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Sharks of SC

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Hello Everyone! 

I can honestly, finally, say that I'm beginning to figure out the fossil-enigma that is Summerville, SC. It is a strange land where fossil deposits start and end within a matter of feet - a few inches of glorious gravel separating the sandy, ghostly-grey Chandler Bridge and the compact brownish marl of the Ashley Formation. If, by some miracle, you can find a ditch with the exact right depth, enough width, a little flowing water within a fossil-bearing strata that hasn't been hit by a million other collectors, you just might be able to put something together. 

Thanks to some nasty weather and a couple of days off of work, I've managed to finally find some spots that fit the bill. The finds pictured below come from two creeks (of maybe 15 that I checked) over the course of the last two days. The angustidens were the obvious gems, with one shamer nearly four inches long and nearly four inches wide! 

All-in-all, its been a great couple of days and I couldn't be happier with my success. I'll be planning another trip in the near future!

Take care and as always..

Happy hunting,

SOSC

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Very nicely done!

Don't know much about history

Don't know much biology

Don't know much about science books.........

Sam Cooke - (What A) Wonderful World

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Those are some beautiful teeth:envy:

Definitely worth the effort of finding the places!

“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

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Those teeth are truly screamers, honestly my favorite one is the angu with the broken tip. So lucky that you live near one of the best meg hotspots...

If you're a fossil nut from Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Redondo Beach, or Torrance, feel free to shoot me a PM!

 

 

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So I'm curious why you say find a ditch?  Do you need to overburden removed by several feet or are you looking in old riverbeds?

 

Do you guys probe the ground before digging (using a rod to pierce the soil seeking "gravel" as we do in FL)?

 

The depositions abruptly start and stop.  Is this a result of river or ocean currents pooling materials?

 

Love the pictures, some nice prizes there!

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22 minutes ago, Calvin Jenkins said:

Do you guys probe the ground before digging

I don't believe digging is allowed in Summerville.

“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

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Awesome finds!

Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Beautiful finds, those angys are sweet:fistbump:

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

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7 hours ago, Calvin Jenkins said:

So I'm curious why you say find a ditch?  Do you need to overburden removed by several feet or are you looking in old riverbeds?

 

Do you guys probe the ground before digging (using a rod to pierce the soil seeking "gravel" as we do in FL)?

 

The depositions abruptly start and stop.  Is this a result of river or ocean currents pooling materials?

 

Love the pictures, some nice prizes there!

Hey Calvin,

The ditches are important because the fossil-bearing deposits in the Summerville area can be 10 ft deep or more in places. So creeks, streams, ditches, or recently-dug ponds are about the only opportunity to find the good stuff exposed. Additionally, I think a lot of the more substantial waterways are frequented by fossil hunters, so the smaller, overgrown ditches are typically your best bet here. 

As far as probing goes, the fossil-bearing sediments go down as far as the Ashley Formation locally, which is a hard, compact "marl". As a result, a lot of the most productive spots that I've seen have only a few inches of sediment over the hard bottom of the creek....you could pretty effectively probe with a toothpick. 

Finally about the sporadic nature of the deposits - I think this is likely the result of areas having been eroded and redeposited time and time again over the course of millions of years...but this is a subject on which I know less than I'd like. All I can say is that two creeks, one hundred feet apart with the same depth can have two totally different compositions.

hope this answers your questions.

take care,

SOSC

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Yeah! That's the way to do it.  Keep lookin. Big teeth are on the horizon.

 

Luck is the most important skill of a fossil diver.

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That little cream colored angy is beautiful. To me, the best of the bunch.

Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt
behind the trailer, my desert
Them red clay piles are heaven on earth
I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt

Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers

 

image.png.0c956e87cee523facebb6947cb34e842.png May 2016  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png.b42a25e3438348310ba19ce6852f50c1.png May 2012 IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png.1721b8912c45105152ac70b0ae8303c3.png.2b6263683ee32421d97e7fa481bd418a.pngAug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png.af5065d0585e85f4accd8b291bf0cc2e.png.72a83362710033c9bdc8510be7454b66.png.9171036128e7f95de57b6a0f03c491da.png Oct 2022

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  • 1 month later...

Awesome finds, and definitely worth the efforts. I too have noticed Summerville has been picked over quite a bit not to mention the remnants of people that jump into the ditches and begin digging away at the banks causing them to cave in eventually. Ive moved to a different area, lots more work and hours finding areas but worth it and I do not see evidence of disrespect.

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