Artifacts, Ammonites, and Thundersleet

[Uncle Siphuncle]

For Saturday's adventure installment, I threw out invites to several buddies to join me at an artifact pay dig on the Lampasas River.  My good friend Anthony jumped on the opportunity.  We only found 3 or 4 frameworthy points each, plus brokes, but we had a good time.  I got to see Anthony find his first Texas points, while I scored a new type for me (Darl?) and my smallest point ever, a Scallorn.  

[Uncle Siphuncle]

First pic shows combined finds between Anthony and me.  Second and third pics show the points found by the 2 guys on the table next to ours.  Last pic shows ranch owner / dig operator Ricky Lindsey serving up brisket sandwiches for us diggers, a nice touch.  And good eats too in temps falling faster than an atl-atl slung spear.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

I really try not to eat like a 12 year old on these itinerant collecting trips, but I wanted to cross this place off the list and enjoy a little nostalgia.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Hauling north, Anthony and I were slow to meet the 29F climes and pumping wind that awaited us at daybreak.  On this occasion, I decided to revisit a Duck Creek Formation ammonite site that I found maybe 10 years ago, then left fallow for the next 6 or 7 years.  Ma' Nature rewarded us for this level of patience in site management, but decided to make us suffer just a bit to earn the spoils of our quest.

 

We were covered up with ammonites, attention on the exposure so intently that the untimely February thunder caught us off guard.  Bruised skies rolled in and soon we were being pelted by driving sleet. I opted to head back to my truck to make sure it wouldn't get stuck in the mud if things got sloppy, while Anthony stayed on site.  Several things happened as the inclement weather pressed on.

 

- My kayak took on a glaze of ice.

 

-My ammonites began to ice over as well.  Perhaps I could do some freeze/thaw prep by pushing them out the truck window and pulling them back in on the drive home.

 

-My truck had icicles growing on it.

 

-Anthony's kayak had icicles form on it.

 

-My iPhone went into low temperature shutdown mode.

 

-For some reason, all this excitement left me craving a vanilla malt, so I indulged before moving to my next site.

 

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Despite the conditions and resulting vehicles spun off the road, I made it to my next site, and deployed my kayak again.  The horrible conditions were actually kind of fun when using the right gear and clothing...and not falling in the water or stepping in over your boots.  Fortunately, I did neither of the latter.

 

Anyway, my final site was Grayson Formation, another remote one that I had found several years ago.  I think I had only visited this place once or twice before, then rested it 5-6 years.  I went alone this round as it is small, remote and stingy with fossils, therefore not worth the effort for 2 to access, only to be stepping on each other once there.  

 

Finds were not plentiful, but acceptable.  I ended up taking one echinoid, probably Palhemiaster calvini, plus 3 ammonites including one Mariella and two perhaps related to Acanthoceras, Mantelliceras or Graysonites.

 

Anyway, Anthony and I both had a blast this weekend, and I was happy to make his ammonite success the main event on this icy and memorable day afield.

[caldigger]

Nice finds all around.

So how does that pay to dig point camp work?  Does the rancher scoop up dirt in the back loader into piles for you to sift through?

[KimTexan]

Nice finds. 

Regarding the echinoids, the changing of names gets me all confused, but I know the calvini species from the Grayson under the Coenholectypus genus, per Morgan’s echinoid book. I honestly don’t know which is the most proper to go by, so I go by what I first learned something as. I have a number of Coenholectypus calvini from the Grayson.

I have one similar to the little ammonite from the Grayson. I think you told me it was a Graysonites, but I can’t tell if it is the same kind from that shot.

Those ammonites have some nice preservation. They look like they may have still been living when the fossilizing event occurred. The Grayson site I hunt has some very large examples, but I tend to think many were dead already when they became fossilized, because they are all so heavily encrusted with oysters. Yours look pretty clean.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

1 hour ago, caldigger said:

Nice finds all around.

So how does that pay to dig point camp work?  Does the rancher scoop up dirt in the back loader into piles for you to sift through?

Yes they backhoe the campsite, then dump it a bobcat bucket at a time on your screen table.  2 people per table at this place.  You keep everything.  Hand digging is fun too, but much slower.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

20 minutes ago, KimTexan said:

Nice finds. 

