MarcoSr Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Some of my fossil hunting trips take place at home breaking down and looking through matrix obtained from collectors worldwide. I want to thank Ramo and Jamie for sending me matrix from Kansas. Ramo sent me samples of matrix from the Codell Sandstone Member of the Carlile Shale Formation (Turonian), Blue Hill Shale Member of the Carlile Shale Formation (Turonian), and basal Greenhorn Limestone Formation (Cenomanian). Jamie sent me two different samples from the Blue Hill Shale Member. All of the matrix samples had a real high density of shark, ray and fish teeth especially the Blue Hill Shale Member samples which were almost all teeth. Most specimens were in the .5mm to 4 or 5mm size range. I am posting below pictures of a small number of the nicer and more unusual specimens which I found. I found hundreds of fish teeth and over 50 Rhinobatos so far. I'm still breaking down some of the Blue Hill Shale and Greenhorn Limestone and expect to find many more nice specimens. Breaking down the Codell Sandstone was by far the easiest Sandstone that I have broken down as it was real sandy, soft and crumbly. The Blue Hill Shale and the Greenhorn Limestone where much more of a challenge to break down. The wide diversity of micros in many formations is one of the reasons that I am an avid micro tooth collector. If anyone has or can collect good matrix with shark, ray, and fish micros please send me a PM. Codell Sandstone: Basal Greenhorn Limestone: Blue Hill Shale: Marco Sr. 2 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acryzona Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Beautiful micros! How are you breaking down the samples? H2O2? Collecting Microfossils - a hobby concerning much about many of the little paraphrased from Dr. Robert Kesling's book Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xonenine Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 (edited) beautiful teeth, and photographs Edited March 3, 2013 by xonenine "Your serpent of Egypt is bred now of your mud by the operation of your sun; so is your crocodile." Lepidus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Marco Sr, It was my pleasure to send you some samples. (Marco Sr point me in the direction of some fossils when I was in the NJ area working) I'm glad you were able to find such a diversity of stuff. I have to say those pictures are amazing. I've tried photographing those tiny teeth, but I just don't have the right stuff for doing it. Ramo For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Beautiful micros! How are you breaking down the samples? H2O2? I only use 3% H2O2 because I don't have a lab setup to use the stronger 30% H2O2. 3% H2O2 would have little or no effect on this hard limestone or shale. The Sandstone was so soft and crumbly that just hot water broke that down. I used a very aggressive 7 step process involving freezing, boiling, and 10% vinegar that I came up with over the years breaking down certain matrixes for the shale and the limestone. Industrial detergent would probably work quicker on the shale but again without a lab setup I don't like to use it either. What I am doing would destroy the true micro fossils like Foraminifers and Ostracodes that you look for. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 nice teeth and nice pix MarcoSr. Can you tell us how you took the pix? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 nice teeth and nice pix MarcoSr. Can you tell us how you took the pix? I used a Dino-Lite digital microscope to take the pictures. I've tried a lot of other methods (cameras, scanners etc.) and other microscopes to photo the micros but get the best results from the Dino-Lite. I have special lighting and backgrounds that I can use if I want to get a publication quality photo. These photos were very quickly taken, on a white paper plate without any auxiliary lighting, in about an hour. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Marco Sr, It was my pleasure to send you some samples. (Marco Sr point me in the direction of some fossils when I was in the NJ area working) I'm glad you were able to find such a diversity of stuff. I have to say those pictures are amazing. I've tried photographing those tiny teeth, but I just don't have the right stuff for doing it. Ramo Ramo thank you again for the matrix samples. They were truly appreciated. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Wow. You have some good finds there. Even better due to the location they came from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taffie Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Simply beautiful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obsessed1 Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Awesome finds. Posts of micros always make me wonder how many new species there are but never get found due to few people looking for teeth this small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Marco- These are some nice teeth and photos. I see that you have identified some of them in the photo names. This one is labelled as Ptychotrygon: Did you rule out Cretomanta for this? I've seen this shape tooth identified as Cretomanta in a few papers. Rostral teeth identified as Ptychotrygon usually have a flared base. Once again, nice teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Yeah, it's a good idea to point out that stronger concentrations of H2O2 should be handled only in a professional lab-type set-up with all the safety precautions (the right gloves, glasses, etc.). I only use 3% H2O2 because I don't have a lab setup to use the stronger 30% H2O2. 