September 2016 Finds Of The Month

[JohnJ]

Angst!!! was felt in last month's voting.  That was due to deciding among the great number of fantastic entries!      So...let's create MORE ANGST this month!  Go find something that you have to keep staring at because you can hardly believe you found it!   

Remember...carefully read the rules below, make sure you include all the required information, and submit your fossil!  If you have a question about a possible entry, please send me a PM. 

Please pay special attention to Rule #5: Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for Prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest. In addition to keeping the contest fair, this new qualification will encourage better documentation of our spectacular past finds. Best of success to all, and good hunting!

Entries will be taken through September 30th. Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month.

To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery.
____________________________________________________________________________________


Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests

1. You find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found by you.

2. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry. (Only two entries per contest category.)

3. Your Fossil must have been found during the Month of the Contest, or most of the significant Preparation of your Fossil must have been completed during the Month of the Contest.

4. You must include the Date of your Discovery (when found in the contest month); or the Date of Preparation Completion and Discovery date (if not found in the contest month).

5. Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest.

6. You must include the common or scientific name.

7. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the Fossil was found.

8. You must include the State, Province, or region where the Fossil was found.

9. Play fair and honest. No bought fossils. No false claims.

Shortly after the end of the Month, separate Polls will be created for the Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month.

In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the fossils. So, only entries posted with a CLEAR photo and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll.

Within a few days, we will know the two winning Finds of the Month! Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry!

[MeargleSchmeargl]

I guess l'll be the early bird this month. After much self debate over which trilo to pick for FOTM from my most recent trip, I finally picked one, surprisingly the smallest one:

 

Species: Aphelaspis brachyphasis

Formation: Conasauga formation (498-96 myo)

Location: Chatsworth, Georgia

Date found: 9/3/16 (saturday (original post has wrong date ))

 

 

Pics:

 

Thumb comparison:

 

Negative closeup:

 

 

Positive closeup:

 

 

This trilo is special to me as it is oficially the first (and IMO the best) trilo I have found in my own home state. The site is only an hour and a half away from my home, which is awesome for me!

 

Enjoy! Can't wait for other entries

[caldigger]

I guess I'll give it a go.

 

Found 9/10/16

Allodesmus canine tooth (the one that didn't explode)

late Miocene Epoch (approx. 5-8 mya)

Santa Margarita Formation

White Sands Deposit

Monterey County, Santa Lucia Mountains, California

[MeargleSchmeargl]

2 hours ago, caldigger said:

I guess I'll give it a go.

 

Found 9/10/16

Allodesmus canine tooth (the one that didn't explode)

late Miocene Epoch (approx. 5-8 mya)

Santa Margarita Formation

White Sands Deposit

Monterey County, Santa Lucia Mountains, California

This may seem like a strange analogy, but It looks like candy corn (get It, candy corn? Eye candy? Oh, It wasn't funny? )

 

Like the tooth!

 

[Triceratops]

Wow! Outstanding work there Caldigger, it looks like the tooth is 'growing' out of the rock!

[MeargleSchmeargl]

On Thursday, September 15, 2016 at 1:37 PM, caldigger said:

I guess I'll give it a go.

 

Found 9/10/16

Allodesmus canine tooth (the one that didn't explode)

late Miocene Epoch (approx. 5-8 mya)

Santa Margarita Formation

White Sands Deposit

Monterey County, Santa Lucia Mountains, California

 

On Saturday, September 17, 2016 at 7:55 PM, Triceratops said:

Wow! Outstanding work there Caldigger, it looks like the tooth is 'growing' out of the rock!

 Now that I look at It, It does look sort of like a toenail growing out of a foot

 

Can't wait to see more fantabulous entries!

 

[Strepsodus]

Hi.  Here's my Invertebrate entry.  It's an Upper Carboniferous Goniatite and Dunbarella block from West Yorkshire, UK.  It comes from the Lower Coal Measures.  There are two Goniatites in the block.  Both are around 3mm long.  They still have some matrix attached but they seem to be both complete.  The shell fragments are Dunbarella sp.

 

I think the Goniatites are Gastrioceras sp.  

 

I found it on the 17th of September.

 

Daniel

[MeargleSchmeargl]

31 minutes ago, Strepsodus said:

Hi.  Here's my Invertebrate entry.  It's an Upper Carboniferous Goniatite and Dunbarella block from West Yorkshire, UK.  It comes from the Lower Coal Measures.  There are two Goniatites in the block.  Both are around 3mm long.  They still have some matrix attached but they seem to be both complete.  The shell fragments are Dunbarella sp.

 

I think the Goniatites are Gastrioceras sp.  

 

I found it on the 17th of September.

 

Daniel

Not bad! GL!

 

[JohnBrewer]

52 minutes ago, Strepsodus said:

Hi.  Here's my Invertebrate entry.  It's an Upper Carboniferous Goniatite and Dunbarella block from West Yorkshire, UK.  It comes from the Lower Coal Measures.  There are two Goniatites in the block.  Both are around 3mm long.  They still have some matrix attached but they seem to be both complete.  The shell fragments are Dunbarella sp.

 

I think the Goniatites are Gastrioceras sp.  