Regarding the echinoids, the changing of names gets me all confused, but I know the calvini species from the Grayson under the Coenholectypus genus, per Morgan’s echinoid book. I honestly don’t know which is the most proper to go by, so I go by what I first learned something as. I have a number of Coenholectypus calvini from the Grayson.

I have one similar to the little ammonite from the Grayson. I think you told me it was a Graysonites, but I can’t tell if it is the same kind from that shot.

Those ammonites have some nice preservation. They look like they may have still been living when the fossilizing event occurred. The Grayson site I hunt has some very large examples, but I tend to think many were dead already when they became fossilized, because they are all so heavily encrusted with oysters. Yours look pretty clean.

P. calvini superseded Hemiaster calvini at some point.  If memory serves, the Pal in Palhemiaster denotes a peripetalous fasciole going only half way around the amb pattern, as opposed to completely around in Hemiaster.  Sometimes these subtleties are noticed long after original descriptions, perhaps when better preserved specimens become available.

 

Wondering if you were alluding to C. castilloi on your Grayson echs.

 

On my ammonites, I haven't taken time yet to compare the ornamentation to literature (long drive today).  Graysonites has pronounced ventral tubercles esp. on adult whorls, and since my specimen is small, I'll need to compare with the juvie whorls of my Graysonites specimens.  You may have noticed that ammonite ID is complicated by gradual variation in form between juvenile and adult whorls.  

[Monica]

Love the Mariella sp. ammonite  (and all the ammonites, really!!!) - congrats!!!

[Manticocerasman]

what a nice trip report, congrats with all those beautiful finds

 

[Fossildude19]

Great reading as always, Dan.  Always an enjoyable and worthwhile read.

Looks like a fun, if challenging weekend. 

Kudos to you sir, for your hard core adventure and resultant trophies.  

[Ludwigia]

As always, great finds from Dan the Man. Is that artifact campsite on an old Indian settlement?

[erose]

Hardcore

[Uncle Siphuncle]

2 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

As always, great finds from Dan the Man. Is that artifact campsite on an old Indian settlement?

Yes sir.  Presence of many campsites is fairly predictable in Texas based on topography and sometimes surface expression of burned rock, chert debitage, and a few whole or broken artifacts...all harbingers of goodies hiding for centuries in the dirt.

[Nimravis]

Really great trip report- love the ammonites, but those points stole the show for me. Congrats 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Lovely days work and a great field report. 

Thanks for sharing. 

I love those big ammonites. 

[Darktooth]

Awesome finds and great report!

[KimTexan]

12 hours ago, Uncle Siphuncle said:

P. calvini superseded Hemiaster calvini at some point.  If memory serves, the Pal in Palhemiaster denotes a peripetalous fasciole going only half way around the amb pattern, as opposed to completely around in Hemiaster.  Sometimes these subtleties are noticed long after original descriptions, perhaps when better preserved specimens become available.

 

Wondering if you were alluding to C. castilloi on your Grayson echs.

 

On my ammonites, I haven't taken time yet to compare the ornamentation to literature (long drive today).  Graysonites has pronounced ventral tubercles esp. on adult whorls, and since my specimen is small, I'll need to compare with the juvie whorls of my Graysonites specimens.  You may have noticed that ammonite ID is complicated by gradual variation in form between juvenile and adult whorls.  

You are absolutely right on the C. castilloi. My mistake. That’s what I get for writing after I should have already been in bed. Sorry about that.

Very good memory too. It was you who pointed me in the right direction on the ID of my Coenholectypus

I still have a long way to go on learning ammonite ID. I can’t say that I’ve actually begun to study the ID of them. I need to print out some of Kennedy’s journal articles. I’ve seen some that look very informative. I had ordered a book on Texas ammonites from the HGMS, but I’ve never received it. Otherwise I don’t have a decent Texas ammonite reference material for ID. The other book I saw on Texas ammonites was out of my price range. I probably have close to 2 dozen species I’ve collected over the years and haven’t ID’d half of them.

