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May 2019 - Finds of the Month Entries


digit

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REMINDER: PLEASE carefully read ALL of the rules below.

Make sure you include all the required information, IN THE REQUESTED FORMAT (below) when you submit your fossil! 

If you have a question about a possible entry, please send me a PM.


Please pay special attention to Rule #5: 

Before and After Preparation Photos must be submitted for prepped specimens NOT  found during the Month of the Contest.

In addition to keeping the contest fair, this new qualification will encourage better documentation of our spectacular past finds.


Entries will be taken until 11:59:00 PM EDT on MAY 31, 2019

Any fossil submitted after that time, even if the thread is still open, will be deemed ineligible! 

 

Only entries posted with CLEAR photos and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll. 

Photos of the winning specimens may be posted to TFF's Facebook page.

 

Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month.

 

Shortly after the end of the Month, separate Polls will be created for the Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month.

 

In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the fossils. 

Tell us more about your fossil, and why you think it is worthy of the honor. 


To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery.

 

Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry!
Best of success to all, and good hunting!

 

***********************************


Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests

  1. Find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found personally by you are allowed. NO PURCHASED FOSSILS.
  2. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry. (Only two entries per member per contest category.)
  3. Your fossil must have been found during the Month of the Contest, or Significant Preparation * of your fossil must have been completed during the Month of the Contest.
  4. You must include the Date of Discovery (when found in the contest month); or the Date of Preparation Completion and Date of Discovery (if not found in the contest month).
  5. Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest. Please make sure you arrange for photos if someone else is preparing your fossil find and completes the prep requirements in the contest month.
  6. You must include the Common and/or Scientific Name.
  7. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the fossil was found.
  8. You must include the State, Province, or region where the fossil was found.
  9. You must include CLEAR, cropped, well-lit images (maximum 4 images). If you are proud enough of your fossil to submit it for FOTM, spend some time to take good photos to show off your fossil.
  10. Play fair and honest. No bought fossils. No false claims.

 

* Significant Preparation = Substantial work to reveal and/or repair important diagnostic features, resulting in a dramatic change in the look of the fossil. The qualification of Significant Preparation is decided at the discretion of staff. Any doubts as to the eligibility of the entry will be discussed directly with the entrant.

 

******* Please use the following format for the required information: *******

Date of Discovery

Scientific and/or Common Name

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation

State, Province, or Region Found

Photos of Find (Please limit to 4 clear, cropped, and well-lit images.)

(If prepped, before and after photos are required, please.)

 

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The Cenomanian-Turonian carbonate succession of the Western Portuguese Carbonate Platform preserves a shallow water record of the latest Cenomanian extinction event (Cenomanian-Turonian Boundary Event [CTBE], Bonarelli Event or OAE 2). In Coimbra district the Cenomanian-Turonian succession levels B to O are present. H, I and J levels are related with this important biotic crisis. I level is a bed of grey marl or marl limestone with abundant small Mecaster scutiger. This specimen is not a collector’s jewel, like we usually see on Finds of the Month Entries, but has dozens of echinoids in grey marl and it is an exceptional sample as testimony of that anoxic event. 

 

Found: May 3

Mecaster scutiger (Forbes in Sharpe,1850)  [Forbes designation:  Brissus scutiger and is generally identified has Hemiaster scutiger in literature].

Tentúgal Fm, I level

Cretaceous, Cenomanian

Montemor-o-Velho, Coimbra, Portugal

 

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IMG_0648.thumb.JPG.0673d952b82a5f6d7a770c7089af5af8.JPG

 

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5 hours ago, ricardo said:

This specimen is not a collector’s jewel, like we usually see on Finds of the Month Entries, but has dozens of echinoids in grey marl and it is an exceptional sample as testimony of that anoxic event.

Entries into the FOTM contest should contribute to a diverse gallery of special items that our members were happy to find each month. We vote to select a winner from the contributed entries and members (hopefully) vote for the item that they would most like to have found themselves--the most drool-worthy. :drool: It is true that sometimes the voting does tend to be a bit of a beauty contest but often rarity or the exceptional preservation is what is most appreciated by the membership.

