Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 I’ve been in New Zealand for over a month and spent a lot of time on the coast famous for the big Tumidocarcinus crab concretions. Unfortunately my trip was mainly to visit my father who was ill and he passed away while I was here. Time on the beach has been a good distraction and helps to start the healing process. You might be surprised that I usually have the beach to myself and the solitude and sounds, sites and smells of the coast are a comfort. In terms of fossils it was my best trip yet, but this came from lots and lots of walking, boulder hopping, and early starts. Sorry pictures are large files since I’m doing this from my phone. So spread out in many posts. Day 1, was exploring new sections of coast, clambering over rocks the size of a bus with razor sharp shells. Found some nice concretions, but they were empty 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Day 2 started with concretions that were either too high...... (spot the concretion up high!)..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Or just plain weird! (Donutus bagelensis) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 After 3 hours and starting to feel a bit dejected, I noticed some likely looking rocks in the distance! Could this be the place? At last! A crab concretion! I wandered around this remote beach and eventually found 7 concretions over two visits. Very heavy packs for boulder hopping and hill climbing! I took the big round one back to my lunch spot as I didn’t see legs. It was overcast and raining. I sat in the shelter of a rock and glanced over while having my lunch. Tips of legs glinted in the sunlight as the sun peaked out of the clouds. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandpa Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Dr. Mud, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. I hope interaction with the forum and other distractions such as your fossil hunts help to ease the sense of loss. We are here to help ease the pain as we can. Tom 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Sorry for your loss, Dr. Mud. Thanks for sharing the trip and finds with us. I look forward to your eventual prep pictures. 2 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...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 13 minutes ago, grandpa said: Dr. Mud, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. I hope interaction with the forum and other distractions such as your fossil hunts help to ease the sense of loss. We are here to help ease the pain as we can. Tom Thanks Tom, Its been a month since he passed and getting on the beach has been a good distraction. Nice to have the support of the TFF community. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 7 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said: Sorry for your loss, Dr. Mud. Thanks for sharing the trip and finds with us. I look forward to your eventual prep pictures. Thanks, My dad has been very ill for quite a while, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Some days are better than others and getting out walking and working on the beach has helped. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 I was lucky enough to find my biggest and best concretion one afternoon while camping on the beach. This is the best concretion from 7 years of hunting. Concretions poking out the cliff are fairly common, but you need a good reason to extract them. The are big, heavy and hard. I was wandering along and it wasn’t a great day, but then I decided to check out this big boy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 This one was worth a look - spot the leg rings!!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 This was one big concretion! 50 kg. It was quite a hike out so I made the decision to take advantage of a natural weakness to split it into 35 kg and 20 kg halves. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossisle Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Condolances on your father's death. I hope fossil hunting can take your mind off it for awhile. 1 Cephalopods rule!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 I had been wondering where you were of late. Sorry to hear of your loss. I’m more of a woodland guy than coastal, but I understand the therapeutic qualities of being alone in nature. Nice finds! Some of those concretions are a lot bigger than I’d thought they would be. That last one is a monster! Fingers crossed that it’s a massive crab inside or many! 1 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...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 The photos don’t do this big boy justice. Here it is ready to be glued back together. There are 4 definite tippy tips, 3 eroded a bit short and a mystery leg hiding in the rock somewhere. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossisle Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Wow that has great claws Cephalopods rule!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 A few more photos. looking up from the bottom of the crab to the top of the concretion. The big claw! All up it will be around 20 cm long including the pincers. The only tricky thing is that when glued back together it will be 50 kg! Tempted to shave some rock off the bottom of the bottom half, but I think that big claw will go deeper than I think! Thanks for following along everyone 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 10 minutes ago, fossisle said: Condolances on your father's death. I hope fossil hunting can take your mind off it for awhile. Thanks, Working hard on the beach has helped. It is strange how you can get lost in something you love, but then it can sneak up on you again when you least expect it. i always loved sharing my finds with my father when I returned. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor Mud Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 12 minutes ago, FossilNerd said: I had been wondering where you were of late. Sorry to hear of your loss. I’m more of a woodland guy than coastal, but I understand the therapeutic qualities of being alone in nature. Nice finds! Some of those concretions are a lot bigger than I’d thought they would be. That last one is a monster! Fingers crossed that it’s a massive crab inside or many! Thanks, I do love the forests too, but love the sounds and grand vistas of the coasts and mountains. There are some huge concretions on this coastline, you have to work hard and smart to get the good fossils here. Check out the photos of the split concretion. It’s going to be spectacular! The rock is softer for this location , but the shell robust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilNerd Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 20 minutes ago, Doctor Mud said: Check out the photos of the split concretion Oh boy! Looks like it’s going to be a nice one! 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...
Pagurus Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 I'm sad to hear of your painful loss. I'm glad you found some solace on the beach. I have wonderful memories of walking on the seashore with my dad, looking for holes in the sand and digging out the clams hiding below. My dad passed away nearly forty years ago and I still feel he's close by when I dig on those same muddy beaches with my grandson. I'm sure you will have similar happy memories of your father. I'm looking forward to following your progress with that special crab. 1 Start the day with a smile and get it over with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Condolences on your loss, congratulations on your find 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 So sorry to hear about the loss of your father, Dr. Mud. Losing a parent must be very difficult. I'm glad that you found some peaceful, quiet moments while beach hunting for crab concretions - best of luck on the prep job to come. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Tahan Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 I’m very sorry for your loss dr mud. condolences to you and your family .... however those are some spectacular crab concretions. Fossil hunting can be very therapeutic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Also my condolences on the loss of your father. Mine died under similar circumstances last year, so I can feel with you. It looks like the crabs will pep you up a bit, though 1 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted November 9, 2019 Share Posted November 9, 2019 Very sorry to hear about your father, my condolences. Very interesting field report and I look forward to the results of the prep. 1 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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