Plantguy]

About what you'd expect from a rank novice trying to make sense of the biodiversity of this species-rich formation. Thanks for pointing me in the correct identifications and the nudge up the steep learning curve.

Did I ever mention that it is incredible to have such a depth and breadth of knowledge brought to this forum by its members--never ceases to amaze me.

Let me know when you are down in April and, if I'm free, maybe I can join you an receive more education while fossil hunting.

I've screened some of the micro shell hash from inside of some of the larger shells while cleaning them. As I enjoy sorting through micro-matrix I figured I'd take the opportunity to pick through the half cup or so of finely ground shell material. Surprisingly there are quite a number of intact tiny shells hiding among the hash. There are quite a number of assorted bivalve halves that would make a lentil look enormous and a good variety of nice gastropods. Additionally, there are quite a number of barnacle carapace/shells likely all of the same species but showing a variety of form and color. Will try to make some time to get some photos of the micros unintentionally collected during this outing.

Cheers.

-Ken

Hey Ken, cool thread--thanks. Looks like you've had fun and will have much more as you go thru all the finds.. Yep these dang FL Plio Pleistocene inverts have rekindled my love of the things that started when I found my first fossil clam 40+ years ago. Hoping you picked up some of the non perfect shells too-as they have lots to offer too. As you are a marine guy, I'm sure you are probably enamored by the all the traces on these dang things, bryozoans, worm and coral encrustations and the borings by gastropods, sponges, and pelecypods. Definitely put a magnifying glass or scope on what you got. Here are two recent finds of mine that I've been looking over in the past couple weeks.

Keep after em. Here's the link to the PODS website for additional backyard fossil storage should you need it. Tamiami Fm. collecting will cause that.

http://www.pods.com/warehouse-storage-facilities/services.aspx

Regards, Chris

[Khyssa]

Nice trip report. Glad you could make it over there. I still have nearly a full bucket of shells to sort through from my trip.

Kara

[digit]

Kara,

Don't toss away the sandy matrix that you wash out from your larger shells. I didn't save any of the matrix but I kept what washed out from the larger gastropod shells and sorted through that--probably 3/4 of a cup of washed hash. Most of the shells, as expected, were highly fragmented bits and pieces but there were a surprising number of undamaged shells among the hash. There were mostly bivalve shells (many with predation drill holes visible) but there were also quite a number of really nice gastropods that came out of the material. There were also quite a number of plates from sessile barnacles, and as you can see from the photo below, several with their carapace plates intact. I also found a few urchin spines, a Dasyatis (male) ray tooth and a tiny shark tooth blade (unfortunately without root). Some nice fragments of bryozoan colonies rounded out the finds. Definitely worth the effort to pick through to add some tiny treasures to my collection from this bountiful fossil deposit.

The photo below is of a larger resolution than I normally post so you can see more details in this pile of goodies.

Cheers.

-Ken

[digit]

Here are a couple of close-up images of some of the types of items in the pile shown above--a variety of bryozoan colonies, sessile barnacles, and gastropods. I will say that the Helicon Focus software for focus stacking sure makes turning out well-focused images a whole lot easier than trying to orient subjects in the best possible way to show up in the limited depth of field of macro photos.

Cheers.

-Ken

[MikeR]

About what you'd expect from a rank novice trying to make sense of the biodiversity of this species-rich formation. Thanks for pointing me in the correct identifications and the nudge up the steep learning curve.

Did I ever mention that it is incredible to have such a depth and breadth of knowledge brought to this forum by its members--never ceases to amaze me.

Let me know when you are down in April and, if I'm free, maybe I can join you an receive more education while fossil hunting.

I've screened some of the micro shell hash from inside of some of the larger shells while cleaning them. As I enjoy sorting through micro-matrix I figured I'd take the opportunity to pick through the half cup or so of finely ground shell material. Surprisingly there are quite a number of intact tiny shells hiding among the hash. There are quite a number of assorted bivalve halves that would make a lentil look enormous and a good variety of nice gastropods. Additionally, there are quite a number of barnacle carapace/shells likely all of the same species but showing a variety of form and color. Will try to make some time to get some photos of the micros unintentionally collected during this outing.

