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  • MikeR

    The Problem with Siphocypraea

    By MikeR

    For millennia, humankind has been fascinated by the hard-external shell of the organisms classified within the Phylum Mollusca.   Consumed first as food, their empty shells have served multiple functions in the past; as tools in many ancient cultures, in religious ceremonies by the Aztecs, and money by Pacific Islanders. During the Age of Discovery, sailors could supplement their meager incomes by selling exotic seashells to wealthy gentlemen for their Cabinets of Curiosity.  Today many people f
    • 3 comments
    • 4,335 views
  • MikeR

    The End Of My Pliocene Project

    By MikeR

    When I began this blog late in 2010, my intention was to report on recent field trips however, with the exception of one excursion each into the Upper Miocene, Lower Pliocene and the Calabrian Pleistocene, all of my posts have concentrated on the Upper Pliocene of the US Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. I already had an extensive collection of Florida Upper Pliocene invertebrates that I had collected while a resident of the state in the late 80s and early 90s. The fossils from these beds are
    • 9 comments
    • 9,582 views
  • JohnJ

    Ancient Hunters

    By JohnJ

    June 5, 2010 Barry held his camera barely two feet away from the back of an Agkistrodon piscivorus. Although a small snake, it was still very dangerous and he positioned his camera based on years of experience with these reptiles. Known more commonly as a Cottonmouth or Water Moccasin, the twelve inch juvenile snake had coloration similar to the closely related Copperhead. However, its patterns were muted by late afternoon shadows in a remote location that was not favorable to an easy medic
    • 26 comments
    • 9,350 views
  • andreas

    The Columbianus Zone/alaunium 2/ Norium/upper Triassic, In The So Called “Hallstatt Limestone” Of The Northern Calcareous Alps In Austria

    By andreas

    The columbianus Zone/Alaunium 2/ Norium/Upper Triassic in the so called "Hallstatt Limestone" of the Northern Calcareous Alps in Austria Dear Fossil Forum members! This pictured report about the ammonite bearing Triassic Hallstatt limestone will be the first one of a continuous series of reports. Since the beginning of the geological research in the Northern Calcareous Alps of Austria in the 19th century, about 500 species of Triassic ammonites have been described from the Hallstatt limestone
    • 14 comments
    • 13,193 views
Trip Reports

Discovering clues in the Texas Cretaceous (June 5, 2024)

After an unusually long, blissful spring, summer has arrived here in Texas. School is out, and my schedule is open, free from the burden of classes.  Despite the freedom, my time has been getting filled. Working on a mosasaur paper, prospecting new sites, social commitments and a fun day job are forming good memories, and more are coming (I'll get to that).   First though, my excursions from a week ago --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jared C

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Trip Reports

A fulfilling day in the Texas Eocene (3/17/2024)

For a little while now, @Mikrogeophagus and I have been trying to meet off the forum and hit some spots together. With spring break ending yesterday, we finally found the perfect opportunity before our classes resumed. Tyler had recently singled out a promising locale for middle Eocene crabs, one that neither he or I had visited. As it later turned out, I had passed by the spot before but never committed to its investigation. I was pleasantly surprised at its serenity, and Tyler and I found
Jared C

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Fossils

Chesapecten from the Miocene of Coastal Georgia and NE Florida

Between 2020-23, two collectors who scuba dive for fossils throughout Florida and Georgia have recovered 5 chesapecten (including two paired valves) with morphological characteristics that signal a Miocene age. These characteristics include an acute byssal notch and a byssal fasciole that is strongly differentiated from the shell’s auricle in terms of sculpture and elevation. The largest of the adult shells also displays an active ctenolium. Additionally,  one of the paired specimens displays si
mbeyer747

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Trip Reports

A surprising day in a surprising spot (10/29/2023)

Yesterday, Pita and I found an amazing spot.   We pulled into a shopping center so I could pick up some cleats (for fossil hunting steep, marly slopes), and I noticed a small patch of limestone next to the curb. We parked by it so I can poke at it for a minute or two before going in, and Pita, never one to be bored while I look at rocks, walked into the tree line nearby.    A sudden noise of amazement brought me over to where she was, just a few paces away, and ou
Jared C

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Trip Reports

The quintessential hill country experience (October 14, 2023)

