Gettin' Around - Bosque County

[facehugger]

It's been a few years of hunting for me now. What began as a spontaneous trip to North Sulphur River, spurred by childhood nostalgia, has become something of a gnawing beast that constantly nibbles at the corner of my consciousness. What will the weather be like this weekend? When will I have another three-day break? Is the car road-trip ready? Do I have the right foot ware for the locale? Is that unprepped fossil an ammonite or a nautilus? When will I finally find my first mosasaur tooth? And on and on...

 

I've often wondered if this is a pre-midlife crisis. The time I get to spend outside is usually enjoyable, even when the weather is inhospitable. Is it madness that I am picking up ammonites at Lake Texoma among rocks covered in icicles? Possibly. Why worry about freezing cold water creeping over the tops over your boots when there is a beautiful vertebra with an ebony patina sitting in the gravel bar across the channel? 

 

I've hunted the well known sites up until now. North Sulphur River, Whiskey Bridge, Post Oak Creek. I have still much to learn about these places and the fossilized remains found there. But alas the gnawing beast isn't satisfied with only a handful of locations, regardless of their charm and ability to still surprise. So with a few carefully coordinated research tools, new sites began to slowly appear on my radar.  

 

I'm gettin' around. 

 

Considering this was one of my first scouting missions, this trip was pretty productive. The finds below are all from Bosque County, and likely came from several units: Comanche Peak, Edwards, and Fort Worth. All Cretaceous. Urchins, clams, gastropod steinkerns, oysters, prints. Let me know what you think. 

 

Until the gnawing starts again, ladies and gentlemen...

 

 

 

 

[Scylla]

Nice job. I like the variety

[Monica]

Nice finds!  I especially like the bivalves (or brachiopods?) in the second row from the top of the photo - they're beautiful!

[facehugger]

12 hours ago, Scylla said:

Nice job. I like the variety

Thanks! Was happy about the variety myself...

 

6 hours ago, Monica said:

Nice finds!  I especially like the bivalves (or brachiopods?) in the second row from the top of the photo - they're beautiful!

Yes, brachiopods. Thank you! They are very nicely preserved...

[JohnJ]

 The bivalves in the second row down from the top are Neithea species...not a brachiopod.

[facehugger]

39 minutes ago, JohnJ said:

 The bivalves in the second row down from the top are Neithea species...not a brachiopod.

Thanks for the info! Was hoping for expert knowledge to fill in some gaps for me. 

 

"Neithea is an extinct genus of bivalve mollusks that lived from the Early Jurassic to the early Paleocene, with a worldwide distribution.^[1] Neithia sp. are inequivalve. That means that the two valves are not the same shape, the right valve being strongly concave and the left valve being flattened or concave. Sculpture consist of alternating strong and weaker radiating ribs."

 

That makes a great deal of sense. I really need to get more education on these species and the defining characteristics. Thanks again!

[JohnJ]

If you don't have it, consider an essential book on Texas fossils. 

[facehugger]

20 minutes ago, JohnJ said:

If you don't have it, consider an essential book on Texas fossils. 

I DO have that book! Just still learning  

[Al Tahan]

Nice haul!! 

[facehugger]

21 minutes ago, Al Tahan said:

Nice haul!! 

Thanks, Al! Was very happy about myself. Scouting for new sites is hard work, glad it paid off...

[MeargleSchmeargl]

If I had a car and enough time on my hands, I'd follow suit. Particularly a couple of Rocky outcrops I've seen on the way to the Conasauga bug site I frequent. They just have that "look" that tells you something's in them. 

 

 

Those bivalves look like you plucked them right off the seafloor. Absolutely beautiful! 

[facehugger]

1 minute ago, MeargleSchmeargl said:

If I had a car and enough time on my hands, I'd follow suit. Particularly a couple of Rocky outcrops I've seen on the way to the Conasauga bug site I frequent. They just have that "look" that tells you something's in them. 

 

 

Those bivalves look like you plucked them right off the seafloor. Absolutely beautiful! 

 

I just came back a few weeks ago from Big Bend / Terlingua a few weeks ago. 10-11 hour drive back home to Houston. While most people would be too discouraged to stop at outcroppings in the middle of such a drive, I promise that I stopped for at least three...

 

Thank you very much! I was pretty amazed when I found the first one, the preservation detail was almost heartbreaking.

[Darktooth]

Great finds and nice variety!

[Tidgy's Dad]

They may not be brachiopods, but those Neithea are very nice finds.

[Fossildude19]

Nice report and finds!

Thanks for sharing it with us.  

[Ludwigia]

Thanks for sharing!

[Wrangellian]

On 2/27/2019 at 9:33 AM, facehugger said:

Thanks for the info! Was hoping for expert knowledge to fill in some gaps for me. 

 

"Neithea is an extinct genus of bivalve mollusks that lived from the Early Jurassic to the early Paleocene, with a worldwide distribution.^[1] Neithia sp. are inequivalve. That means that the two valves are not the same shape, the right valve being strongly concave and the left valve being flattened or concave. Sculpture consist of alternating strong and weaker radiating ribs."

 

That makes a great deal of sense. I really need to get more education on these species and the defining characteristics. Thanks again!

Just in case anybody is paying attention, there is a mistake in the quote - it should say: "right valve is strongly convex, the left being flattened or concave"

I like the Neitheas too... very nice. How often does a person find them with both valves, I wonder?

[Scylla]

8 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

Just in case anybody is paying attention, there is a mistake in the quote - it should say: "right valve is strongly convex, the left being flattened or concave"

I like the Neitheas too... very nice. How often does a person find them with both valves, I wonder?

I have only hunted in Texas a couple of days, but where I found Neithea they all had both valves. 

[Wrangellian]

Oh good, so it's not too much to hope to get an example for myself sometime, thru trade or purchase? I've got one that is one valve only (barely).