Troodon Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Just got back from a trip to the badlands of Montana and South Dakota in the Hell Creek Formation.. Here are some photos of some of the bones I picked up at an Edmontosaurus site. My hope was to collect specimens fitting in a shoebox and I was fairly successful at that which was quite surprise since you dont get to choose what you find. The site is faily large and the area I was collected had about 6 foot of overburden removed a couple of years ago so there was only 12 inches left before I hit the layer. The layer in this area is about 17 to 20 inches thick, white lines. Nothing is prepped at this point, lots of work in front of me but here are the raw photos before beautification Foot Bones - numbers correspond to my finds #1 Juvenile Metatarsal - IV #2 Phalanx II-2 Ventral view #3 Phalanx IV not yet sure which one #3 Another Phalanx IV bone #4 Ungual Digit III... found two close match to each other #4 Ungual Juvie think its Digit IV but I need to verify after prepping 21 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 Hand bones, carpals & ungual I found. Using a hypracasaurus hand to show location of each. Again these are all Edmontosaurus. Did clean one 19 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 Found lots of vertebrae mostly caudals some complete with spines others just centrums Centrum that black object to its left is another centrum shown below Caudal with processes Processes first visible Processes separated from centrum but complete Another caudal ..neural process mostly complete All there but needs work Thats it for now...need to take photo of teeth, hadro, theropod and other bones 25 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JarrodB Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Great finds. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sharkdoctor Posted June 19, 2019 Share Posted June 19, 2019 Wow! As a collector that prefers in situ collecting, it is amazing to see your photos and process. The matrix looks like a mixture of fine sand and clay.?. Thanks for sharing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 24 minutes ago, sharkdoctor said: Wow! As a collector that prefers in situ collecting, it is amazing to see your photos and process. The matrix looks like a mixture of fine sand and clay.?. Thanks for sharing! Yep gravel concretions layer, sand and clay Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PaleoNoel Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Awesome finds, makes me even more excited to be out there in July! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ynot Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Congratulations on the wonderful finds Frank! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fossil-Hound Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 @Troodon that’s very impressive. I’ve wanted to do this for years. Keep it up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RuMert Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Nice preservation Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Natalie81 Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Great report of great finds, congratulations! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Amateur Paleontologist Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Always love your reports Frank, and this one is no exception Those are some really cool finds!! -Christian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Al Tahan Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Really cool trip !! I think I speak for many when we say we are jealous Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bev Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Great Finds! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nimravis Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Great finds Frank, congrats- love the pictures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
smt126 Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 I'm always excited to see your trip reports. What do you use to excavate until you find a bone out of curiosity? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 @JarrodB @Pemphix @Nimravis @Bev @Al Tahan @The Amateur Paleontologist @Natalie81 @RuMert @Fossil-Hound @ynot Appreciate the feedback, thank you 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 On 6/19/2019 at 5:56 PM, PaleoNoel said: Awesome finds, makes me even more excited to be out there in July! Good luck in july, always a challenge 6 hours ago, smt126 said: I'm always excited to see your trip reports. What do you use to excavate until you find a bone out of curiosity? Everyone has their approach but first I use a shovel to get close to the layer. Then I like using a knife to get me through the top crunchy portion an inch or so and a bit below. Some continue with that knife until they hit or see a bone but I like switching to an awl, blue /white handle in photo. I switch to an xacto knife if I see bone or a tooth. Rarely use anything else other than glue to field stabilize the specimens. 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Al Tahan Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 @Troodon did you have to lease a plot of land? I know some people pay to get a small area to dig and whatever you find is yours...I think they are called “treasure hunts”. Just curious Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Troodon Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 35 minutes ago, Al Tahan said: @Troodon did you have to lease a plot of land? I know some people pay to get a small area to dig and whatever you find is yours...I think they are called “treasure hunts”. Just curious Every location is different. On these bone, we just know the landowners and have been collecting there for a very very long time does get compensated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
smt126 Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 Thanks for the info. I'm hoping to make it back out to Montana next year to look for dino material. We had a lot of fun doing it 2 years ago, but didnt use much for tools except a screwdriver and brush. We didn't really excavate any major areas though, just looked for things sticking out. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ober Posted June 22, 2019 Share Posted June 22, 2019 this looks to have been a very neat experience, thanks for sharing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vieira Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 Thanks for sharing. Amazing finds and report Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jpc Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 Looks like a great site. Lots of bones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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