Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 2017 was a fun collecting year, but not without its challenges. A ruptured water heater flooded part of our house, and as a DIY kind of guy, I tore out the flooring and put down travertine. During this season of domesticity, I was forced to survive on gastropods alone as they occasionally presented in the travertine. 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Eventually I did make it to the field, and over the course of the year faced off with what the field presents, some predictable, some not. The guys trying to steal my old truck didn't expect to find a heavy chain padlocked between my steering wheel and passenger side door handle, and fortunately abandoned their efforts. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Now on to the fun part. But first, a word from our sponsors. While I do have some sites that I share with folks on occasion, unfortunately, the sites involved in this report didn't make that list. Some are places where I'm piecing together a single animal, while others were friends' honey holes shared with me in strict confidence. Thanks for understanding and respecting. The photos to follow aren't intended to show everything for the year, but rather to highlight what what had personal significance: First finds with new friends, last finds with established friends, finds with my kid, scientific significance vs. aesthetics, diminutive vs. superlative. So please enjoy the window into my year's meanderings. 2 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 Great pic of the snake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Texas feels like Hades in summer, so my boy and I flew up to Seattle to beat the heat, transition some online friendships to the physical realm, and perhaps score a few fossils. Scott Guthrie, AKA CH4ShotCaller here on the Forum, is someone I've been shooting back and forth with for years. When he offered to take Weston and me out crabbing, I accepted, and arrived with a lovely assortment of Texas fossils in hand. Scott is a great guy and took me to sites he said he's taken no one else to in 10 years. I assured him that his secrets were safe with me. Let's take a look at the prep sequence of one of my better Megokkos macrospinus below. 2 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandomas Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 So sorry for your truck Erosion... will be my epitaph! http://www.paleonature.org/ https://fossilnews.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 We got a number of Pulalius vulgaris crabs from the Lincoln Creek Formation throughout the size range. Greatest promise came with the big ole tater sized concretions I was lucky to blind mine. Although I'll need to add finished pics later in this thread, let's have a look at the prep sequence as it stands. 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 The process continues... 2 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 It took me 6 months of lunch hours out behind our building with my air scribe to work through the pile of crab nodules. I'm glad I started with the questionable ones first to build up skill and patience before attempting this Pulalius. I also saw the need to buy a magnifying visor so as not to scar the specimen in process. Guys that prep these crabs all the time possess a level of skill and patience that I struggled to emulate. Hats off to them. 2 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 After cementing my friendship with Scott, Weston and I took the ferry over to Vancouver Island for an afternoon of collecting with Skippy the Fossil Freak, slogging around a local river with him and his dog, Shadow. Skippy was great fun in the field, as was Shadow. That dog actually tried to take one of my ammonites away, and acted like I was pulling a steak from his mouth as I attempted to retrieve it. And the river was so cool and clean and clear, we drank out of it...something I wouldn't attempt in the Trinity River back in Texas. We found some partial heteromorphic ammonites Bostrychoceras among other things, which still require prep. From there we all rolled over to the White Whale, where Rick Ross (fossisle) met us for dinner. The fried oyster and pork belly sandwich was my favorite meal of the whole trip. I should have eaten two of them. But even at one, I had no room for poutine, eh. I'm looking forward to a return trip for another sandwich as well as a tour of Rick's extensive collection, which we were too whipped out tired to see this round. 2 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 A trip to South Florida during the dry season also brought a cornucopia of paleo goodies. First round was with my good friend Rob Carlson in the Peace River. Second leg of the trip also with Rob, shifting to the Inglis Fm for Eocene echinoids. The final leg was with our own Root Admin, Cris, in another productive waterway. I arrived with a pile of Texas fossils, and went home with an embarrassment of riches from Florida. Anytime I can hand off Eos and come home with something smaller, cooler, and easier to store is a win in my book. Let's look at some FL finds. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heteromorph Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 Wonderful report so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 A few more. I'm rather fond of the Holmesina claw core. 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 A few more personal firsts. Turtle jaw. Tortoise spurs. Javelina hoof core. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Now, moving on to the echinoids. Mostly Eutapagus antillarum, but also a Cassidulus in matrix with a big gastropod (Volutamorpha?). Not pictured, Rhycholampas gouldi. 2 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Back to Texas. Let's look at some Eocene stuff. Gar scale, Lepisosteus. Cutlass fish teeth. Bivalves, maybe Venericardia. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Let's go back to the Cretaceous. Upper Cretaceous, to be exact. From the Texas Maastrichtian, a rare Dakoticancer australis with claws, and a Pachydiscus c.f. maconensis. Both made it to the cabinet. 2 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crabfossilsteve Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 Wow Dan, That was an amazing summary of the years finds. I naturally tuned into those lovely crab specimens. Glad Scott took you out to see some secret spots and looks like you got some very nice specimens. That Pulalius is soooo lovely with those colors and had many legs down to the tippy tips. Nice prep. A trip out with Skippy is a real hoot and he has an amazing collection too. Hope you had a chance to see it. Too bad you didn't get the chance to see Rick's collection, but he is a great guy. That Florida collection is truly amazing. A WOW of a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Here's another Upper K ammonite. Nothing ground breaking. Significance: I found it while my wife sent me out shopping. I haven't tried to ID it yet. Might start first by comparing with Texanites. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 More Upper K. First, a rough echinoid Cardiaster deciper from the Campanian. Donated to the MMNS. Next, a mosasaur vert. Condition is nothing special, Significance: First time I visited the site while exploring on a whim nowhere near the NSR. Not from the Ozan either. I get a big kick out of not following the crowd while pursuing my own hunches. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 I dabbled a bit in the Lower K too, mainly for echinoids, most of which are not yet microblasted, so I'll just show a few things in the raw. First, a rare and cute little Protengonoceras ammonite from the Glen Rose Formation. Next, what I believe may be a starfish arm, also from the Glen Rose. Third, a nice Leptosalenia texana echinoid as found by my friend James Cox (jgcox here on TFF). Sadly, he passed away in his sleep from a heart attack a few weeks after his Texas trip. Last, a nice Phymosoma texanum echinoid along a Heteraster texanus bedazzled with marcasite (?). Some friends rolling through from Europe had an open time slot in their itinerary, so I took them to a site I had rested for over a year. Together we foiund 100 Phymosoma. Good times! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 While meandering around the Miocene, I scored a few vert finds including a Pseudohipparion upper molar and distal metapodial as well as some Trionyx turtle frags. Quite pleased with these additions as the Miocene has rather poor surface expression in TX. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimravis Posted December 25, 2017 Share Posted December 25, 2017 Those echinoids are my favorite of your finds- really pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 But my Hoss King Daddy find in the Miocene this year was this fetching 17-18 inch, complete camel radioulna, possibly Alticamelus. Significance: 1. It's Miocene 2. It's complete 3. Great preservation 4. Dug out of the bedded formation 5. New site found while exploring off the beaten path 6, Note the opposing bite marks on the proximal end (elbow) 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted December 25, 2017 Author Share Posted December 25, 2017 Same specimen. 1 Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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