From Bathon to Callov

[Ludwigia]

I did manage to get in a few hours in the workshop today, so now I have 2 Macrocephalites ammonites from the lower Callovian herveyi zone to show. The first is the zone ammonite, Macrocephalites herveyi (5cm.) and the second, somewhat larger at 18cm. is a M. jacquoti with nice suture lines and a very cute bellybutton. A small part of the outer whorls is eroded away, but I think it's ok the way it is, so I won't be repairing it.

 

 

 

 

By the way, I was just informed that the ammonites on page 1 that I was thinking were Procerites more than likely belong to the form circles of Homeoplanulites/Choffatia.

 

[Shamalama]

[Ludwigia]

Hey, Dave! Don't forget to use your napkin

I've been drooling myself over this discovery, although at least half of the finds are turning out to be throwaways. At least these ones turned out ok. Another Homeoplanulites ammonite and a tiny but finy (18mm.) Ornithella ornithocephala brachiopode.

 

 

 

I'm hoping to get back to the site on Tuesday. I'd like to get in as much exploration as possible now before the winter sets in.

 

 

[Ludwigia]

I got the last ones from the previous trip finished on Monday and I did get back there on Tuesday, but since I spent the next few days in Holland visiting with my wife's family, I didn't have much of a chance to check out the finds. However, I've just had the whole day today to play around and have some things to show again.

 

Macrocephalites jaquoti. 7cm.

 

Homeoplanulites sp. 4.5cm.

 

Ochetoceras canaliculatum. 7.5cm. I found this one buried on the hillside. It must have tumbled down with the old landslide from the lower Oxfordian transversarium zone higher up a long time ago.

 

Proplanulites koenigi. 12cm. This is the index ammonite for the zone where it was found.

 

Choffatia sp. 6cm.

 

 

 

 

[ynot]

Hey Roger,

More of that really nice stuff You do!

Thanks for the show!

Tony

[Shamalama]

14 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

 

 

Choffatia sp. 6cm.

 

 

I really like this one! 

[Ludwigia]

16 hours ago, ynot said:

Hey Roger,

More of that really nice stuff You do!

Thanks for the show!

Tony

 You're welcome, Tony. Glad you're enjoying the show.

 

6 hours ago, Shamalama said:

 

 

I really like this one! 

 

Me too This came out of a concretion,which is why it's so well preserved, although you can see in a few places how agressive the iron oolites can be.

[Ludwigia]

I spent a couple of hours there again yesterday, but don't have much to show for it this time. More and more digging is involved now and the finds were mostly just bits and bites this time. I did however find a partial of a relatively rare ammonite. It's also not all that well preserved, but I'm keeping it in the collection nevertheless.

 

Bullatimorphites sp.

 

This Pholadomya sp. bivalve came out of the same horizon.

 

[abyssunder]

The variety of ammonite species is amazing, good photos, also. Excellent finds !
Thanks for the topic, Roger !

[Ludwigia]

Thanks Abyssunder. I'm hoping to find more species on the next trip, but now that I've more or less cleaned up the surface, there'll be much more digging and prying involve, so now luck is going to play a greater role.

[FossilGuy1024]

Now you're just showing off  Thanks for sharing!

 

BTW, what are you coating your specimens with? Love the contrast between specimen and matrix.

[ynot]

Good luck Roger!!

Looking forward to seeing the continuing saga!!

 

Tony

[Ludwigia]

7 hours ago, FossilGuy1024 said:

Now you're just showing off  Thanks for sharing!

 

BTW, what are you coating your specimens with? Love the contrast between specimen and matrix.

 

One of the main ideas here is to show off, isn't it?

I use a product called Rember, which is a beeswax-based laquer which can be removed with acetone if necessary. It polishes up nicely without being too disturbingly reflective.

[Ludwigia]

4 hours ago, ynot said:

Good luck Roger!!

Looking forward to seeing the continuing saga!!

 

Tony

 

Thanks, Tony. All I can say is I'm hoping for the best. I'm observing that all of these horizons, at least at this site, were subject to strong turbulence and erosion, which is accounting for a ratio of at least 1:10 complete/partial. I've dug up a good number of isolated pieces which indicate to me how many different species can be found here, but complete ones are pretty rare. On the last trip I brought home a few blocks which looked promising with ammonite whorls showing on the surface, but when I exposed the rest with the air pen, they also turned out to be only partials. I just have to be prepared to persevere. Sometimes I wish I could take a backhoe in there

[JimB88]

Wow Roger! Awesome stuff from there and excellent prep as usual!

[Ludwigia]

Thanks, Jim

[Plantguy]

On 12/14/2016 at 2:57 PM, Ludwigia said:

I spent a couple of hours there again yesterday, but don't have much to show for it this time. More and more digging is involved now and the finds were mostly just bits and bites this time. I did however find a partial of a relatively rare ammonite. It's also not all that well preserved, but I'm keeping it in the collection nevertheless.

Bullatimorphites sp.

 

This Pholadomya sp. bivalve came out of the same horizon.

 

Hey Roger, nice finds...guessing you'll find some complete ones soon and that patience will reward you. Is that some different neat linear ornamentation? on the Bullatimorphites --it seems to be following the whorls or is something else going on? 

 

I am also curious about the matrix/preservation/small holes on the right on the bivalve. I've seen that in a number of your finds...

I think I have an ammo piece from Sengenthal? that shows a similar texture...do you know what causes that? I may have asked about that before but I dont remember the cause...thanks. 

 

Regards, Chris  

[Ludwigia]

Hi Chris,

The "linear ornamentation" on the Bullatimorphites are the remnants of tube worms and the texture on the bivalve and other fossils is caused by the presence (or now abscence) of iron oolites. Like I mentioned above, they are somewhat aggressive.

[Plantguy]

Thanks Roger. I do seem to remember oolitic discussions and missed your earlier reference, Uggh. Glad I'm not at work today, it was a really long day yesterday--actually woke up on the couch this a.m. with the TV still going and the cat staring at me--never made it to bed! LOL.

 

Continued hunting success!

 

Regards, Chris 

[Ludwigia]

It's a dog's life

[Ludwigia]

Well, the last visit called for a lot of effort, but just brought little results; in more than one sense. First of all, the woodsmen had closed off the normal way in, so I had to enter on another route from below, clambering uphill through the underbrush. When I eventually got there, there was a lot of overburden to remove and a lot of hard stone to break up. Lots of pieces of large ammonites appeared, but the only complete ones I could salvage were all pretty small, and there weren't really that many this time. Oh well, at least my knapsack wasn't all that heavy for the return trip back to the car. Here are the first 3 which I completed today. 2 more to do tomorrow and that's it. They are however "klein aber fein", as we say here in Deutschland.

 

Homeoplanulites sp. (6.5cm.) with tube worms.

 

Macrocephalites sp. (27mm.) showing a septal wall of the phragmocone.

 

A somewhat battered Homeoplanulites (4cm.) with a smaller one attached and a brachiopod on the other side.

 

[ynot]

Very nice Roger!!

Love the triple!

Tony

[Ludwigia]

Cute, huh?

[Ludwigia]

The last one is done now. I said I still had 2, but one of them wasn't worth keeping since the inner whorls were gone. That's it for this site for this year. Maybe I'll still get out there in the new year if the snow holds back.

 

Macrocephalites jacquoti. 4cm.

[ynot]

Very nice Roger, I like the way it is on a pedestal.

Tony