I like. Big. ‘Noids. (And I cannot lie) ~ Sir Picks-a-Lot

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Between honeydos this weekend, the Cenomanian Crevasse sang its siren’s song again, tickling my ears, and I was helpless to the call. I will take my buddies with me soon, but the 30 minutes spent solo on site this weekend were pure bliss.

 

On gloves and kneepads I navigated the hummocky surface of the Mainstreet limestone, tapping the pregnant humps with my hand sledge, listening for hollow thuds, and flipping some easy splits.  Neithea scallops and Waconella brachiopods were only outnumbered by Ilymayogyra oysters.  But I was after a few things a bit less common.

 

One fortuitous blind flip triggered a spontaneous “Tim the Tool Man” chortle as I spotted 2 big whorls of a Mariella ammonite, with perhaps a third diving into the rock.  Prep will tell.  But this was just a warmup.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

With nose to the ground, I noticed a nice 2 inch Coenholectypus echinoid sticking out of the bedrock like a crashed, camouflaged little space ship.  This was the best echinoid I had found at the site in years.  Please enjoy the pics, in-situ and after light prep.  The marcasite encrustation adds some mystique that I think I’ll leave in place.

 

A lesser Coenholectypus and smaller Mariella rounded out my take but alas, such fleeting adventures must come to an end, and I must pay into the system before my next one.  An hour later I was on a ladder cleaning leaves out of my mother-in-law’s gutters, but Ma’ Nature’s sweet song will soon enough draw me deep into the Texas Outback where I belong.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

Got ahead of myself.  Echie in situ.

[Raggedy Man]

[Fruitbat]

So you're still taking all those old dead things home with you even after all the times I've chided you about it!  I guess some people will NEVER learn!   Back in Germany, I had a cat that did that and we could never break him of the habit.  He brought us everything from rats, mice and voles to squirrels and small rabbits on occasion.  The one thing he never DID master was hedgehogs...and I suppose they're kind of like terrestrial echinoids!

 

Looks like you found some real goodies there!

 

-Joe

[Heavy_D]

Definitely some nice finds. 

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

Those are some nice colors in there!

[MeargleSchmeargl]

I need to find a day I can head to Texas. Everything from NSR to this is just screaming my name, but for now I'm bound by school.

[Uncle Siphuncle]

46 minutes ago, Fruitbat said:

So you're still taking all those old dead things home with you even after all the times I've chided you about it!  I guess some people will NEVER learn!   Back in Germany, I had a cat that did that and we could never break him of the habit.  He brought us everything from rats, mice and voles to squirrels and small rabbits on occasion.  The one thing he never DID master was hedgehogs...and I suppose they're kind of like terrestrial echinoids!

 

Looks like you found some real goodies there!

 

-Joe

My boy said I should rig up our cat with saddlebags and take him collecting.

[caldigger]

35 minutes ago, Uncle Siphuncle said:

My boy said I should rig up our cat with saddlebags and take him collecting.

Cats usually don't appreciate things being put on them. You will likely turn it into a bucking bronco cintching a saddle bag on it. 

[Ludwigia]

Great finds as usual! Are those spines on the back of the echinoid? Will you show us the ammos once prepped?

[Dan 1000]

Nice echinoids!

[Uncle Siphuncle]

13 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

Great finds as usual! Are those spines on the back of the echinoid? Will you show us the ammos once prepped?

Just a broken Neithea.

[Monica]

That colourful echinoid is beautiful!!!  Congrats!

[ynot]

Looks like Your new mailbox has all the good fossils wanting to come and see it.  

Nice finds.

I really like the echinoid and with the crystals  just makes it that much more likable!