Kgbow Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Here’s the first fossils I’ve ever found! Found in Webster County, West Virginia. Where they hollow out a road. The stone is shale from my knowledge..... I’d love to know it’s age and name? And, how to prep them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Kirk, Your first item looks like a branch or rachis of a plant, probably unidentifiable unless there are any leaves attached to it. Second item looks like possibly and Alethopteris sp. fern. Third, ... not sure I'm seeing any fossil at all. Fourth, looks like possibly a bit of Calamites sp. Hard to say, as there are no nodes present. Fifth item looks plant-like, but too fragmentary to identify. These are probably from the Carboniferous period, probably the Pennsylvanian series. Bedrock geologic map of WV. Looks like the bedrock in Webster County is mostly Pennsylvanian in age, with some Mississippian as well. 3 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM - APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf89 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Plant material, may be someone more knowledgeable can help you get a more specific ID. Agree with Fossildude in carboniferous in age. As far as prepping, same cheap dental picks should would well as long as it is not too hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kgbow Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Wow! You guys know your stuff! This is is so exciting for me! Even if they are common finds! So, how do I go about preserving them? Take the fern? Or the calamite? Do I just dig them out? Cover them in lacquer? What do I do? Sorry, I’m very new to this. Don’t want to mess it up. Do all the rocks i find have a chance of having a fossil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 6 hours ago, Kgbow said: Wow! You guys know your stuff! This is is so exciting for me! Even if they are common finds! So, how do I go about preserving them? Take the fern? Or the calamite? Do I just dig them out? Cover them in lacquer? What do I do? Sorry, I’m very new to this. Don’t want to mess it up. Do all the rocks i find have a chance of having a fossil? The forth one is a bit of cordiates leaf I think. I think these fossils are fairly stable as they are. I've never worried about coating them. In coal mining areas they tend to be very common. The old shale overburden dumps are a virtual playground for fossil hunting. Be careful though. That little ditch obscured by bushes could be a hundred feet deep. Darn glad I happened to look closer before I hopped by the way. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 1 hour ago, Rockwood said: The forth one is a bit of cordiates leaf I think. This is probably correct. I had that thought, but didn't know if Cordiates got that big. But this makes more sense, as the lines are not evenly spaced. Thanks for the correction, Dale. Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM - APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daves64 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 3 hours ago, Rockwood said: The old shale overburden dumps are a virtual playground for fossil hunting. Be careful though. That little ditch obscured by bushes could be a hundred feet deep. Darn glad I happened to look closer before I hopped by the way. So you're saying a parachute could make sense as part of a fossil hunters gear. Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 4 minutes ago, daves64 said: So you're saying a parachute could make sense as part of a fossil hunters gear. No I'm saying part the bushes and look before you assume you are going to just hop across the ditch. For me It was in PA. The ditch was a mined out coal seam that just happened to be next to the road. The depth might be exaggerated, but it got my attention right off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kgbow Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 Perfect! Thank you guys. We’re (very slowly) learning. We have just found an old coal mine it’s literally dripping with fossils. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 46 minutes ago, Kgbow said: We have just found an old coal mine it’s literally dripping with fossils. Cool! Got any pictures? Darwin said: " Man sprang from monkeys." Will Rogers said: " Some of them didn't spring far enough." My Fossil collection - My Mineral collection My favorite thread on TFF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kgbow Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 2 minutes ago, ynot said: Cool! Got any pictures? Posted in “trips” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockwood Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 3 hours ago, Kgbow said: We have just found an old coal mine it’s literally dripping with fossils. To'd ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kgbow Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 7 hours ago, Rockwood said: To'd ya. I didn’t want to say anything...... but you’re right haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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