Black Sahara - Erfoud - Morocco

[Tidgy's Dad]

10 hours ago, Wrangellian said:

Any chance of a pic of that Scyphocrinites now, Adam? The good one you found but couldn't get a pic of at the time?

Just reviewing your string of threads (how's that for a metaphor?) and noticed it is still missing.

Thanks, I'd forgotten about it. 

I'll try to remember to dig it out over the next few days and take some new photos. 

[Wrangellian]

OK 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Friend of mine, mother to 3 of my other friends and students just passed on, i'm kind of 'Uncle' here............

Going to be a tad busy. 

[Wrangellian]

Oh my...

[Tidgy's Dad]

On 6/14/2019 at 10:59 AM, Wrangellian said:

Oh my...

Still haven't found it .  I think it's got mixed up with my Middle Devonian stuff somewhere. 

Beginning to sound like a Fisherman's Tale. 

 

For those who want to start at the beginning : 

 

 

 

And for the latest info on the "Black Orthoceras Marble" see the end of the following post : 

 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Tidgy's Dad

[Agatized Deinonychus]

Thanks for the education. Can foreigners/amateurs hunt for fossils anywhere in Morocco? I think hunting is illegal there? How do all these places get these fossils?

Edited July 8, 2022 by Agatized Deinonychus

[Agatized Deinonychus]

On 3/17/2019 at 2:09 AM, doushantuo said:

That's two lovely people and a weird dude with glasses

If I'm not mistaken, that's old man Indiana Jones.

[Tidgy's Dad]

6 hours ago, Agatized Deinonychus said:

Thanks for the education. Can foreigners/amateurs hunt for fossils anywhere in Morocco? I think hunting is illegal there? How do all these places get these fossils?

Most places in Morocco it is perfectly fine to collect, though, obviously, working mines and deep pits owned by companies or private individuals are a no no. Fossil hunting trips for tourists are a very important part of the economy and individuals can also come and hunt, though you may find that the most popular areas will be guarded and blocked by those who make money from the fossils found there. Sometimes you may have to pay someone who claims to be the landowner, but it won't be much. Morocco is huge and the number of exposures is vast, so there are thousands of places that haven't been commercialized that one can go and collect. And you can take them out of the country too, unless you plan on shipping out a whole dinosaur or something. 

Much of Morocco is not covered in vegetation or soil, so it's much easier to access the rocks than in many other places.   

[Tidgy's Dad]

9 hours ago, Agatized Deinonychus said:

If I'm not mistaken, that's old man Indiana Jones.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Tidgy's Dad

[Agatized Deinonychus]

7 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Most places in Morocco it is perfectly fine to collect, though, obviously, working mines and deep pits owned by companies or private individuals are a no no. Fossil hunting trips for tourists are a very important part of the economy and individuals can also come and hunt, though you may find that the most popular areas will be guarded and blocked by those who make money from the fossils found there. Sometimes you may have to pay someone who claims to be the landowner, but it won't be much. Morocco is huge and the number of exposures is vast, so there are thousands of places that haven't been commercialized that one can go and collect. And you can take them out of the country too, unless you plan on shipping out a whole dinosaur or something. 

Much of Morocco is not covered in vegetation or soil, so it's much easier to access the rocks than in many other places.   

Thank you! I thought it was illegal to hunt. I'm putting this on my list!! What would you say is the best way to go about finding a spot? Are there guides on the internet? Should I find landowners within the formations I'm looking to hunt after I get there? What if I want to hunt for dinosaur chunkasaurus or mosasaur? Not whole dinosaurs, obviously.

 

The best way to get fossils out of Morocco is to just ship them from Morocco back to the states?

 

Thank you again! This was a fascinating read!

[Tidgy's Dad]

15 hours ago, Agatized Deinonychus said:

Thank you! I thought it was illegal to hunt. I'm putting this on my list!! What would you say is the best way to go about finding a spot? Are there guides on the internet? Should I find landowners within the formations I'm looking to hunt after I get there? What if I want to hunt for dinosaur chunkasaurus or mosasaur? Not whole dinosaurs, obviously.

 

The best way to get fossils out of Morocco is to just ship them from Morocco back to the states?

 

Thank you again! This was a fascinating read!

