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Fossil ID - Thought I knew But Now I Don't :D


JennLRM

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A find from earlier this year. Creek bed on the surface here in West KY, (Graves County). Got it because it was different. (I started truly hunting fossils for my son who loves dinosaurs more than anything.) I had no idea as to what it might be but the shape kept me thinking I'd seen it before. I happened to be looking at Mosasaurs one day & happened to see a Moroccan peg-toothed specimen. Researched if they might have lived in the sea here. Saw a paper about Globidens which had some illustrations, then found out about Alabamaensis. Thought I had a jaw fragment minus teeth of one of those. Now I highly doubt it, but you are the people to ask! Who is it, JohnJ who has the quote about convincing yourself to believe anything? 

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5 hours ago, JennLRM said:

Now I highly doubt it, but you are the people to ask!

 

Your doubts are well founded.  Keep up your research and become knowledgeable about your local geology.  ;) 

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The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true.  -  JJ

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1 hour ago, JennLRM said:

Creek bed on the surface here in West KY, (Graves County).

Ok, so Graves Co. surface is Cretaceous age, with river deposits being Quaternary in age.  So that gives you the general ages of the formations. 

As for fossil, I agree that this rock is geological, not fossil. SO - Keep looking, you've got a very good source of motivation.

1 hour ago, JennLRM said:

(I started truly hunting fossils for my son who loves dinosaurs more than anything.)

 

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Thank you all so much. Learned a lot simply from being here yesterday. I also appreciate all of your knowledge and that people can ask without being made to feel stupid for not knowing, (yet!). This is probably the most professional forum I've ever run across. 

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1 hour ago, JennLRM said:

Thank you all so much. Learned a lot simply from being here yesterday. I also appreciate all of your knowledge and that people can ask without being made to feel stupid for not knowing, (yet!). This is probably the most professional forum I've ever run across. 

Those who ask the most questions become the best-informed people. Those who don't ask questions don't change.

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Mark.

 

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

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4 minutes ago, Mark Kmiecik said:

Those who ask the most questions become the best-informed people. Those who don't ask questions don't change.

Agreed! My grandma said once, "Are you made of a question?" Every day, all day long. :look:

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1 hour ago, JennLRM said:

Thank you all so much. Learned a lot simply from being here yesterday. I also appreciate all of your knowledge and that people can ask without being made to feel stupid for not knowing, (yet!). This is probably the most professional forum I've ever run across. 

That's pretty much why this forum exists. It's not an elitist hangout where those with accumulated knowledge sneer at the newbies. There are enough other social media sites and specialty forums that have those bases well covered. ;) This forum has a terrifically diverse membership with a very broad knowledge base that also runs pretty deep. We are all passionate in our interest in fossils and we enjoy imparting that knowledge to others who are coming up the learning curve behind us. Fairly frequently we get new members who are convinced that they've found the world's most unique (and usually impossible) fossil right in their own back yard. They come here looking for confirmation of what they already "know" (believe) and don't take it well when their preconceived notions are contradicted by things like facts and logical thought. They don't last long here as this forum will never provide them what they seek. However, for those who seek knowledge, there is a whole treasure trove of information already stored in past discussions and any new questions (and their answers) simply add to that ever building knowledge base.

 

We've got a unique little corner of the internet going here and our members try to keep it a welcoming place to those who discover it. I hope you'll find lots of answers here including ones to questions you haven't even thought of yet. Try doing some searches here for keywords of fossils and locations that you might find interesting--you'll likely find some interesting reading.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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20 hours ago, grandpa said:

Ok, so Graves Co. surface is Cretaceous age, with river deposits being Quaternary in age.  So that gives you the general ages of the formations. 

As for fossil, I agree that this rock is geological, not fossil. SO - Keep looking, you've got a very good source of motivation.

 

Should I do more than surface hunt? I have seen so many fossils in rock, but except for the tons of Brachiopods & a few shells, etc. here & there on the creek beds/ground, I'm not sure where or how to look. 

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2 minutes ago, digit said:

Try doing some searches here for keywords of fossils and locations that you might find interesting--you'll likely find some interesting reading.

Thanks! Oh yes, I have already! Even before I joined, if I saw a photo that led here I always checked out the answers you all gave. I'll have to be careful or I will get lost in this site too much!

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I think most people first find the forum following an internet image search (we do tend to have a lot of nice photos on this forum). Before long you get trapped within the gravitational field and you can spend years blissfully soaking up a wide diversity of fossil information.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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1 hour ago, JennLRM said:

Should I do more than surface hunt? I have seen so many fossils in rock, but except for the tons of Brachiopods & a few shells, etc. here & there on the creek beds/ground, I'm not sure where or how to look. 

Jenn, I'd stick to surface collecting, at least for now.  Look where the "digging" work has already been done for you - creeks, stream gravel bars, road-cuts (but not Interstate hwys),  bldg. construction sites and road repair/construction sites, etc. 

There are a number of forum members from KY that may know your area better and be able to PM you some specific sites.  ITMT you might find some good info at:  http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/forum/107-kentucky/

I believe (?) the most productive areas in KY are to the north and west of you, but also don't ignore the other states that you are close to from where you sit in the SW corner of KY - Illinois, Mo. Ark.Tenn.  Go to the forum "Home" page and scroll down until you find the US sites then click on those individual state pages to find files like the link above takes you to for KY.

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1 hour ago, JennLRM said:

Should I do more than surface hunt? I have seen so many fossils in rock, but except for the tons of Brachiopods & a few shells, etc. here & there on the creek beds/ground, I'm not sure where or how to look. 

I try to mostly collect stuff that has been exposed due to water or weather erosion. I will dig, but only if I see something tantalizing sticking out of the earth.

 

It has been my experience that when people start tearing up public land, that is usually when the authorities show up and tell everybody to go home. Additionally, many of us are not professionals, and do not have the expertise to excavate properly. Amateur excavations tend to destroy artifacts, fossils, and areas worthy of professional investigation. I would save excavations primarily for the pros and academics. Just my opinion...

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