A Longer and Muddier Stop

[FossilNerd]

I took a much needed break this morning and went fossil hunting for a couple of hours. I decided that I wanted to go back to the same water eroded hill that I made a quick stop at the other day. It rained last night, so the place was a muddy mess, but I had a good time and it took my mind off of things. It's supposed to rain here for the next 2-3 days. Can't wait to see what else is revealed afterwards. I'll stop in again. Preferably after it dries out for a couple of days.  

 

Here are pictures of the hillside that I have been working. The red clay is littered with rocks and fossils that have been weathered and washed out of the hill by runoff.

 

 

Fragments of the rugose coral Acrocyathus floriformis litter the ground. Thanks to @Jeffrey P for help with the ID! 

 

Unless you look 5 feet one way or the other... The next picture was taken 5 feet away from the spot in the above pic. It seems that the fossils were very localized. I made multiple stops at different hills like this in the same area. I found 1 other that had a good amount of fossils in a small section. Most were fossil barren, or had very few. Still, there was plenty to keep me entertained.

 

When I took a gander past the coral fragments, I was able to find a few more gastropods.

 

 

The biggest thing I had to watch out for was my own pareidolia. The geology of the area can really trick you if you are not careful. There are also more modern evidence of creatures, and some areas where fill rock has been brought in; presumably to help with erosion. Below are a few things I had to look out for...

 

Here are a bunch of eroded limestone fragments mixed in with coral fragments. They can definitely trick the eyes at first glance.

 

 

Coral/Bryozoan fragments, or water eroded and shaped limestone? Unfortunately, limestone.

 

 

At first glance I thought I was seeing the internal structure of a coral colony. Maybe a tabulate coral? Nope. Another look alike.

 

A modern gastropod.

 

 

Once I got home I cleaned the mud off with water and a soft brush. Not a bad haul for a few hours. I took quite a few pieces of coral. Some I will give to my son, some will go in my collection, and maybe, just maybe, some will end up in an auction lot to support the forum (once all this virus stuff blows over). I'm actually sorting through my collection and will hopefully have more to add to the auction pile, but that's a discussion for a different thread.  

 

 

Towards the end of the hunt I was on the lookout for anything branching, or that resembled a coral colony. I was hoping to find a relatively complete coral head, but alas luck was not with me. I was still able to find some nice pieces though.  Here are some of the better ones with multiple coralites.

 

 

A few gastropod steinkerns.

 

This one I really liked. It's a little over a centimeter in height, and still stuck in the matrix. 

 

 

 

 And last, but not least... I always pick up a few geological pieces that catch my eye. My twin is more of a rock hound so I always let him take a look. If he doesn't want them. The "cool rocks" go to my son. If all that fails, I have a "cool rock shelf" that gets the left overs.  

 

 

 

 

That's it for now. I had an enjoyable time today that gave me a much needed break from all the happenings in the world. It was nice to dig in the mud and forget my troubles for a few hours.  

 

[Darktooth]

Those corals are pretty nice. Glad that you were able to get out and hunt for awhile.

[RuMert]

Nice gastropods. Carboniferous or so?

[Jeffrey P]

Congratulations on another successful foray to your Mississippian coral site. Some exquisite specimens there! Rain must have been good since there appears to be a higher concentration of corals than when I visited the site. I've thought about bringing a shovel and digging down to the bedrock, trying to locate where the corals are coming from and hopefully finding a complete colony. 

[FossilNerd]

49 minutes ago, RuMert said:

Nice gastropods. Carboniferous or so?

I like them too. Yes, it’s Carboniferous (Mississippian).

[FossilNerd]

47 minutes ago, Jeffrey P said:

I've thought about bringing a shovel and digging down to the bedrock, trying to locate where the corals are coming from and hopefully finding a complete colony. 

I thought about doing this too. I did use a hand trowel to dig a bit. I recovered one of the larger multi-coralite specimens that way. It made me want to bring a full size shovel next time. 

[FossilNerd]

1 hour ago, Darktooth said:

Those corals are pretty nice. Glad that you were able to get out and hunt for awhile.

Thanks Dave. It was nice to get out and away for a little while. Much needed. 

[Monica]

Nice stuff!  I especially like the multi-corals - they look really cool!