August 2021 - Finds of the Month Entries

[digit]

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 AUGUST 31, 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

1. Find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found personally by you are allowed. NO PURCHASED FOSSILS.
2. 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.)
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. 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.
6. You must include the Common and/or Scientific Name.
7. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the fossil was found.
8. You must include the State, Province, or region where the fossil was found.
9. 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.
10. 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.)

[Welsh Wizard]

I’ll kick things off.

 

Found today.

 

Date Found : August 3, 2021

A very small vertebrae from a Pachystropheus rhaeticus.

Found near Severn Bridge, Aust near Bristol.

Rhaetian Westbury Formation

circa 210 million years.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by Welsh Wizard
More photos added

[JohnJ]

  @Welsh Wizard 

Surely you have more than one photo.

[Welsh Wizard]

9 hours ago, JohnJ said:

  @Welsh Wizard 

Surely you have more than one photo.

done.

[digit]

Looks like your camera did an excellent job of focusing on the background.

 

Can you try some new photos (possibly outside where the light is better)? If a fossil is good enough to be entered in the FOTM contest then it deserves some proper paparazzi photos.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Welsh Wizard]

21 hours ago, digit said:

Looks like your camera did an excellent job of focusing on the background.

 

Can you try some new photos (possibly outside where the light is better)? If a fossil is good enough to be entered in the FOTM contest then it deserves some proper paparazzi photos.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Thanks Ken

 

its the joys of using a camera phone. I’ll do some better ones when I’ve got my camera to hand.

 

Nick

[digit]

12 hours ago, Welsh Wizard said:

its the joys of using a camera phone. I’ll do some better ones when I’ve got my camera to hand.

You've got weeks till the end of the month to add some nicer photos. You'll probably not be able to edit your original post after a while but feel free to just reply with updated imagery. I'll grab the latest images when I format the contest at month's end.

 

On 8/3/2021 at 5:08 PM, Welsh Wizard said:

A very small vertebrae from a Pachystropheus rhaeticus.

Not familiar with this species. Is this a common species at this site? Is this vert distinctive enough that you can tell what it is or is it a case of limited taxa at the site? Curious minds want to know,

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Welsh Wizard]

8 hours ago, digit said:

Not familiar with this species. Is this a common species at this site? Is this vert distinctive enough that you can tell what it is or is it a case of limited taxa at the site? Curious minds want to know

Hi Ken

 

I’ll create a thread and Ill post some pics and info on the reptile next week.

 

Nick

[ParkerPaleo]

Date of Discovery  (month, day, year)  --  July 24, 2021.  Significant preparation was performed to identify this between August 1st to the 13th.  

Scientific and/or Common Name  --  Herpetotherium fugax

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation  --  White River formation, Orellan land mammal age

State, Province, or Region Found  --  Converse county, Wyoming

 

Initial discovery.

 

 

Prepared views:

 

 

 

 

Preparation thread is here (with many more photos):

 

 

 

 

[connorp]

Out of curiosity I went back through a couple years of the FOTM gallery, and since 01/2017, only three plants have won IFOTM. A high bar! So this month I'll submit my favorite Mazon Creek plant find so far.

 

Date of Discovery: Collected August 7, opened August 13

Scientific Name: Annularia radiata

Geologic Age and Formation: Francis Creek Shale (Pennsylvanian)

State, Province, or Region Found: Grundy Co., Illinois

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by connorp
Corrected specific name

[digit]

Nice! I have a few Annularia stellata whorls from Mazon Creek but I've never seen any specimen this extensive. That one must have cracked a smile when you cracked it open.

 

Half a month yet to go--let's see what else you all have been finding.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[flipper559]

How about another Mazon Creek Fossil !! This is just the second millipede I have found, and by far the nicer of the 2.  Check it out !!  My luck continues !!

Phil

 

Date found : 4 Aug 2021

Common name : Millipede

Geologic Age and Formation : Pennsylvanian, Francis Creek Shale

Mazon Creek, Grundy County, Morris IL

[digit]

Mazon Creek millipedes have been known to do well as FOTM:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/16623-find-of-the-month-winners-gallery/&do=findComment&comment=555210

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Jared C]

Hey guys

This one was a head scratcher in Fossil ID, and I was surprised to find very little about similar fossils. I'm especially happy about it still being held a piece of jaw, so I'll throw it in since this will likely continue to be my best find of the month!

 

Date of discovery: Sunday, August 22, 2021

Name: Hadrodus hewletti

Age and Formation: Late Cretaceous (Ozan formation)

Region: Austin (central Texas)

 

 

 

[dingo2]

Got lucky with another big tooth last weekend. This one is 3.5 inches! 

