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Ludwigia

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I mentioned in a recent post that I was heading off into the field, or in this case the woods, again. It's getting to be a habit with me that I don't think to take my camera until it's to late, so, true to form, I forgot it again. This is why I've titled this with "Crate", since that's all I have to show for the trip to begin with.

My plan was to go to my favorite Callovian site in order to finally fulfill my recurring dream of a large, well-preserved Bullatimorphites and/or Cadoceras ammonite. I always drive down to the end of a forestry road and park the car under the trees before I mosey off to the site, but this time it didn't quite pan out. The farther on I drove into the woods, the more the snow and ice had accumulated, so when I turned around and reversed into my parking spot, I noticed for the first time that I had to drive slightly uphill in order to complete the maneuver. Problem was that I couldn't, since the wheels were running on the spot and digging deeper into the quagmire every second. My head became immediately filled with visions of walking the 5 kilometers back to the next village in search of a tow truck or a frendly farmer, but after I'd settled down a bit, I decided that the best thing would be to get out of the car and assess the situation first. Fortunately, being a serious fossil collector, I always have a plethora of tools of all sorts in the trunk, so I selected my trusty pickaxe and spent the next half hour shaving the 5-inch layer of ice, mud and decaying leaves down to the gravel roadbed. Then, easing off in second gear, I managed to get back to dry land, so to speak. Thank goodness! It was at this point that I also decided that since I hadn't brought along my downhill skis, I would forgo slipping and sliding to a site which is more than likely still buried under a foot of snow.

Fortunately this area has a good number of sites to chose from, so after a bit of driving around, I managed to find one on the hills of the Scheffheu which is pretty well free of snow and spent the rest of the day exploring and chipping out the odd fossil. This time it's a selection from the Aalenian and Bajocian of ammos and bivaves along with one belemnite, all of which need a good bit of prep.

 

Scheffheu.thumb.jpg.f162e668ad8ca05f4bc61af0d12403ce.jpg

 

 

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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that's quite an adventure on a fossil hunting trip, I guess a lot of us collectors go to car unfriendly places while collecting, I've also had my share of muddy adventures with the car while fossil hunting. 

 

Still, I am amazed that you managed to find something in the snow :D

 

growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional.

 

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I'm glad to hear that you made it out of that tricky spot without too much difficulty, and I'm looking forward to seeing your specimens post-prep...

 

By the way, since you mentioned dreams - two nights ago I had a dream that was searching for and actually found some ammonites on a forest trail - I think my reading of your tales is sticking with me even when I'm sleeping, Roger! :P

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7 hours ago, Manticocerasman said:

that's quite an adventure on a fossil hunting trip, I guess a lot of us collectors go to car unfriendly places while collecting, I've also had my share of muddy adventures with the car while fossil hunting. 

 

Still, I am amazed that you managed to find something in the snow :D

 

 

30 minutes ago, RJB said:

Ice, snow, mud and getting stuck and yet you still come away with a nice basket of goodies.  Nice job man.

 

RB

Well, the car looks a lot better now, since my carwash stamp card has just been filled up, so I could give it the full treatment today for free, wax and all. I did manage to find a few spots with no snow, so I just had to dig in the dirt and bang away at the rocks without having to shovel snow as well beforehand.

 

4 hours ago, Monica said:

I'm glad to hear that you made it out of that tricky spot without too much difficulty, and I'm looking forward to seeing your specimens post-prep...

 

By the way, since you mentioned dreams - two nights ago I had a dream that was searching for and actually found some ammonites on a forest trail - I think my reading of your tales is sticking with me even when I'm sleeping, Roger! :P

One of these days you'll have to bring your family over here and then you won't have to dream any more :)

 

5 hours ago, TqB said:

Glad you had your pickaxe! Looks like a nice Megateuthis there?

You could be right, but if so, it's quite a small one. Prep will tell.

 

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Roger the intrepid. Doesn't let snow and ice get in the way of his ammonite pursuits. Congratulations. Nice haul, especially given the conditions. As always- love to see the results once they're prepped.

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6 hours ago, JimB88 said:

:popcorn:

 

4 hours ago, Jeffrey P said:

Roger the intrepid. Doesn't let snow and ice get in the way of his ammonite pursuits. Congratulations. Nice haul, especially given the conditions. As always- love to see the results once they're prepped.

Yes. And he doesn't let commission work get in the way of his private prepping :ninja:. I actually should have gotten back to it today, but I wanted to at least have a quick peek at a couple of easy to prep things and then one thing led to another and I ended up tackling what appeared to be the best ammonite block.

