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May 2017 Finds of the Month


Fossildude19

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April showers bring ... May Fossils?    :headscratch: Something like that. :P 

 

Last month there were many great entries. I wonder if we will have as many great finds this month? 

Let's hope so, at least. :D

 

 

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 May 31st.

 

 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.
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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. Photos of the winning specimens may be posted to TFF's Facebook page.

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

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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             Would like to enter my associated ground sloth claw core and phalanx found on May 6 in a SW Florida creek for VFOTM, it would be Pleistocene in age. Hoping to get a more positive ID on it before too long so if you have any suggestions feel free:)

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Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I have to try to give Jeff, JCBshark, a run for his money. I found this juvenile mastodon tooth in the pleistocene river gravel of the Brazos River in central Texas on May 5, 2017. I had to do one small repair to the root as a piece crumbled off upon extraction. Enjoy!

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Wow Gary, beautiful find!!!! Love the colors, Congrats:) yet another thing still in my list

Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!

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Great finds posted so far. I'll toss in something a little older for VFOTM. Clidastes (Mosasaur) jaw section with multiple replacement teeth. Found on May 16. North Sulphur River Texas, Ozan Formation, Late Cretaceous. I still need to prep it out a little so to show more of the replacement teeth.

 

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I would like to submit a plant fossil for IPFOTM of May 2017. This Archaeopteris macilenta frond was found on a DVPS field trip May 13th, 2017 at "Red Hill" Pennsylvania.

It is Late Devonian in age (360 MYO) and came out of the Catskill Group, Duncannon Formation, Oxbow Lake Member (the Green Shales). The final prepping was done by May 17th by cutting two big blocks into two thin tablets. Enjoy my find.

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Invertebrate

 

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Collignoniceras sp. 

Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Carlile Shale

New Mexico, USA

Discovered: May 14th, 2017

 

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"I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?"  ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) 

 

New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins    

 

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I'm finally going to try my hand at the Invert. of the month category. This coral head is the 2nd largest I've found with good botryoidal structures. The largest now resides in the Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences (MOAS). This head was found by me on May15th, 2017, opened and cleaned today May 20th. It was found in Oligocene sediments in the Withlacoochee River, Lowndes County, GA. I've provided 3 views since the entire head is hollow and has 3 viewing widows. The head measures 15"x16"x9" overall.

 

Hope you like it.

 

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3 hours ago, Sacha said:

Here's a better photo for size reference.

 

DSCF1443.thumb.jpg.0b6caeb5e79b6177df7898c5ab92b694.jpg

...and boom goes the dynamite

...I'm back.

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That is an awesome find John! 

Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!

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Some pretty nice entries this month, but I think this can top them ;). I found them over the weekend (5/21/17) from the Pocono Group in Maryland, lower Mississippian (Tournaisian-lower Visean). The land fossils of the Mississippian are rarely seen, especially lower Mississippian ones. These fossils represent the earliest land community in this area of the world after the end Devonian extinction events, and mark an important transition away from the flora of Devonian forests into the coal forests of the later Pennsylvanian. The preservation of these fossils is quite rare for most Mississippian plants, however at this site many different species can be found in such a way due to the conditions they were preserved in.

 

It's a plate with three different plant species, all preserved in fine detail in a shiny carbon mineral, however two of the specimens are pyritized as well, giving them a nice golden sheen. The species are:

 

The largest plant, the big segment of bark looking structure, is Lepidondedropsis sigilaroides. Although it may look deformed, that is how the species looks like naturally (lacking the clear diamond marks of other lepidonderons). Note the well defined marks from the bark on this specimen, represented by the many fine lines visible in the close up.

 

 

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The second species is also a pyritized one. Lepidondedropsis vandergrachti.

 

 

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I'll throw in another entry for VFOTM. Stratodus palatine bone. North Sulphur River Texas. Ozan Formation.  Found May 22. It must be rare at NSR because it's the first one I've found in 2 yrs of intense hunting. :) 

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Hi all, 

 

I found this on Stonebarrow beach, Charmouth, Jurassic coast UK at the start of the month - it is a Eteoderoceras obesum measuring 10.5cm. I found it in a small Eoderoceras bed in the shale that had not been touched by the sea yet. Usually spines like this are lost but this one looked special I decided to have a go at prepping it. I found that beyond the iron pyrite shell there were some excellent calcite spines! 

 

It is the best pyrite ammonite I have found for quite some time and it is very unusual to find this quality so I thought I would share it as a contender for invertebrate fossil of the month. 

Sinemurian, Early Jurassic (195 mill y)

 

Thanks 

Lizzie

 

 

 

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On 5/21/2017 at 10:41 PM, Darktooth said:

My entry for invertebrate fossil is a Dipleura dekayi trilobite found today at Deep Springs Road. The only prep was splitting some shale covering part of the cephalon and thorax. At this point the trilo popped off the matrix whole, except for a tiny piece of pygidium.  I superglued it back in place. 

Dipleura dekayi Trilobite 

Deep Springs Road Quarry

Earlville, New York

Middle Devonian

Windom shale

Moscow formation

Hamilton group

Found:5/21/17

I wanted to add that the trilo measures1 1/2 inches from tip of cephalon to the curve of thorax and pygidium.  It then measures 3/4 inch from top of curve to the tip of pygidium. 

 

 

It came out real nice, Dave! 
Congratulations again, on a great find. 

:wub: 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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@Fossildude19 Thanks Tim! I knew that with persistence, I would eventually be rewarded!:D Judging from all of the contenders, May has proved to be a great month for fossil hunting!

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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My previous entry was that of a double Eldredgeops rana plate (one near prone and the other an inverted roller) masterfully prepared by @Malcolmt but it seems that I'll have to up the fossil for this month in order to stay on top of all this competition!

 

New entry for IPFOTM:

 

Description:

Devonian trilobite from New York discovered April 17 and preparation was completed May 23. This species is one of the rarest trilobites in the world and similar in appearance to the Greenops boothi. Amazingly I noticed one online a few weeks ago going for a thousand US dollars, but this one is not for sale.

 

Species: Bellacartwrightia whitelyi

 

Location: Blasdell, New York

 

Geology: 

Moscow Formation
Windom Shale
Hamilton Group
Penn Dixie Quarry

 

Prepared by: Malcolm @Malcolmt

 

Before preparation the pygidium was the only visible segment of the trilobite:

 

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Another view before preparation:

 

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Once prepared the pygidium and attached central piece is visible and the specimen is slightly enrolled. Bellacartwrightia have axial lobe bumps that are not present in Greenops. Large genal spines are also visible.

 

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Genal spines, a cephalon, and multifaceted eyes are all present in this rare trilobite that is a member of the Phacopida (lens face) order of trilobites:

 

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Top view of the head plate. The right genal spine is resting on the shale. Bellacartwrightia have a small spine towards the back of the cephalon that is visible in this photograph (middle of the picture).

 

bella_front_1.jpg

Do or do not. There is no try. - Yoda

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Fossil-Hound comes out swinging!

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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