Troodon Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 It's September and a great time to go out in the badlands of Montana and South Dakota hunting for Dinosaurs. I try to go out at least twice a year unfortunately family health issues prevented me from a earlier trip so I was happy to be able to go on this one. My South Dakota site is in the upper Hell Creek Formation and full of the hadrosaur Edmontosaurus annectens plus the occasional theropod tooth. All of the bones collected come from this site however some of the teeth I show come from a channel deposit in Montana. I've been collecting this site for 20 years and its still delivering. We are on the edge of a bluff and the fossil layer can be between 2 to 4 feet. Lots of good bones are to be found but we also have lots of punky or junk bones and about 70 % is collectible. The site is quite large and like I said last year we have no idea of its size but it contains scores of hadrosaurs all disarticulated. No skulls are found but all the elements that make up a skull are collected. Some pictures of the site and locality The collecting area is between the white lines My tools are pretty simple and those shown are used 90% of the time. I also use a pick. We have no equipment to remove the overburden so its our biggest challenge and can be quite daunting for those not physically in shape, like most of us The collecting layer starts off with a crumbly pebble deposit where the teeth are found then turns into sand where little is found and most of the bones are in the lower hard clay deposit. Most of the bones fracture when exposed to air so glue may be necessary to keep them together during extraction. I use two Paleobond products : PB4417 which is a field consolidant and comes off easily during prep but does not have structural strength. PB002 is used when I need strength on larger bones. I also carry a debonder just in case I glue my fingers together or as in this trip a fellow collector glued his glove to his hand. Glue can be dangerous since it cures quickly. Its more a safety issue but sometimes needed on bones/teeth in the field. I found this product "Golden West Super Solvent" used in the prep lab of the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Its effective has acetone but had no odor or effects on the skin and is not flammable or volatile. Its more costly than acetone but for the amount I use it works and no smell. In addition to showing everyone what I found I would also like to share the process of extracting some of the bones. Very few get to collect in this formation so it might be interesting to see the process and how hard it is to get from the Dirt to the Finished product. 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 I find lots of caudal vertebrae while digging. Its always good to know the anatomy of one it makes for a happier ending instead of putting your knife through the spines of one . For example: Here is a centrum that I uncovered. Knowing where the spines is the next step. The clue here seeing the attachment surface for the chevron "C" . So if that's the bottom of the vertebra the spines and on the opposite side "S" . Like all bones we dig around them and down to pedestal them and then we can easily remove them. The bone can easily stay attached to the matrix if you don't and that would be a bummer The distal spines are very fragile and often break. I collected this with the spine off and centrum in aluminum foil. No reason to attach the two in the field just makes prepping harder. Vertebra 2 same story, where are the spines? In this position you are looking directly into the centrum. The clue here is that you can see the ventral side, bottom, of the vert being flatter so the spines are in the opposite side. Extraction process is the same. Unfortunately did one did not have a distal spine attached to it, missing in action Vertebra 3 is a tiny one 1 inch across from a juvie.. Its best just left in the matrix so I harden it with glue and extract the block. Vert 4. Sometimes they just pop out like this one. Its all there with one of the spines needing to be reattached. Its a odd vert and may be pathological since the centrum is offset. Vertebra 5, Here is one 4" across missing the distal spine. Centrums are common here is an assortment of finds including finger "carpal" (lower left) and toe bone (lower right) Big vert is 4" across. 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Leg bones are common and in this trip collected two tibia's both quite long about 3 feet. The process is typical expose the bone, pedestal it, wrap it in aluminum foil and then jacket it to make transporting it easier. In the hard clay takes around 3 hours to get one out. On this one the front end was very solid and I removed it to make jacking easier. I use tools to flip the bone to minimize any possibility of the bone sticking to the matrix Perfect all we have is matrix chunks visible. Second tibia I was happy to be able to find a couple of foot ungals which are not common . The first one is 4 inches long. You can first see what is exposed and I have no clue what it is. Very happy to see an ungual shape. The ground was wet so the matrix is attached to the bone making it hard to see. I took it out in a block to avoid any damage to the ungual being damp. Ungual two was found by hitting one of its wings "ouch" but I have the piece and will easily be repaired and wlll be very nice when cracked filled. I was also fortunate to find a couple of nice toe bones An infant one which is my favorite. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 A couple of Metacarpals were found. The extraction process is the same has with the larger bones but do not requiring jacketing. Foil is sufficient. Carpal 1 Carpal 2 Did not glue sections easier to prep since there is no glue. Teeth: T rex 2 inch rooted tooth was found missing tip. Don't think it was there but did collect a bucket of matrix and will keep my fingers crossed. Fragments of other teeth plus the rooted one Nanotyrannus largest 1 1/4" Paronychodon - largest 1" Acheroraptor - largest 1/2" Theropod indet - largest 3/4" Croc teeth and scutes - largest scute 1" Hadro Teeth - largest 1" Fish vertebrae - mostly gar - 3/8" Trike spitters Now the fun part begins hours and hours prepping everything to make them look presentable and like something you see for sale or in the museum 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 1 ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir.tommy.the.toad Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 WOW looks awesome can't wait to see more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Excellent field report Frank! Such a great look into how it is done. Thanks so much for showing us a little behind the curtains! 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...
