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What Are These Fossils?


screweduptexan

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I found some fossils...well, actually a bunch of fossils...this last weekend. I also found my very first shark teeth (3 total). I can't tell how long I've searched for those!

The place I went to I had to litterally get on my hands and knees and crawl. But I had fun! It was a great day to go also...weather was perfect.

Okay, now I need your help: You see, I am good finding fossils, terrible at identifying them. I can't tell you how many fossils I have picked up and I havnt the slightest clue what they are. Some of the fossils have a crustaceon-like appearance. I have an addiction for fossil hunting, but that doesnt mean I know what I am collecting.

The fossils were found in the PawPaw Formation of North Texas. Exact location is a secret. Almost all the fossils have a beautiful irridescent sheen to them and are a mixture of greens, reds, violets, oranges, etc. Just gorgeous, so thanks to the person that alerted me to the location.

Attached are some fossils that I'd really like an ID on. I hope the pic is detailed enough. Let me know what you think.

In the second attachement, these are all the fossils I found (and I arranged them in order of MY logic, so they could be in wrong group). The first attachment show the group I am questioning for this post.

Thanks everyone for your help!

post-891-1223921312_thumb.jpg

post-891-1223921514_thumb.jpg

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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Top left; oyster valves?

Bottom left; gastropod operculum?

Cylindrical objects, across the middle; crinoid stems?

"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!

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Top left are a cluster of wormy looking things. Very small....I wonder if they are worms. They dont really look like any of the oysters I have found.

Also the fartherst right cylindrical item is completely smooth with a pattern that is splotchy. It is a little bit different from the others.

Gonna go look at the other....

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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Guest bmorefossil

yea i can see the wormy thing now, not quite sure what they are but that thing on the top right i would also like an id for, i have one of them myself and that black thing to the far right might be bone im not sure

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Guest Nicholas
Check this

Everything to the right is crinoid, the segmented fossil at the top looks to be a tail of an arthropod... Interesting...

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These are the teeth I found in the same area.

post-891-1223928863_thumb.jpg

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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The D shaped thing is a little Xanthosia crab. The other blueish bits are also crustacean, not sure if crab or lobster though.

The colorful pyritic things are ammonites (mostly Engonoceras).

The stick-like things may actually be fossilized wood.

Congrats on the shark teeth!

Top tooth: Leptostyrax/Protolamna ?

Left tooth: Squalicorax?

Right tooth: Cretalamna?

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SUT

Gotta love that Kpp. The ammonite pieces you have found look mainly like Engonoceras serpentinum. Kpp crustaceans are great. I have a few of my own as well.

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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Guest bmorefossil
SUT

Gotta love that Kpp. The ammonite pieces you have found look mainly like Engonoceras serpentinum. Kpp crustaceans are great. I have a few of my own as well.

so i might have a ammonite piece from maryland sweet! let me go get a picture

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I think I will be adding one of the crinoid stems to the crustaceon category. It is blue and looks more like that type of material.

All the pieces I found, I found in about a one hour period.

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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Guest Nicholas
I think I will be adding one of the crinoid stems to the crustaceon category. It is blue and looks more like that type of material.

All the pieces I found, I found in about a one hour period.

Very good for an hour of hunting, you must have a rich out crop. It took me years to find fossils on my island.

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It helped me getting on my hands and knees to search. My nose was about 6 inches from the ground. I'm sure passerbys thought I had lost my mind!

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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I'm not too proud to belly flop to collect, and I've actually had a lady pull over thinking I was run over by a car...I hope she still stops for the next guy writhing on the ground next to the road...

Grüße,

Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas

"To the motivated go the spoils."

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Aw man....I think I probably would have laughed when she asked me that. Now I am really wondering what people are thinking.....

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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We have a fall hawkwatch at a mountain gap a little west of here. Weekends there will be 10-20 people scanning the sky with binos & 'scopes, in full view of traffic on the subjacent secondary highway. Sometimes the passers-by stop to see what's going on; my standard reply is that "we're waiting for the mother ship". I find that I can get back to business quickly this way. :P

"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!

