Jump to content

Day 2 in the Hell Creek of SD-7/23/19


PaleoNoel

Recommended Posts

I spent another great day in the Hell Creek formation of South Dakota (w/ Paleoprospectors) and found a lot of great fossils. It was a beautiful day, the temperature wasn't bad at all, helped by the occasional breeze and the bugs were tolerable for the most part. We started the day on a microsite which was eroding out of the side of a hill. The iron siderite pebbles were sharp to sit on and the slope was steep- being sure footed was certainly an asset along a good portion of this exposure. In spite of those factors, I still found some awesome fossils. 

IMG_4329.JPG.37251c958bd5fffa96f1bd3028846cef.JPG

A view of the microsite from the ground.

 

 

IMG_4320.JPG.77b2781c021828c8fe9cadae8bc8148e.JPG

My first good find of the day- A worn Richardoestesia tooth

IMG_4322.JPG.2a9ac2f905d26e19d5b3cd83f319a34d.JPG

Most likely a Myledaphus vertebra

IMG_4324.JPG.980570629840ce395b0a4b3d1e21a5fe.JPG

A Champsosaur vertebra in situ

IMG_4327.JPG.63fc577e0fe310678587d54a8b24e675.JPG

An Amphibian vertebra- probably salamander. 

IMG_4338.JPG.b2505233515765f5bbc02eecffa5d826.JPG

Probably my best find of the day- a claw whose identity is currently unknown.

IMG_4340.JPG.f81fed20a75b543e951e43ce0329a60e.JPG

Two great anthill finds- Top: likely a marsupial tooth (Alphadon?)- Bottom: a multituberculate tooth (Cimolodon?)

 

After these finds, I went to prospect with some other people but unfortunately came up empty handed. At least I got some pics of the cool looking exposures.

 

IMG_4335.JPG.4414f83952f27c01f09dea728c7e0938.JPG

IMG_4336.JPG.1387c965cbebd03c3233d15d9afc9922.JPG

 

After we returned from prospecting I decided to finish the day hunting the microsite where I started and spend some time at a channel deposit below which was also producing some solid finds (Another participant found a nice Acheroraptor tooth and a small theropod or bird claw there earlier)

IMG_4332.JPG.651c9ff415bbced635073f753118a61b.JPG

Center left: Myledaphus tooth

IMG_4333.JPG.462c57c9d2a18403f34257b26ebec817.JPG

A nice croc tooth.

 

My last good find was a small section of theropod claw which I unfortunately did not get a pic of.

 

Stay tuned because tomorrow we visit another Hell Creek ranch in North Dakota this time!

IMG_4334.JPG

  • I found this Informative 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for taking us along on a trip we all envy. :) Love the in-situ photos. These images of how your finds looked when you first spotted them really help to draw us into the trip report and make us feel we're right there with you.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, digit said:

Thanks for taking us along on a trip we all envy. :) Love the in-situ photos. These images of how your finds looked when you first spotted them really help to draw us into the trip report and make us feel we're right there with you.

Cheers.

-Ken

 

12 hours ago, JarrodB said:

Nice trip report and great pics. 

 

9 hours ago, ynot said:

:default_faint:

Congratulations on the wonderful finds.

Thanks guys, I'm glad people are enjoying my daily updates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...