gigantoraptor Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 So for the last two and a half weeks I’ve been camping in the Ardèche region in southern France. After a long, exhausting trip of 13 hours we finally arrived. We put up the tent, read a book and went to sleep so we would be fit for our first real day of our vacation. At the first day, we did visit the museum I showed in this topic: After that, the real work started. This big pile of rock was just dumped at the edge of the road. After a few minutes we found our first complete ammonite. Spot the ammonite The whole region is filled with these small piles of rocks, so as long as you just keep walking, you’ll find them… The region itself is beautiful too. Anyway, except two beautiful little ammonites, the first day didn’t really work out. The next day I walked a little further from the camping (like little as in 10km). Totally worth it! I found an amazing spot were marls eroded away and just left tiny ammonites. When I found them I immediately thought of an old topic by @Max-fossils who went to Carniol some time ago. At first, I thought it was identical, except this spot was a lot smaller, not as rich and with a couple of different species. I think I spent about 40 hours at this spot, and I think I found about 150 tiny ammonites, from at least 8-9 different species (but I’m far from an ammonite expert). I think these are lower Cretaceous, but I am not sure on a more precise date. How most of the place looks. Covered with tiny ammonites that resurface after heavy rains (which occurred three times during my stay, so I could keep searching at the same spot) The spot, kind a steep wall (me for scale). Anyways, time for some of the finds (my good camera broke down so I do this with my phone): I think these are Aconeceras nisus, the most common species. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantoraptor Posted July 28, 2020 Author Share Posted July 28, 2020 Crinoid stem sections and ammonites. Rhynchonella sp.? Biggest ammonite from the spot, but likely another layer, since preservation does not match the rest of them. Piece of a heteromorph species. Unsure of the ID, but it has sharp spikes. Exciting unknown. I am sure it’s a fossil and I suspect it’s an echinoid, but totally not sure. Gastropods and Inoceramids were pretty hard to find, only very small ones were found. Anyway, there were many, many inverts, and the whole time I was hoping to find something from a vertebrate (which I suspected would be shark, but unfortunately that did not happen… … until the last day! Two steps on the spot after a long rainy day, and this is what I see on the floor. I did not have the self-control to take a pic before I picked it up. I think this is the second most exciting find in my life. … followed by two shark/fish verts (these don’t look good on picture, but I’m nearly sure these are verts). I had a great time, and while all fossils were small, I saw traces of true giants. So that basically was the trip report, but I have one last non-fossil anecdote of my trip. During one of the nights, I suddenly heard a noice. At first I thought someone was standing by my tent, but after further inspection I found out the noise came from a huge toad. He sure knew how to scare some people. So, that’s it but I hope you enjoyed my trip report. Edit: It gets hot out there on a sunny day, so sun cream and plenty of water are a absolute must (I took about 1,5 liter for every 1-2 hours. Also pay attention to snakes. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notidanodon Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Nice report and some great finds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Thanks for the report which brought back memories for me. A good book to help you identify your finds is "Fossilien sammeln in Südfrankreich" by Gero Moosleitner. But maybe you already know about it? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nala Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Great finds and reports! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuMert Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Nice ammonites! That thing doesn't look echinoid IMHO, it's striped. Need bigger photos. The teeth is from something like Sphenodus, I believe My sites & reports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Congratulations on a successful hunting vacation! Your first ammonite is especially beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantoraptor Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 19 hours ago, will stevenson said: Nice report and some great finds Thanks Will. 18 hours ago, Ludwigia said: Thanks for the report which brought back memories for me. A good book to help you identify your finds is "Fossilien sammeln in Südfrankreich" by Gero Moosleitner. But maybe you already know about it? Well, I did not know that book. I'll try to find an online copy of it, thank you very much for the suggestion. 