Quiescence Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) The San Diego formation is an approximately 3.5 million year old formation that records organisms from a now-receded, shallow inland bay that covered large parts of San Diego. I've read it was about the size of Monterey bay. I've been collecting from this deposit a lot this past year or two and used to frequent it when I was a lot younger. Things I've recovered have included: lots of molluscs, other invertebrate casts/burrows (polychaete worms/burrowing clams?), lots of marine mammal bones (baleen whale, sea cow and other unidentified fragments), and a great white tooth. I was originally going to separate this into multiple threads divided into vertebrates vs inverts, but have decided to make it one thread as per Tony's suggestion. I think I am going to try and get most of the best mollusc pics up first, then the vertebrates and other inverts. I am also going to try and hone in picture posting on here and optimal sizes and things, so sorry if the thread gets a bit jumbled at first. Edited July 20, 2016 by Quiescence 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 The two pics in the first post and second are of snails within the family Naticidae. I haven't identified them past this level. Lots of these in the formation. The third photo I am also unsure of, some sort of turban snail? (Maybe I should have posted this thread in ID section?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 Pic 1: More of the snails I haven't ID'd. Pic 2: Shale filled with Turritella Pic 3/4: More Naticidae Also, a little more info about the collecting site for those interested. These were collected from Chula Vista, SD, from a deep river bed at the bottom of a very steep, eroding canyon. Not easy to access because of cholla cacti, thick brush, rattlesnakes, lack of trail and collapsing hillsides, so I try to make my visits worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 (edited) Welcome to TFF! Looking good so far! Tony PS For continuity I think You should put all the finds from this location/formation on this thread. (just My opinion.) Edited July 20, 2016 by ynot Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 Big clam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 More bivalves! The clam in the first two pics is one of the most well preserved I've ever found in terms of how much shell is still retained. I've been meaning to ID these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 Pecten sp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 Ok ok, there will be more molluscs and invertebrates, but I wanted to post some bone. This was my first major find other than molluscs down in the river bed. It is a rib of the now extinct Sea Cow - Hydrodamalis cuestae (as identified by the San Diego Natural History Museum) -Further info http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/fossil-mysteries/fossil-field-guide-a-z/sea-cow/ Also, it is broken because I dropped it Now the inner marrow ring can be seen though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 22, 2016 Author Share Posted July 22, 2016 Carcharodon carcharias - upper jaw As ID'd by SDNHM This wasn't found in the wash, but up on a mesa nearby. Only a couple feet from the road. First tooth I've found! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Pretty nice collection, especially like the tooth!! Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triceratops Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Cool finds! Thanks for sharing. -Lyall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doushantuo Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Pretty nice finds.Love the pectinids and the "Big Clam". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 Thanks friends! Here is a bone I recently recovered from the river bed. I have not had it looked at by the museum. My guess is that it is baleen whale bone, based off size and similarity to other identified specimens, but I'm not certain. Any thoughts? It looks a bit like an incomplete vertebra to me. Sorry no scale in picture. It is about 4 inches long, 3 inches tall, and 2 inches thick (dimensions if oriented as in first picture). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharko69 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Very nice finds! Beautiful tooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 Thanks sharko! Here is a collection of various shell fragments collected from the river bed and a couple of other SD formation locales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Awesome finds and collection! : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted July 25, 2016 Author Share Posted July 25, 2016 Thanks Trevor. Here are some pics of some fossils that I believe are Polychaete worms. Though not 100% sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted July 25, 2016 Share Posted July 25, 2016 Nice collection - wide variety of finds. That Great White tooth is fantastic. Thanks for posting these. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 (edited) Great stuff. You have at least a couple of decent sites. San Diego used to be a fossil collector's paradise but all the building since the 50's has covered up a lot of sites. A friend used to collect near his house but more houses went in an took his site away. Where they didn't build, they landscaped over. Another friend knows of sites that were covered with ice plant to cut back on erosion. Great whites are what you tend to find when you find a shark tooth. Some of the old-time collectors actually got a little bored with them unless it was a bigger tooth. They'd actually be excited about a Carcharhinus tooth (I've seen a few duskier, C. obscurus) because those were uncommon. A friend found at least a couple of small great whites at a site in Chula Vista back in the 80's. The San Diego formation is an approximately 3.5 million year old formation that records organisms from a now-receded, shallow inland bay that covered large parts of San Diego. I've read it was about the size of Monterey bay. I've been collecting from this deposit a lot this past year or two and used to frequent it when I was a lot younger. Things I've recovered have included: lots of molluscs, other invertebrate casts/burrows (polychaete worms/burrowing clams?), lots of marine mammal bones (baleen whale, sea cow and other unidentified fragments), and a great white tooth. I was originally going to separate this into multiple threads divided into vertebrates vs inverts, but have decided to make it one thread as per Tony's suggestion. I think I am going to try and get most of the best mollusc pics up first, then the vertebrates and other inverts. I am also going to try and hone in picture posting on here and optimal sizes and things, so sorry if the thread gets a bit jumbled at first. Edited July 29, 2016 by siteseer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 Thanks for kind replies and info everyone. Found another shark tooth a few days ago! Not sure what it is exactly, thought it might be a mako? It seems narrower and more angled than my great white tooth. Appreciate any input. Will get more pics up soon of other finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted August 3, 2016 Share Posted August 3, 2016 I think it is the same species as the other but this one is a lower where the other is an upper. Just My opinion. Tony Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 Some unknown marine mammal bones found a couple days ago. The blue coloring is beautiful. I've seen similar colors on baleen whale bones. Does anyone know what causes them to take on the blue? I imagine some metal oxide or mineralization process? The first bone's shape is interesting to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 I think it is the same species as the other but this one is a lower where the other is an upper. Just My opinion. Tony That's a good thought Tony, I'd bet you're probably correct. Especially considering what siteseer mentioned regarding the great abundance of Great white teeth at the Sd formation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 Here is another curious fossil (or pseudofossil?) I found recently. Not sure if it is a bivalve cast, some other marine invertebrate, neither of the above, or just an interesting rock. A friend suggested it might be a sand dollar fragment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiescence Posted August 3, 2016 Author Share Posted August 3, 2016 More Pectinidae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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