 

I found it on the 17th of September.

 

Daniel

Great finds Daniel! I hope I find something this nice when we go there together next month.

[Strepsodus]

35 minutes ago, MeargleSchmeargl said:

Not bad! GL!

 

 

15 minutes ago, JohnBrewer said:

Great finds Daniel! I hope I find something this nice when we go there together next month.

Hi.  Thanks for the replies.  

 

Daniel

[FossilDudeCO]

Found on the 23rd of September

Green River Formation

Kemmerer, WY

Eocene ~52MYO

Bird Feather

 

Finally got mine while digging split fish layer!

It could use a little prep, but I probably won't get around to it until next weekend.

 

The whole feather appears to be under there!

 

[Monica]

Hello everyone!

 

Here's my invertebrate entry for the month of September:

 

Type of organism: orthocone nautiloid covered by bryozoan

Size of specimen: 5cm in length

Date found: September 11, 2016

Location found: Etobicoke Creek, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Formation and Age: Georgian Bay Formation, Upper Ordovician

 

"Front" of specimen: 

 

"Back" of specimen: 

 

"Bottom" of specimen: 

 

"Top" of specimen: 

 

Close-up of bryozoan covering orthocone nautiloid: 

 

Thanks for taking a look!  Best of luck to all fossil entries!

 

Monica

[Raggedy Man]

I'll toss my hat into the ring with these little guys for IPFOTM

Trilobite

 

Hermiarges aff. H.paulianus (Clark-1894)-Cephalon(On Right)

Sceptaspis lincolnensis (Branson-1909)Pygidium(On left)

Affiliation

Mifflin member-Platteville Formation

Middle Ordovician

Grant county, Wisconsin

Found-September 11th, 2016

 

[ynot]

It is going to be another hard choice this month!!

 

Tony

[MeargleSchmeargl]

 

21 hours ago, ynot said:

It is going to be another hard choice this month!!

 

Tony

Indeed.

 

And for some reason, TFF won't let me delete what I quote In my previous posts. Help?

[JohnJ]

7 minutes ago, MeargleSchmeargl said:

 

Indeed.

 

And for some reason, TFF won't let me delete what I quote In my previous posts. Help?

Daniel,

Just click the crossed arrow symbol at the top left of the unwanted quote and hit your backspace or delete key. 

[MeargleSchmeargl]

1 hour ago, JohnJ said:

Daniel,

Just click the crossed arrow symbol at the top left of the unwanted quote and hit your backspace or delete key. 

Thanks (sigh of relief)

[JarrodB]

I've never entered the Invertebrate Find Of The Month so I thought I would toss in my most recent find. This is one of the largest Baculites I've seen come from the North Sulphur River Texas. 

 

Baculites (Not sure on exact type)

North Sulphur River Texas

Ozan Formation 

Found on Sept 26

[JohnBrewer]

Wow what a selection this month. Another difficult contest again!

[MeargleSchmeargl]

Inverts inverts everywhere and not a vert to see...lol.

[Ridgehiker]

On September 15, 2016 at 2:29 PM, MeargleSchmeargl said:

This may seem like a strange analogy, but It looks like candy corn (get It, candy corn? Eye candy? Oh, It wasn't funny? )

 

Like the tooth!

 

Candy corn and fossils.  

One October I crossed the border back into Canada and the customs  agent asked if I was bringing any  'candy corn' into the country.  Huh?  I had no idea what candy corn was.  I had fossils, some plants, fireworks ( they were all ok) but he asked about 'candy corn'.  This was pre Internet days so I couldn't just google candy corn when I got home.

 

A few years later Walmart came to Canada and I saw  'candy corn' in the Hallowe'en candy section. It looked pretty harmless except to the teeth. Candy corn was obviously legal to import by then.  Anyways, back in the 80's I could have smuggled in candy corn by disguising them as fossil teeth.  Today I could import in the candy corn but not the fossil teeth.  I could paint the teeth orange and yellow.

[MeargleSchmeargl]

33 minutes ago, Canadawest said:

Candy corn and fossils.  

One October I crossed the border back into Canada and the customs  agent asked if I was bringing any  'candy corn' into the country.  Huh?  I had no idea what candy corn was.  I had fossils, some plants, fireworks ( they were all ok) but he asked about 'candy corn'.  This was pre Internet days so I couldn't just google candy corn when I got home.

 

A few years later Walmart came to Canada and I saw  'candy corn' in the Hallowe'en candy section. It looked pretty harmless except to the teeth. Candy corn was obviously legal to import by then.  Anyways, back in the 80's I could have smuggled in candy corn by disguising them as fossil teeth.  Today I could import in the candy corn but not the fossil teeth.  I could paint the teeth orange and yellow.

 

[FossilDudeCO]

Lol! Candy corn. How strange!

[JohnBrewer]

Soooo what's candy corn?

[Kane]

2 minutes ago, JohnBrewer said:

Soooo what's candy corn?

Corn syrup, confectioner's wax and sugar. They are tricoloured and are a big hit (with some) during Halloween. They can be dangerously addictive

 

There was some issue with them being available in Canada for a time because of regulations on the ingredients and processing, I believe, but are widely available now.