Caloosahatchee before the algae hits

[dalmayshun]

Last Saturday , my regular fossil buddy and I took the kayaks out on the Caloosahatchee , trying to get a trip out before the river is covered in blue green algae once again. As we arrive at our spot to put in, the swirls of algae were already starting. Florida has a difficult problem it has been observing for years, with no solution. Under our new legislator, perhaps something will be done...at least they are throwing 30 million dollars at research to figure out how to solve the problem. But I digress, ( after all the problem is upsetting to anyone who uses the water....which is all of South Florida). We first headed west along the river to a couple of shallow edges where we typically find sharks teeth...only a few. Too many trees in the way from the last hurricane. So we turned our kayaks back upstream to our usual Caloosahatchee formation spot. We decided to head a little further than our spot while checking the shoreline. In about another 100 yards, I spotted some tell tale Cardium Dalli in the bank close to the surface of the water. we pulled onto a shallow spot, almost like a sandbar, but right at the river's edge. As I stepped out of my kayak, I crunched on Dalli shells, so dug a little straight down into the sand. I pulled up about 4 or 5 Dalli, one included a broken have of a nodipecten. (Wish I had knee pads along....ouch) I felt around in the sand a bit, and could tell there was a large smooth shell.. I anticipated it would be a Lobatus ledyi, so I was very careful with clearing the sand away. Often they have a broken lip or edge, but I still like to discover them. After what seems lilke a long time, wearing down my fingernails, I was able to work it loose....it was the most perfect ledyi I have seen. Its notches and curves were still sinuous and beautiful. I carefully wrapped it in my hat to store it, and dug a bit more. Over all, I found a nice cache of shells at this spot...you can see. 

      The other fossil I was impressed by at this location. Is the Arca Wagneriana...it has a particularly long bottom point on it. Almost twice as long as others I have found nearby. I found three of these, but the picutured, is the very best. 

      Finally, I have included an ostrea...which I don't believe is a sculpturata...I am unfamiliar with it. But it too is a beauty, dug out of the sandy bottom of the river. I am assuming these are all in such good shape because they were on the bottom of the river, rather than in a bank, where they would have been subjected to more lateral forces...Hope you enjoy, the river is beautful, and we need to keep it clean. 

[Max-fossils]

Such cool finds!!! Man I'd love to hunt there sometime. 

Your Lobatus is beautiful, but that Arca is just nuts!

Your oyster could maybe also be Ostrea lawrenci (if you scroll down in Images to the 3rd photo, some specimens look kinda similar). But I don't find Ostrea sculpturata a bad match either...

 

Glad you and your buddy had a good time!  

 

 

[Mark Kmiecik]

Awesome finds! 

[Nimravis]

Great finds- gotta love Florida shells.

[JohnBrian]

What is the age of your finds?

[Darktooth]

Nice finds!

[dalmayshun]

The bed we search is gelasian/calabrian  So from  2.5  to .75 million years 

[dalmayshun]

The bed we search is gelasian/calabrian  So from  2.5  to .75 million years 

Max,  i think your suggestion for lawrecei fits pretty well... and i noted the location the holotype was found,  same general area. Good call. I know it's not scupturata, i have some of those, and the edges are deeply v shaped , both halves.  This one has a flattened edge 

 

   I have to apologize...I read the top label for the images of my Ostrea on the Neogene Atlas of Ancient Life page, but realized the Fla Museum of Invertebrate site contained the very same image,  identified as Ostrea Greeni. When I went back to the Neogene Site, I realized I had the wrong label...guess I was thinking so much about Max's i.d. as Lawrencei, I fell into that id. On the Neogene site, Lawrencei is right next to Greeni. It is id as an Ostrea Myrakeena greeni @Max-fossils

[Plantguy]

Yep the red tide and algaes have been a real problem for us this year...was watching the latest blue green invasion on the news tonight.

Gorgeous shells! congrats! I remember spending some time extra time digging out a big gastro awhile back and your ending turned out perfect...mine was missing the last whorls!

thanks for showing us the latest! 

Regards, Chris 

[Monica]

Exquisite finds - congrats!

[Coco]

 

Coco