3% H2O2 would have little or no effect on this hard limestone or shale. The Sandstone was so soft and crumbly that just hot water broke that down. I used a very aggressive 7 step process involving freezing, boiling, and 10% vinegar that I came up with over the years breaking down certain matrixes for the shale and the limestone. Industrial detergent would probably work quicker on the shale but again without a lab setup I don't like to use it either. What I am doing would destroy the true micro fossils like Foraminifers and Ostracodes that you look for. Marco Sr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Yes, I don't think you can rule out Cretomanta either, depending on the size, because the Ptychotrygon rostrals I've seen don't curve that sharply and the base looks too cylindrical for Ptychotrygon as well. Cretomanta teeth tend to be less than a millimeter high. I would need to look at a couple of papers to say more. Marco- These are some nice teeth and photos. I see that you have identified some of them in the photo names. This one is labelled as Ptychotrygon: cretmanta.jpg Did you rule out Cretomanta for this? I've seen this shape tooth identified as Cretomanta in a few papers. Rostral teeth identified as Ptychotrygon usually have a flared base. Once again, nice teeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Govinn Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Marco, Your finds always amaze me! Thanks for sharing with us. I recently bought a digital microscope online, but wasn't happy with how the pictures turned out... What is the model number of the Dino-Lite you have? I'd like to pick one up myself. They range from inexpensive to out-right-crazy prices... Thanks, John History will be kind to me for I intend to write it. ~Sir Winston Churchill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeloiVarden Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I love how big those teeth look in the macro mod. Now if we could just figure out a way to make them look that big in our collections. I did find some gem jars with magnification lids, but it doesn't have the same effect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Marco, Your finds always amaze me! Thanks for sharing with us. I recently bought a digital microscope online, but wasn't happy with how the pictures turned out... What is the model number of the Dino-Lite you have? I'd like to pick one up myself. They range from inexpensive to out-right-crazy prices... Thanks, John John I bought my Dino-Lite 3 or 4 years ago on-line. The only marking on it other than Dino-Lite Digital Microscope is "PRO". I don't remember the model number but remember paying around $300 but again that was years ago. I know I didn't buy the top of the line ones. I'm sorry that I can't help more. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 (edited) Marco- These are some nice teeth and photos. I see that you have identified some of them in the photo names. This one is labelled as Ptychotrygon: cretmanta.jpg Did you rule out Cretomanta for this? I've seen this shape tooth identified as Cretomanta in a few papers. Rostral teeth identified as Ptychotrygon usually have a flared base. Once again, nice teeth. Yes, I don't think you can rule out Cretomanta either, depending on the size, because the Ptychotrygon rostrals I've seen don't curve that sharply and the base looks too cylindrical for Ptychotrygon as well. Cretomanta teeth tend to be less than a millimeter high. I would need to look at a couple of papers to say more. I don't see many Cretomanta or Ptychotrygon triangularis rostral teeth and was struggling with the identification of those teeth before I posted the photos. I used the photos from the "Oceans of Kansas" website, Sharks of Kansas, as an aide. http://www.oceansofkansas.com/KS-sharks.html Plus all the teeth were just slightly under 2mm except one which seemed to rule out Cretomanta based on size from several papers which I found on-line. I thought that the tooth from the basal Greenhorn Limestone might be Cretomanta. It is just under 1mm. I thought the teeth from the Blue Hill Shale might be Ptychotrygon triangularis rostral teeth. These teeth could have the flared base damaged as several of the teeth from the Oceans of Kansas website also lack the flared base. Any help in making a definitive identification is appreciated. Marco Sr. Edited March 3, 2013 by MarcoSr 1 "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I know it's already been said but beautiful photos. No layering has been done to them, right? "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyomingRocks! Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Marco Sr., those are fantastic. It makes me wonder what fossils I am passing up while I am picking up the larger specimens. Great photos of those micros. WyomingRocks! Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 I know it's already been said but beautiful photos. No layering has been done to them, right? I have not done any layering. I do crop every photo to remove white space and reduce file size. Most of these images have file sizes between 3 KB and 20 KB which are low file sizes for the image quality. I also on occasion rotate an image either clockwise or counter clockwise for better presentation. For a publication quality image I do a lot more image manipulation. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 Marco Sr., those are fantastic. It makes me wonder what fossils I am passing up while I am picking up the larger specimens. Great photos of those micros. After seeing your recent post on the ranch you received permission to fossil hunt, I almost sent you a PM. It looked like micros were pretty common at the site. The suggestion to sift the ant hill material was a real good one. Also it might be worthwhile to take a few samples of the formation itself if the ranch owner would be OK with that. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleyack Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 BEAUTIFUL teeth and gorgeous photos as everyone has mentioned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyce Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Absolutely fascinating! You did a wonderful job photgraphing them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixgill pete Posted March 6, 2013 Share Posted March 6, 2013 Very, very nice micro's Marco, and like everyone else said amazing pictures. 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...
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