MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Last Saturday, I finally got my chance to hunt for Pennsylvanian age plants from the Pottsville formation in Durham with PAG (Paleontology Association of Georgia). Interestingly enough, the spot turned out to be roughly where I expected it to be, just to the northeast of Cloudland Canyon. After getting there a little late (Ride from Milledgeville to Durham is not short) and figuring out where the rest of the group had parked, I looked towards our search area, and what I saw was promising: Listening to the hammers hitting chisels had me pumped and ready to start searching. About 5 steps in, I look on the ground, and find my first piece of Calamites (no image). Then as I was heading up the hill, I picked this up: My first good frond of the day, and I made sure that it wasn't the last. Already having a couple of nice pieces in tow, I crested the top of the hill with some effort, where I started splitting some pieces with our trip organizer, Hank. While I was there, I noticed that the Calamites bark was very, VERY common here. Some of the splits we made had nothing but calamites bark in them, covering the entire surface area of the split in multiple layers. I also witnessed hank split out an absolutely drool-worthy frond from a large block absolutely full of plant debris. Having not found a frond in a minute, I decided to move to another section on top of the hill. Safe to say, it paid off quite handsomely: Really thrilled with this frond. At this point, I already had racked up quite the impressive haul, but I needed a little something more. After all, It will probably be some time before I get another opportunity to hunt here. After we had split a lot of plates on the top of the hill with spotty success, we all went to the far side of the hill from the parking area, headed in separate directions. I went straight down the hill, with most everyone else peeled to my left. As fate would have it, I stopped just short of the bottom when I ran across this absolute jackpot: Cont. 11 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 In this little pile of goodies, it seemed every hash plate of fronds I picked up, 2 more appeared out of nowhere. It was absolutely packed! 2 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 After a good few minutes of Looking, I had what looked and felt like a metric ton of stuff, to the point where I had to do some picking and choosing of what I could take back and what I could leave for everyone else. Very good problem to have, in my honest opinion. So yeah, this site met my expectations and then some. I can tell I'm gonna need more room space for this stuff. As far as individual specimen photos, I wasn't able to get quality photos of much of it, due to time and place circumstances, but I did get a few in. Please do tell me some species names, as I am not even close to the most knowledgeable on Carboniferous botany. 4 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 Now for everyone's favorite part: the find gallery! 2 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 2 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 2 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 I have 2 things That I'm internally debating over which I'm gonna enter into FOTM this month. First, there's my first frond (That I'm 90% sure is Neuropteris): 2 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 Then there's this beauty (which I believe is Alethopteris): Hope you enjoyed my first forays into paleo botany! Keep your eyes peeled for when I get around to getting photos of the rest! 4 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandyB Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Congratulations on a successful trip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Very nice finds! Welcome to the plant finding club. 1 Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Beautiful flora - I'm . Congrats!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Awesome finds! The last one is gorgeous! Can’t wait to see more. The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. -Neil deGrasse Tyson Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Kmiecik Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Great finds. I love plants. Thanks for the tour. Mark. Fossil hunting is easy -- they don't run away when you shoot at them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandpa Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Absolutely stunning! Congrats on a super-successful hunt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Excellent finds, congrats on a great hunt Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 Update: Got more photos of my other FOTM choice! Also, there was apparently an extra frond on the back of this one, albeit more beat up: Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 On 14.9.2019 at 10:11 AM, MeargleSchmeargl said: After a good few minutes of Looking, I had what looked and felt like a metric ton of stuff, to the point where I had to do some picking and choosing of what I could take back and what I could leave for everyone else. Very good problem to have, in my honest opinion. Now that's the kind of hunting trip we all love to participate in. Thanks for the report. 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darktooth Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Great report and pics! Great finds as well! I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 Fantastic. Beautiful fossils. Bulldozers and dirt Bulldozers and dirt behind the trailer, my desert Them red clay piles are heaven on earth I get my rocks off, bulldozers and dirt Patterson Hood; Drive-By Truckers May 2016 May 2012 Aug 2013, May 2016, Apr 2020 Oct 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagurus Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 On 9/14/2019 at 4:11 AM, MeargleSchmeargl said: what I could leave for everyone else. That was a frondly gesture. 2 Start the day with a smile and get it over with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 16, 2019 Author Share Posted September 16, 2019 32 minutes ago, Pagurus said: That was a frondly gesture. I guess you could say I was very frond of my fellow hunters! 1 Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandpa Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Pagurus said: That was a frondly gesture. 58 minutes ago, MeargleSchmeargl said: I guess you could say I was very frond of my fellow hunters! Ouch! Ouch! Please stop! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Ric Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 Nice finds! You finally got your veggies to add your ever expanding collection! ...and welcome to the fossilized seed fern club. 1 WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeargleSchmeargl Posted September 17, 2019 Author Share Posted September 17, 2019 1 hour ago, Rockin' Ric said: Nice finds! You finally got your veggies to add your ever expanding collection! ...and welcome to the fossilized seed fern club. I sure did! Every single fossil you see is a miracle set in stone, and should be treated as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deutscheben Posted September 17, 2019 Share Posted September 17, 2019 How cool! I had never seen Pennsylvanian flora from Georgia before, and these are some lovely specimens. The definition on that fine Alethopteris is outstanding. You should definitely enter at least one of these for FOTM! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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