First Peace River trip of the season--December 2016

[digit]

With one last check of the river gauges to verify water level, we set the alarm clock for 3:30am and were rolling down my driveway before 4:00am with the truck packed with gear for our first trip out to the Peace River this season. When we left Boca Raton the thermometer in the car registered a balmy 73F (23C) which isn't too bad for the overnight low in the middle of the night. I chose the route up the Florida Turnpike to the aptly named Beeline Hwy which is a laser straight route through Indiantown and into Okeechobee sitting at the northern tip of Lake Okeechobee which it borders. The Mickey D's there is open 24 hours and so makes a good stop for a quick breakfast and caffeine bump at the halfway point of the trip at around 5:30am. This allows us to pull into the parking lot at Canoe Outpost in Arcadia a little before 7:30am in order to fill out paperwork and pay for our canoe rental so we can be on the 8am bus with all our gear headed for the put in at the boat ramp in Brownville Park some 8.5 miles up the river.

 

I had been watching the thermometer in the car drop as I left the relative warmth of the southeast coast of Florida and headed inland. I suspect both the moderating warmth of the Gulf Stream waters just off shore and the denser population with more thermal mass of concrete and asphalt was likely responsible for those balmy temps at the start of the trip as I watched the temperature slowly rachet down as it dropped into the 60's and then bottomed out at 54F (12C) on Route 70 between Okeechobee and Arcadia. The forecast in Arcadia that afternoon was for 79F (26F) so I knew it would turn out to be a pleasant day if I could only survive the morning. There was some confusion rounding up another group going to Brownville that morning and we didn't arrive at the boat ramp till nearly 8:45am--and while I normally would have been anxious to get there as soon as possible to maximize sifting time--I was glad for a little extra time before setting foot in the cool cool river. I chose not to visit the more extensive well-known (and hard-hit) gravel bed just downstream from the boat ramp and instead Tammy and I paddled for a while and enjoyed the wildlife on the river. We were the first canoe off (helps to be organized and experienced) so we had the river to ourselves and didn't see another canoe for about 3 hours. We had quite a variety and abundance of bird life as we paddled down river with only the sound of our paddling and some bird calls breaking the silence of the morning. There were quite the number of Great Blue Herons along the shore, some White Ibis, Tricolor Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Anhingas rounding out the wading birds. We saw quite a number of Belted Kingfishers flying from tree to tree with the swooping flight path that is characteristic. We also had a large number of Osprey that we'd spook from a treetop as we neared and which would fly to a perch further downstream before we caught up to them again forcing them to take to the wing again. We got to see one do some plunge fishing though it came up empty-handed (empty-taloned?) shaking the water from its feathers. The real treat of the morning though were a small flock of Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) which we'd never spotted on the Peace River before. The first time we'd seen this stunning species was while we were diving and fossil hunting in Rainbow Springs last year with Daniel (@calhounensis).

 

As we approached a section of the river that has a number of good size Bald Cypress near the water's edge, you could clearly see the tannin stain indicating the high-water mark from last summer. It's this annual surge of water that causes the erosion and slight changes to the river's course each year as it carves into one bank and deposits sand on the opposite side--all part of recharging the fossil beds each year like an aquatic Easter Bunny hiding treats for us to find. Note that Tammy is the smart one in the family. who brought waders and is wearing a sweatshirt.

 

  

 

I wanted to get back to the spot on the river where over the last couple of years I've managed to pull out half a dozen or so large chunks of Mammoth molar (though not a whole tooth from this location--yet). When we got to our spot we broke out the shovel and sifter and I stepped out of the canoe into the cold water of the Peace. I learned later from one of the staff working at Canoe Outpost that the river is currently running around 62F (17C) and it felt it! The area that I'd been lucky enough to harvest all the mammoth molar chunks is relatively close to the edge of the river. Unfortunately, with the sun rising low on the horizon this time of the year, it hardly breaks out of the treeline and that side of the river was in shade throughout the morning. Shortly after we started probing for gravel and shoveling and sifting, a little breeze came up and sent ripples down the river's surface and simultaneously shivers down my spine. This would have been a welcome refreshing breeze on a warmer day but it was too much evaporative cooling for me on that morning. Within an hour my pruny fingers were somewhere between numb and tingling. We hadn't stumbled upon any Mammoth dentition by this point (not even the thin fragmented layers that are distinctive enough discern even from tiny pieces). I decided to move out closer to the center of the river where I could at least get some sun on my back and warm myself a bit more.