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We have a fall hawkwatch at a mountain gap a little west of here. Weekends there will be 10-20 people scanning the sky with binos & 'scopes, in full view of traffic on the subjacent secondary highway. Sometimes the passers-by stop to see what's going on; my standard reply is that "we're waiting for the mother ship". I find that I can get back to business quickly this way. :P

Ha! Now that is clever!

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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Ha! Now that is clever!

Some of these yahoos accept that explanation more readily than "We're counting migrating raptors", which just makes them try to find out what we're really up to.

"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!

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I found some fossils...well, actually a bunch of fossils...this last weekend. I also found my very first shark teeth (3 total). I can't tell how long I've searched for those!

The place I went to I had to litterally get on my hands and knees and crawl. But I had fun! It was a great day to go also...weather was perfect.

Okay, now I need your help: You see, I am good finding fossils, terrible at identifying them. I can't tell you how many fossils I have picked up and I havnt the slightest clue what they are. Some of the fossils have a crustaceon-like appearance. I have an addiction for fossil hunting, but that doesnt mean I know what I am collecting.

The fossils were found in the PawPaw Formation of North Texas. Exact location is a secret. Almost all the fossils have a beautiful irridescent sheen to them and are a mixture of greens, reds, violets, oranges, etc. Just gorgeous, so thanks to the person that alerted me to the location.

Attached are some fossils that I'd really like an ID on. I hope the pic is detailed enough. Let me know what you think.

In the second attachement, these are all the fossils I found (and I arranged them in order of MY logic, so they could be in wrong group). The first attachment show the group I am questioning for this post.

Thanks everyone for your help!

mmmmmmmmmmmmm I'm very far of you, but I'm smelling some crustaceans... like Feldmannia wintoni and lobster pieces... :rolleyes:

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I am thinking that there are crustaceans in there...I can easily tell them apart from the other stuff I picked up by the color (blue) and the markings/texture of the fossils. After the next big rain, I may go back out there and see what else I can find. It was fun anyways.

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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I am thinking that there are crustaceans in there...I can easily tell them apart from the other stuff I picked up by the color (blue) and the markings/texture of the fossils. After the next big rain, I may go back out there and see what else I can find. It was fun anyways.

Great, you hve one Feldmannia wintoni, the little crab on the first picture, the first of the second range,

you can compare it here:

http://groups.msn.com/MBFossilcrab/dromioi...mp;PhotoID=1485

;)

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Oh thanks! I was going to ask where to find references for the crab mentioned...but then you told me before I could ask.

I can't come up with anything clever enough for my signature...yet.

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screwedup:

The following is my ID of the various Pawpaw fossils that you found.

Left Photo

Row 1: bundle of serpulid worm tubes; Feldmannia carapace; gastropod steinkern (partial whorl); crab chelar portion; carbonized wood fragment.

Row 2: bundle of serpulid worm tubes; undt (possibly limonitic burrow filling); limonitic burrow filling; limonitic burrow filling; crab chelar portion; square piece appears to be irregular echinoid interambulacral fragment.

Row 3: texigryphaeid top valve; limonitic wood fragment; lobster fragments (Hoploparia?); lobster abdomen (Hoploparia); limonitic or carbonized wood fragment.

Row 4: Limonitic wood fragment; rock with crust of limonitic nodules (pseudofossil).

Right Photo

Photo is much too small to provide positive ID except for a number of partial to nearly complete Engonoceras serpentinum in the lower right group.

Photo 3

Row 1: partial crab claw; Hoploparia fragment

Row 2: 4 items total; top left fragment of gastropod steinkern (partial whorl); top middle Feldmannia carapace; top right irregular echinoid interambulacral fragment.

Row 3: left of penny 2 bundles of serpulid worm tubes; right of penny 4 limonitic burrow fillings; far right crab chelar portion.

Photo4

left of penny texigryphaeid top valve; top and right of penny are limonitic and carbonized wood fragments.

Photo 5

Lance is correct in his identification of the teeth; top is Leptostyrax; bottom left is Squalicorax; bottom right is Cretolamna.

There is no crinoidal material as far as I can tell in any of the photographs. Hope this helps.

Regards,

Mike

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