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Teaching an old dog new tricks


Darktooth

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In a couple days is my birthday, and this year I will be 50. For the past couple weeks I have thought a lot about all of my successes in life, as well as my failers. As a husband, father, fisherman, fossil hunter. As well as just a human being. But as far as a fossil hunter, collector and enthusiast, one of my biggest failers is that I have not learned enough about the fossils I collect in my region. I have stated before in other post that I am not really that interested in brachiopods, gastropods, bivalves, etc. But I have come to realize that is not a good reason to not try to identify those things that I find, wether or not I decide to keep them. I want to become more educated about life from the past. And that may should include all fossils. Not just the ones I am after. So when my wife asked what I wanted for my birthday I told her I would like The Fossil Guide to Devonian fossils of New York by Karl A. Wilson. I was really happy when it showed up a couple days ago. I have already identified a few things that I have been curious about for years. I really don't know why it has taken me this long to want to know more about the fossils from my area. And, I really should clarify that, it is not that I don't find certain fossils interesting. That was a poor choice of words. I find all fossils interesting. But I do favor certain fossils over others and I tend to focus only on the fossils I am after and ignore the others unless I can't find the fossils I want. That is going to change. Not only for myself but as a member of the forum.

 

 

 

 

 

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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hey ,if you are a failure,I am one,too;) Bit of soulsearching never did anybody any harm,BTW

 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, doushantuo said:

hey ,if you are a failure,I am one,too;) Bit of soulsearching never did anybody any harm,BTW

Thanks doushantuo! 

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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I am interested in way too may aspects of geology.

That's the trouble with me,I'm all over the place:P

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor paleontologist cartoon satire

 

 

 

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Kudos. I think it's a good idea to not overlook whole groups of life in collecting fossils. You never know when you might come across something new if you can't distinguish it from other similar things. I tend to avoid learning anything about vertebrates, partly because vertebrate remains aren't exactly thick on the ground in my collecting areas, partly because there are so many other collectors interested in them, and partly because I can't fathom learning to tell what I'm looking at when I find an isolated tooth or fragment of bone. But I always pick these things up whenever I do find them because I know others are interested in them and you never know when such a thing might be important...

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I am guilty of this, as well. But hey, I live in Fl! All the dirt fill roads are marine fossils (and limestone) I do hunt those miniature conch looking shells in the 3-4 ounce range for sling bullets. One flying on a parabolic arch for 200 yards at 100 MPH is a beautiful sight! I like to think they have been waiting on me to give them 4 seconds of glorious flight, for millions of years!:megdance:

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Dave - 

Happy Upcoming Birthday! :) 

I just reached the 50 club recently myself. 

 

Don't feel bad at all - many of us don't really start becoming interested in all of the flora or fauna in our areas, until a couple of years in. 

This was my case in relation to New York State fossils, at least. 

 

Karl Wilson's guide is a must have (in my opinion) for anyone collecting the New York Devonian Exposures.

It covers lower, middle, and upper Devonian fauna.


Oh, ... and make sure to get that AARP card  - lots of discounts. :P  ;) 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

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Here's a proactive happy 50th. Congrats on the Wilson book score. I have one too and use it more than I expected. Very handy guide! Yes, it would be good to take advantage of the bio-diversity of sites like Deep Springs Road which I feel is their main attraction. Still, I get very excited when I find a complete Greenops or Dipleura. You are very fortunate to have easy access to those sites in Madison County.

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Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Congrats on the big five-o.  You shouldn't regard not knowing much about brachiopods etc as a failure, but rather as an opportunity for growth.  It's very much to your credit that you recognize this and have embraced it.

 

Also it seems, from reading your trip reports, that you have a great relationship with your kids, and in my opinion that is the greatest success one can have in life.

 

Don

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TFF-Brachs---50s.gif.dfe12bf342dabd5bdd1d21136e46f9a3.gif

Happy 50th, Dave. I'm betting you have a heck of a lot more successes than failures. In any case, I think "shortcomings" might be a better word than failures, but even then, you're way ahead. That field guide's a great present. I bought one for myself last year. I still want to know everything too, but I'm finding that I can't retain as much as I used to, not even a brew or two, unfortunately. 

 

Mike

Start the day with a smile and get it over with.

 

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Thanks Don and Mike. Well I have decided to use this post to show my progress as I learn. I want to start off with two items that I had no idea what kind of lifeform they were, let alone species. But after i looked in my trusty field guide, "TADAAA!" It turns out they are Promatis patulus, a Gastrpod. They are fairly common at the Cole Hill Roadcut.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Next up is another fairly common gastro from Cole Hill. I believe to my judgement that this is Bembexia sulcomarginata. Please feel free to correct me in any of these upcoming posts, as this is part of the learning process. And some species look so similar it will be hard to differentiate. 

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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This next one, my son Devin found yesterday and he was really happy with it. It is Glyptomaria capillaria

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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This next one is tough but I am going with Paleozygopleura hamiltonie.This is also a Devin find.

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Next up I will try some Brachiopods.

Eatonia medialis

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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Hi Dave,

You're 100% right on with the gastropod IDs. Congrats. However, the brachiopod I believe is Camarotoechia congreta. I'm guessing you found those at Cole Hill where they are fairly abundant. Eatonia medialis is a Lower Devonian brach. There are lots of brachs that look pretty similar. Anxious to see more of your Middle Devonian collection.

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2 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

Hi Dave,

You're 100% right on with the gastropod IDs. Congrats. However, the brachiopod I believe is Camarotoechia congreta. I'm guessing you found those at Cole Hill where they are fairly abundant. Eatonia medialis is a Lower Devonian brach. There are lots of brachs that look pretty similar. Anxious to see more of your Middle Devonian collection.

Thank-you for the correction Jeff! And yes I did find those at Cole Hill. I am going to try and add atleast a couple a night. I finally found boxes of stuff that I forgot I had that were hidden away. 

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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On 24/04/2017 at 3:43 AM, doushantuo said:

I am interested in way too may aspects of geology.

That's the trouble with me,I'm all over the place:P

Afbeeldingsresultaat voor paleontologist cartoon satire

I'm the one 4th from the back :rofl:

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Well so much for adding a couple every night I have been to busy the past couple days. But there will be more to come soon!

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I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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:popcorn: I do like those exquisite little snails. Preservation is good there. Similar items from my local Cretaceous can be preserved quite well too but often deformed.

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3 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

:popcorn: I do like those exquisite little snails. Preservation is good there. Similar items from my local Cretaceous can be preserved quite well too but often deformed.

I tend to favor the gastros over brachs and bivalves. But they are by far much less abundant.

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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That seems to be normal. I like all of them if they are preserved well enough, and the brachs and bv's can have nice ornamentation too.

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