 

On 4/30/2019 at 8:35 PM, digit said:

In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the fossils. 

Tell us more about your fossil, and why you think it is worthy of the honor. 

We ask for some background on the entries and why you think they are worthy to be considered for the FOTM because this helps us understand more about fossils we likely know little about.

 

Thank you for your entry that may not be a "collector's jewel" but you understand why this death assemblage has something to say about the taphonomy behind its creation (and now so do we). ;) The FOTM contest is a place to show special fossils our membership finds each month and should not simply be a beauty contest.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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"Collector's jewel" is very much in the eye of the beholder.  If I found such a dense aggregation of echinoids, I would certainly consider it to be a jewel.

 

Don

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34 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

... If I found such a dense aggregation of echinoids, I would certainly consider it to be a jewel.

I agree; it is a fascinating specimen.

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"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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It looks very cool to me. i would be happy to find one like it. 

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Discovered Saturday, May 4

Stromatoporoid (with a bonus Nautiloid!)

Likely Devonian, Geological Formation unknown as it was found in erosion control rocks around a lake

Champaign, Illinois, USA

 

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Nice! Can you point out the nautiloid for those of us who are a bit thick? ;)

 

Nice to see some fossils from the area near my alma mater--had I only known back in the day.....:P

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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@Rockwood was kind enough to point the Nautiloid out for me!

And that's so cool, you went to University of Illinois? I'm currently studying environmental science there!

 

0F5B8254-3499-4463-BA27-D469BBC5660D.thumb.jpeg.135fb55b280f434385ee958f04cc0ec2_LI.jpg

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Didn't recognize him without the shirt and glasses. :P

 

I graduated UIUC back in the Dark Ages--I got my degree in Computer Science so it wasn't THAT long ago (seems like only yesterday). Spent my years living in the FAR (far south that is). ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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This is something very new to me.

 

I just found this Middle Devonian Pleurodictyum americanum coral that was attached to a crinoid calyx and not the typical Palaeozygopleura gastropod. Those of you that know me, know that I collect a number of Pleurodictyum corals here in NY each year and many are huge and well preserved. I have found them attached to other hard surfaces beside snails like clam shells and crinoid stems. I have never found one attached to a crinoid calyx before and it may be a first example. I'm not sure as to the species of crinoid but the Devonian fauna in NY is limited. I believe the crinoid is a small Megistocrinus. The pics are of a large specimen found a couple years ago (size comparison) and the two smaller specimens found today (5/9/2019) with a typical Palaeozygopleura gastropod and of the crinoid calyx preserved on the underside of the corals. 

 

A super cool and rare association. 

 

Pleurodictyum americanum (Tabulate coral) attached to a crinoid calyx (Megistocrinus?)

Middle Devonian, Moscow formation

Livingston County, New York

collected and prepped - 5/9/2019

coralcontest.jpg

DSC07465.JPG

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Many times I've wondered how much there is to know.  
led zeppelin

 

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png IPFOTM.png IPFOTM2.png IPFOTM3.png IPFOTM4.png IPFOTM5.png

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Just an exciting find for me I would like to submit this month.

 

I’ve become a fan of phyllocarids and this find was a personal milestone. My first Echinocaris punctata. I’m still floored at the quality of the specimen so I figured I’d toss it in the mix here :)

 

Date of discovery: May 11th, 2019

Scientific name: Echinocaris punctata

Geologic age: Middle Devonian (Givetian)

Geologic formation: Moscow formation, Hamilton group.

Location: Madison county, New York

 

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A comparison photo of the anatomy of the carapaces. This is just a half carapace that I found. The image came from Carl Wilson’s book on Devonian paleontology of New York. 

 

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Here is a close up for the small details. 

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Al 

 

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30 minutes ago, Al Tahan said:

Just an exciting find for me I would like to submit this month.

Exciting indeed! Amazing to find such a perfect specimen. 

