Møns Klint Fossil Excavations (MKFE)

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

1 hour ago, UtahFossilHunter said:

How tall is it on the long axis?

Approximately ~1.5mm height. But, then again, the crown is not complete.

[Phevo]

There was a slip in april 2017 

Access is easiest from the lighthouse and walking north, and there is still a fair amount of material there

 

(54.954795, 12.549730)

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

8 minutes ago, Phevo said:

There was a slip in april 2017 

Access is easiest from the lighthouse and walking north, and there is still a fair amount of material there

 

(54.954795, 12.549730)

Hi Phevo, thanks for the information. Do you think there will still remains of the landslide in summer?

[Phevo]

I do, you might need to do some digging to get to the bigger chunks but there should still be skrivekridt left to split by then, I'll probably be going there before then so can send an updated picture

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

I'll give a little "peek" at some of my research on the MK Crocodylian mandible fossil: I have diagnosed it as a Thoracosaurinae indet. based on two main features (long and recurved teeth; and narrow mandible with slight parting in the proximal direction).

 

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

Sorry for the long absence from the TFF, I've been really busy with my studies - and have had little time for any paleontological research. That being said, here's the next instalment in my series of MK research updates   

 

MKFRP News and Updates

 

 

Research:

-The GCMK staff has temporarily removed the crocodylian mandible specimen from their exhibit for me to take some extra measurements of it during the next MKFE

-Currently working on the paleoecological implications of the MK crocodylian

-Concerning the MK paleo-ecosystem, the "Echinoderm Quarry" demonstrates proliferation of echinoderms in small "pockets" (based on higher concentration of disarticulated echinoderm remains)

 

Miscellaneous:

-2 items to add to MKFE "bucket list": pterosaur remains; and marsupitid crinoid remains  

 

[Phevo]

Still quite a few cubic meters to go through as of last week

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

19 minutes ago, Phevo said:

Still quite a few cubic meters to go through as of last week

Thanks for the info!  Let's hope there'll still be some of the landslide debris in july...

[Phevo]

Most of the erosion happens during the winter months so I wouldn't be worried about that

[Foram-Mike]

Hi "The Amateur Paleontolgist",

 

As 99,99999% of all fossils at Moen are microfossils such as foraminfera, you may not want to ignore them in your faunal lists. 

 

We also made a field-trip to Moen and are now processing the samples. First results are at

http://www.foraminifera.eu/loc.php?locality=Moen

 

 

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

On 13 April 2018 at 9:57 PM, Foram-Mike said:

Hi "The Amateur Paleontolgist",

 

As 99,99999% of all fossils at Moen are microfossils such as foraminfera, you may not want to ignore them in your faunal lists. 

 

We also made a field-trip to Moen and are now processing the samples. First results are at

http://www.foraminifera.eu/loc.php?locality=Moen

 

 

Concerning my faunal list… Sorry I didn't include forams and other microfossils, my list was based on the macrofossil fauna. Do you think you could determine a specific age of Møns Klint based on the microfossils you found?

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

@Phevo What fossils did you find last time you were at Møns Klint?

[Phevo]

21 hours ago, The Amateur Paleontologist said:

@Phevo What fossils did you find last time you were at Møns Klint?

 

The usual suspects

 

The highlight for me was a small ammonite, but here is a group picture of the finds, one has the finds in chalk the other is in flint

[Phevo]

The chalk fossils

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

@Phevo Did you find this material in the remains of the landslide?

[Phevo]

1 hour ago, The Amateur Paleontologist said:

@Phevo Did you find this material in the remains of the landslide?

 

The chalk is from there and the various flint sponges /spondylus / belemnites were found just below.

The big rounded flint I intend to slice and polish

On 13/4/2018 at 9:57 PM, Foram-Mike said:

Hi "The Amateur Paleontolgist",

 

As 99,99999% of all fossils at Moen are microfossils such as foraminfera, you may not want to ignore them in your faunal lists. 

 

We also made a field-trip to Moen and are now processing the samples. First results are at

http://www.foraminifera.eu/loc.php?locality=Moen

 

 

 

There was a recent slide at Stevns klint were a big chunk of the famous "fish layer" has fallen with it, I intend to gather some and I'm not sure of the English term for it, but basically you break the chalk into smaller lumps, add sodium and boil the mixture, then put it through a serious of freeze and thaw cycles and then sieve the rest when it is entirely broken up.

 

If you want I can send you a sample once I get it done

 

 

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

Thanks for the information.. Based on what I can see, the ammonite you found is Acanthoscaphites tridens (Kner 1848). Could you send me a closeup picture so that I can be sure? 

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

2 months (approx.) left until MKFE Nº2!

[Phevo]

On 22/4/2018 at 10:38 PM, The Amateur Paleontologist said:

Thanks for the information.. Based on what I can see, the ammonite you found is Acanthoscaphites tridens (Kner 1848). Could you send me a closeup picture so that I can be sure? 

 

I'm not entirely sure what you are looking at, but the big wavy shell in the front is Inoceramus sp. and the ammonite impression is in the back. 

 

It would have had a diameter of around 12-15 cm so that rules out most of the ammonites found at that site and unfortunately it is too partial to make anything else than a guess in terms of ID. 

 

 

Møn march 2018 fossilforum.pdf

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

@Phevo Don't worry, I did realise that the ammonite was the fossil in the back - it was on that specimen that I was basing my ID. The ammonite fauna of MK is not very diverse and Acanthoscaphites tridens was the closest match to what you had.

BTW, concerning the estimated size of your specimen, certain Late Cretaceous scaphitids could become rather large. A. tridens is probably the largest ammonite at MK (you might have seen the near-complete specimen at the GeoCenter Møns Klint, it's rather big).

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

@Phevo The MK Acanthoscaphites I was talking about earlier (see picture):

[Foram-Mike]

Your Question: "Do you think you could determine a specific age of Møns Klint based on the microfossils you found? "

 

It will be possible, as the material we took is rich in foraminifera. Unfortunately it is very time consuming to decipher the crumbled layers. So far we only washed the material, but did not study it. As to our knowledge the Møns Klint is subdivided into brachiopod zones and we took samples from at least 6 of these zones at Møns Klint and Møn. Eventually we will start with one sample.

 

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

@Foram-Mike Thanks for the information. Do you think you could send me some papers about the Møns Klint brachiopod zonation?

[Phevo]

13 hours ago, The Amateur Paleontologist said:

@Phevo The MK Acanthoscaphites I was talking about earlier (see picture):

 

Not a bad guess, hopefully you can find a better specimen than the one I found washing in the waves  

 

 

[The Amateur Paleontologist]

Small bit of background info:

 

Møns Klint ammonite fauna -

• Ancyloceratina
  • Baculitidae:
    • Baculites knorrianus (Desmarest 1817)
    • B. vertebralis (Lamarck 1801)
  • Scaphitidae:
    • Acanthoscaphites tridens (Kner 1848)
    • Possible A. (Euroscaphites) varians (Lopuski 1911)
    • Hoploscaphites tenuistriatus (Kner 1848)
    • H. constrictus (Sowerby 1817)
  • Diplomoceratidae:
    • Diplomoceras cylindraceum (Defrance 1816)
• Acanthoceratoidea:
  • Sphenodiscidae
    • Sphenodicus sp.