believerjoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 Sometimes there is beauty in the details. What was an ugly blob of shale covered bone, turned out to be the occipital. Never seen one before. It is disfigured, but somehow I don’t care about that anymore. I have most of the shale removed and there are some interesting details. This is the better of the two sides.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miocene_Mason Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 The find you keep on finding, amazes me! “...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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 6 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said: The find you keep on finding, amazes me! Been raining like crazy and washing the site for sure. Nothing was exposed, but we have gotten enough to rip out shale, so crossing fingers that nothing is lost. I will be looking hard when I can get back in there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 There sure is a hole in this jaw that should not be there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 All I can say is wow! Everyone else who has commented has said what I would. I don't know how I missed the first parts of your thread, but I did. This I would say that everyone of us amateur fossil hunters just wish we could come across something like this. I can sure understand through your words why the Paleontologists set up tents and camp when they find a specimen. I think I would have had to take a week or two off work to find every piece there was to find and not let mother nature take it away. Since you are going to keep it and display it I have to ask. Have you given it a name? Good luck in future expeditions and I hope you continue to find more pieces. My vote for FOTM is yours hands down and I am sure it will be tough to beat for FOTY. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 6 hours ago, oldtimer said: All I can say is wow! Everyone else who has commented has said what I would. I don't know how I missed the first parts of your thread, but I did. This I would say that everyone of us amateur fossil hunters just wish we could come across something like this. I can sure understand through your words why the Paleontologists set up tents and camp when they find a specimen. I think I would have had to take a week or two off work to find every piece there was to find and not let mother nature take it away. Since you are going to keep it and display it I have to ask. Have you given it a name? Good luck in future expeditions and I hope you continue to find more pieces. My vote for FOTM is yours hands down and I am sure it will be tough to beat for FOTY. Congrats! I am not eligible for some of those awards, but no big deal. They set up camp because it is a lot of work. There is also the fear that someone will find the site and scavenge, etc. It has been exciting and continues to be. I know that coming across something like this was on my bucket list. I look for them a lot these days and it is a nice reward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 47 minutes ago, believerjoe said: I am not eligible for some of those awards, but no big deal. They set up camp because it is a lot of work. There is also the fear that someone will find the site and scavenge, etc. It has been exciting and continues to be. I know that coming across something like this was on my bucket list. I look for them a lot these days and it is a nice reward. Yeah I understand how much work it is. I also understand how much time you have spent looking to come across such a wonderful find. I also know how much time it has taken you to get to the point you are at now. And then you are so humble about the find. I can read through the lines and know you must be ecstatic with joy You yourself said you were just "sick" when you realized what you just found. I don't know how the rest of the members feel but I imagine that most of the prep work has been done in February so you should be included. But either way we all know that is one of the best finds for any of us amateur hunters. I may have not been a member for long but I imagine that unless you are on a Paleontology expedition finds like this are few and far between, Again congrats. You deserve them all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 34 minutes ago, oldtimer said: Yeah I understand how much work it is. I also understand how much time you have spent looking to come across such a wonderful find. I also know how much time it has taken you to get to the point you are at now. And then you are so humble about the find. I can read through the lines and know you must be ecstatic with joy You yourself said you were just "sick" when you realized what you just found. I don't know how the rest of the members feel but I imagine that most of the prep work has been done in February so you should be included. But either way we all know that is one of the best finds for any of us amateur hunters. I may have not been a member for long but I imagine that unless you are on a Paleontology expedition finds like this are few and far between, Again congrats. You deserve them all. Thanks for all that, but I will tell you that what I appreciate most is that you did not assume that I was trying to boast about this. I always fear that it comes across that way every time I add a picture. Really am just trying to share an experience. I have worked with some professionals in paleontology and it seems that amateurs are the majority finders when it comes to larger finds. I know a lot of people that spend time hunting and it just doesn’t seem to happen. I just like being outdoors and this gives some purpose. Every trip is an adventure. I am also lucky enough to live in an area where these things were. I can’t get into the invertebrate things so all of it a stroke of luck.