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Holy shipworms, that’s a lot of wood! Grand Prairie, TX

Shaun-DFW Fossils

By Shaun-DFW Fossils
in Fossil Hunting Trips

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Shaun-DFW Fossils Regular Member

Shaun-DFW Fossils

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I was hitting my old faithful “woodbine” conlinoceras ammonite spots (actually the bottom of the eagle ford) in western Dallas County and came across an interesting discovery, a full petrified tree. It is broken in places with small distance between segments, but I was able to remove about 10 feet of limbs (mostly in a straight line) and another 4 feet of the larger middle trunk with the help of my 72-year old dad. The base remains at the location along with some other sections that are more embedded, for now. I believe the total length to be 30-40 feet long. I sometimes find large pieces of petrified wood in the same area, but the consistency sometimes varies, with some being less solid than others. But these pieces are solid. I have never seen such a dense concentration of teredo (shipworms) and I find it very fascinating. There are also some larger clams visible. I am looking forward to extracting more and potentially cutting/polishing some pieces. I particularly like the side of the branch showing a hole that was filled by shipworms. What a place this used to be when it was submerged! One photo shows the end of a branch under UV light. Seemingly filled with calcite. If anyone can help with identifying the species of tree, I’d love to hear it, though this isn’t primarily an ID request. 

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DPS Ammonite Regular Member

DPS Ammonite

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Really cool! I love the pieces with the clams still in their burrows.

 

 

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Edited by DPS Ammonite
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My goal is to leave no stone or fossil unturned.   

See my Arizona Paleontology Guide    link  The best single resource for Arizona paleontology anywhere.       

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Ludwigia Regular Member

Ludwigia

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Great stuff! And I'm glad to hear that someone my age was active. I guess I'm not the only one that hasn't quite given up yet :P

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Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger

http://www.steinkern.de/

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Shaun-DFW Fossils Regular Member

Shaun-DFW Fossils

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24 minutes ago, Ludwigia said:

Great stuff! And I'm glad to hear that someone my age was active. I guess I'm not the only one that hasn't quite given up yet :P

Thank you! Haha! I didn’t elaborate further, but my dad is very fit for his age and the fact that he helped me carry a 100+ pound “rock log” through the wilderness to my car is pretty amazing! I hope I am like both of you as I become a little older and more wise :)

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Carl Regular Member

Carl

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What a spectacular specimen! Wow...  Can you please post some more sharp photos of the side view with the clams poking out. Never seen anything like that. Could easily be mistaken for a toothed jaw and I collect examples of paleo ambiguity.

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Jaybot Regular Member

Jaybot

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Thank you for this trip report Shaun!  I also find the clams burrowed kinda interesting.

Also, pretty nice mineralization on these pieces

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-Jay

 

 

“The earth doesn't need new continents, but new men.”
― Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

 

 

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Jeffrey P Regular Member

Jeffrey P

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Wow! A truly remarkable specimen of fossil wood with embedded boring clams. For me, it's specimens like that which bring the prehistoric world back to life. Congrats and thanks for sharing it. 

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Shaun-DFW Fossils Regular Member

Shaun-DFW Fossils

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16 minutes ago, Jeffrey P said:

Wow! A truly remarkable specimen of fossil wood with embedded boring clams. For me, it's specimens like that which bring the prehistoric world back to life. Congrats and thanks for sharing it. 

 

42 minutes ago, Jaybot said:

Thank you for this trip report Shaun!  I also find the clams burrowed kinda interesting.

Also, pretty nice mineralization on these pieces

 

1 hour ago, Carl said:

What a spectacular specimen! Wow...  Can you please post some more sharp photos of the side view with the clams poking out. Never seen anything like that. Could easily be mistaken for a toothed jaw and I collect examples of paleo ambiguity.

Thank you! I have enough pieces that I’ll be able to cut and polish the sections that don’t have the unique clams sticking out and I’ll keep those branches intact that do have a lot happening on the exterior. I’ll take some more photos when I’m back home and post them. I’m about to leave the hospital after my second born just popped out Sunday night.

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Balance Regular Member

Balance

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We had a great day!! Way to go pops! 
 

How does an entire tree end up in a spot that fossilized? Like I get if a fish or something floats down into sediment… but a whole tree? I guess if the bank of some ancient sink hole collapsed that’s a possibility. What are the odds?!? 
 

Thanks!!! 
 

Jp

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Shaun-DFW Fossils Regular Member

Shaun-DFW Fossils

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11 minutes ago, Balance said:

We had a great day!! Way to go pops! 
 

How does an entire tree end up in a spot that fossilized? Like I get if a fish or something floats down into sediment… but a whole tree? I guess if the bank of some ancient sink hole collapsed that’s a possibility. What are the odds?!? 
 

Thanks!!! 
 

Jp

It’s interesting to envision what this shoreline environment looked like..the eagle ford meets the woodbine nearby, which was a land peninsula. We can tell this piece was underwater for quite some time, judging by the number of clams!

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automech Regular Member

automech

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Great find! And, Congrats to you and the Mrs., Shaun! Another, future, hunting partner!

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Shaun-DFW Fossils Regular Member

Shaun-DFW Fossils

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19 minutes ago, automech said:

Great find! And, Congrats to you and the Mrs., Shaun! Another, future, hunting partner!

Thank you on both counts! I’m looking forward to having him help me carry the heavy pieces :)

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