My second trip to the Calvert Cliffs

[Kurt Komoda]

The mother of pearl isn't even attached to anything. You'll see a 2 x 2" patch of it, but it's just attached to the clay. Strip away the clay and the paper-thin layer of mother of pearl crumbles.

Thanks, everyone, for the comments and compliments on the finds! Can't wait to go back and try again. Hope to see some of you out there at some point. Is there some sort of secret handshake?

[doushantuo]

If only because C nefrens is not rare in that Formation.

I posted the Scaflani thesis a while back,BTW(or think I did)

vide infra

->Landmarks in Chesapecten biometry(SCLAFANI)<-

[Fossil-Hound]

21 minutes ago, Kurt Komoda said:

The mother of pearl isn't even attached to anything. You'll see a 2 x 2" patch of it, but it's just attached to the clay. Strip away the clay and the paper-thin layer of mother of pearl crumbles.

Thanks, everyone, for the comments and compliments on the finds! Can't wait to go back and try again. Hope to see some of you out there at some point. Is there some sort of secret handshake?

 

Those are Chesapecten and other shells stacked on top of each other. You should be able to see a thin white layer in the Calvert Formation.

[Fossil-Hound]

19 minutes ago, doushantuo said:

If only because C nefrens is not rare in that Formation.

I posted the Scaflani thesis a while back,BTW(or think I did)

The pectinids seem to be the subjects of a (large scale?)(ongoing?) sclerochronological/Neogene climate change study by Schone(Schoene)/Leng/Johnson

vide infra

->Landmarks in Chesapecten biometry(SCLAFANI)<-

 

Yss the left fin is more accentuated than the right when facing the outside of the mollusk looking down. Different Chesapecten species are noted by their fin geometry. So during the Neogene there seems to have been a spike in temperatures resulting in more favorable food items for the mollusks.

[doushantuo]

You read the Goewert thesis?

[doushantuo]

I found this morsel(non-peer reviewed,is my guess)

 

[doushantuo]

!

(nice figurations/depictions/-uknowhatimean) of European Pliocene pectinids)

[Kurt Komoda]

I may go back tomorrow. Might try going further south to Calvert Cliffs State Park.

[Fossil-Hound]

On 7/10/2017 at 10:11 PM, Kurt Komoda said:

I may go back tomorrow. Might try going further south to Calvert Cliffs State Park.

 

Please post some pictures. I was there a few days ago and the tides and overall conditions where unfavorable. There are newly fallen trees and I'm nervous that the high tides will trigger more cliff fallings.

[Woopaul5]

On 6/22/2017 at 6:47 AM, Kurt Komoda said:

 

 Thank you for this information!

 I found the epiphysis cookie on top of one of the landslides. I had no idea what it was, but it definitely looked to be worth keeping. Now, I need to find an intact specimen.

 

I hope you get to visit the cliffs, Doctor Mud! I live in Central Jersey, so it's a 3.5 hour drive for me. I'm about half an hour from the Big Brook fossil site, though. I've only found handfuls of Belemnites, but I still think they're pretty cool. I found a pretty big one on Monday.

 

 

Sweet finds! I'm in south jersey and go to raminessin brook quite often and actually make the long journey to Calvert cliffs almost on a weekly basis. Really love that area and gets me out and about. 

[Kurt Komoda]

13 hours ago, Fossil-Hound said:

 

Please post some pictures. I was there a few days ago and the tides and overall conditions where unfavorable. There are newly fallen trees and I'm nervous that the high tides will trigger more cliff fallings.

Here is yesterday's haul. It looks impressive at first glance, but these are TINY. For scale reference, the upper left most tooth (Shortfin Mako?) is one inch long. Below that one are two tiny cetacean teeth of some sort.

 

I think those newly fallen trees might have fallen just before my last trip, just after the weekend of storms down there. That's where the landslides looked fresh and had a lot of the things I found just sitting on top of them. Yesterday, the landslides were completely dry and showed nothing on their surface. Digging through the hard clay was a futile effort.