On Wednesday, I got a text from Lee of an incredible discovery he made. I rushed off with in a multiple hour drive to assist his dig, ultimately spending two days working together on his find until we were both exhausted. He'll tell that epic, still unfolding story when he's ready     The last day of that dig though, I made it home well into the night, looking like a swamp monster covered in plaster and mud. I took a brief shower, woke up the next morning bright and early with plaster
Jared C

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Trip Reports

basal mosasaur excavation- a follow up

Hey all! It's good to be back and writing a trip report again - I've certainly been busy this summer.   As some of you may recall, my step brother and I found a basal mosasaur in September of 2021. I haven't spoken much about it publicly, but rest assured it hasn't been forgotten! Research and preparation of the specimen is reaching a fever pitch this summer, both of which I'm happy to say I'm actively involved in. The reason for the silence has been to avoid leaking details that might
Jared C

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Trip Reports

Discovering the unexpected in the Texas Turonian (March 2023)

Perhaps the most definitive, lasting project I've had during my short time in paleo is the excavation and study of a basal mosasaur skeleton my step brother and I found in September of 2021 (If you missed it, it's in my blogs on my profile). The site is on a fairly inconspicuous outcrop of the Eagle Ford formation, in a zone that's atypical for the upper eagle ford, as the rock itself is very condensed compared to what is usual for the upper kef. Notably, while Mosasaur material is very, very ra
Jared C

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Trip Reports

Highlights of a jam-packed January (Jan, 2023)

Hi all, it's been a minute since I've written a report and I think I'm due    To start: This last January I got to be a part of two special discoveries in the marine reptile realm. Though not made directly by me, I'm still glad I got to be there. I'll detail them below:   Early January: Last summer, I spent two weeks in North Dakota on the Hell Creek formation, and made some lifelong friends. Two of them (Harry and Piper) arranged a trip down from North Dakota and Florid
Jared C

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Trip Reports

a frigid, fossiliferous end to 2022

@Uncle Siphuncle has a great saying that I think of often - "To the motivated go the spoils".  To embody that sort of spirit, I have focused my efforts into some hard to reach places in less than ideal conditions, and not always to success. But, now and then it pays off...   I was back home for the holidays, with ample Cretaceous strata in every direction. I have been looking forward to this planned week and a half bonanza for months. With the Ochem monkey off my back, my thoughts
Jared C

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Trip Reports

three months of adventures squeezed in

In the last three and a half months I'd say I finally had the true college experience - always tired, hungry, and getting strangled by ochem 2 . But, my last final was yesterday, so time for a long overdue trip report.    I'll go consecutively, with brief notes on the sights and interests encountered along the way, culminating with a prep update on the Plesiosaur I found over the summer with @Ptychodus04 and Joe.  Unfortunately, the block containing the Coniasaur from the same tri
Jared C

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Trip Reports

Two trips, some amazing fossils, and a note to the forum (Middle August, 2022)

Recently, my good friend Carter ( @Jackito ) found my personal holy grail of Texas Cretaceous sharks - Pseudomegachasma comanchensis    While I knew of the existence of the genus here in Texas, I didn't know much about the teeth themselves as I never was really that convinced I'd ever find one. But Carter's find proved it's possible, and what's better... he found it at a site we both knew of!   So, we went out together in an effort to find another. What's better is that I ha
Jared C

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Trip Reports

Jewels from a new site (Early August 2022)

This has to be a very brief report, as I have to hop in my car soon to go hunt for my ever elusive Pseudomegachasma tooth - but I discovered a tiny, amazing site on a scout this weekend:   The trek had me running into several large homeless camps, so I was a little tense the entire time, but the results were worth it. All of these finds came from a sandstone roof above me. It was like looking up at a church ceiling mural, telling a story of some distant time, except this was a ~95 mill
Jared C

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Trip Reports

A weekend of rarity (mid July- early August 2022)

This last weekend produced probably the best results I've ever experienced while fossil hunting - these last two days will be hard to beat.   Before I get to that though, I do want to include a find from the weekend before (since this is the topic of rarity). It was a local find and a first for the species for me. Not only that, but my first real "heartbreaker". It was bound to happen at some point!   Sticking halfway out of the gravel, I instantly recognized a large Ptychodu
Jared C

