Back in the Callovian woods

[Ptychodus04]

@Ludwigia Roger, these are simply gorgeous! Stellar preparation as always.

 

Well done.

[Ludwigia]

5 hours ago, jewelonly said:

Oh my word!!! These are beautiful!!! I love seeing the before and after pics showing the transformation. Looking forward to seeing them all!

 

Leah

 

3 hours ago, Monica said:

WOW!!!!! 

 

Thanks, Ladies I sure do love those German Middle Jurassic Ammos. I find that the predominant brown shades and the calcitic preservation tends to bring out the best in them.

 

 

1 hour ago, Ptychodus04 said:

@Ludwigia Roger, these are simply gorgeous! Stellar preparation as always.

 

Well done.

 

Thanks, Kris. Can't wait to get back from work this afternoon to tackle the next batch.

[Kane]

These are excellent finds (and exquisite prep, of course), Roger. 

 

The scale on some of those is quite a sight to see! And there is more to prep, you say? 

[JimB88]

Awesome stuff Roger and excellent prep! Are those iron ooliths I see on the last piece before prep?

[Fossildude19]

 

Amazing work, Roger.  

Thanks for posting these. 
Always a treat to see your ammos!

[Ludwigia]

10 hours ago, Kane said:

These are excellent finds (and exquisite prep, of course), Roger. 

 

The scale on some of those is quite a sight to see! And there is more to prep, you say? 

 

1 hour ago, JimB88 said:

Awesome stuff Roger and excellent prep! Are those iron ooliths I see on the last piece before prep?

 

47 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

Amazing work, Roger.  

Thanks for posting these. 
Always a treat to see your ammos!

 

Thanks guys. Glad you're enjoying this. I certainly am! Jim, you're seeing right. These layers were mined in southern Germany from the middle ages up into the last century.

 

Well, I managed to get two more done today. First another Macrocephalites, although I'm not quite sure which species yet. The second one is, I believe, a Choffatia sp. I still have a hard time disinguishing between that genus and Homeoplanulites, since there are so many different subgenuses and variations which cross over. Ammonite specialists have been bumping them back and forth for years.

 

 

 

I left a little matrix pedestal on this one so it can stand up for itself.

 

[Monica]

Wow again, Roger!!!  Keep 'em coming!!! 

 

(I still love how colourful these guys are!  Viola and I continue to admire the ones we bought from you earlier in the year - so pretty!!!)

[Ludwigia]

1 hour ago, Monica said:

Wow again, Roger!!!  Keep 'em coming!!! 

 

(I still love how colourful these guys are!  Viola and I continue to admire the ones we bought from you earlier in the year - so pretty!!!)

 

We have the iron to thank for those wonderful colors. 

[Monica]

1 hour ago, Ludwigia said:

 

We have the iron to thank for those wonderful colors. 

Thanks for the link, Roger - iron-based compounds do indeed make wonderful colours!

 

I also recently learned that "fool's gold" (i.e. pyrite) is also an iron-based compound (specifically iron(II) persulfide with the chemical formula FeS₂).  I learned this thanks to @GeschWhat's illustrated book about coprolite that I received as a prize for TFF's most recent fossil-themed poetry contest - thanks, Lori! 

[JohnBrewer]

Fraud I say. The rough matrix ammos can't possibly the same as the prepped ones.

 

superb job Roger.

[Ludwigia]

18 hours ago, JohnBrewer said:

Fraud I say. The rough matrix ammos can't possibly the same as the prepped ones.

 

superb job Roger.

 

Well, I haven't been booked for it yet, so I guess it's still safe to carry on

Thanks, John

 

I decided to have a go at this one next. It didn't look quite right, so I was curious to see what was inside.

 

Sure enough, it is somewhat deformed, but interesting enough at any rate. Another Choffatia sp.

 

 

The next one is a Homeoplanulites sp.

 

 

Every once in a while, one of these Pygomalis ovalis Echinoids pops out.

 

 

I'm pretty sure that I've finally found a definite Macrocephalites verus. It differs from M. cf. jacquoti in that the whorl breadth is narrower. It also appears to have an anomaly with the ribs on the venter. There are also crossover forms, but I think I've found the real thing this time.

 

 

[Pilobolus]

Unreal!

[Ludwigia]

13 minutes ago, Pilobolus said:

Unreal!

 

That's a good way of putting it 

[Fossildude19]

[ynot]

1 hour ago, Ludwigia said:

 

 

Pathologic?

 

Nice either way!

[Ludwigia]

29 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

 

I'm not done yet...and when I'm finished with this batch, I'll be heading back into the hills for hopefully more.