18 hours ago, nala said: Great finds and reports! Thank you 18 hours ago, RuMert said: Nice ammonites! That thing doesn't look echinoid IMHO, it's striped. Need bigger photos. The teeth is from something like Sphenodus, I believe Yeah, the stripes were weird to me too. Truth is I have no idea what this thing is. Thanks for the ID on the shark tooth 15 hours ago, Monica said: Congratulations on a successful hunting vacation! Your first ammonite is especially beautiful Thank you. After that first ammonite I really felt I was off to a great start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 great report. What kind of snakes did you encounter, or watch out for? I know Europe has at least one venomous snake... did you see one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantoraptor Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 10 minutes ago, jpc said: great report. What kind of snakes did you encounter, or watch out for? I know Europe has at least one venomous snake... did you see one? Greatest caution has to be for the vipers, which are the most dangerous for humans. I did not know exactly which ones I saw, as they usually quickly hide once they hear you coming, but they could very well be vipers. Anyway, always best to be cautious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Great trip . I am not so sure about Aconeceras nisus(aptian). These are somewhat slim compared to your pics , also the umbilic doesn`t quite match . Looks rather close to Neollissoceras sp. ( Valanginian ). I`ve collected Olcostephanus crushed flat in the same layers that look very much like your unknown fossil ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max-fossils Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Seems like I'm about 2 weeks late to the party, but cool finds! On 7/28/2020 at 9:20 PM, gigantoraptor said: This picture definitely does look a LOT like the site of Carniol, and the preservation of your ammonites is also very similar. However, I think @taj is correct, most of your small ammonites don't look much like Aconeceras nisus. That species is quite thin, while your specimens look a good bit thicker. And I think that the abundance of Aconeceras (and Dufrenoyia/Deshayesites/Neohibolites) is one of the key aspects about the 'Gargasian', which makes me think that your layer is probably not from the same formation, given you seem to have none of those species. By the way, I went back to Carniol last summer and this summer, and found some good stuff, especially this time, so I'll make a trip report sometime soon hopefully On 7/28/2020 at 9:20 PM, gigantoraptor said: This ammonite is gorgeous btw Overall, well done with your finds, and thanks for sharing the nice trip report! 1 Max Derème "I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day." - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier Instagram: @world_of_fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everhardus Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 The layers in the Ardeche are not the same as in Carniol although these sites look very similar. There was a description of these sites on the Dutch fossil site but i can’t find it anymore but my guess would be Tai is right, this could very well be Valanginian. If it is you could identify some of these finds using Gero Moosleitners book as was suggested earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taj Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 To compare , here are a few pics from my only Aconeceras nisus . They are quite seldom in the ocidental facies of the Gargasian stage . You will note the quite involute shape of the shell and the sharp ventral side which differ strongly from your pics ( sorry for the pics within the ziplok, but as you noticed in pic 3 I found another victim of pyrit decay while looking for it . Since this site has a low yield and was not visited often , despite giving up 100 % of my Aconeceras (1) and 50% of my Dufrenoyia(1) , I'm rather cautious ). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantoraptor Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 On 29-7-2020 at 8:52 PM, taj said: Great trip . I am not so sure about Aconeceras nisus(aptian). These are somewhat slim compared to your pics , also the umbilic doesn`t quite match . Looks rather close to Neollissoceras sp. ( Valanginian ). I`ve collected Olcostephanus crushed flat in the same layers that look very much like your unknown fossil ... On 13-8-2020 at 11:18 PM, Max-fossils said: Seems like I'm about 2 weeks late to the party, but cool finds! This picture definitely does look a LOT like the site of Carniol, and the preservation of your ammonites is also very similar. However, I think @taj is correct, most of your small ammonites don't look much like Aconeceras nisus. That species is quite thin, while your specimens look a good bit thicker. And I think that the abundance of Aconeceras (and Dufrenoyia/Deshayesites/Neohibolites) is one of the key aspects about the 'Gargasian', which makes me think that your layer is probably not from the same formation, given you seem to have none of those species. By the way, I went back to Carniol last summer and this summer, and found some good stuff, especially this time, so I'll make a trip report sometime soon hopefully This ammonite is gorgeous btw Overall, well done with your finds, and thanks for sharing the nice trip report! On 14-8-2020 at 1:48 AM, Everhardus said: The layers in the Ardeche are not the same as in Carniol although these sites look very similar. There was a description of these sites on the Dutch fossil site but i can’t find it anymore but my guess would be Tai is right, this could very well be Valanginian. If it is you could identify some of these finds using Gero Moosleitners book as was suggested earlier. 10 hours ago, taj said: To compare , here are a few pics from my only Aconeceras nisus . They are quite seldom in the ocidental facies of the Gargasian stage . You will note the quite involute shape of the shell and the sharp ventral side which differ strongly from your pics ( sorry for the pics within the ziplok, but as you noticed in pic 3 I found another victim of pyrit decay while looking for it . Since this site has a low yield and was not visited often , despite giving up 100 % of my Aconeceras (1) and 50% of my Dufrenoyia(1) , I'm rather cautious ). Hello all, I found out the layers aren't Cretaceous at all, but rather late Jurassic. I haven't had the time to ID all ammonites, but found it out through finds of other people. Thanks all for your advise/tips. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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