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These finds are from a shelly matrix collected by TFF member Sacha from a spoil pile in the Indian River near Merritt Island, Florida.

As we enter a new calendar year, I realize that I have been working on this matrix for over two years!
 Lest anyone think that I haven't been absorbed in this matrix all this time, I am posting an image to illustrate how I am cataloging my finds. For now, I am sorting like with like, and attempting to ID the similar items as I go.
 Now, if I just didn't have to go to work I would be a lot closer to completing my work on this! LOL

   This picture shows some of the insectivore finds including; bat, mole, and shrew teeth.
'J' and 'K' are lower and upper shrew incisors. 

 I'll try to post more images like this as I go in this new year. :)

Thanks for looking,

 Julianna

 

5a4a552ba2f27_MerrittIslandInsectivorefossils.thumb.jpg.15f87b7d53f761e343b4684927225188.jpg

 
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Spectacular! That Frog Toe micro-matrix is really something special. You've amassed quite a wonderful collection of micro-fossils from that spoil pile. Looking forward to updates as they roll out over time.

 

I'm enjoying my new year by sorting through the last bits of micro-matrix from Cookiecutter Creek. I used my stacked sifting screens to separate this micro-matrix into various size grades. I've already picked through the more coarse material which actually contains the Isistius triangulus teeth and I'm now working through the last of the 'fines' which mostly contain things like the tiny cylindrical fish teeth and some small stingray teeth. I have found a few small phalanges but it is hard to know what they may be from--frog, lizard, rodent, ??? Despite the TFF username I'm not particularly proficient at identifying digits. ;)

 

Hoping to pick-up some fresh Cookiecutter Creek micro-matrix when I travel to the gulf side of Florida in a couple of weeks on an unrelated visit to friends in St. Pete. I've also got friends who live up on Merritt Island--less than a mile from the source of the magical Frog Toe matrix. He works for NASA and, though not a rocket scientist, he is quite intelligent and works in their IT department specializing in databases. I think I'll manage a trip up to see them sometime this year and I hope to gather some micro-matrix while there. I've donated most of my finds from this matrix to Dr. Hulbert at FLMNH and would like to see if I can find some more items that he'd be interested in for the collection.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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4 hours ago, ynot said:

Nice Julianna!:thumbsu:

 

:popcorn::popcorn:

Thank you Tony :)

4 hours ago, digit said:

Spectacular! That Frog Toe micro-matrix is really something special. You've amassed quite a wonderful collection of micro-fossils from that spoil pile. Looking forward to updates as they roll out over time.

 

I'm enjoying my new year by sorting through the last bits of micro-matrix from Cookiecutter Creek. I used my stacked sifting screens to separate this micro-matrix into various size grades. I've already picked through the more coarse material which actually contains the Isistius triangulus teeth and I'm now working through the last of the 'fines' which mostly contain things like the tiny cylindrical fish teeth and some small stingray teeth. I have found a few small phalanges but it is hard to know what they may be from--frog, lizard, rodent, ??? Despite the TFF username I'm not particularly proficient at identifying digits. ;)

 

Hoping to pick-up some fresh Cookiecutter Creek micro-matrix when I travel to the gulf side of Florida in a couple of weeks on an unrelated visit to friends in St. Pete. I've also got friends who live up on Merritt Island--less than a mile from the source of the magical Frog Toe matrix. He works for NASA and, though not a rocket scientist, he is quite intelligent and works in their IT department specializing in databases. I think I'll manage a trip up to see them sometime this year and I hope to gather some micro-matrix while there. I've donated most of my finds from this matrix to Dr. Hulbert at FLMNH and would like to see if I can find some more items that he'd be interested in for the collection.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Thanks, Ken. It is a special matrix. I cannot believe how absorbed I have become in it. So much to learn and I keep finding 'specials'. Good luck with collecting some from the area. Be sure to share what you find. :)

4 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Completely marvelous and well presented finds. :)

Thank you, Adam :)

1 hour ago, MarcoSr said:

Julianna

 

Awesome pictures and presentation!  I look forward to your posts.

 

Marco Sr.

Thanks, Marco Sr.. I am finally achieving some success with my ID's. Lots more to learn tho. :)

 
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1 hour ago, Sacha said:

Your work is amazing Julianna!

Thank you, John :) 

1 hour ago, Nimravis said:

This is a really cool way to present your finds- Congrats.

Thanks, Nimravis :)

1 hour ago, fossilized6s said:

Stunning, Julianna. Thanks for sharing. 

Thank you, Charlie :)

 
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Amazing stuff Julianna. I should have gotten my hands on some of this when it was available.

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 hour ago, Ancient Bones said:

Great presentation Julianna !

Thanks, Mum! :)

28 minutes ago, sixgill pete said:

Amazing stuff Julianna. I should have gotten my hands on some of this when it was available.

It is excellent matrix, Don. Thanks for checking it out. :)

 
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Top notch in every way! I have some of this matrix that I put aside, but now I'm itching to sort through it again. I need to work on my photography skills though. I don't think my pictures will ever look as amazing as yours though. Impressive! Thanks for sharing all your hard work with us here on TFF.

Mike

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Start the day with a smile and get it over with.

 

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17 hours ago, old bones said:

Thanks, Marco Sr.. I am finally achieving some success with my ID's. Lots more to learn tho. :)

 

Julianna

 

I'm glad to hear that you are finally achieving some success with your ID's.   I've gotten much better at separating out the specimens from the Nebraska ranch into amphibian, squamate, different mammals like rodents, insectivores, marsupials etc. so I can send them to the right researchers.

