November 2024 - 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 (or any staff) 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 NOVEMBER 30, 2024

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!

 

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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 MAJORITY of prep in the contest month. Pre-Prep Photos need to be dated with the start of the month date, and then finished prep date must be supplied.  Entries not including this information/photos will be disqualified.
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 READ AND UNDERSTAND THE RULES BEFORE YOU POST!!!

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT A MOD OR ADMIN.
ENTRIES NOT FOLLOWING THE REQUESTED FORMAT WILL BE ELIMINATED FROM THE CONTEST!!

 

******* Please use the following format for the required information: *******

 

Information about your find. A short paragraph or sentence or two about why it should be fossil of the month.

Rarity, completeness, beauty, etc.

 

 

• Date of Discovery  [month, day, year]

• Preparation Completion Date (if prepped) [month, day, year]

• Scientific and/or Common Name

• Geologic Formation and/or Geologic Age

• 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.)

[Fossildude19]

For the sake of adhering to the rules, finds will have to be approved, before being seen by the membership at large.

They will be approved as the mods/admins have time to check for proper formatting, identification,  prep dates, etc.

READ THE RULES CAREFULLY!

 

ANY ENTRIES NOT FOLLOWING THE REQUESTED FORMAT or PROVIDING NEEDED DETAILS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED!!!

[Collector9658]

Stumbled upon a decent calyx. While weathered, what makes this special is most of the anal tube is intact.

Such a low probability to find a calyx with one, let alone completely weathered out free from the encrinite.

 

 

 

 

• Date of Discovery - November 9, 2024

• Scientific and/or Common Name- Uperocrinus pyriformis 

• Geologic Formation and/or Geologic Age - Burlington Formation, Mississippian 

• State, Province, or Region Found - Missouri 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12 by Collector9658
More than the original 3 photos chosen uploaded

[ClearLake]

Found this very small shark tooth (~1mm) in some Pennsylvanian matrix from north Texas. 

This is a relatively rare tooth from the family Anachronistidae, whose members are believed to be the oldest Neoselachian sharks. 

This one has a small damage spot on the labial side, but is still as good if not better preserved than most of the specimens published in the literature. 

These teeth have a relatively unique morphology of a central cusp with side cusps directed horizontally.  

 

 

• Date of Discovery - November 4, 2024

• Scientific and/or Common Name -  Cooleyella amazonensis (Duffin et al, 1996)

• Geologic Formation and/or Geologic Age - Finis Shale of the Graham Fm., Pennsylvanian (Gzhelian/Virgilian)

• State, Province, or Region Found - Jack County, Texas, USA 

 

 

Edited November 14 by ClearLake

[Jaybot]

What a cool tooth @ClearLake!  Definitely a lot to be found in micro matrix, especially of these little understood paleozoic sharks and fish.

[ThePhysicist]

After over a year of scrutinizing nearly 700 lbs of sandstone, I finally stumbled upon a fossil from a Hell Creek faunal rarity - Ankylosaurus. 

 

• Date of Discovery: November 10, 2024

• Scientific and/or Common Name: Ankylosaurus magniventris

• Geologic Formation and/or Geologic Age: Hell Creek Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)

• State, Province, or Region Found: Garfield County, Montana

 

[digit]

Good things come to those who wait (or more accurately, to those who work their butts off picking a truckload of matrix).

 

Congratulations on spotting this tiny treasure.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Dimitris]

This weekend, we found quite a few hydrozoa in a Upper Triassic outcrop in Eastern Bulgaria.

Besides the fact these animals are not extensively studied and many things about them remain enigmatic, I decided that these finds deserve to be shown, since they have exceptional preservation, compared to other localities.

First two pictures are showing the fossil after cleaning, third picture is in situ and the last one with scale.

For more information, you can read this topic.

 

 

 

 

• Date of Discovery - November 23rd-24th, 2024

• Scientific and/or Common Name -  Heterastridium sp. Hydrozoa

• Geologic Formation and/or Geologic Age - Marls of the Kotel Fm.(Olistolith), Upper Triassic Carnian to Norian.

• State, Province, or Region Found - Kotel, Sliven, Bulgaria

 

 

 

 

[Isotelus2883]

The Glens Falls is a unit less well known from the Eastern Ny-Vermont area.

Though Cryptolithus is not particularly rare to find articulated, they are a bit more here, in the higher energy deposits.

The encrusting bryozoans of the cephalons also make them more unique and they are a special find for me personally.

 

 

 

Date of Discovery:  11/23/2024

Scientific and/or Common Name: Trilobite; Cryptolithus tessellatus Morph A= tessellatus of Shaw and Lesperance (1994)

Geologic Formation And/or Geologic Age: Upper Glens Falls Formation; Upper Ordovician

State, Province, or Region Found: Lake Champlain Area

 

[trilobites_are_awesome]

16 hours ago, Isotelus2883 said:

The Glens Falls is a unit less well known from the Eastern Ny-Vermont area.

Though Cryptolithus is not particularly rare to find articulated, they are a bit more here, in the higher energy deposits.

The encrusting bryozoans of the cephalons also make them more unique and they are a special find for me personally.

 

 

 

Date of Discovery:  11/23/2024

Scientific and/or Common Name: Trilobite; Cryptolithus tessellatus Morph A= tessellatus of Shaw and Lesperance (1994)

Geologic Formation And/or Geologic Age: Upper Glens Falls Formation; Upper Ordovician

State, Province, or Region Found: Lake Champlain Area

 

Those should prep out nicely!

[Notidanodon]

A rather unusual find here, and in excellent condition. I’ve never found one of these before and I haven’t seen too many complete ones either!
Tooth is about 0.8cm

 

Date of Discovery:  9/13/2024 prepped 11/29/2024

Scientific and/or Common Name: Synechodus dubrisiensis shark tooth

Geologic Formation And/or Geologic Age: West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation, cenomian

State, Province, or Region Found: Eastbourne, UK

 

Pre-Prep

 

 

 

After Prep

 

[stats]

Date of Discovery:  Concretion collected in summer 2024 and opened via freeze/thaw on 11/29/2024

Scientific and/or Common Name: Roach/insect

Geologic Formation And/or Geologic Age: Francis Creek Shale/Carboniferous

State, Province, or Region Found: Morris, IL