Winner of the July 2018 Invertebrate Fossil Of The Month

[FossilDAWG]

23 hours ago, MikeR said:

 

I want to take partial responsibility for this find.  My presence nearby was a guarantee that someone in my general vicinity in this case only 3 feet away, was going to find something fantastic.  

This is true.  However I recall our fortunes were somewhat reversed at Farley Creek, you were pulling out one large perfect shell after another while I was finding their little siblings (or so it seemed at the time).

 

Anyway Mike is excellent company on any fossiling adventure.  The depth of his expertise is hard to describe, you have to experience it in "real time".  Plus he's all around good company.

 

Also Mike deserves credit for passing on a very useful prepping tip for Coon Creek fossils.  You can let the fossils dry completely so they harden, then "wet" areas of matrix with acetone and the clay is easily removed with a needle.  The advantage over water is that the specimen dries and hardens up quickly.  Wetting with water can be a disaster because the fossil stays wet for some time and this leads to the shell becoming very fragile, so pieces of shell are easily removed along with the matrix, or the entire thing can crumble when you put a bit of pressure on it.

 

Thanks again all for the complements.  This "lowly snail" certainly has pride of place in my cabinet.

 

Don

[Coco]

Hi,

 

Congrats Don ! A very nice gastropode I would have in my collection, even if I am only interested in tertiaty ones...

 

23 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

Thanks again everybody.

I looked through the FOTM/FOTY archive and I think this is the 2nd gastropod to win.

 

Don

Yes, the other one is mine, I won FOTM with it

 

Coco

[Max-fossils]

It's so fantastic to finally see a gastropod winning the competition. And this one wins the contest in full glory! What a beauty!  

[Mike from North Queensland]

Congratulations Don with your wonderful find

 

Mike

[FossilsAnonymous]

Congrats on a nice find

[Jeffrey P]

Congratulations Don on a spectacular specimen and well deserved honor. Really nice to see a gastropod win it all. That is one amazing specimen!

[Monica]

Congratulations, Don - you've found a stunning shell! 

[GeschWhat]

Congratulations! That truly is a beautiful gastropod.