digit Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 REMINDER: PLEASE carefully read ALL of the rules below. Make sure you include all the required information, IN THE REQUESTED FORMAT (below) when you submit your fossil! If you have a question about a possible entry, please send me a PM. Please pay special attention to Rule #5: Before and After Preparation Photos must be submitted for prepped specimens NOT found during the Month of the Contest. In addition to keeping the contest fair, this new qualification will encourage better documentation of our spectacular past finds. Entries will be taken until 11:59:00 PM EDT on JUNE 30, 2021 Any fossil submitted after that time, even if the topic is still open, will be deemed ineligible! Only entries posted with CLEAR photos and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll. Photos of the winning specimens may be posted to TFF's Facebook page. Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month. Shortly after the end of the Month, separate Polls will be created for the Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month. In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the fossils. Tell us more about your fossil, and why you think it is worthy of the honor. To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery. Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry! Best of success to all, and good hunting! *********************************** Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests Find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found personally by you are allowed. NO PURCHASED FOSSILS. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry. (Only two entries per member per contest category.) Your fossil must have been found during the Month of the Contest, or Significant Preparation * of your fossil must have been completed during the Month of the Contest. You must include the Date of Discovery (when found in the contest month); or the Date of Preparation Completion and Date of Discovery (if not found in the contest month). Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest. Please make sure you arrange for photos if someone else is preparing your fossil find and completes the prep requirements in the contest month. You must include the Common and/or Scientific Name. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the fossil was found. You must include the State, Province, or region where the fossil was found. You must include CLEAR, cropped, well-lit images (maximum 4 images). If you are proud enough of your fossil to submit it for FOTM, spend some time to take good photos to show off your fossil. Play fair and honest. No bought fossils. No false claims. * Significant Preparation = Substantial work to reveal and/or repair important diagnostic features, resulting in a dramatic change in the look of the fossil. The qualification of Significant Preparation is decided at the discretion of staff. Any doubts as to the eligibility of the entry will be discussed directly with the entrant. ******* Please use the following format for the required information: ******* • Date of Discovery (month, day , year) • Scientific and/or Common Name • Geologic Age or Geologic Formation • State, Province, or Region Found • Photos of Find (Please limit to 4 clear, cropped, and well-lit images.) (If prepped, before and after photos are required, please.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KompsFossilsNMinerals Posted June 3, 2021 Share Posted June 3, 2021 My best find so far for this month is this beautiful Eurypterus remipes from Herkimer NY. (Check out the second pair of eyes) Date Found : 6/2/2021 Scientific name: Eurypterus remipes Nickname: Sea Scorpion Age: Silurian State: New York 1 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricWonders Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 Nice find! Didn’t realize you were on tff! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Just for fun, I thought I'd enter an ammonite that Sara and I found the other day. It is rather interesting, since the chemical erosion which has been working at the site in the former Jurassic sponge reef where it was found make for interesting effects. The first photo shows it in its natural surroundings with Sara keeping an eye on it from above. The last 2 are both sides after completion of the prep. As can be seen, the ammonite is embedded and surrounded by sponge material. This is a calcified steinkern and the green color is caused by the mineral glauconite. Date of discovery: 6/4/2021 Crussoliceras divisum Lower divisum zone, Early Kimmeridgian, Late Jurassic Lacunosamergel Formation, sponge facies Found near Beuron in the Upper Danube Valley, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany Edit. I replaced the first photo after a minute, since I realized that I'd posted the wrong one. 1 13 Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotSauceCommittee Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 I have been encouraged to submit this pretty neat find to Fossil of the Month, although I am more of a TFF lurker than regular poster. As there is nothing for scale in my photos, I would also like to note that the tooth is 14mm from base to tip. • Date of Discovery : 6/2/2021 • Scientific and/or Common Name: Globidens sp. (mosasaur); graciously identified by @ThePhysicist • Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Ozan Formation (late Cretaceous) • State, Province, or Region Found: Fannin County, Texas 1 16 [ . . .] to a naturalist who is reading in the face of the rocks the annals of a former world, the mossy covering which obstructs his view, and renders indistinguishable the different