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10 hours ago, Al Tahan said:

My first Echinocaris punctata

 

Great specimen! I love it! :tiphat:

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11 hours ago, Al Tahan said:

 I’m still floored at the quality of the specimen so I figured I’d toss it in the mix here :)

Creating a diverse gallery of wonderful specimens found by our membership is the underlying reason for these monthly contests. It creates a place for beautiful items like this to be seen by members who might miss them if posted in a topic that is missed. Such a great resemblance to the drawing.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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I just decided spontaneous to take part this month with my best find from Holzmaden of the year so far.

This seems to be a kinda rare find because maybe these are plesiosaur bones. Plesiosaur is the rarest marine reptile in the area of Holzmaden so I am pretty happy with this find :) On the plate are two ribs, a phalange and an interclavicle. But I am far away from being with the ID although I already showed it too some local experts. 

 

In this thread I showed some preparation process on this piece: (At that point I thought that these are crocodile bones)

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/94301-unidentified-crocodile-bones-from-holzmaden/

 

Date of discovery: April 14th, 2019

Finished prep this month

Scientific name: Marine reptile bones (perhaps Plesiosaur bones)

Age: Lower Jurassic, Posidonia Shale

Location: Holzmaden, Germany

 

Unprepped:

5cdf20182e147_unprpariert.thumb.JPG.6f65294d2b5569f98811839636600251.JPG

 

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Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils :)

Regards Sebastian

Belo.gif

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On 17/05/2019 at 10:59 PM, belemniten said:

(perhaps Plesiosaur bones)

That'd be amazing :) 

Neat specimen you've got there!

-Christian

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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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Date found: September 5, 2018

Date prep completed May 17, 2019

Name: Triarthrus eatoni

Geologic age: Ordovician

Locality: Beecher's beds, Walcott quarry, near Rome, NY

 

This is the before picture, still attached to the host rock. A small part could not be found so Markus flipped it and did a ventral prep on it. Lucky thing too, otherwise wouldn't have found the eggs!

 

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 Quite a story behind this one. In the late 1800's Valiant discovered this quarry, later, Beecher started scientific study of it but Walcott (of later Burgess Shale fame) started to dig only a few feet away. For more detail click here.

 

Fast forward 120 or so years. I got an invite to a paid day digging in this quarry with one of my fossling buddies, Gary V. Markus was a great host and taught us so much about trilobites and how to see them with his x-Ray vision.  Gary found a complete bug within the first 5 minutes. I took 3 hours to find my first one. By the end of the day I had managed to find five. Markus' son prepped these for me and I just picked them up yesterday on my way home from the Penn Dixie dig. Two of the five had eggs and one had a 3 part terminal claw (foot?). Wish I could post more than 4 pics here. The circled parts are trilobite eggs. Needless to say there is soft tissue preservation of the legs and antenna as well.

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On 5/21/2019 at 1:23 AM, Scylla said:

5ce38b36f3210_Gus-Eggbug_figured-.thumb.jpg.138da904a2ebdcdf4e56c0b5d34e04ee.jpg

Wow, what a beauty! I’m curious, what is the significance of the two circled parts?

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7 minutes ago, gieserguy said:

Wow, what a beauty! I’m curious, what is the significance of the two circled parts?

Edited original post now. Those are the eggs.

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12 minutes ago, Scylla said:

Edited original post now. Those are the eggs.

Wow... that’s outstanding!

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Dinosaur caudal vertebra

 

ampelosaurus3.jpg.b9a9e7e24d4c741c4766c228a531a410.jpg

 

Date of discovery: May 2019

Name: Titanosaurid indet

Age: Campanian, Upper Cretaceous

Location: Provence, France

Size: 15 CM long

20190521_172430.jpg.00dc60499c170f9a94a71ecf19b79c68.jpg20190521_172442.jpg.83d039a9c9bdee6d8e91c84d0769d6a7.jpg20190521_172454.jpg.8e73232266d4906bd2dc99bddf7405bb.jpg20190521_172503.jpg.ceeb492944d90dec64ba9683562d4d5a.jpg

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