Cretaceous New Jersery hunt 9-14-19

[Darktooth]

Today I had the pleasure of meeting up with @frankh8147  once again, to hunt the Cretaceous streams of New Jersey. I arrived much earlier than expected after leaving my house by 1am. So I stopped at Dunkin Donuts  and grabbed a breakfast sandwich. It was still dark when I got to the site. Frank said that he would probably get there between 7:30- 8:30 so I took my time organizing  my gear. As soon as it was light enough I started heading down to the stream. I startled about 8 deer as I made my way to the trail. I really appreciate see wildlife early in the morning. This was my 3rd trip to this site. I had an idea of where I would hunt until Frank got there. So I headed upstream to where I felt would be a good start. I was surprised by how many trees had fell since my last visit.  Once I got to the spot I soon got to work. When Frank first told me about this particular spot, he said that the finds were more scarce but they also tended to be more of the rarer finds. Today that proved to be true. I seemed to go through my sifter many times without a single fossil. Then every once in a while there would be something, either a sharktooth, crab claw, belemnite piece, or enchodus tooth. But nothing spectacular and most not in the best condition. I knew going in, that it being the end of summer, no rain and low water levels, there was no new material  so this was not a surprise. I was hoping that when Frank got there he could find a more productive spot. After a bit Frank showed up. He told me about a couple of possible spots, not too far downstream.  After awhile we tried a couple different spots and not finding too much (atleast for me, Frank had a couple nice finds, that hopefully he will share later) finally it happened, I found my first Mosasaur tooth! When I saw it in my sifter I thought it was too good to be true. I have been looking for one for 12 years. It is not big as it is only 12 mm but it is in rather nice condition. I didnt get excited till Frank confirmed ID. That is one of the things that I like about hunting with Frank. He is a good guy and he is very knowledgable. I really enjoyed hearing about the different things that he has found there over the years. We hunted till about 1pm and then it was time to head home. All in all it was a good time and I cant wait to get back. Here are some pics. 1st is the mosasaur.

[Darktooth]

Another first for me is this Squalicorax pristodontus. Until now, all of my Squali's have been " kaupi"

[Darktooth]

All of the teeth, of the day.

[Darktooth]

A piece of Cretaceous bone.

[Darktooth]

Other stuff, Schrimp burrows, belemnites, crab claws, bivalve imprints, and internal molds.

[fossilsonwheels]

Awesome finds. I love the Mosasaur tooth.

[RandyB]

Congrats on the mosasaur tooth Dave, i am still looking for one that didn't go through a grinder first. That one would be a trip maker for me.

[Gizmo]

Very nice, congrats! 

[Al Tahan]

Oh man dave....I’m jealous I could not make this trip!!! Soon enough I’ll get my first shark tooth fossil hunt  

[FossilNerd]

Nice finds! The mosasaur tooth is a beauty. 

 

Im curious as to what this thing is, and the similar one at the top of the original picture. Internal molds or burrows that you mentioned maybe?

 

[RandyB]

Yes @FossilNerd, thats a burrow.

[Darktooth]

14 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

Nice finds! The mosasaur tooth is a beauty. 

 

Im curious as to what this thing is, and the similar one at the top of the original picture. Internal molds or burrows that you mentioned maybe?

 

I was amazed at the size of the burrows! Frank was scooping them up in one spot right out of the clay in the bottom of the stream. The one pictured had the best external condition but is split it half, showing the internal infill.

[FossilNerd]

22 minutes ago, RandyB said:

Yes @FossilNerd, thats a burrow.

 

10 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

I was amazed at the size of the burrows! Frank was scooping them up in one spot right out of the clay in the bottom of the stream. The one pictured had the best external condition but is split it half, showing the internal infill.

Thanks for enlightening me! Very cool! I’ve never seen any out in the field myself, so I wasn’t sure. I do like the detail on the one I pictured. 

[The Jersey Devil]

I love the Mosasaur tooth Dave! Great trip.

[PaleoNoel]

Great finds! Especially the mosasaur tooth, great quality fossil.

[Darktooth]

13 hours ago, fossilsonwheels said:

Awesome finds. I love the Mosasaur tooth.

 

9 hours ago, RandyB said:

Congrats on the mosasaur tooth Dave, i am still looking for one that didn't go through a grinder first. That one would be a trip maker for me.

 

5 hours ago, FossilNerd said:

Nice finds! The mosasaur tooth is a beauty. 

 

Im curious as to what this thing is, and the similar one at the top of the original picture. Internal molds or burrows that you mentioned maybe?

 

 

4 hours ago, The Jersey Devil said:

I love the Mosasaur tooth Dave! Great trip.

 

2 hours ago, PaleoNoel said:

Great finds! Especially the mosasaur tooth, great quality fossil.

Thank-you all for the comments. I am super happy for the Mosasaur. I am also very surprised that it didn't slip through the 1/4 inch screen that I was using! I told Frank early in the day that I had always wanted to find one. He said that the area that we were in was probably the best area to find one. I guess he was right! The preservation on it surprised me as well. I have said many times that I like quality over quantity, and this is no exception. @PaleoNoel your name came up as we discussed how we both had the desire to be able to hunt Hell's Creek. That brought up your recent hunt there. We are both quite envious of your fantastic finds. I suppose that for me, this mosasaur would have to be the next best thing to finding a Dino tooth or vert. But maybe someday...................

 

6 hours ago, Al Tahan said:

Oh man dave....I’m jealous I could not make this trip!!! Soon enough I’ll get my first shark tooth fossil hunt  

Maybe we can coordinate something something during the winter months. I know last year things didn't pan out. But let's try to put a plan together.

[Darktooth]

Here is a pic of the first spot that I searched.

[Darktooth]

Here is Frank, searching for Cretaceous goodness.

[Darktooth]

Goblin or Sandtiger? I thought Goblin at first because of the striations. But It it doesn't look like the other goblins that I have found. Also I know there is a species of Sandtiger that has striations as well.

[Darktooth]

Can you find the Sharktooth?

[Darktooth]

Cretolamna in my sifter.

[Darktooth]

Does anyone know what this is?

[Darktooth]

Another view of the stream.

[Darktooth]

I also wanted to mention that I had intentions of trying to collect micro matrix yesterday. Unfortunately the water levels were very low. That meant that there was not enough water height to make it over two screens stacked on top of each other. I will try again when the water levels are a bit higher. 

[The Jersey Devil]

37 minutes ago, Darktooth said:

Goblin or Sandtiger? I thought Goblin at first because of the striations. But It it doesn't look like the other goblins that I have found. Also I know there is a species of Sandtiger that has striations as well.

 

That’s a goblin. Eostriatolamia holmdelensis (sand tiger) will be much less robust and smaller.