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Trip Reports

Unforgettable moments in the Hell Creek formation

(Note: I don't know why half of this is in bold, I wrote this in a google doc first and copy pasted it to here, and it defaults to bold without the ability to undo it. This tends to fluctuate. Easy to see though!)   "Dinosaurs are overrated", Mike teased to me. We were sitting together at the flooded dig site of our mosasaur in the early morning hours, having just finished a jam-packed but enjoyable conversation about his research and other matters related to paleo. Naturally, dinosaur
Jared C

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Trip Reports

Surprise on Easter weekend

Spring in my stretch of Texas is brilliantly green, with lush, heavy foliage that reaches tall. The atmosphere is warm, with humid air that has weight of its own, and the open, bright blue skies are occasionally interrupted by fleeting storms.   This season of sticky air and vibrant greenery have made me deeply nostalgic for when I was just starting to figure things out and really exert myself in the practice of fossil finding, just a year ago. I spent steamy days romping up and down i
Jared C

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Trip Reports

A walk in the Austin Chalk (two cidarids!) (4/01/22)

For whatever reason, I used to completely dismiss the Austin chalk as a formation of any interest. I viewed it almost through the same lens that I view the Edwards formation, as if it was some barren uninteresting hinderance that gets in the way of cooler formations. Accidentally finding a large Parapuzosia ammonite in it once changed that a bit, but for the most part I still ignored it...   Turns out I was just looking in the wrong places, and had very little understanding of it
Jared C

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Trip Reports

An exciting spring break

As the title implies - I had a very busy and exciting spring break. Big news first - I confirmed plans this June  to intern with a small paleo company, "Fossil excavators", in North Dakota for two weeks digging up a sub-adult T. rex, which was found right at the end of the season last year.   We'll be exploring more than just that though, as the hell creek dig sites accessible to them are rife with life. A unique Triceratops horridus specimen,  nicknamed "Alice", who's an adult missing
Jared C

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Trip Reports

First Tetragramma! (2/19/2022)

As most of you should be able to easily tell, I know virtually nothing about invertebrates, despite the good potential my area has for them. However, I was super fortunate the other day to find what ranks among my two best invertebrate finds: My first Tetragramma echinoid   While looking for flint nodules to knap, my step brother encountered a tiny little oasis of shale/clay in a vast sea of limestone. He wasn't immediately interested, but still mentioned it when he was talking ab
Jared C

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Trip Reports

A weekend of adventures in my neck of the woods (1/16/2022)

I have been experiencing the most unusual predicament for over a month now - I've been finding more artifacts than I have my target fossils. I happen to live in one of the most prolific areas in the U.S. for impressive paleoindian and other native artifacts, and while I certainly have an appreciation for these, it's like "giving pearls to swine" - since my first interest right now is firmly cretaceous vertebrates.   However, I am still regularly blown away by some of these artifacts, e
Jared C

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Trip Reports

cold front creek stomping

Recently I've been researching a late cretaceous texas shark that I've never even heard of until two nights ago. I'm already a bit of a night owl (as you might see by the timestamp, I'm writing this well past midnight already ), but these last two nights spent researching and investigating potential spots have been LATE ones, around 3 AM - I guess I've really been bitten by the bug here.   The shark in question is Pseudomegachasma, specifically Pseudomegachasma comanchensis (for my are
Jared C

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Trip Reports

a hunt with friends

I recently took two of my friends out fossil hunting, both for the first time. We've actually found a cool fossil together before, a large partial from the ammonite Oxytropidoceras (by complete chance, we were just creek stomping for fun that evening), but this is the first time they've ever been fossil hunting with intent.   It took about 30 minutes to get warmed up and start finding things - Annika was the first to see something, a point in this instance. My knowledge of points is si
Jared C

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Trip Reports

Texas Creek (Early October, 2021)

I went on this hunt about two weeks ago, but only am getting around to posting it now. It was a great day at a new spot close to my usual stomping grounds.   I was hunting under a bridge the week before when someone walking the path next to it asked if I had any luck - his name was Leo, and we actually recognized each other as both of us have posted about some of our finds on reddit before.   (PS - pardon the picture quality, most of these are screenshots from video)  
Jared C

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Trip Reports

Eagle Ford mosasaur

Last weekend was one I'll never forget... I've barely processed it, but now that I can be more coherent, here is the story of the mosasaur we found                                                                                                                                  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------   On September 11 & 12, I researched and found new fossil hunting area (to me), that exposed the Eagle Ford formation. I de
Jared C

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