 

We like this spot as it has very coarse gravel--in fact, some of the bottom is cobbled with fairly large chunks of matrix from orange to softball to bowling ball size. It sometimes makes it a bit difficult to get a shovel down into and often results in me bringing huge chunks of the bottom up in my shovel which are tossed off to the side creating small depth charge splashes as they sploosh into the chilly water (often returning an unwanted cold shower). Large gravel (or in this case matrix pieces) usually equates to larger finds so I chose to use my sifting screen with the 1/2" mesh rather than the one fitted with the finer 1/4" mesh. This means I can usually toss in several scoops without overloading the sifting screen as the vast majority slips down through the screen. Virtually all of the smaller shark teeth (and other fossils) pass right through the screen and back onto the bottom. We only waylaid three smaller shark teeth that were just too big to fit between the mesh--a nice large Lemon Shark and two good size Carcharhinus sp. teeth. We did find quite a number of makos and smaller megs (the maximum somewhere between 2.5-3 inches). Most were either fraglodons with the tips busted off or were river worn to the point where they didn't need to be added to the small bowl of "keepers" I have from the Peace. We saved these teeth and several other finds to distribute to kids in the canoes than continued to pass us throughout the day. This area is also rich with dugong rib bones. They are abundant enough that I'm sure it would take me little time to completely fill a 5-gallon bucket (possibly two). One day I just may bring buckets to test out this challenge. Nicer specimens were also saved and passed out with the explanations of what they were (most had never heard of dugongs). Hopefully, some may be motivated to do an internet search and maybe spark an interest in fossils. I probably gave away 90% of our fossils but I hope it possibly makes a difference in one of these kid's lives and allows them to realize there is a world beyond the edges of their devices.

 

The most unusual thing we dug up all day was probably the recent mandible with teeth. It would have been a trip-maker if it were fossilized but was only a novelty due to its modernity. From the look of the molars I believe this is a probably porcine (likely Wild Boar). I believe I've seen pig teeth come up on this forum before and to me the recently erupted ones with little wear on their occlusal surface remind me of the lumpy shape of popped popcorn. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong--wouldn't be the first (or last) time. There was a group of two families with lots of kiddies just a short walk down the river so I took this jaw bone to them figuring that they'd enjoy such an oddity--I was right (they also got a few megs).

 

  

 

 

 

 

[digit]

As we were really not finding anything particularly noteworthy I didn't bother making the trek back to where the canoe was parked (where I'd left the camera). Other than the pig jowl above I really didn't bother taking any photos on site--uncharacteristic of me but I was cold and sore (arthritic bones and cramping muscles don't do well immersed in a cold water bath for 7 hours of shoveling). Instead, I rinsed and dried the meager finds I brought home (mostly give-away pieces to entice and temp others) and took a few photos this morning. The one odd thing about this spot is that, in the past, it has given up a huge number of odontocete tympanic bullae (toothed whale middle ear bones to those who don't speak Latin & Greek). I've probably pulled 50 or more tympanics from this very spot over the years--in different stages of preservation. Tympanics are one of my favorite fossils to be found in the Peace River as most people don't know (and couldn't imagine) what they are. On my very first fossil hunting adventure on the Peace River back in 2007 (coming up on my 10 year anniversary) with Mark Renz, he instructed us to keep anything that we think might be something. One of the first things I found (besides shark teeth) was a relatively intact tympanic. I showed it to Mark and he asked my why I kept that. I said that it appeared to me to be biological rather than geological and was glad to hear that my assumption had been right. To this day I think of my first tympanic every time I find one--and we did a lot of that on this trip. In the end we ended up with a baker's dozen of these. Most are badly eroded and fragmented but with enough of the distinctive shape to assign an ID. I may keep the large one in the upper left but most of these will go into gift bags for others.