 

Date of discovery: Sunday August 22, 2021

Name: Tyrannosaurus Rex

Age: Late Cretaceous

Region: Alberta

 

[JamieLynn]

It may not look like much, compared to some other fossils, but it is exciting to me because I think it is a fragment of Brittlestar leg (which is relatively rare to find in the Texas Cretaceous!). Oh how I wish it was a whole one, but I'm happy with a little chunka.

 

• Date of Discovery  August 15 2021

• Scientific and/or Common Name : Brittlestar  Ophiura sp.

• Geologic Age or Geologic Formation :  Cretaceous Del Rio Formation

• State, Province, or Region Found : Central Texas, Travis County

Size: 1/8 inch  3 mm

 

 

 

[BobWill]

August 21, 2021

Shimanskya postremus

Pennsylvanian, Graham formation, Finis Shale member.

Jacksboro Texas

 

I found these fragments of a cephalopod at the Lost Creek spillway site near Jacksboro Texas on August 21, 2021. Pennsylvanian, Graham formation, Finis Shale member. It includes a 90mm long section and two short phragmacones. The 8 pieces of the longer section were found adjacent to each other and fit together perfectly but the two smaller pieces were a few cm away and no points of contact could be confirmed.

 

Normally these are found there as external replacement fossils but the center section of this one is encased in a concretion. Since one side of is is broken away the inside of the shell is exposed, something I have not seen before. At first I thought it may be the body chamber because I didn't see evidence of septa or cameral deposits but then I noticed that broken pieces of the missing side as well as both smaller phragmacones have the intermediate, "fingerprint" layer found on a former Bactrites, now moved into the Coleoid subclass, order Spirulida, and renamed Shimanskya postremus.

 

 With that in mind I measured the cameral ration on other specimens found at that location and found it to be 1.3. With that information to guide me, I looked closer and found small fragments of 4 septa with the correct spacing, so it is likely to be part of the phragmacone which makes a better fit with the two associated pieces. The rarity of this species makes the associated pieces seen in the in-situ picture very likely to be part of the specimen found as articulated pieces.

 

 

in-situ

 

 

 

fingerprint layer on broken pieces laying inside the central portion

 

 

 

assembled with likely orientation

Edited August 30, 2021 by BobWill

[marguy]

I'm sure it won't be the 'forum fossil of the month' but for me it's the fossil of the month and I want to share it ... because I only made one outing to see and search for fossils during this month, and that day (August 26) I saw beautiful outcrops but only brought back a few samples, leaving on the site the more spectacular ones ( impossible to take without degrading the outcrop ).

Date of discovery: August 26th

name: tubular stromatolites, encrustation on reed stems.

age: Chattian, Oligocene

Locality: Saint-Saturnin, near Clermont-Ferrand (France)

Tubular stromatolites: These must have been reeds or aquatic herbaceous plants with stems, growing vertically and whose base was encrusted by stromatolithic precipitation. A storm must have laid down these lithified reeds. The plant matter has disappeared, but the limestone tubes remain in disorderly position.

(You can see also my trip report 'stromatolites and volcanism')

 

[FossilDAWG]

Lots of great finds this month!

 

Don

[Mainefossils]

A last minute entry here (again)! 

 

I nearly thought that I wouldn't be able to finish this one in time. I had two days to prep it, and forgot on the first!  Anyway, it took approximately 2 - 3 hours to prep, and here it stands. It was found on my most recent excursion to the Leighton Fm. I really enjoy the blue-black color of the original shell. 

 

In the pictures below, the first is of it before prep. The second is of it after prep, and the third and fourth are closeups of the post-prep shell. 

 

Date of Discovery: August 29, 2021; prepped August 31, 2021. 

Scientific Name: Orbiculoidea, possibly of the species O. rugata. 

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Pridoli, Silurian; Leighton Formation. 

State, Province, or Region Found: Pembroke, Washington County, Maine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jeffrey P]

Nice to see a beautiful brachiopod in this. 

[stats]

Date of Discovery: Collected August 29 or 30, 2020.  Opened August 9th, 2021

Scientific Name: Acantotelson stimpsoni

Geologic Age and Formation: Francis Creek Shale (Pennsylvanian)

State, Province, or Region Found: Grundy Co., Illinois

 

I was going through my Mazon Creek buckets and wanted to get the last of my concretions from last year's I&M Canal field trip processed before this year's event.  Had a few nice round ones left.  And, this shrimp opened in just a week... lucky day!

 

[Welsh Wizard]

@JohnJ and @digit. I tried tidying that pachystropheus vert up to post some more pics but unfortunately it broke into a few pieces. I’m in the process of putting it back together.