 

However, I still can't recognize bird material very well other than only a few specific bones or eggshells.  I see from the ranch lots of thin walled mammal bones which for me are very hard to distinguish from bird bones.  I sent almost a hundred thin walled mammal bones to a bird researcher that I work with thinking that they might be bird.  In his reply e-mail after receiving the bones  he stated "The fact that many of the bones are hollow may have been misleading, but apparently mammalian phalanges and humeri can be hollow, too. "

 

I also still can't id most specimens to a genus/species.  Once the papers are written on the species from the ranch I'll at least have good applicable resources to use to id things.

 

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

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20 hours ago, Pagurus said:

Top notch in every way! I have some of this matrix that I put aside, but now I'm itching to sort through it again. I need to work on my photography skills though. I don't think my pictures will ever look as amazing as yours though. Impressive! Thanks for sharing all your hard work with us here on TFF.

Mike

TFF-Great-Work-magnifier.gif.834470300cdbc097efe4fd42b445dd7c.gif

Thank you for looking, Pagurus. Please do take advantage of this winter weather to dive into the Frog Toe matrix again. And please share pics of your finds! I love to see what else folks find in it. :)

 
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10 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

 

Julianna

 

I'm glad to hear that you are finally achieving some success with your ID's.   I've gotten much better at separating out the specimens from the Nebraska ranch into amphibian, squamate, different mammals like rodents, insectivores, marsupials etc. so I can send them to the right researchers.

 

However, I still can't recognize bird material very well other than only a few specific bones or eggshells.  I see from the ranch lots of thin walled mammal bones which for me are very hard to distinguish from bird bones.  I sent almost a hundred thin walled mammal bones to a bird researcher that I work with thinking that they might be bird.  In his reply e-mail after receiving the bones  he stated "The fact that many of the bones are hollow may have been misleading, but apparently mammalian phalanges and humeri can be hollow, too. "

 

 

I also still can't id most specimens to a genus/species.  Once the papers are written on the species from the ranch I'll at least have good applicable resources to use to id things.

 

Marco Sr.

Marco Sr.

 

 I don't know that I will ever get to genus/species. I am happy at this point with Family.  :) Most of all, I am happy when I make a picture that will lead someone with more knowledge than me to make those positive IDs.

 I know what you mean about the thin walled tiny bones. They really do look like they ought to be bird bones. I don't find too many with diagnostic ends, tho.  I keep checking the tiny flakes with the delicate patterns to see if I have found egg shell. I am working on a series of photos of those questionable bits as well. 

 

Julianna

 
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Julianna, 

Lovely images! 

Thanks for sharing them with us. :) 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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15 hours ago, old bones said:

Marco Sr.

 

 I keep checking the tiny flakes with the delicate patterns to see if I have found egg shell. I am working on a series of photos of those questionable bits as well. 

 

Julianna

 

Julianna

 

With all of the shell material from your site it may be difficult to spot any eggshell.  Also this is what the bird researcher said about the eggshell:  "what strikes me is the ornamentation of the shell surface, which is a very unusual feature in bird eggs and only occurs in emus and cassowaries (which are very big). ................... Given the eggs and eggshell appear to be relatively common, it is strange that there are no bones of larger birds that could have laid the eggs."  So it sounds like most bird eggshell doesn't have ornamentation like most of the specimens from my sons' Nebraska ranch.

 

The ranch eggshells are currently with an eggshell researcher and I'm waiting to hear her opinion on them.

 

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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39 minutes ago, MarcoSr said:

The ranch eggshells are currently with an eggshell researcher and I'm waiting to hear her opinion on them.

Fossil eggshell researcher--now that's arcane! I love it!

 

Please keep us informed as you hear more about the shell bits recovered from the Nebraska ranch.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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1 hour ago, digit said:

Fossil eggshell researcher--now that's arcane! I love it!

-Ken

 

Ken

 

She actually studies a lot of dinosaur eggshell but also looks at fossil bird eggshell.

 

Marco Sr.

"Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day."

My family fossil website     Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros     My Extant Shark Jaw Collection

image.png.9a941d70fb26446297dbc9dae7bae7ed.png image.png.41c8380882dac648c6131b5bc1377249.png

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  • 2 months later...

Thank you so much for posting your wonderful images, Julianna! I just started going through my Merritt Island matrix again today. I did a quick search on the forum to see if I could ID some of the things that I found that were unfamiliar. Luckily you had identified one here. I never would have guessed an upper shrew incisor. Now on to see if you or @MarcoSr have already identified some of the other oddball tidbits. :)

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Cool, Lori. I am glad that you were able to use my photos for identifying the shrew incisor. Aren't they the strangest teeth!? I wish I had more photos ready for upload, but it is taking me a while...

Meantime, why don't you post a few of your mysteries? I would love to see what you have found.

 
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On 1/1/2018 at 9:35 AM, old bones said:

This picture shows some of the insectivore finds including; bat, mole, and shrew teeth.
'J' and 'K' are lower and upper shrew incisors. 

 I'll try to post more images like this as I go in this new year. :)

 

5a4a552ba2f27_MerrittIslandInsectivorefossils.thumb.jpg.15f87b7d53f761e343b4684927225188.jpg

Great photo composition with nice layout and labeling. Looks very professional. Where is the key for A-I and L-O?

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