species of stone, is no less than a serious subject of regret. - James Hutton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 I think you get my special award for "best photography". Beautifully presented tooth. Cheers. -Ken 2 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDiamondX Posted June 16, 2021 Share Posted June 16, 2021 Found on my recent trip to Forbes! very exciting when the plate snapped off. Had just split off a piece of rock, which revealed another specimen, but it was broken due to the natural cracking in the rock. Went searching nearby, and found this one! Date of Discovery: 6/15/2021 Scientific and/or Common Name: Odontopleura markhami Sinespinaspis markhami Geologic Age/Geologic Formation: Cotton Formation - Late Llandovery (early Silurian) State, Province, or Region Found: Cotton Hill Quarry, Forbes, NSW, Australia 1 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntlyfossils Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 This small pterosaur bone was in marine material from NW Queensland.This was an unusual bone with extremely thin walls which had me stumped at first but after help from this forum and the local museum this bone was determined to be pterosaur. While pterosaur bones have been found frequently in other localities around the world, they are extremely rare in Australia with only a small amount been found . This bone is close to 90 percent complete with some erosion to one end. Date found 6/13/21. Scientific and/or Common Name - Pterosaur digit bone, unknown genus, species Geologic Age or Geologic Formation -Albian Early Cretaceous, Toolebuc Formation State, Province, or Region Found - NW, Queensland, Australia 1 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minnbuckeye Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 On 6/15/2021 at 8:35 AM, digit said: award for "best photography". Agree totally!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 On 6/16/2021 at 12:11 AM, xDiamondX said: Scientific and/or Common Name: Odontopleura markhami Geologic Age/Geologic Formation: Cotton Formation - Late Llandovery (early Silurian) State, Province, or Region Found: Cotton Hill Quarry, Forbes, NSW, Australia According to Jell & Adrain: Odontopleura (Sinespinaspis) markhami is elevated to generic rank: Sinespinaspis markhami Edgecombe, G.D., Sherwin, L. 2001 Early Silurian (Llandovery) Trilobites from the Cotton Formation, near Forbes, New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa, 25(1):87-105 PDF LINK Jell, P.A., Adrain, J.M. 2003 Available Generic Names for Trilobites. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 48(2):331-553 PDF LINK 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntlyfossils Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 (edited) On 6/15/2021 at 11:35 PM, digit said: I think you get my special award for "best photography". Beautifully presented tooth. Cheers. -Ken I agree too my photos looks so average compared to these amazing job well done. Edited June 18, 2021 by Huntlyfossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xDiamondX Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 1 hour ago, piranha said: According to Jell & Adrain: Odontopleura (Sinespinaspis) markhami is elevated to generic rank: Sinespinaspis markhami Edgecombe, G.D., Sherwin, L. 2001 Early Silurian (Llandovery) Trilobites from the Cotton Formation, near Forbes, New South Wales, Australia. Alcheringa, 25(1):87-105 PDF LINK Jell, P.A., Adrain, J.M. 2003 Available Generic Names for Trilobites. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 48(2):331-553 PDF LINK I just took the parts outside brackets... in future how am I supposed to know which name to use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 15 minutes ago, xDiamondX said: I just took the parts outside brackets... in future how am I supposed to know which name to use? The brackets show that Sinespinaspis was originally established as a subgenus of Odontopleura. Now it has a generic rank and is classified as: Sinespinaspis markhami 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSCHNELLE Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 I was fossil hunting on road construction excavation debris piles from the Lower Hermitage Shale Formation and Upper Carters Limestone formation when I came across this complete colonial coral (a.k.a. calcareous alga) head. I was looking for other fossils (namely giant trilobites). But, fragments of these fossils and one cephalopod frogment were all that I recognized as being non-ichnofossils. I was able to bring this large fossil (almost as large as my foot and ankle) home with me. The end of this one shimmers with calcite-replaced polygonal structures (see last picture - attempt). I attached a close-up from the side of the septal segments and another one of the "end" or face. Together with the septa structures seen from the side of the columns, it looks similar to honeycomb. I am not sure of the ID, so please let me know if I am off. Thanks to Erich Rose for sending me some helpful links based on his experience with the similar Cincinnatian Series. There was minimal prep - other than washing it off with water. It is fascinating to imagine what the Ordovician seafloor in this area might have looked like with such large "corals", stromatoporoid sponges, bryozoans, a myriad of brachiopods, giant trilobites (Isotelus), straight-shelled cephalopods, and other creatures. Thanks for the opportunity to display the largest fossil that I ever carted home with me from out of state. LSCHNELLE Date of Discovery - June 18, 2021 Foerstephyllum (formerly Columnaria) species (corallite mass - now calcified algae) attached to a ramose stromatoporoid sponge (angled stem/arm) Middle Ordovician - Carters Formation Willamson County, Tennessee, USA (between Arrington & Franklin, TN) 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chase_E Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Date Found : 6/19/2021 Scientific name: Otodus naidini Age: Early Danian (Pine Barrens Member, Clayton Fm.) Locality: Central Alabama 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 Very nice! That's an Otodus species that I was not familiar with--lovely tooth. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil_Adult Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Living in DC, it’s really difficult to get outside the range of the eastern seaboard. So when I got the opportunity to collect some early Permian aged trackways, I jumped. This may or may not win, but these are by far some of my favorite fossils I’ve ever found in my almost decade of collecting fossils. It wasn’t easy getting these, the New Mexican desert was 105 degrees that day, I almost passed out from the heat! The only thing that kept me moving was the thought of more early Permian trackways (and water, of course). Date discovered: 6/6/21 Scientific Name: Temnospondyl footprints - ichnofossil. Age: Early Permian State Found: New Mexico Is there anything else I need to include? The name of the formation would give away the place these fossils were found and I don’t want to do that. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captcrunch227 Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 I’ll throw my hat in the ring this week. After a mostly disappointing hunt in the Woodbine formation I walked back to the car and said to myself, “eh, one more spot.” I looked around for a bit, found more of nothing a turned around and lying before was this beautiful Protohadros phalanx. Whole bones in the Woodbine are exceedingly rare and this became an instant gem in my collection. Found 6/20/21 Protohadros Phalanx Woodbine Formation Denton, Texas 3 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 23, 2021 Author Share Posted June 23, 2021 14 hours ago, Fossil_teenager said: The name of the formation would give away the place these fossils were found and I don’t want to do that. Not a problem. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty_Crab Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 I generally don't find vertebrate fossils so this is definitely unusual for me: Date of Discovery June 4, 2021 Scientific and/or Common Name Amia scutata Cope, 1875 Geologic Age or Geologic Formation Florissant Formation, late Eocene State, Province, or Region Found Florissant Fossil Quarry, Florissant, Colorado 5 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrehistoricWonders Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Holy snarge, that Amia is incredible!! I didn’t realize you could find fish at Florissant! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifbrindacier Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 On 6/21/2021 at 1:36 AM, Chase_E said: Date Found : 6/19/2021 Scientific name: Otodus naidini Age: Early Danian (Pine Barrens Member, Clayton Fm.) Locality: Central Alabama Nice ! On 6/20/2021 at 10:47 PM, LSCHNELLE said: Date of Discovery - June 18, 2021 Foerstephyllum (formerly Columnaria) species (corallite mass - now calcified algae) attached to a ramose stromatoporoid sponge (angled stem/arm) Middle Ordovician - Carters Formation Willamson County, Tennessee, USA (between Arrington & Franklin, TN) That's a very nice algae ! "On ne voit bien que par le coeur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) "We only well see with the heart, the essential is invisible for the eyes." In memory of Doren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opabinia Blues Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 For VFOTM I submit this subadult Subhyracodon jaw collected from the White River Formation in Weld County, Colorado. I have not yet finished preparing this fossil, though what I have left to do is mostly cleaning and re-setting a few pieces and I won’t be able to finish before July and I don’t think any more work I could do would be “significant preparation” so I am submitting the fossil in its current state and hoping it will be close enough! Subadult Subhyracodon jaw w/ unerrupted molar. Date found: June 8th, 2021 Scientific name: Subhyracodon sp. Age: Early Oligocene (Rupelian), ~33 MYA. Location: White River Formation, Weld County, Colorado, USA. Additional notes: This jaw displays a mixture of both adult and juvenile dentition, including the back molar which is unerrupted (though still visible in the socket). What I think makes this jaw so interesting is the ontogeny that it displays for this subadult/adolescent individual. The roots of the premolars are visible, which I suspect is due to postmortem tooth slippage. Buccal view Lingual view Occlusal view Unprepared in the field. 2 10 “The worse the country, the more tortured it is by water and wind, the more broken and carved, the more it attracts fossil hunters, who depend on the planet to open itself to us. We can only scratch away at what natural forces have brought to the surface.” - Jack Horner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connorp Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Lot's of great finds this month! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted June 26, 2021 Author Share Posted June 26, 2021 Indeed! Great diversity of enviable finds again this month. Just a few days more left in this month--let's see what you all have been finding. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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