Cheers.

-Ken

Will do Ken on my trip in April

The micro stuff, even the bivalves which Harry Lee calls LWCs (Little White Clams) are quite diverse and I have spent more time than I have wanted in identifying for my lists. In my last Pliocene list I noted five different barnacle species, however I need to reinvestigate as I think that is one too many. There are at least four different barnacles in the Tamiami, a coral barnacle Ceratochoncha prefloridana which I have found in the Golden Gate Member and the massive Chesaconcavus tamiamiensis found in the Ochopee (Limestone) Member and Bed 11 Pinecrest. According to Victor Zullo, probably the most preeminent barnacle worker since Darwin and who passed way too early in 1992, there are two additional species found in the Upper Pinecrest Beds the gray colored species Balanus newburnensis and the very showy red clustering barnacle Balanus sarasotaensis.

Mike

[JustPlainPetrified]

What a great location and some very nice finds! Thanks for sharing.

[Coco]

Hi,

Oh my gosh ! What a nice file ! I love your finds... Very nice shells

More pics, more pics, more piiiiics !

Coco

[belemniten]

Hi

Thats an awesome trip

Sometimes i think you live in another world

[Khyssa]

Kara,

Don't toss away the sandy matrix that you wash out from your larger shells. I didn't save any of the matrix but I kept what washed out from the larger gastropod shells and sorted through that--probably 3/4 of a cup of washed hash. Most of the shells, as expected, were highly fragmented bits and pieces but there were a surprising number of undamaged shells among the hash. There were mostly bivalve shells (many with predation drill holes visible) but there were also quite a number of really nice gastropods that came out of the material. There were also quite a number of plates from sessile barnacles, and as you can see from the photo below, several with their carapace plates intact. I also found a few urchin spines, a Dasyatis (male) ray tooth and a tiny shark tooth blade (unfortunately without root). Some nice fragments of bryozoan colonies rounded out the finds. Definitely worth the effort to pick through to add some tiny treasures to my collection from this bountiful fossil deposit.

The photo below is of a larger resolution than I normally post so you can see more details in this pile of goodies.

Cheers.

-Ken

Micros.jpg

I've been setting aside all of the matrix I've pried off and out of the shells as I clean them, probably have about a half gallon worth of matrix already. When I wash the shells I do so over a large wash basin so any remaining matrix settles in bottom instead of going down the drain. I then go outside and pour the water through a fine mesh screen to catch the matrix. I haven't found any teeth yet but I still have plenty left to sort through.

Kara

[digit]

I've finally had a free moment to sort through my fossil shell finds from the pile of fill material from my short collecting stop a little over a month ago. I decided it was time to remove them from where they were splayed out on a towel on my dining room table for the last several weeks. We've been too busy lately to have had anybody over for a dinner party or this assortment of shells would have gotten tended to earlier. We didn't spend much time collecting at the pile in Bradenton so we were mostly bagging shells that looked interesting figuring we'd sort them out later. After they were cleaned of most of the sand and debris that filled them (mainly just soaking in water) I sorted out the ones that were nice but too broken to keep from those that were in better shape. I then grouped and arranged the shells so that I could pick out the best examples of each species and bagged the spares as a future giveaway.

I went out to pick up a piece of gray construction paper to use as a photo backdrop (and a neutral gray card for color balancing the final images to remove most of the color cast imparted by the lighting). I setup the camera on the tripod and arranged my lighting and use of my Helicon Remote and Helicon Focus software to take a series of images of each shell letting the focus stacking software construct a final image with a more impressive composite depth-of-field than would otherwise be possible through a single exposure. What follows will be a series of postings with little or no text as I'm not particularly adept at identifying these to species or genus. MikeR may see this post and chime in with more definitive identifications if he so chooses. Hope you enjoy just a minuscule fraction of the diversity of shelled mollusks from the Tamiami Formation.

We'll start with some of the bivalves. Usually, the spiraled forms of gastropods catch my attention more than the copious number of bivalves contained in the shell hash but we did collect some examples including a few specimens where we had a matching set of valves (as with the trio of specimens from the last photo).