I’m eager to learn though.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

3 minutes ago, KimTexan said:

You are absolutely right on the C. castilloi. My mistake. That’s what I get for writing after I should have already been in bed. Sorry about that.

Very good memory too. It was you who pointed me in the right direction on the ID of my Coenholectypus

I still have a long way to go on learning ammonite ID. I can’t say that I’ve actually begun to study the ID of them. I need to print out some of Kennedy’s journal articles. I’ve seen some that look very informative. I had ordered a book on Texas ammonites from the HGMS, but I’ve never received it. Otherwise I don’t have a decent Texas ammonite reference material for ID. The other book I saw on Texas ammonites was out of my price range. I probably have close to 2 dozen species I’ve collected over the years and haven’t ID’d half of them.

I’m eager to learn though.

The Akers ammonite reference is a compilation of species at the time of publishing 30 years ago.  It is better to view photos in the original descriptions, but most collectors are willing to take the route of expedience through Akers to get a ballpark on ID.

 

Dr. Keith Minor is/was working on a comprehensive tome on Cretaceous ammonites intended to clean up confusion in descriptions through careful diagnostic discussion coupled with professionally shot specimen photos of holotypes and/or more recently found, better preserved/prepped specimens.  There may be some overdescribed genera needing clarification.  Variation within species, sexual dimorphism, ornamentation variation with age are all factors I hope he addresses.  There are some new species to add since Akers as well.  

 

I don’t know current status of this Herculean undertaking, but he spent a weekend photographing half of my collection a couple years ago, and asked to do another weekend.  This ref won’t be cheap, but I’ll pay whatever it costs for a copy.

[Heteromorph]

53 minutes ago, Uncle Siphuncle said:

The Akers ammonite reference is a compilation of species at the time of publishing 30 years ago.  It is better to view photos in the original descriptions, but most collectors are willing to take the route of expedience through Akers to get a ballpark on ID.

 

Dr. Keith Minor is/was working on a comprehensive tome on Cretaceous ammonites intended to clean up confusion in descriptions through careful diagnostic discussion coupled with professionally shot specimen photos of holotypes and/or more recently found, better preserved/prepped specimens.  There may be some overdescribed genera needing clarification.  Variation within species, sexual dimorphism, ornamentation variation with age are all factors I hope he addresses.  There are some new species to add since Akers as well.  

 

I don’t know current status of this Herculean undertaking, but he spent a weekend photographing half of my collection a couple years ago, and asked to do another weekend.  This ref won’t be cheap, but I’ll pay whatever it costs for a copy.

Keith is still working on this magnum opus of a book, though since he went back to college I am not sure if he has had as much time available to devote to it. He came to my house and photographed most of my ammonite collection in late December, much of it being heteromorphs. I will be quite excited when the book is finally published, no matter what the cost!

 

@KimTexan, you never received it? How long has it been since you have ordered it? It took me about two months to receive mine. According to HGMS’ website that seems to be about how long it usually takes. It really stinks if they forgot about you.

 

In the mean time, Kim, here are two Texas ammonite references that you might find useful: Upper Cretaceous Ammonites from the Gulf Coast of the United States and Late Cenomanian and Turonian Ammonite faunas from north-east and central Texas . You probably already have the first PDF. The second is all on Eagle Ford Group ammonites. 

 

Great post, Dan! Beautiful ammonites. I was at church yesterday when the hail storm hit. We were getting pelted for quite some time and the thunder-sleet was met by me with some awe. A bit of a rare occurrence. 

[jpc]

Raise your hand if you love Dan's fossiling adventures.  Mine is up.  

[Heteromorph]

1 hour ago, jpc said:

Raise your hand if you love Dan's fossiling adventures.  Mine is up.  

Mine is too. 

[MarleysGh0st]

1 hour ago, jpc said:

Raise your hand if you love Dan's fossiling adventures.  Mine is up.  

 

Sure!  But as for kayaking through the sleet...better him than me. 

[-AnThOnY-]

19 minutes ago, MarleysGh0st said:

 

Sure!  But as for kayaking through the sleet...better him than me. 

 

I'd normally agree, but I was with him this time! Brr!

The haul was worth it!