 

@TqB The belemnite turned out to be a member of the Cylindroteuthididae, to be more specific Eocylindroteuthis trautscholdi  from the lower Bajocian discites zone. A first for my collection :)

 

Be116.thumb.jpg.a6f7cb4801591e2f8d4556b10a134fba.jpg

 

Then there were a couple of bivalves. First a Pleuromya sp. and then a Pholadomya sp. also both from the discites zone.

 

1.jpg.8b38864a30f9306fc4238562c4eebc43.jpg

 

2.jpg.9a2e21b4638a51ebebf18501a50ca16b.jpg

 

Now on to the ammonite(s). It's the one on the bottom left in the crate. To my satisfaction, I uncovered a second ammonite while scribing away. They both belong to the species Ancolioceras opalinoides and come from a late Aalenian outcrop. I could actually stop with the prep at the point I've reached, but I've decided to remove more matrix from the back so that the block can be viewed from both sides. As you can see in the 2nd photo, there's a lot of stone to be removed, so I'll be setting this aside for a day or two while I get back to the commission work.

 

5c6dc9d54862e_A1439vorher.a.thumb.jpg.98b587fee9ecec43742be9134b86bf86.jpg

5c6dc9e5e408a_A1439vorher.b.jpg.6a13008578fa4273221f82b0c3f1b154.jpg

 

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Your hard-won finds are wonderful, Roger. You'll have to write a ballad about your fossil-hunting adventures someday.

Start the day with a smile and get it over with.

 

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9 hours ago, ynot said:

More niceness Roger!

Thanks for the continuing story.

You're welcome.

 

9 hours ago, Pagurus said:

Your hard-won finds are wonderful, Roger. You'll have to write a ballad about your fossil-hunting adventures someday.

If you check out some of the old poetry contests, you're bound to stumble upon the one or the other from me.

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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12 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

 

Yes. And he doesn't let commission work get in the way of his private prepping :ninja:. I actually should have gotten back to it today, but I wanted to at least have a quick peek at a couple of easy to prep things and then one thing led to another and I ended up tackling what appeared to be the best ammonite block.

 

@TqB The belemnite turned out to be a member of the Cylindroteuthididae, to be more specific Eocylindroteuthis trautscholdi  from the lower Bajocian discites zone. A first for my collection :)

 

Be116.thumb.jpg.a6f7cb4801591e2f8d4556b10a134fba.jpg

 

 

Excellent! I've not been able to acquire one of those (and I've not heard of them from the UK). Sometimes dealers say they have them but they've so far all been young Megateuthis. It's only the lack of paired apical furrows with slight ventral furrow that characterises them.

Tarquin

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13 minutes ago, TqB said:

Excellent! I've not been able to acquire one of those (and I've not heard of them from the UK). Sometimes dealers say they have them but they've so far all been young Megateuthis. It's only the lack of paired apical furrows with slight ventral furrow that characterises them.

Well, I hope it's not just wishful thinking on my part, but I'm pretty sure I can recognize the features on it. Maybe I should remove it from the matrix just to make sure.

 

14 minutes ago, Monica said:

Roger, your hunting and prepping skills are unmatched!  Congrats! 

Thanks :)

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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@TqB I've removed the belemnite from the matrix. I think I'm correct in my assessment, but I'd still lke to ask for your opinion on this. The rostrum appears to be laterally compressed and is not complete, but I think that the furrow fits the picture more or less. There's no sign of an apical furrow to my eyes at any rate, which would be expected for a juvenile Megateuthis.

 

Be116b.thumb.jpg.f5079ffcdb20eb3e8835a2a315a7209a.jpg

Be116c.thumb.jpg.cfd15e70e990843230ad12004bc0aba6.jpg

 

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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2 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

@TqB I've removed the belemnite from the matrix. I think I'm correct in my assessment, but I'd still lke to ask for your opinion on this. The rostrum appears to be laterally compressed and is not complete, but I think that the furrow fits the picture more or less. There's no sign of an apical furrow to my eyes at any rate, which would be expected for a juvenile Megateuthis.

 

Be116b.thumb.jpg.f5079ffcdb20eb3e8835a2a315a7209a.jpg

 

 

 

Very interesting!  I've never worked properly on belemnites of this age but I don't think it's an Eocylindroteuthis. The furrow looks much too well incised and suggests that there might be something of a splitting surface towards the alveolar end. There's also the suggestion of an epirostrum.

