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Hi everyone,

 

My last hunt of 2018 was incredible. And quite surprising too! 

For Xmas, we went to Middelburg in Zeeland to visit my mother's family, which is always a huge load of fun for me because I get to hang out with all my cousins, that I don't see very often. 

Anyways, one of the days, they all wanted to do a big walk on one of the beaches. At first they wanted to go to Dishoek, but I managed to convince them to go to the Banjaard instead. Once arrived, we split into 2 groups: one was my mother, my eldest cousin (18), my 2nd-youngest cousin (6), and I. All the rest went to the other group. The other group just walked, but our little group did something much more interesting... You guessed it: fossil hunting! :muahaha:

 

As soon as we got onto the beach, we almost immediately found our first fish vertebra, but after that we seemed to have hit a small dry spell for nothing really worthy was being found. A few common fossil bivalves here and there, but nothing more. For my two cousins, it was their first time fossil hunting, and we had to give them a few examples to show them what to look for. I told them to focus on the fish vertebrae, because these were the easiest to recognize. The smaller one also did a lot of shell-hunting on her own, always picking up the most colorful ones and saying this one was Mama shell, this one Papa shell, this one Sister, etc until she made one giant family of orange shells :P 

 

Then after about an hour or two of hunting with rather little success, we finally hit these little shell banks on the beach. IMG_2102.thumb.JPG.feac6fd6aa11fe6386d5c1df2edd0d5e.JPGIMG_2103.thumb.JPG.2d95454fb6a5e3dd2da6fd0841bb55dd.JPG

And there, BINGO!

Gastropod after gastropod, we couldn't stop finding an incredible amount of them. 

On the Dutch shores, fossil (and modern too) gastropods are generally much less common than fossil bivalves. So the amount we found here was very surprising!

 

 

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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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Here's an insitu picture of a nice Nassarius nitidus and a cool Nucella lapillus right next to it, and also a cute Euspira catena a bit further to the left, all in a shell bank made up of lots of cockles, but also many other shell fragments. Three great gastropods right next to each other? Madness!

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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 that the finds kept coming. Fish verts, gastropods, bivalves, worm tubes, etc. Both cousins found their first fish vertebrae! 

After a hunt of about 4 hours long, it started to get really cold, and all 4 of us were tired. So we called it a day and went back up on the dam to find the rest of the family back. 

 

It sure was an incredible hunt! Here are the best finds of the day.

Most fossils are from the Eemian of the Pleistocene, about 120'000 years old. There are some slightly older (Late Pliocene) mixed in too; the ages of the finds are always variable on the beaches of Zeeland. The ages of all the non-Eemian finds are indicated. 

 

BIVALVES

A cute little Corbicula cf fluminalis. Somewhere in the Late Pleistocene, around 400'000 years old. 

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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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A beautiful, big complete Tridonta borealis. From the late Pleistocene (about 80'000 years old). 

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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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My most complete Mya truncata shell so far. 

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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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A gorgeous little Angulus fabulus. My first fossil Angulus from the Netherlands, I'm very happy with this little dude!

 

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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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GASTROPODS

A fantastic (albeit slightly damaged) Planorbis sp. Very special and unusual find! The age is somewhere in the Neogene, but I have no clue when exactly. 

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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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Another very unusual find: a Capulus unguis! This one is from the Pliocene. My first Capulus!

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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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A very cute little shell from the Littorinidae family. Not sure what age it is (because I'm not sure which species it is). Lovely colors and pattern on it :wub: 

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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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And here a perfect Littorina littorea.

 

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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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Here we have an almost perfect specimen of Euspira catena

(I'm not 100% sure it is an E. catena. It could be one of the many other shells within the Naticidae family, and therefore have a different age such as Late Pliocene. But the Eemian E. catena is the most common species, so I'm going with that.)

 

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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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An incredible Ocenebra erinaceus. One of the best fossil specimens I've seen from Zeeland!

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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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An amazing Nassarius incrassatus, with unfortunately a little bit of damage to the columella. 

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Edited by Max-fossils
Species name change: N. reticulatus --> N. incrassatus
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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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Followed by a perfect Nassarius nitidus

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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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And a very nice little Nassarius pygmaeus

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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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And finally a gorgeous and perfect Nassarius consociatus, this one from the Pliocene. 

If you've been following the species closely, yes, that is the 4th different Nassarius species. All found in one day! :faint:

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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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Then we have this great big Amauropsis islandica. 

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Edited by Max-fossils
Species name + age change: Liomesus dalei --> Amauropsis islandica; Pliocene --> Eemian (A. islandica is an Eemian species, not a Pliocene 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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And here 2 fantastic Cytharella substriolata from the Pliocene 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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Then here we have 2 great Boreotrophon clathratus (and a B. truncatus at the top). Love these, their sculptures are very special imo  :wub: 

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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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Then to close off the gastropods we have some great Nucella lapillus specimens. 

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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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FISH

The last specimen I want to show today is this very nice partial fish jaw! Well, I think it's a fish jaw at least... It's definitely some kind of fish bone. Either way I think it's very cool :) 

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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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Here is the full haul of the day!

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You'll notice I haven't shown most of the finds I have here individually; that's because the pictures above are only of my best/favorite finds of the day. 

By the way, I also found a bunch (maybe 30) of Buccinum undatum shells. They're not on the picture, mainly because I can't see which ones are fossils and which ones are not. I'll bring them to someone sometime soon to ask him how to discern fossil Buccinum's from modern ones. 

I can make a full species list (including the number of times I found a specimen of that species) for all the finds I made that day if anyone is curious to know!

 

Anyways, this concludes it, thanks a lot for looking. A superb end to 2018. I hope you enjoyed!

 

If you want any (more) photos of any specimen, or have any questions regarding my finds, I'll gladly answer you on this thread (or in PM if you prefer). 

 

I wish you all much luck fossil hunting in 2019!

 

Best regards,

 

Max

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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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6 minutes ago, Max-fossils said:

You'll notice I haven't shown most of the finds I have here individually; that's because the pictures above are only of my best/favorite finds of the day. 

 

Rule Pliocene!   :)

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