 

The other giveaway material that was reasonably common was Mastodon tooth fragments. I've yet to find a whole Mastodon molar (maybe this is the season?) or even a substantial chunk. Mostly, I get small chips like these that are still readily identifiable by the distinctive cross section through the enamel (even when worn to a rounded cobble line one in the middle). There are a few slivers of proboscidean tusk material in the bottom of the photo as well.

 

   

 

We found several horse cheek teeth (mostly the more narrow lowers). Nothing spectacular but a couple with some nice complete roots and decent occlusal surfaces. I also found an odd little tooth that I'm thinking might possibly be an incisor. I haven't gone through my identification books yet to try to find a match but I'm wondering if it might be horse as well.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

[digit]

While I struck-out on finding any Mammoth molar chunks (or even slivers) this time, the large size of the gravel and matrix in the area did correlate well with some of the larger finds (other than the torrent of dugong bones that would turn up 2-3 to each shovelful of gravel). Here are two larger bone chunks (no idea what I'll do with these but I suspect they will end up as gifts to entice potential nascent fossil hunters). I suspect they are likely proboscidean as they seem too large to be bison (though I guess ground sloth could be a possibility as well). Too fragmented to ever be associated with any taxon with any certainty.

 

     

 

  

[digit]

I did come up with two odd mystery pieces from this outing. The first I initially thought might be a tortoise leg osteoderm (aka leg spur) as it has the recessed edge along the bottom that make these kind of look like squashed mushroom caps. Doesn't really look like any of the other tortoise osteoderms I've found before so I may have to put this one up in the Fossil ID section and see if I can elicit comments from those on this forum with a much deeper mastery of Pleistocene mammal fossils than your novice author.

 

       

 

The other item I'm not even sure is biological but might be geological or possibly some sort of ichnofossil. When I pulled it out of the sifting screen it resembled part of the neck of a very thick vase. The outer shape is very circular and, if whole, would likely have formed a nice rounded shape. The inner surface is a pretty good lithified example of the "shape" of a black hole or a whirlpool's vortex. There is no trabecular (cancellous) spongy texture indicating for certain that it is fossilized bone and I'm just not quite sure what to make of this oddity. I welcome any answers, guesses, or while speculations.

 

 

  

 

With any luck the river will remain huntable for more than the brief window it allowed last season and this will only be the first of many trips to the Peace River to see what treasures (and mysteries) it is willing to part with for the motivated fossil hunter.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

[Darktooth]

Thanks for the great report and pics!

[Ann S]

What a nice write-up of a great trip!  The incredible riches in and around the Peace River might put it on my bucket list!

[Plantguy]

Hey Ken, good to see you got out and have some new material to look at and ponder. I'm done pondering for this week--at least outloud...LOL. 

 

Great finds---thanks for sharing the photos. 

 

Regards, Chris 

 

 

[Al Dente]

Ken-

Your last item might be a partial steinkern of a large gastropod.

[digit]

Ah, the old gastropod steinkern trick, eh?

 

Now that you mention it I remember seeing John @Sacha pulling posting something that was identified as the same from his kayak trip out to the spoil piles out off Yankeetown. In fact, I've just looked up that post and here are what appear to be matching items:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/68306-yankeetown-after-the-stormseptember-7-2016/&do=findComment&comment=718520

 

It would definitely solve all the riddles for this one--the circular shape that does not continue completely around and the fact that it has a smooth surface but does not appear to be composed of bone (no cancellous texture on the broken edges). This would all add up to infilled material forming the internal mold of a large gastropod--aka a steinkern.

 

First one of these I've pulled from the Peace.

 

Any thoughts about the accompanying mystery item above the steinkern in the post above?

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

[ynot]

Nice, Ken!

Thanks for sharing.

Tony

[JustPlainPetrified]

It would be SO neat to hunt your Peace River after done years at our Peace River in Northern Alberta. Nice finds and a great report. Thanks.