 

I may be wrong but I think it looks like Holcobelus munieri which is even more interesting as it doesn't seem to be recorded from Germany - the linked paper by Robert Weiss et al lists:

Middle Aalenian to Lower Bajocian (Murchisonae– Humphriesianum zones) of France (Mont d’Or, Cévennes, Haute- Provençe, Hautes-Alpes, Normandie, Aquitaine, Bourgogne), Italy (Calabria), Ukraine (Kanev region), Poland and Slovakia (Carpathians), Bulgaria, Romania (Rosia area), United Kingdom (Dorset), Algeria (Hassi Bou Lakhal).

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234137955_The_belemnite_family_Holcobelidae_Coleoidea_in_the_European_Jurassic_Systematics_biostratigraphy_palaeobiogeography_and_evolutionary_trends

 

The description is on page 24 and here's part one of the plates - all H. munieri

 

What do you think?

5c6ed5ba0fd56_Screenshot2019-02-21at16_27_58.thumb.png.7d47c023d96769db8a0b967063053dc1.png

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Tarquin

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3 hours ago, TqB said:

 

Very interesting!  I've never worked properly on belemnites of this age but I don't think it's an Eocylindroteuthis. The furrow looks much too well incised and suggests that there might be something of a splitting surface towards the alveolar end. There's also the suggestion of an epirostrum.

 

I may be wrong but I think it looks like Holcobelus munieri which is even more interesting as it doesn't seem to be recorded from Germany - the linked paper by Robert Weiss et al lists:

Middle Aalenian to Lower Bajocian (Murchisonae– Humphriesianum zones) of France (Mont d’Or, Cévennes, Haute- Provençe, Hautes-Alpes, Normandie, Aquitaine, Bourgogne), Italy (Calabria), Ukraine (Kanev region), Poland and Slovakia (Carpathians), Bulgaria, Romania (Rosia area), United Kingdom (Dorset), Algeria (Hassi Bou Lakhal).

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234137955_The_belemnite_family_Holcobelidae_Coleoidea_in_the_European_Jurassic_Systematics_biostratigraphy_palaeobiogeography_and_evolutionary_trends

 

The description is on page 24 and here's part one of the plates - all H. munieri

 

What do you think?

5c6ed5ba0fd56_Screenshot2019-02-21at16_27_58.thumb.png.7d47c023d96769db8a0b967063053dc1.png

Yes, that is a splitting surface, so I figured if I just ignored it and concentrated on the furrow, then I'd have an Eocylindroteuthis, but maybe that was the wrong approach. Your idea with H.munieri is interesting. I must say, the appearance of this furrow is rather confusing.

 

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Some very neat fossils @Ludwigia ! :D Looking forward to more!

-Christian

 

Edited by The Amateur Paleontologist

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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@TqB Check out this link on p.156 if you haven't already.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232702259_A_belemnite_fauna_from_the_Aalenian-Bajocian_boundary_beds_of_the_Grand_Duchy_of_Luxembourg_NE_Paris_Basin

 

"The venter shows an intermediate narrow depression, which may be more incised and forms an intermediate groove." Etc.

This is trying to convince me that this is indeed an E.trautscholdi.

 

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Glad you managed to get out of that vehicular pickle and get more amazing stuff! Those  Ancolioceras opalinoides are awesome, its always great discovering you've got more than you thought during prep :D 

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16 minutes ago, Archie said:

Glad you managed to get out of that vehicular pickle and get more amazing stuff! Those  Ancolioceras opalinoides are awesome, its always great discovering you've got more than you thought during prep :D 

Yes, it's always a pleasant surprise, isn't it?

 

Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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11 hours ago, Ludwigia said:

@TqB Check out this link on p.156 if you haven't already.

 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232702259_A_belemnite_fauna_from_the_Aalenian-Bajocian_boundary_beds_of_the_Grand_Duchy_of_Luxembourg_NE_Paris_Basin

 

"The venter shows an intermediate narrow depression, which may be more incised and forms an intermediate groove." Etc.

This is trying to convince me that this is indeed an E.trautscholdi.

 

Yes, I was looking at that one too but hadn't read the description which does seem to fit. On the other hand, the figured specimen has a rather faint furrow. 

Belemnites are awkward to ID and furrows quite often misbehave - go back and find some more!

 

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Tarquin

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3 hours ago, TqB said:

Yes, I was looking at that one too but hadn't read the description which does seem to fit. On the other hand, the figured specimen has a rather faint furrow. 

Belemnites are awkward to ID and furrows quite often misbehave - go back and find some more!

 

OK! Will do :)

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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