Finally! Shark Tooth Hill

[sharko69]

Well the stars aligned or maybe it was really just my schedule but I finally had the opportunity to do a short trip to the Ernst Quarries and hunt for some of those great Miocene makos I have seen on other posts here on the forum. I had to be in Bakersfield for work last week and went on the website for Ernst Quarries and saw that they were closed on the one day I would be available to hunt so though a little dissapointed I decided I could at the very least check out the Buena Vista Museum of Science and Natural History during my spare time. I looked up their website to see when they were open and to find out the specifics and low and behold, they were having a dig on the very day I would be in town. I reached out to them and found out they would be out there for three days and I asked if there were any openings for a half day dig that I might be able to join before heading out to Fresno for my red eye back to DFW. Koral at the museum was very accommodating and told me they did indeed have an opening for Friday morning. I filled out all the necessary paperwork and sent it back. Koral was great about getting me all the information I needed about the hunt and what I would need to bring and what they would be able to provide. Which wasn't much since they really do provide you with everything except water, and sunscreen.

I arrived at the museum at 6:30 for my 7am orientation. I could have been there at 3am since I hardly slept the night before from all of the excitement. After some more paper work and paying my membership to the museum and fee for the hunt, I spent about 20 minutes looking at all of the exciting items they have on display at the museum. At 7 am sharp, Chuck our host for the hunt started the orientation and gave us all of the details and safety notes for the trip then we carivanned the 30 minutes to the quarry.

[Darktooth]

Great story but you left me hanging. What happened after you carivanned to the quarry?

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

Sounds like you had an awesome time!

[caldigger]

Of which quarry did we visit? East or Slow Curve? You know if you are going to wet our appetites with a trip report it MUST include pictures so we can also enjoy the dig (vicariously).

Edited March 21, 2016 by caldigger

[sharko69]

Sorry for the delay, son needed some attention. Back to the carivan. I have driven out looking for the entrance in the past just to see where it is but had never found the entrance. After this trip I know why. It is pretty inconspicuous and you easily would miss it, not to mention there is no signs to get you there. We headed up the dirt road, Robert was at the gate to open it for the group and we made our way in. We were heading for the West Quarry and it takes you up and over and around and then back up again. We parked where the road ended and unloaded our gear. The weather was perfect cool in the morning when we arrived. I had brought some items for digging with me but really didn't need anything. The museum provided everything from shovels to sifters and anything else you would need. Chuck gave us a quick demonstration and provided us some direction on places to dig where they had had luck on previous trips. I began digging and in my second shovel full found my first tooth, a broken mako but at least I knew they were there. The next thirty minutes were less than productive so I moved closer to the hill and started digging. Before long I was into some teeth. My time was limited since I was only going to have a half day and time was moving quick. I hardly stopped for water and my back was pretty sore after four straight hours of digging and sifting. The hosts from the museum were fantastic. Chuck would come around and check to see if people were finding teeth and would move people onto their tripod sifter and help if they weren't. Tina had made some great chocolate chip cookies for the group and the sugar did come in handy to give everyone a little extra sugar energy. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. My time went by so fast. I sat and visited with Chuck and Tina and had some water before loading up 5 gallons of matrix in bags to maneuver into my luggage somehow for the flight back to dallas. I left a gift of some P. whipplei teeth for the hosts for their hospitality. It wasn't the most productive day of hunting but definitely one I will remember. I did as I was told and waited to clean my teeth later (for the most part). The drive out was more exciting than the drive in since I didn't have anyone to follow out. Stay to the right they said. I questioned that a couple of times but they were right of course and before long I was back at the gate and heading north to Fresno. I am hoping to make it back in April and see if I can find some better teeth, though honestly it wasn't about the teeth this visit, but about the experience. I highly recommend going with the museum especially if it is you first visit. I thank them greatly for my experience.

[sharko69]

The carivan...

[sharko69]

Cliche pictures, but necessary.

[sharko69]

The view back to the West Quarry on my way out.

[sharko69]

The way out.

[sharko69]

Here are my bags of matrix back in my garage in Dallas. This stuff is amazing. I have sifted and cleaned one gallon already and it yields only a couple of ounces of cleaned highly fossil filled matrix. I will post micros at some point.

Edited March 21, 2016 by sharko69

[sharko69]

Thought I would start by showing this tooth. It was the only nice tiger I found and of course I didn't listen to the words of warning to wait to clean teeth. On my drive back to the airport, I stopped for a quick bite, added some water and started to wipe. The root disentigrated in my hand. Lesson learned.

[sharko69]

Lower Makos. These are sitting on a whale vert I found. The vert looks to have a bite mark on it. It was split in half when I found it. If I had know how cool these clean up, I might have brought a couple more home with me.

Edited March 21, 2016 by sharko69

[sharko69]

Nice mako (C. hastalis)

Edited March 21, 2016 by sharko69

[sharko69]

Sperm whale tooth and a ray tooth that I found attached to a large whale vert I brought home.

[sharko69]

C. Planus.. These are my favorite. Found several larger broken ones.

Edited March 21, 2016 by sharko69

[Darktooth]

Awesome! Sounds like a great time. You got some good finds there!

[sharko69]

Caraharhinus limbatus?

Edited March 22, 2016 by sharko69

[Hunt4teeth]

Great finds, congrats! I will be making my first trip to Ernst Quarries (Slow Curve) next week. I'm very excited about the adventure as well.

Jay

[sharko69]

Great finds, congrats! I will be making my first trip to Ernst Quarries (Slow Curve) next week. I'm very excited about the adventure as well.

Jay

The weather is perfect right now. There hasn't been any rain for about a week so hopefully that will help you. We didn't end up on a ton of teeth so hopefully you will have better luck while you are there. I am going to try again with the museum group in April and hopefully get into some better teeth. Can't wait to see what you find.

[ynot]

For half a day You did pretty good!! Nice finds and trip report!!

Thanks for sharing.

Tony

PS I think the teeth in post 15 are Cosmopolitodus planus. Post 13 is Cosmopolitodus isurus.

Edited March 21, 2016 by ynot

[Auspex]

...Cosmopolitodus isurus.

Should that be C. hastalis?

[sixgill pete]

Very nice. The colors on the makos are truly amazing.

[Mike Pocock]

Thanks for the post, looks like you had a very good trip to sharks tooth Hill, some very good finds, and i agree the Mako teeth are very cool.

Thanks again

Regards

Mike

[ynot]

Should that be C. hastalis?

My bad, it was toooo early for these old bones.

Auspex is right, I should have said "It is a C. hastalis in post 13".

Tony

[sharko69]

..and too late for me. I have made updates on the post. What about the tooth in post #17? Carcharhinus? Forgive my ignorance of these teeth. They are all new to me, but studying hard.

Edited March 22, 2016 by sharko69