[digit]

Now is the season and all it takes is a plane ticket to get here. I enjoy all forms of treasure hunting and try to add as many new hunting experiences I can to the list of things I've done and places I've been. The variety and ease of hunting (not counting being chilled or sore after a day of hunting) keep me coming back to this place--and it's only 3 hours away.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[HFVC Fossils]

4 hours ago, Al Dente said:

Ken-

Your last item might be a partial steinkern of a large gastropod.

internal casts (steinkerns): that's a new word for me, thank you!

 

but yes, that is my thought as well. I find much smaller fragments very similar in appearance. 

[HFVC Fossils]

4 hours ago, digit said:

Any thoughts about the accompanying mystery item above the steinkern in the post above?

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

My thought is a knee cap. Possibly Mastodon or other large herbivore. Here's a couple screen shots of museum pieces.  Sadly, I couldn't get any rear leg closeups. 

[Nimravis]

Great report Ken - thanks for taking the time to prepare it.

[Fossildude19]

Thanks for the engaging report, Ken!

Glad to see you did well. 

Regards, 

[JarrodB]

Great trip report and pics. I really enjoyed it.

[digit]

9 hours ago, HFVC Fossils said:

internal casts (steinkerns): that's a new word for me, thank you!

 

It's a good word and good to know. It's from the German Stein (stone) and Kern (kernel, seed). Doesn't make as much sense for a part of a large gastropod whorl but picture a small bivalve (clam) shell where the shell itself has since eroded away leaving the internal cast in the shape of a small (stone) seed. I find (and did find that day) many bivalve steinkerns. I've kept a few very distinctive ones over the years but most that I find get returned to the river.

 

 

8 hours ago, HFVC Fossils said:

My thought is a knee cap. Possibly Mastodon or other large herbivore. Here's a couple screen shots of museum pieces.  Sadly, I couldn't get any rear leg closeups.

 

My wife Tammy was thinking patella as well when we first saw this but patellae actually look different from this. Here's a good post from @Harry Pristis that he wrote up many years back--still quite informative (which is the great thing about this vast tome of knowledge we're gathering here on TFF).

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/67558-unknown-bone-patella/&do=findComment&comment=709993

 

I've found unusual bones at this site before (in fact last time I was out at this site in April):

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/64534-peace-river-huntfinally-april-2016/&do=findComment&comment=675948

 

The contracted ring around the bottom has always signaled osteoderm in my (limited) experience. Usually, I find giant tortoise (Hesperotestudo? Geochelone?) leg osteoderms (aka "leg spurs") which tend to be a bit more conical and pointy. Here's a topic from several years ago discussing similar finds from @Shellseeker:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/14121-hersheys-kiss/

 

I think my find is likely more along those lines but more research is needed.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Darktooth]

So how long does the season last?

[digit]

The season lasts as long as the river stays low enough to walk into it with shovel and sifting screen. Last season Florida didn't have a dry season and the river was only in range (for me) for a total of two weekends. During the drought years half a dozen years or so ago the rains in summer ended early and on 10-10-2010 (a very decimal day if every I've seen one) Tammy and I were hunting in the Peace River around Arcadia. Usually, the season starts sometime in late November to early December and may extend as late as around May (though I've been in the river in early June during that drought). When the river was freakishly low during the drought the trip down the river took twice as long as you had to get out and pull your canoe down 6" (15 cm) of water for extended stretches. The normal thigh-to-waist-deep waters were barely up to mid-calf. It meant a lot of bending over and was hard on the back. This was a time that smart fossil hunters sought out the deeper holes in the river which were then accessible (without scuba).

 

During the deepest part of of winter when the rest of the country is locked in the freezer, it is still usually reasonably pleasant in southern Florida. The water stays chilly during Jan-Feb and some days when there is a low pressure front over Florida pulling down the cold fronts from further north that no fossil hunter in their right mind would want to be standing in the river in 40F (4C) temps. The temps rebound during most years and Mar-May can be a really active time on the river. The chronic Peace River hunters try to get first crack at the river after the summer rains have replanted new fossils and so you'll start seeing trip reports on the Peace River from the usual suspects right about now.

