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Hunt for Oligocene stuff in the Carpathian Mountains


Kasia

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Last weekend I went for a very short trip to the Carpathian Mountains, to find some Oligocene stuff. Every year it becomes more and more difficult to find nice complete specimens, because the locations are (unfortunately :P) quite easily accessible and therefore there are plenty of fossil hunters (especially now during holidays). 

The first location is situated close to the place we commonly refer to as the Polish Texas :), called Bóbrka - it is the world's oldest (and still operating) oil mine.  https://bobrka.pl/en/about-the-museum/

Nowadays it operates also as a museum, where you can see old drilling equipment and see the well up close 

 

 

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The location is called Rogi:

 

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image.png.94e1802169920ed2411205948ff4fbf6.png

 

As you can see, there is plenty of material to go through, but unfortunately it's not easy to find a complete specimen. Most of them are partials of Oligocene fish - here are some of the finds:

 

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We found some pieces I call "pretty mess" :) 

 

image.png.2a2f8304693e3e9a17387a09ec7095c9.png

 

 

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image.png.649f2be84722da1445c63953a10aed51.png

 

I like this one - the part at the top to the right looks like a bow with an arrow :)

 

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Coprolites (I guess)

 

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The next location is really hard to overlook (again, unfortunately for me :heartylaugh:) - it is the biggest exposure of the Carpathian Flysch called Ściana Olzy (The Olza Wall). It's 300 m long and 30 m high:

 

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Nowadays the water level allows to approach the wall directly

 

 

 

 

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image.png.5f7108b385acc8e08bc6f6aa3bcc9563.png

 

and that is probably the reason I didn't find a single thing over there :)

 

I went up the river and I found another exposure, hidden from sight (yahoo!) and not so easy to climb

 

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When I was climbing up the slope, the broken pieces of rocks made such sound as the jewels and precious stones in the Erebor Mountain under the feet of Bilbo Baggins - fortunately here was no dragon to wake up :)

 

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Here are some of the finds - all of them will have to undergo preparation, though :)

 

 

 

 

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image.thumb.png.a086c18aa4873ce2f2dd0ce3a140b2c7.png

 

On the bottom of this piece (the largest one), there are some weird remains - could be coprolites or? I'm puzzled, one of them looks a bit like a Xmas tree :)

 

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These are the close-ups:

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The region is famous for its beautiful wooden architecture - some of the 17th and 18th century Orthodox churches are placed in the open-air museum in Sanok:

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and some are still in use - like this one in Równia. It was converted to a Catholic church and there are services held in it :)

 

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34 minutes ago, Kasia said:

therefore there are plenty of fossil hunters (especially now during holidays)

 

Nice report!! Looks like you did VERY well. Those fish are exquisite in spite of missing a little here and there. In the USA, August is one of the few months we do not have some holiday. What are you celebrating now??

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Excellent report! :wub:  :) 

Thanks for taking us along.

 

The set of jaws looks interesting. 

The "Christmas Tree" looking item could either be coprolite, or some sort of conifer twig. 

Are plants known from the locality? 

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    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

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image.png.627fc906b2671fa18a749b850d4f7194.png

 

The last place was situated right at the national road, so I was trying to remain as invisible as I could, in order not to attract the police:

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The rocks here are completely different than in the previous locations. Here are some of the finds - I guess these are pieces of bones:

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image.png.f64b354f1c87cea9c7658fb1fad02d2e.png

 

 

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image.png.202b68268271447c1758c905f8e963e4.png

 

image.png.b3597b0d65597f278837b73c7ad7e8b9.png

 

Apologies for the quality of pictures, but the colours of the rock make it very difficult for my phone camera to get proper focus :)

 

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Great report! Looks like you had a lot of fun and bagged lots of great specimens! I love the "pretty mess" plates. I wonder if those were fish that had longer to decompose and fall apart or were fed on?

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9 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

 

Nice report!! Looks like you did VERY well. Those fish are exquisite in spite of missing a little here and there. In the USA, August is one of the few months we do not have some holiday. What are you celebrating now??

Thanks :) I can't wait until the large chunks come back to me cleaned from the yellow dust.

July and August are summer holidays for the students of elementary, secondary schools and universities - and most of people also take holidays during this time, if they choose to spend them in the country. 

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8 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Excellent report! :wub:  :) 

Thanks for taking us along.

 

The set of jaws looks interesting. 

The "Christmas Tree" looking item could either be coprolite, or some sort of conifer twig. 

Are plants known from the locality? 

Thanks :)

 

I found also a single tooth - image.png.2dd5469890a75f5864b096a3c3d772cc.png

 

I haven't heard about any plants from this location - this particular Xmas tree is a little 3D, I don't know if you can see it better on this picture. 

image.png.51f5bf6dc894528f1559ca91922ec06a.png

 

 

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8 minutes ago, sharkdoctor said:

Great report! Looks like you had a lot of fun and bagged lots of great specimens! I love the "pretty mess" plates. I wonder if those were fish that had longer to decompose and fall apart or were fed on?

Thanks, I like them too :) That's why I collected quite a lot of them. They seem like a mixture of scales and some other organic matter, so most probably the decomposing process lasted a bit longer than usual. 

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Any chance it is coprolite that sat in the water and got worn apart by the motion of the water? 

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2 hours ago, Kasia said:

this particular Xmas tree is a little 3D, I don't know if you can see it better on this picture. 

image.png.51f5bf6dc894528f1559ca91922ec06a.png

In this picture, it actually looks more like a few articulated vertebra and hypural from a fish. 

 

image.png.51f5bf6dc894528f1559ca91922ec06a.png

 

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    Tim    VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM APRIL - 2015  

__________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

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3 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

 

Nice report!! Looks like you did VERY well. Those fish are exquisite in spite of missing a little here and there. In the USA, August is one of the few months we do not have some holiday. What are you celebrating now??

In British (European) English, the word holiday is synonymous with vacation. It can also refer to weekend trips. Basically if you are away from home but not for work reasons, you are on holiday.

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Mark.

 

Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them!

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43 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

In this picture, it actually looks more like a few articulated vertebra and hypural from a fish. 

 

image.png.51f5bf6dc894528f1559ca91922ec06a.png

 

It would be really awesome :)

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1 hour ago, sharkdoctor said:

Any chance it is coprolite that sat in the water and got worn apart by the motion of the water? 

We would have to ask our Queen of Coprolites - Lori @GeschWhat - I'm sure she can shed some light on this matter :) 

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2 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

Thanks for the tour. I always find it interesting to be able to learn a bit about places I've never had a chance to visit.

It's my pleasure to show a little bit of my country to the Forum and possibly encourage some members to pay a visit :) It's not that far from you, actually :P

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If the fishes are there, the coprolites might be associated with them. :)
Nice trip report with relevant pictures! I love it! Thank you for this!  :dinothumb:

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" We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. "

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Nice report Kasia ! Thanks !

 

Coco

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----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

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