 

My plan was to arrive about 3 hours before low tide,so I'd have some good hunting time before the tide started coming in, but with my 3.5 hour drive and unexpected traffic delays, that didn't work out. I got there pretty much during the slack water at low tide and had to deal with the tide coming in. Met a veteran shark tooth hunter named John. An older fella who took the time to show me some neat tips on finding the teeth- like standing in the water, facing inland, and watching where the lapping water pushed the debris up, keeping a sharp eye out for the characteristic tumbling motion of the thorn-shaped teeth. Speaking of a sharp eye, John was just picking teeth up left and right as he talked and he had a good collection of at least quarter-sized teeth that he had already found. He said that he experienced the same thing when his friend first took him out, with his friend just picking teeth up from right under his feet, and that over time you just have to develop an eye for it.

 

I had felt discourage that the tide was coming in, so I wasn't walking the shoreline looking for teeth and had decided to concentrate on a small area with my sifter. I gather that sifting isn't the recommended method at the Calvert Cliffs. I mean, I found a lot, but search small find small. John had found those good-sized teeth under the very same conditions. So, next time, I'll work on walking the shoreline and developing that quick eye. 

 

@Woopaul5 I have yet to get to Ramanessin, but it's so relatively close I should definitely go.

[ynot]

Nice group of finds!

Thanks for sharing.

[Fossil-Hound]

@Kurt Komoda yes indeed it takes a lot of work to train the eye. Last month I found seven cowshark and a ton of large Hemi and Mako in the surf and when two guys came up to me to ask me if I found anything significant and I showed them my finds this far they where in awe. It takes a lot of patience and effort to find good teeth. As for sifting that trick works but is very innefective unless done just right. If you have a stormy day where the water is murky then shoveling up sand and shells will reveal some teeth but if you can get out on a clear day when the water is clearer you'll see them a few inches under the surf. Suffers work great for murky river shovel sifting. Some of my best finds where about an inch under water. As you collect more teeth you'll know what shapes and sizes to expect of each species. Looks like the upper left is a Hemipristis serra. Cetacean teeth are not easy to find and those are nice teeth. You also have some hammerhead teeth. Nice finds. Keep an eye out for Ecphora in the fall out next time you go. There are some big ones in there.

[Kurt Komoda]

Thanks for the advice @Fossil-Hound. I wish I didn't have to drive 3.5 hours to get there, otherwise I'd get more practice. Hotels in the area aren't cheap, but I might do that in the future and stay a couple days and check out some of the other sites along the bay. I also want to head further south into Virginia and then eventually South Carolina. I'll be there for the eclipse in August, but I don't know if I'll have time to go hunting.

Now, as for storing these...friends keep asking, "What are you gonna do with all that stuff?" I'm also finding antique bottles that wash up on an island in NY's Jamaica Bay. I was thinking of buying these: https://www.amazon.com/Duofire-Plastic-Storage-Compartments-Containers/dp/B00ENKLJLW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499892777&sr=8-2&keywords=organizer+box

 

Any other suggestions? 

[Kurt Komoda]

Oh wait. Those compartmented organizer boxes are really small (6.77 x 3.94 x 0.87"). I need something bigger.

[ynot]

25 minutes ago, Kurt Komoda said:

Oh wait. Those compartmented organizer boxes are really small (6.77 x 3.94 x 0.87"). I need something bigger.

"Riker mounts" work well for display of shark teeth.

[Kurt Komoda]

Riker mounts are a great idea!

[ynot]

7 minutes ago, Kurt Komoda said:

Riker mounts are a great idea!

Yea, but it was not Mine.

[Fossil-Hound]

53 minutes ago, Kurt Komoda said:

Thanks for the advice @Fossil-Hound. I wish I didn't have to drive 3.5 hours to get there, otherwise I'd get more practice. Hotels in the area aren't cheap, but I might do that in the future and stay a couple days and check out some of the other sites along the bay. I also want to head further south into Virginia and then eventually South Carolina. I'll be there for the eclipse in August, but I don't know if I'll have time to go hunting.

Now, as for storing these...friends keep asking, "What are you gonna do with all that stuff?" I'm also finding antique bottles that wash up on an island in NY's Jamaica Bay. I was thinking of buying these: https://www.amazon.com/Duofire-Plastic-Storage-Compartments-Containers/dp/B00ENKLJLW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1499892777&sr=8-2&keywords=organizer+box

 

Any other suggestions? 