 

1 minute ago, ynot said:

Pathologic?

 

Nice either way!

 

That's what I'm thinking at this point.

[JimB88]

I second Tim....

[Ludwigia]

4 hours ago, JimB88 said:

I second Tim....

 

[Ludwigia]

We went out to the movies this evening, so I just managed to get one done. Another Homeoplanulites sp.

 

[Pilobolus]

On 7/13/2017 at 1:17 PM, Ludwigia said:

 

That's a good way of putting it 

Have you ever prepp'd one of Pfooley's Spathites puercoensis? Invariably, there is a mud plug of the inner whorl, and either it is too cemented on the hard samples to remove, or on the friable samples, leads to destruction...this is because I don't have any delicate tools, but would be interested to see a prepped one of those some day.

[Ludwigia]

7 minutes ago, Pilobolus said:

Have you ever prepp'd one of Pfooley's Spathites puercoensis? Invariably, there is a mud plug of the inner whorl, and either it is too cemented on the hard samples to remove, or on the friable samples, leads to destruction...this is because I don't have any delicate tools, but would be interested to see a prepped one of those some day.

 

As a matter of fact I have, since we traded a few years back.  2 of them. I used air pen and abrader.

 

 

[jewelonly]

Roger, the exquisite detail as well as the color on every one of these is astonishing!!! I am curious about the matrix you find these in since you seem to perform magic in just a few hours from the "before" to stunning "after" condition. So glad you are going back so this addictive thread can continue.  

You know, I believe I could be developing a financially unhealthy regard for ammonites!! 

 

Leah

[Ludwigia]

9 hours ago, jewelonly said:

Roger, the exquisite detail as well as the color on every one of these is astonishing!!! I am curious about the matrix you find these in since you seem to perform magic in just a few hours from the "before" to stunning "after" condition. So glad you are going back so this addictive thread can continue.  

You know, I believe I could be developing a financially unhealthy regard for ammonites!! 

 

Leah

 

The matrix of the horizon in which they were found varies substantally in the horizontal. The fossils are preserved in a clay layer lying directly above an extremely hard sandy iron-rich limestone. The clay is too soft at many ponts for an optimal preservation and sometimes it's been transformed into sinter due to the circulaton of calcite solutions. I was lucky enough to have found a 2 meter long section where the clay was sufficiently hardened by the penetrating calcite to have protected the fossils from dissolution. The layer in this section is almost concretionary. I could imagine that this was a sort of pothole on the ocean floor where the shells of the deceased creatures were swept in by the currents and then buried under the sediment. Now that I've determined the breadth of the section, I intend to go back there for another dig to determine the depth of it, which means first removing a lot of overburden. Thank goodness that consists mainly of soft clay, but it'll nevertheless be a lot of work.

 

[jewelonly]

 

4 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

 

The matrix of the horizon in which they were found varies substantally in the horizontal. The fossils are preserved in a clay layer lying directly above an extremely hard sandy iron-rich limestone. The clay is too soft at many ponts for an optimal preservation and sometimes it's been transformed into sinter due to the circulaton of calcite solutions. I was lucky enough to have found a 2 meter long section where the clay was sufficiently hardened by the penetrating calcite to have protected the fossils from dissolution. The layer in this section is almost concretionary. I could imagine that this was a sort of pothole on the ocean floor where the shells of the deceased creatures were swept in by the currents and then buried under the sediment. Now that I've determined the breadth of the section, I intend to go back there for another dig to determine the depth of it, which means first removing a lot of overburden. Thank goodness that consists mainly of soft clay, but it'll nevertheless be a lot of work.

 

 

Thank you for the explanation, Roger. After removing the overburden and determining the depth, I hope you discover that the deposit area is even larger than you've surmised!  

 

Leah

[Ludwigia]

6 hours ago, jewelonly said:

 

 

Thank you for the explanation, Roger. After removing the overburden and determining the depth, I hope you discover that the deposit area is even larger than you've surmised!  

 

Leah

 

Thanks. I'm crossing my fingers, although I've learned over the years not to expect too much. Then you're always happy with what you've found.

 

I had a bit more time available today, so I managed to finish off 4 of them. All different species. The first is a Homeoplanulites sp., then comes a Choffatia sp. Both came out more or less at the same spot and both have dissolved inner whorls on one side. Then come 2 Macrocephalites, the first being my first specimen of the subgenus Kamptokephalites sp. It's missing a bit of shell, but that's ok by me. The second one is a somewhat deformed M. cf. jaquoti/verus transitional form.