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Humble, humble, humble. We all know that about you. And yes we are all interested in your pictures and understand you are not boasting. It is great to see the pictures from the find location, in situ, What it looked like when first removed, the prep process, and of course the completion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Totally EPIC! Wow! Libby Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrodB Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Great finds Joe. I hope this flood didn't wash the rest miles away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 1 hour ago, JarrodB said: Great finds Joe. I hope this flood didn't wash the rest miles away. Yeah. A small flood would be OK, but a monsoon can’t help! Lol. Watching it so O can slip on there, but Mother Nature isn’t letting me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 This is an site article on mososaur pathology that I came across. It may he of interest. http://oceansofkansas.com/mosapath.html 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimTexan Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 8 minutes ago, believerjoe said: Yeah. A small flood would be OK, but a monsoon can’t help! Lol. Watching it so O can slip on there, but Mother Nature isn’t letting me. Yes this is the river forecast. Not good for you, but good for other hunters once the waters come back down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 24 minutes ago, KimTexan said: This is an site article on mososaur pathology that I came across. It may he of interest. http://oceansofkansas.com/mosapath.html I have been all over the place on research. Even bought some old books. Tons of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 9 hours ago, believerjoe said: I am not eligible for some of those awards, but no big deal. You found it. You have before prep pictures. You have done substantial prep (in the month of the contest). As far as I can see You can enter it into FOTM. If You still have a lot of prep to do, it will still be a good entry when You finish it. Truly amazing find! Would like to see a good layout of the whole thing. Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcranch Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 On 2/18/2018 at 9:20 PM, believerjoe said: This was taken before I found the parietal. We are having a rain event and tomorrow I plan to check for previous wash items. Never know what I might find. The rest could be around. It wasn’t laying on the ground perfectly, so parts can be anywhere. I am confident there is more. I have only recovered 18 verts and that strikes me as odd, but the rest could have been eaten or something. Either way I achieved a goal and that was to find a jaw bone with teeth. I would have been happy with that and nothing else, but now it seems that I must collect every scrap and do what I can with it. Nothing in the pic for scale, but the skull is over 3 feet. Your post, especially this photograph of your progress, has help this newbie identify some of the individual bone pieces that I have found at the NSR. I had a rib or two and never knew what they were! Fantastic find, good luck with finding additional pieces and parts. Perhaps the flooding will help more than it hurts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 18 minutes ago, rcranch said: Your post, especially this photograph of your progress, has help this newbie identify some of the individual bone pieces that I have found at the NSR. I had a rib or two and never knew what they were! Fantastic find, good luck with finding additional pieces and parts. Perhaps the flooding will help more than it hurts? I have the angular and splenial in the reverse locations, so be careful with the picture. It just fit better that way. Seeing the bones also helped me identify several pieces I had already. The flooding very well could help, but much prefer a controlled excavation. Lol. Just hoping for the best.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbrosen Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Man, so happy for you, thats what its all about...That feeling never gets old when you discover something...thanks for all the updates and keep us posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 @KimTexan The article link you posted is fantastic reading. It's hard to believe that in the later parts of the 1800's so much was learned and presented about these and other species. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 More pics to keep the pot churning. Let me know if this gets annoying! A vert fresh out of the ground. This was the trip where I learned there was more bone after the initial find. Took this out and made a plan to go back later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted February 25, 2018 Author Share Posted February 25, 2018 If you do much prep, you know that bone touching bone is usually not good. I have not researched this, but it makes the matrix like a concrete substance. I was matching up some of these areas to help in determining how things were laying. Some washed out and I never saw it this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 On 2/23/2018 at 9:14 AM, believerjoe said: Thanks for all that, but I will tell you that what I appreciate most is that you did not assume that I was trying to boast about this. I always fear that it comes across that way every time I add a picture. Really am just trying to share an experience. I have worked with some professionals in paleontology and it seems that amateurs are the majority finders when it comes to larger finds. I know a lot of people that spend time hunting and it just doesn’t seem to happen. I just like being outdoors and this gives some purpose. Every trip is an adventure. I am also lucky enough to live in an area where these things were. I can’t get into the invertebrate things so all of it a stroke of luck.... This is truly a remarkable find! As far as I am concerned, you can boast as much as you want! You earned that right. Especially with the hard work of keep going back and looking for more. That means you are committed to this find. Share all the pics you want and boast away my friend! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Amateur Paleontologist Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 That is a truly wonderful mosasaur specimen! Congratulations! Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy! Q. Where do dinosaurs study? A. At Khaan Academy!... My ResearchGate profile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
believerjoe Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 We got lucky with all the rain on that is seemed to have no affect on the site. What it did was barely expose the front side of a vert when I ran a quick scouting check. I setup a quick dig to extract that and another in fragment that we left last time. We worked for several hours moving the overburden and building a working platform since the water was high. Got down to the bone layer and things were slow. Removed the rib fragment which was only about an inch long. Worked on the vert that was exposed, but never bumped into any more bone while extracting it. I finally proved and got that exciting thud sound! Turned out to be an atlas intercentrum I believe. It was laying on top of a rib piece, so I traced it back further and further. Turned out to be almost 22 inches. We ended up with those pieces and another vert. A lot of work for a few things, but alas, the last vert was still leading is deeper in..... More work for the future when nature does its thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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