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Hey everyone, 

 

So this summer, like most summers, my family went to my grandpa's holiday house in southern France. Seeing that we had many days with nothing planned, I managed to convince them to go fossil hunting one day. At first, I wanted to go to Lacoste, a place known for its echinoids and gorgeous white scallops, but it turns out these quarries are no longer accessible. So instead we went to Carniol, which was a little further away. After only a few hours in the car we arrived at the village of Carniol. "Village" would still be considered being generous: there are no more than a dozen or so houses! And most seem abandoned too... 

There are two clay exposures on either side of the village, on the side of the road. They aren't hard to find, because the gray clay really stands out from the grass and trees. Both exposures are pretty much exactly the same. We started off at the first one. 

 

 

 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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cool looking site

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen

No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go.

" I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes

"can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks

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Pyrite ammonites, especially those of the Aconoceras nisus species, litter the floor. At first, we wanted to pick them all up, but soon we only picked up the best ones because we realized that we wouldn't be able to carry them all :P  Belemnite rostra are also really common, and small gastropod ("Turritella") steinkerns are also regularly found. The fossils are all very easy to collect: all you need to do is to pluck them from the ground. Sometimes a little help from a small tool is welcome, but that's rarely the case. 

Here are some in-situ pictures:

 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Just now, Herb said:

cool looking site

The looks don't lie... It is a cool site!

Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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WOW!

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence"_ Carl Sagen

No trees were killed in this posting......however, many innocent electrons were diverted from where they originally intended to go.

" I think, therefore I collect fossils." _ Me

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."__S. Holmes

"can't we all just get along?" Jack Nicholson from Mars Attacks

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The weather was beautiful, but not optimal for fossil-hunting, especially when you're out in the sun like this. Luckily in the morning, the heat was still bearable. 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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After having stayed at the first clay bank for a few hours, it was time for lunch. Seeing that there was virtually nothing in Carniol itself, we decided to go to the nearest real village, Simiane-la-Rotonde. There we had a fantastic lunch in a small but nice restaurant. The typical delicious cuisine of the French countryside was just the thing we needed to fuel some more energy for the upcoming few hours of fossil hunting! 

 

So we went to the second clay bank, on the other side of Carniol. 

 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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By now the temperature had risen considerably, and it was becoming much more tiring to hunt. We often sought the quick comfort of the shade under a tree to rest a little, which would also serve as our drinking breaks. 

 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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So after a total of around 6-7 hours of hunting, and very successful hunting, we left the clay banks of Carniol to go on our way back home. We stopped frequently to admire the incredible lavender fields of the region. 

 

Here was out total take for the day! 

The big rectangle of ammonites bottom left are, I believe, all the same species: Aconoceras nisus. We collected a stunning 295 ammonites of the same species on the same day, and could have taken many many more!!!

 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Wonderful report and pictures, Max!

I am jealous that you got to find all of those small ammonites. :) 

Thank you for letting us come along. ;) 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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All the finds are from the "Gargasian" of the Aptian stage of the early Cretaceous, around 120 million years old. 

 

Here are some of the best finds of the day:

Some of the best Aconeceras ammonites:

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There's a really cool variety in them, because some are covered in pyrite crystals, others have a very shiny golden gleam, some just have the weirdest colors, and others still have fantastic sutures. There's also a great variety in sizes as you can see. 

 

We also found a bunch of other ammonite species. Most of them I still haven't IDd yet. I'll post them soon in the Fossil ID thread, but if you already see some that you recognize that would be great. 

More ammonites, which species I don't know. 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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Some Dufrenoyia ammonites I believe. I see there are several different possible species (D. furcata, D. dufrenoyi, etc) and I don't know which are which with mine. 

The one with the big hole in the middle (unfortunately, many ammonites didn't have their center preserved...) is our biggest find of the day. 

 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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One of my favorites: a small but gorgeous Cheloniceras cornuelianum 

The pictures don't capture it, but this one has a beautiful golden glimmer to it too. 

 

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Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

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