Scoharie Creek, Gilboa, Ny.

[Fossildude19]

Hello All,

I spent some vacation time last week in Gilboa NY, site of a famous Devonian fossil forest. I stayed at a campground right on the Scoharie Creek.

My wife, wonderful woman that she is, had inquired about fossils in the area when making the reservations. She was immediately answered

with,"Yeah, there are fossil branches, ... right in the creek!" ( Link to awesome campsite: http://www.nickerson...campground.com/ )

So, while my wife and kids cooled off in the creek, I was searching for fossils. I was not disappointed either.

Right away, my son found this :

Edited July 17, 2010 by Fossildude19

[Fossildude19]

Over the next couple of days, whenever I had the chance, I would look for and find cool stuff.

[Fossildude19]

and more:

Started to find some Devonian sea life as well. The area is all loose float/river boulders.

[Fossildude19]

More Plants:

[Fossildude19]

Most things were just twig\stem looking things. The area is known for the Tree fossils of Eospermatopteris, and the leaves or fronds of Wattezia.

In 2007, it was discovered that the two went together.

So, most of what I was finding was unrecognizable plant stem like hash.

But on the second to last day, I came across this Stem looking piece with a branch or shoot coming off of it. Found more sea life, too.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Fossildude19

[Fossildude19]

CLose up of the branching stem:

[Fossildude19]

Then I found this last piece. It made the trip for me, even though the detail isn't that great. Earlier on Saturday I ended up at the Gilboa Museum:

http://www.thefossil...__1#entry159638

and the film we watched showed what they claimed was a branch of the famous Gilboa trees, and it looked very similar to this:

[Fossildude19]

All in all, a sucessful trip!

Pictures of the area:

Edited July 17, 2010 by Fossildude19

[Auspex]

Wow! Devonian plants from a famous location; congratulations!

My favorite is probably the "branching stem"

[Sharks of SC]

Awesome finds!! Looks like a great trip!

[Scylla]

My favorite is the last one. Great trip.

[Fossildude19]

Auspex: Thank You. I was pretty psyched about that, myself.

CBK: Thanks. Yes, I had a blast - there were fossils everywhere. Definitely a good trip.

Scylla: Thats my favorite, too! Although the branching stem is a close second.

Thanks for the replies.

Regards,

[RomanK]

Then I found this last piece. It made the trip for me, even though the detail isn't that great. Earlier on Saturday I ended up at the Gilboa Museum:

http://www.thefossil...__1#entry159638

and the film we watched showed what they claimed was a branch of the famous Gilboa trees, and it looked very similar to this:

Hi Tim, congratulations with nice finds. For comparing I post my Devonian finds

[Fossildude19]

Thank You, Roman.

Your finds appear to show greater detail. I really like the 3-dimensional cast of stem. (Pic 4)

What type of area are your Devonian finds from?

The lack of detail in my finds is probably from the fact that the cobbles are loose float from a creek bed. More erosion damage.

Thank you for posting your beautiful specimens for comparison.

Warm regards,

Edited July 17, 2010 by Fossildude19

[RomanK]

Thank You, Roman.

Your finds appear to show greater detail. I really like the 3-dimensional cast of stem. (Pic 4)

What type of area are your Devonian finds from?

The lack of detail in my finds is probably from the fact that the cobbles are loose float from a creek bed. More erosion damage.

Thank you for posting your beautiful specimens for comparison.

Warm regards,

Hi Tim, you obviously saw my finds and area here. This is Donetsk region area (50 km from Donetsk southward). Details on my specimens are due to the volcanic activity in that time and lots of ashes in that area which provide good preservation. Best wishes, Roman.

[Shamalama]

Wow, great report and pics, Tim! Love both the branches!

[Fossildude19]

Wow, great report and pics, Tim! Love both the branches!

Thanks, Dave.

It was a great place to find stuff. NIce to have things from a famous locality, also.

Regards,

Edited July 17, 2010 by Fossildude19

[Fossildude19]

Hi Tim, you obviously saw my finds and area here. This is Donetsk region area (50 km from Donetsk southward). Details on my specimens are due to the volcanic activity in that time and lots of ashes in that area which provide good preservation. Best wishes, Roman.

Sorry, forgot that that was where you found your Devonian plants.

Thanks for reminding me. Volcanic ash deposits do offer stunning preservation.

Thanks again.

Regards,

Edited July 20, 2010 by Fossildude19

[sue in ohio]

Wow Tim..I love the last pic too, the bark impression is awesome..lucky you. Thank you for sharing your vacation and finds with us. As soon as I can get another camera..mine died before my last roadtrip, I can get pics up of what I found across southern & eastern PA.

[Fossildude19]

Thanks Sue!

I was really happy about that find! Made my trip.

Sorry bout your camera, and everything else. Hang in there,... but,...

... I can't wait to see what you've been finding, as well.

Regards,

[JohnnyTrees09]

I found this fossil in an outcrop along the creek near Hunter Mt. It was filled with Archaeopteris plants. I think that this might be a fish, anyone have any ideas? More pics soon to come.

Edited July 25, 2011 by JohnnyTrees09

[Auspex]

I see the shape, complete with "tail", that would make me think fish, but there are problems:

The pattern is scale-like, but the texture is decidedly not.

The "tail" is small, and does not appear to have any rays.

No head; the "body" ends, but there is no messy ending, as there might be if the head were missing.

Could it be a cone or something?

[JohnnyTrees09]

I talked to a Devonian specialist today who was able to take a look at the fossil. He said it might be a mold of a fish because the color of the fossil is similar to the color of the surrounding material. I don't think that terrestrial plants had cones during the age we're dealing with, but I'll have to look again. I found a bunch of terrestrial plant fossils in great condition like Archaeopteris obtusa and Archaeopteris jacksoni hinting that the site might have been a flood plane or a swamp. I will post pictures of some of my better specimens soon. I have found other fossils of sticks and branches that have similar patters to that of the "fish" but none are as scale-like or defined, and all of them have lines running down the length of the stem in addition to the other markings. Also, the pattern on the fish, which seems to resemble diamonds, runs lengthwise from the belly of the fish to the spine, as opposed to head to tail. All of the other branches and sticks I found had diamond-like patterns that ran down the stem, seemingly orthogonal to the fish's pattern. One more piece of evidence is that the individual diamonds in the patterns from the plant fossils were all almost exactly the same size and orientation, fitting in a perfect matrix. The fish pattern, however, is not so perfect. Each diamond varies quite significantly and veers left or right as if sliding to accommodate a certain shape or form, much like scales would. The diamonds vary in size as well. Still isn't much to go on and it might be just a coincidence, but these are just a few things I wanted to point out. I will continue looking and if I find anything else I will certainly give an update.

[astron]

All in all, a sucessful trip!

Pictures of the area:

Wonderful reports, pics and finds, as usual, Tim

I am impressed with the exposure of the majority of the fossils displayed, especially with the plant material.

Thanks indeed for posting