Raggedy Man Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 If you ever need a gopher, I'd be happy to go for this and go for that! If ya catch my drift I'm an excellent camp cook as well!! I can't wait to see them cleaned up. Thanks for sharing your fantastic adventure. Best regards, Paul ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Splendid trip report--thanks for taking us along for the ride. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vieira Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Fantastic report and finds. Thanks to sharing Troodon. If you need a hand in excavations... give me a call Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Great report and photos! Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Thanks for the excellent virtual tour!! Nice finds too!! 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...
TyrannosaurusRex Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Very informative! I enjoyed reading this. Now my question is, how does one get access to land to dig out there? Guess you have got to know some people haha! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Seeing the vistas and extraction methods feel a little like being there. Glad you were able to make the trip. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DinoMike Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 That is some amazing stuff right there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakebite6769 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Fantastic finds, and I greatly appreciate you showing us how to remove them and wrap them. Collecting out in the badlands is on my bucket list for sure. Do you go with a group or have you ever had anyone go with you? I would be glad to assist . I'm currently learning how to prep bones and repair them as I have a few hadrosaur bones from the badlands of Dakota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troodon Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 Thanks for the super remarks. Will keep all volunteers in mind for my next outing To respond to a couple of questions I go to the SD site with a few friends of mine and it's basically the same group, give or take a couple for the past 20 years. Not everyone goes each trip but it's usually 5-6 strong. One those friends actually gained access many moons ago and manages the trip with the group and landowner. Other sites in Montana I've developed relationships with the landowners to gain access. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamptonsDoc Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Great trip! I'm jealous. Maybe I can come next year!!?! ps- congrats on becoming the most informative member of TFF!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raggedy Man Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 3 hours ago, Troodon said: Thanks for the super remarks. Will keep all volunteers in mind for my next outing I'll just have to save my super amazing happy fun time no bake cookies for another bribe... ...I'm back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Thanks for an awesome report! Very informative. Great pics too! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Frank- Great write up and great pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 I find this quite incredible! It takes a special talent to spot a few of those finds and literally bring out the best in them. That vertebra with the spine would be just a centrum without your knowledge of how it was oriented. And not sure how you even began to tackle the hadrosaur ungual....it takes a keen eye to figure that one out. Good luck with the tyrannosaur tooth tip. A nice clean break can make those finds even more frustrating. They can be almost a curse because every time we look at a specimen like that we think 'if only'. Then again, if it was easy, then fossils wouldn't feel as special. Best when we earn them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Great report and very informative. Thanks very much!! Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan from PA Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 Awesome report, Troodon! Your virtual tour and pictures are amazing! I can't wait to see all of your treasures prepped! You are a wealth of knowledge, and I am a better person and collector for having known you. I can't wait for you to dig through the 5 gallon bucket of matrix looking for the T.rex tooth tip. The suspense is killing me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 This is a great trip report! Thanks for sharing. Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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