Jocky Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Ok it started out like any other fossil hunt. We got to the desert at about 7am and found a selection of Shark Teeth and Gastropods. See pics below BTW check out my new boots: Then we came across a dead Camel: Then we decided to do a little Geological survey on the Limestone outcrops (AKA Mushrooms): We had to drive past the camel racing track so we dropped on and took a few pics: So we started out at 6am and got back home at 5pm. Brilliant day out with some good fossils. A lot more pics of the day are at http://s228.photobuc...ys%20Day%20out/ CHEERS Is this the most pics in a single post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 ...Is this the most pics in a single post? Most picks of the Qatar desert in a single post, anyway! Do you think that the gastropods (and maybe other fossils as well) weathered out of the limestone strata? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocky Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 Most picks of the Qatar desert in a single post, anyway! Do you think that the gastropods (and maybe other fossils as well) weathered out of the limestone strata? The Gastropods do get weathered out of the limestone but the teeth are found at much lower levels in the strata. The bottom of the mushrooms coincides with the top of the late Miocene era and we find the teeth in the lower level coinciding with the early Miocene era. CHEERS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Cool rock outcrop. Did you take the Camel Skull home? I probably would have. I always love your pictures, the landscape there is so very different from anywhere I've ever collected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vordigern Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Great Pics!!! Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Excellent photo essay, sir. Nice boots too. Here in TX, mine tend to be snake proof.....no spurs though...too noisy....I much prefer to maintain the element of surprise on wary fossils....they didn't get to be this old by being stupid.... Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trempie4 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) Looks like a good time.... You never miss a collecting site more than the day you pack up and move away, so enjoy! Edited February 24, 2012 by trempie4 Joe... (evolution ROCKS....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimsherri Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Wow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Excellent as always. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarheel59 Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Jocky love the pics and report. Here we are so used to looking for blackish colored teeth. I would have to be reprogrammed to hunt there. :) Thanks for sharing your awesome adverntures... Love the camel shots also except that one poor one out on the sand... Jeff/Tarheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureGalTx Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I am relatively new to fossil collecting but as I hang with a very experienced fossil hunter and have spent a very short time in the Middle East, I read most all of your posts... I love them!! Please keep posting! The environment in Qatar is different than the United States in general... but South Texas reaches temps in 110's.. However, 110's with a gas station within a 100 miles is much different than 130's with no gas station within 500 miles!! So all those bones that looked like skeletal remains were considered new?? I am just guessing... as I am new at this... but my goodness... it looked like near complete skeletons!! So help the newbies out here.... the remains are sooo white... so they are not fossils... and tskk tskk.. fossil hunters only want fossils... ( i say this as i seem to keep getting excited over cow bones or hog bones or deer bones....) I just thought as the environments were so different in the Middle East as opposed to WV or TX that maybe fossils might look different... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jocky Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) Cool rock outcrop. Did you take the Camel Skull home? I probably would have. I always love your pictures, the landscape there is so very different from anywhere I've ever collected. No I did not take the skull home, my wife would have an aneurism If I turned up with a huge camel skull. Excellent photo essay, sir. Nice boots too. Here in TX, mine tend to be snake proof.....no spurs though...too noisy....I much prefer to maintain the element of surprise on wary fossils....they didn't get to be this old by being stupid.... There is very little living in the desert. I have seen some snake tracks in the sand but never actually seen a snake. The boots are well ventilated and I dont have to worry about them being waterproof. Jocky love the pics and report. Here we are so used to looking for blackish colored teeth. I would have to be reprogrammed to hunt there. :) Thanks for sharing your awesome adverntures... Love the camel shots also except that one poor one out on the sand... Jeff/Tarheel I know what you mean. I have not seen many other shark teeth that are so white. This of course makes them very hard to spot if your eyes are not used to looking for them. If I take a newbie out on a fossil hunt I always bring a few teeth and draw a circle around them to let them see what they are looking for, some people take a long time to find a tooth inside a 1 meter circle in the sand. I am relatively new to fossil collecting but as I hang with a very experienced fossil hunter and have spent a very short time in the Middle East, I read most all of your posts... I love them!! Please keep posting! The environment in Qatar is different than the United States in general... but South Texas reaches temps in 110's.. However, 110's with a gas station within a 100 miles is much different than 130's with no gas station within 500 miles!! So all those bones that looked like skeletal remains were considered new?? I am just guessing... as I am new at this... but my goodness... it looked like near complete skeletons!! So help the newbies out here.... the remains are sooo white... so they are not fossils... and tskk tskk.. fossil hunters only want fossils... ( i say this as i seem to keep getting excited over cow bones or hog bones or deer bones....) I just thought as the environments were so different in the Middle East as opposed to WV or TX that maybe fossils might look different... Qatar is a very small country but some areas are very remote. Qatar Petroleum built a new hospital in Dhukan which makes emergency services much closer to the fossil hunting area. The camel bones could only be a few weeks old. It is the sun that bleaches everything white, I cant remember the last time I saw a cloud in the sky. Thank you to everyone who replied. As you seem to like the pictures here are a few more: Dave looking for Gastropods Close up of the structure of the Limestone outcrops. Note the chalk at the base which weathers much quicker that the limestone at the top This is the Dhukan Petrol Station. Best samosas and coffee on the West coast and the only place to get fuel for a gazzilion miles. This mushroom has not got far to go before it collapses. This valley could be a film set for Mars. Near one of the outcrops we found these shells. It is a tricky bit of driving to get close to these things. A camel racing track is about 5 Km long and has 2 roads that run along it. The one my car is parked on is the outer road where the spectators race along side the camels in Land Cruisers to get a good view, the inner track is for the operators of the robots that guide the camels round the track. I want to put one more pic if a bug that bounced past me. It is about 1cm long. I took about 160 pictures during the day and posted them here http://s228.photobucket.com/albums/ee227/407370/Desert%20Pics/Boys%20Day%20out/ feel free to have a look round. CHEERS Edited February 25, 2012 by Jocky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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