No, it's not illegal. You've seen my threads, just stop off at road cuts and see what you can find. For the many famous spots, you may need to get permission to enter a mine or quarry. Yes, it's a good idea to get a local guide or one of the many official guides that can be found on the net who will know the local guides and experts. Some of these places are huge distances off the beaten track and even with a 4x4 you will be lucky to find them if you don't know what you're doing. The landowners will quickly make their presence fely if they belive you are on their property, some of them are just chancers and it isn't their land, but in either case, a few dollars will fix the problem. Dinosaurs I don't know much about, not my main area of interest, though I've bought a couple of bits, I've never been to the sites for them in Morocco, but you can gat to them fairly easily, I think. Maybe PM @Haravex, I understand he's a regular visitor to the Kem Kem.  As for mosasaurs, again you see them for sale all over the place, but I guess to collect them you'd need to go to somewhere like the phosphate mines at Khouribga, but again, I haven't been. I understand that you can't get into the working mines, but there are some spoil tips that may be accessible. Maybe a PM to @Snen would be helpful. 

As I live in Morocco, I don't know much about shipping things out, but yes, I don't think it's a problem to ship to the USA or take them in your luggage. As long as the items aren't of particular scientific or cultural interest you should be fine. I had a bit of a run in with the Ministry of Mines and customs recently, but this is a rare occurrence.    

[Agatized Deinonychus]

8 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

No, it's not illegal. You've seen my threads, just stop off at road cuts and see what you can find. For the many famous spots, you may need to get permission to enter a mine or quarry. Yes, it's a good idea to get a local guide or one of the many official guides that can be found on the net who will know the local guides and experts. Some of these places are huge distances off the beaten track and even with a 4x4 you will be lucky to find them if you don't know what you're doing. The landowners will quickly make their presence fely if they belive you are on their property, some of them are just chancers and it isn't their land, but in either case, a few dollars will fix the problem. Dinosaurs I don't know much about, not my main area of interest, though I've bought a couple of bits, I've never been to the sites for them in Morocco, but you can gat to them fairly easily, I think. Maybe PM @Haravex, I understand he's a regular visitor to the Kem Kem.  As for mosasaurs, again you see them for sale all over the place, but I guess to collect them you'd need to go to somewhere like the phosphate mines at Khouribga, but again, I haven't been. I understand that you can't get into the working mines, but there are some spoil tips that may be accessible. Maybe a PM to @Snen would be helpful. 

As I live in Morocco, I don't know much about shipping things out, but yes, I don't think it's a problem to ship to the USA or take them in your luggage. As long as the items aren't of particular scientific or cultural interest you should be fine. I had a bit of a run in with the Ministry of Mines and customs recently, but this is a rare occurrence.    

Thank you for the valuable info

 

Quote

I had a bit of a run in with the Ministry of Mines and customs recently

Of course you did! Indiana Jones wouldn't be Indiana Jones without a little trouble in Morocco!

[Tidgy's Dad]

On 7/9/2022 at 8:45 PM, Agatized Deinonychus said:

Thank you for the valuable info

 

Of course you did! Indiana Jones wouldn't be Indiana Jones without a little trouble in Morocco!

[Tidgy's Dad]

I have explained near the end of the linked thread below how the famous "Devonian Orthoceras marble" is not Devonian, Orthoceras or marble. 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/93823-fossil-shops-erfoud-morocco/page/4/

The genus Orthoceras is restricted to Balto-Scandinavia so the multitude of dealers claiming "Orthoceras from Morocco." are incorrect. 

The Upper Silurian to Late Devonian strata of Erfoud, Hamar Laghdad and the general Tafilalet area are very rich in a diverse assemblage of cephalopods of many taxa. 

Here are a few of just my Lower Devonian specimens, some of which I posted on page three of this thread. This excludes those still in matrix and all the ammonoids:

  

These are all different genera and just a small selection of the dozens of species found in the region. 

It is not even correct to call them "orthocerids", as beside the order Orthocerida, the orders Pseudorthocerida, Actinocerida, and Bactritida, among others, all have straight shelled or straight shelled in part representatives commonly found at different levels. 

As the Orthoceratoidea is now often accepted as a subclass, separate to the Nautiloidea and the Bactritoidea is another subclass in this system, the best we can do is call them straight-shelled cephalopods or orthoconic cephalopods, even "orthoconic nautiloids", probably now being inaccurate. 

Without cross-sections, details of internal structure and external morphology, these specimens,, which are often internal molds, are next to impossible to identify.

 

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Tidgy's Dad