Matoaka Beach, MD & Calvert Marine Museum trip

[Plantguy]

Looks like a good trip. Your dealing with the fragile shells is similar to our Pliocene/Pleistocene material down here-some in perfect shape but some you can almost sneeze at and they are gone. You've reminded me to go check my butvar solution in the garage...hoping its finally dissolved so I can start trying to consolidate a number of things. thanks for all the pictures! 

Regards, Chris 

[KimTexan]

16 hours ago, Al Dente said:

I really like pawpaws but the fruit are difficult to find. I frequently find the plants but they seem to rarely produce fruit. 

There were two small trees next to each other both had a cluster of the fruit up in it. It was the first time I had tried it or seen them. She and I talked about wild fruit trees. As a kid in Arkansas wild persimmons were fairly common. We found some wild fruit tree bearing fruit similar to a kumquat near where we lived too. It was the only one we ever found. 

[KimTexan]

Ok here are a few of my Matoaka Beach finds in the next 3 posts.

This is when I was still in my motel room. These are a few of the clams I collected. I am not really a fan of clam fossils, but I collected one that is pretty eye catching and gorgeous in my opinion. That will follow these few.

 

These are a few more. I don’t think the 2 small scallops made it back in one piece. Although I haven’t finished pulling everything out. There is a barnacle cluster on the left and coral on the right.

 

I found a large bone fragment sitting at the base of the cliff in avalanche material. No telling what it is, but my guess is whale. Kim told me a whale skull had been found a few hundred yards before this and when they pulled it out another skull was behind it.

 

One valve of a clam. I think this is the only one I collected of this kind that remained in tact.

 

I have had some fun cleaning out the shells. I have found a number of intact micros within them. Maybe 1.5 cm and smaller.

 

I’ll post more in a minute and I’ll come back and put genus and species on them tomorrow. I have to be up early tomorrow. My daughter and I are volunteering at a food pantry starting at 7:15.

[KimTexan]

Here are a few more.

Just some little clams. The two on the ends are from Brownie’s.

 

This scallop was whole hole when I found it, but it did not make it to my house whole. It was so cool looking with the barnacles on it.

 

A close up of some of the coral I collected. These are my 2 biggest pieces. I think Kim found the one on the left and gave it to me.

 

This is the best I could do with finding a tree clam. It is just a fragment. They just fell apart.

 The under side of it.

 

Up close of the barnacle cluster. There is a little gastropod in the bottom of the hole. It’s very delicate. I’m trying to figure out how to remove it and not damage it further.

 

More to come.

[KimTexan]

These are the last few for tonight. I’m not sure what all I have left to show, but I know there is more. I haven’t cleaned the iron concretion plates or whatever they are. I want to share some of those.

Here is another variety of clam. I am not sure if they are the same species though or if they change some as they grow.

 

This variety was very delicate. I was so happy to find this one. It had both valves completely intact and it was whole. The other half crumbled and this half chipped on one side. It looks looks like it has some of the original shell surface on it, mostly on the bottom edge in brown.

 

This is the other side. You can see a little turitella there. I’ll share the micro stuff later.

 

These are moon snails. They are quite delicate. A number of them didn’t make it back. They just crumbled. Some are still wet and dirty, the darker ones. I’m going to let them dry and then try to clean.

 

This is the bottom of one. You can see another micro inside.

 

This is is my favorite clam from Matoaka. The curves and detail are just beautiful. It is fragile, the surface is chalky. So when I try to clean it some of the detail begin brushing off. I’d like to find a way to display it with the side or hinge view. I think it’s beautiful.

 

 

I just love the lines and curves.

 

Another view. This is my favorite view.

 

That is it fir tonight. I’ll try to post more tomorrow 

 

[FossilsAnonymous]

Matoaka is honest to goodness my favorite fossil hunting spot in Calvert apart from Cove Point Beach

[FossilsAnonymous]

I think I've actually met Ms Kim at that beach before

[KimTexan]

On 10/25/2018 at 5:12 PM, FossilsAnonymous said:

I think I've actually met Ms Kim at that beach before

The lady I ran into and hunted with? She is very nice. We are keeping in touch. Matoaka is her favorite spot, but she doesn’t collect many shells from what I gather. She’s into bones and teeth.

 

I never finished up this post and gave IDs for everything.