 

Florida is a great place to fossil hunt during the winter while other places are frozen solid. Notherners are welcome down here and many TFF members have come down for a hunt during a winter vacation. There is also the opportunity to volunteer at the FLMNH dig sites during the cooler drier months and that is an opportunity that should not be missed.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Harry Pristis]

My guess is that the second mystery object is an osteoderm from a glyptodont.  For comparison:

 

 

[Shellseeker]

Ken,

Great trip report!!! You have a way with words. The Peace River is a magical place and I do not even have to find fossils to enjoy my days spent on the river. Your discussion of birds reminds me of a trip I took 5 years ago.

http://www.fcolc.com/newsletters/news1112.pdf

 

Quote

We left Pioneer Park boat ramp at 9 AM. This is a fan-

tastic kayak trip even for non fossil hunters. There was a

good current helping us move downstream and the high

water had spread out over a relatively flat river basin. Huge

Live Oak trees with Spanish moss and Bald Cypress trees

with grotesquely shaped “knees” ringed the river banks and

provided perches for all kinds of birds and other wildlife.

There were gray, blue, and green Herons, Egrets, Ibis, Os-

prey, Hawks, Woodpeckers, Wood Storks, Turkey Vultures

and many others I could not identify. I especially noted the

kingfishers singly or in pairs who would serenade either

Dave and I or possibly their partner while streaking up or

down the river.

I counted about 25 Kingfishers and next to

Ibis, they seemed to be most numerous. There were deer,

wild pigs, and cattle but the attention grabbers were

alligators.

 

Some comments.

1) I was with SEGS at the CEMEX mine in Bushnell searching for echinoids on Saturday, I only found small Durhamelia ocolana and Agassizia clevei and just a few of those, but the weather was perfect -- cool breeze , not that hot.

2) I was in the Peace Sunday in a 3mm Wetsuit -- it was a lot colder than Saturday but only my fingers were a problem. Found some colorful hemis, a few megs and 3 slightly chipped horse teeth. I do have both a 5mm and 7mm wetsuit and have been known to do some crazy stuff in mid January when the 7mm was barely sufficient.

3) I think your "incisor" might be dugong -- I sort of recognize the top edge enamel.

4) Nice discussion of Peace River seasons and conditions.  I will pin this thread and point other to it.

[digit]

I forgot to add the Turkey Vultures that sailed on thermals overhead as we paddled down the river. A few descended to treetop levels and I was able to see their red heads distinguishing them from the similar looking Black Vultures. Your mention of woodpeckers also reminded me that we did see (and hear) a large Pileated Woodpecker among Saturday's avian accompaniment.

 

I'm hoping to get back to the Peace later this week and will likely pack my 3mm.

 

A dugong incisor would be new for me--I'll have to follow up that line of research.

 

EDIT: Do sirenians (Manatee and Dugong) even have teeth forward of their grinding molars? I've looked at this took closely for the first time (didn't may enough attention when photographing it). Closer observation reveals that the top surface of this tooth is a lot more broken than I first thought. I'm now guessing this is just the root base of an incisor missing the top (and occlusal surface). At first I discounted equine incisors as they are wider at the top but looking closer at some images of complete equine incisors they are much more narrow where they pack together closely into the front of the mandible. I'm guessing this is just the bottom half of horse incisor.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[digit]

49 minutes ago, Harry Pristis said:

My guess is that the second mystery object is an osteoderm from a glyptodont.  For comparison:

 

That would be spectacular! I've found the occasional carapace osteoderm of Glyptodon (and related Holmesina) which are always nice to see appear in a sifting screen. I'll have to sort through my other large osteoderms that look similar to this one and see if I've had any tail osteoderms hiding in my collection masquerading as giant tortoise.

 

Made my day (and made this the trip-maker find for Saturday).

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Shellseeker]

22 hours ago, digit said:

We found several horse cheek teeth (mostly the more narrow lowers). Nothing spectacular but a couple with some nice complete roots and decent occlusal surfaces. I also found an odd little tooth that I'm thinking might possibly be an incisor. I haven't gone through my identification books yet to try to find a match but I'm wondering if it might be horse as well.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a link that seems (to me) to have some similarities to this find.   Jack

http://www.blackriverfossils.org/MarineMammal/Metaxytheriumsp/tabid/53/Fossils/3738/Default.aspx