 

I have mine in Rikers but will post a display later of my first shadow box. I used a hot glue gun to glue the items onto a shadow box with a thin glass sheet. It's packed away but I'll post later. Someday I'll get a few more of those displays as they were really good for gluing and hanging a bunch of teeth. I also found a local artist who did some watercolor art of Hemi, Mako, Megalodon, Ecphora, and various colorful Chesapecten. His prints are very cheap and look great in displays. If you want his information I can get it to you. Each of his 3x5 prints cost about $5 a piece and look really cool. Talk to @SailingAlongToo I was his shark tooth and shell apprentice as he has years of experience and his mentor is a doctor of marine biology who is an expert on Ecphora. I forget his name though. Keep looking for Ecphora. You could find a new species and they are gorgeous.

[Woopaul5]

I use a lot of riker mounts and different size gem jars or gem displays of some sort.

 

 

[SailingAlongToo]

@Fossil-Hound and @Kurt Komoda

 

Here is a great way to display your multiple species of Chesapectens together.  A $4 frame, matting material that accentuates your fossil color (colored Formica lamenent works really well), a gorgeous Pecten & a tube of silicone caulk is all you need.

 

They make really awesome presents too and can be displayed hanging or as a stand up frame.

 

Shark teeth look really good like this AND most importantly, the silicone caulk peels off really easy if you goof up or change your mind.

 

 

Picture doesn't do them justice.

 

Cheers,

 

SA2

[RCW3D]

Nice haul! Congratulations!

[Fossil-Hound]

1 hour ago, SailingAlongToo said:

@Fossil-Hound and @Kurt Komoda

 

Here is a great way to display your multiple species of Chesapectens together.  A $4 frame, matting material that accentuates your fossil color (colored Formica lamenent works really well), a gorgeous Pecten & a tube of silicone caulk is all you need.

 

They make really awesome presents too and can be displayed hanging or as a stand up frame.

 

Shark teeth look really good like this AND most importantly, the silicone caulk peels off really easy if you goof up or change your mind.

 

 

Picture doesn't do them justice.

 

Cheers,

 

SA2

Wow those look gorgeous. Where does one purchase all these materials? Also what finish did you recommend for brushing onto Chesapecten? I think I'll start making these and giving them away when I go out to the west. I would like to print a fancy brass label for each frame. Might even sell some because I have a bunch of large ones that I don't know what to do with. That black one you have top left is mighty fine. Really going to miss hunting for these beauties.

[SailingAlongToo]

6 minutes ago, Fossil-Hound said:

Wow those look gorgeous. Where does one purchase all these materials? Also what finish did you recommend for brushing onto Chesapecten? I think I'll start making these and giving them away when I go out to the west. I would like to print a fancy brass label for each frame. Might even sell some because I have a bunch of large ones that I don't know what to do with. That black one you have top left is mighty fine. Really going to miss hunting for these beauties.

 

Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, etc.

All can be done with hand tools, if you get store to make a few cuts on Formica. Works out around <$6.50 per completed frame (not counting cost of hunting fossils, which OF COURSE, is love not a cost.)

@Fossil-Hound that Paleontologist you couldn't remember, Dr. Lauck W. Ward, gave those (and some more) to Mrs. SA2 as a wedding present. Obviously, I have no say in placement. I just happily hamner nails where she marks. 

[Fossil-Hound]

4 minutes ago, SailingAlongToo said:

 

Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, etc.

All can be done with hand tools, if you get store to make a few cuts on Formica. Works out around <$6.50 per completed frame (not counting cost of hunting fossils, which OF COURSE, is love not a cost.)

@Fossil-Hound that Paleontologist you couldn't remember, Dr. Lauck W. Ward, gave those (and some more) to Mrs. SA2 as a wedding present. Obviously, I have no say in placement. I just happily hamner nails where she marks. 

 

Dr. Ward is a generous man. Those shells are massive and of all different colors. I really wish my wife was into it as much as I  but that's alright. Really beautiful placement. My goal is to decorate our new home with such displays. That artwork I acquired will look really good. Perhaps TFF needs a new section entitled Application of Fossils.