Nautiloids from the Eocene of Maryland

[MarcoSr]

Here are some Nautiloids that I collected from the Eocene, Nanjemoy Formation of Maryland.  I believe that they are Hercoglossa Tuomeyi.  I’ve found lots of fragments but these are the larger, more complete specimens.  Most of the outermost shell material is gone with the exception of the large specimen back, right which still has most of it.  The large specimen center, back measures 12”x10”x6” and weighs 35 pounds. I about broke my back lugging it more than a mile off the beach.  I’m not really sure that the small specimen on the stand in the center, back is the same species as it does seem to have different features from the others.

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[fossisle]

Wow nice collection!!

[Miocene_Mason]

Epic, incredible rarities in these parts.

[MarcoSr]

55 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said:

Epic, incredible rarities in these parts.

 

Thank you.  I found the nautiloid in the stand (close-up picture below) on a day that I didn't expect to find much because there were two collectors right ahead of me on the beach. I'm not sure that I would have found this one without the footprint right over it.  This one was the first for me in 30 years collecting this site.  Then I started to find more.

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

1 hour ago, fossisle said:

Wow nice collection!!

 

Thank you.  It is hard to see the features in the group picture.  Below are individual pictures of two of them.  I made the mistake of trying to remove most of the clay sticking to the first specimen below at the site to cut the weight down (what I finally carried out weighed over 35 lbs.).  This actually removed a lot of the outermost shell.  You can still see traces of the outermost shell on the specimen in the picture.  I didn't do that with the other large specimen back, right in my group picture and it still has most of this outermost shell.

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[fossisle]

Some of those must have been a work out!! Great to see the sutures

[fossisle]

1 hour ago, MarcoSr said:

 

Thank you.  I found the nautiloid in the stand (close-up picture below) on a day that I didn't expect to find much because there were two collectors right ahead of me on the beach. I'm not sure that I would have found this one without the footprint right over it.  This one was the first for me in 30 years collecting this site.  Then I started to find more.

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

That one is outstanding, great specimen. Amazing to start finding them after all that collecting time!

[Fossildude19]

Excellent and rare collection!

Thanks for posting these!    

[fossilnut]

Great finds. I especially like fossil cephalopods. Never found any but I have seen one. Have you every found any cephalopod fossils from the Miocene in MD? The only reference I could find was about shell middens that were attributed to csphalopd feeding activity. Thanks for posting.

[Ludwigia]

It's always nice to find a nautiloid and you sure did find a bunch of them!

[FossilNerd]

7 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

The large specimen center, back measures 12”x10”x6” and weighs 35 pounds.

I see that I’m not the only one who hauls out the heavy stuff! Beautiful finds! 

[frankh8147]

Wow, this is awesome! We have some Eocene fossils here, a few hundred miles up I-95/295 but I've never seen anything like these! Nice!!

[MarcoSr]

3 hours ago, fossisle said:

Some of those must have been a work out!! Great to see the sutures

 

3 hours ago, fossisle said:

That one is outstanding, great specimen. Amazing to start finding them after all that collecting time!

 

That nautiloid is one of my favorite fossils.  That one was completely free of any formation matrix and was in soft sand on the beach.  The three big nautiloids in the back of my group picture had to be dug out.  The formation was like concrete and it was extremely difficult to dig them out.  I said to myself after each one, I wouldn't dig out another.  But I did, and would dig out more.  However, I haven't see any more for at least five years now.

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

2 hours ago, fossilnut said:

Great finds. I especially like fossil cephalopods. Never found any but I have seen one. Have you every found any cephalopod fossils from the Miocene in MD? The only reference I could find was about shell middens that were attributed to csphalopd feeding activity. Thanks for posting.

 

I've spent a lot of years collecting the Miocene of Maryland and Virginia and haven't found any cephalopod fossils in the Miocene there.

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

3 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

Excellent and rare collection!

Thanks for posting these!    

 

1 hour ago, Ludwigia said:

It's always nice to find a nautiloid and you sure did find a bunch of them!

 

26 minutes ago, FossilNerd said:

I see that I’m not the only one who hauls out the heavy stuff! Beautiful finds! 

 

18 minutes ago, frankh8147 said:

Wow, this is awesome! We have some Eocene fossils here, a few hundred miles up I-95/295 but I've never seen anything like these! Nice!!

 

Thank you.  These nautiloids are different from the normal fossils that I collect.  According to a Maryland Geological Survey publication published in 1901 nautiloids were common at this site.  It took me thirty years to find my first.  So definitely not common for me.

 

Marco Sr.