taylorcold Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 I love to hunt for fossil gastropods around my home in Tampa Fl. I noticed that an area along I 75 in Sarasota county was being developed. I knew from old arial photographs that this was the site of a 1950-1960's era phosphate mine. I saw huge piles of what appeared to be shell filled matrix. A coupe of weeks ago I decided to check it out. It turned out to be one of the best locations I had ever explored. FInally least weekend, I was told to,leave by the local sherrifs dept. Here's a sample of what I found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 I've had more interactions with law enforcement while hunting in the past month than I've ever had. At least you collected many fine shells while you could. Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S233 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 NIce haul! Lucky you got to collect while you could before the sheriffs forced you to leave. : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Yep, those are some real beauties....wow! Its amazing what shows up in different spots down here... Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullsnake Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Those are gorgeous finds! Congratulations! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandomas Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) I love to hunt for fossil gastropods around my home in Tampa Fl. I noticed that an area along I 75 in Sarasota county was being developed. I knew from old arial photographs that this was the site of a 1950-1960's era phosphate mine. I saw huge piles of what appeared to be shell filled matrix. A coupe of weeks ago I decided to check it out. It turned out to be one of the best locations I had ever explored. FInally least weekend, I was told to,leave by the local sherrifs dept. Here's a sample of what I found. Do you think it is the same place where famous APAC was? :drool: Great finds, indeed Edited November 5, 2012 by Nandomas Erosion... will be my epitaph! http://www.paleonature.org/ https://fossilnews.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I have just flooded my keyboard due to drooling ! Are they Miocene or Pliocene ? Coco ---------------------- OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici Un Greg... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Any chance you could get permission to collect on this property? Just sayin'... "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...
sward Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 FInally least weekend, I was told to,leave by the local sherrifs dept. Don't you hate it when that happens. At least you were able to collect some beautiful samples. SWardSoutheast Missouri (formerly Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX) USA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foshunter Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Beautiful Caloosahatchee Formation Plio.-Pleistocene shells, I am always amazed at the awesome condition. Hope there is some way for you to get a return trip. I really like the murex shells. Thanks for posting----tom Grow Old Kicking And Screaming !!"Don't Tread On Me" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Really gorgeous shells! Well done taylorcold! Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megalodon_hunter Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I bet there are some shark teeth in that dredge pile to. "One of these day's I'm going to find a tooth over 3inches." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vordigern Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 beautiful finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorcold Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 (edited) I think Foshunter is correct. They do appear to be Caloosahatchee Formation but I dont recall the specific index shells that identify the formation. Actually that location's material, according to the sheriff that kicked me out, was from the pit behind it. I've incuded an image of the pile of material. The property belongs to Sarasota Co. Its been my impression that they dont give permission. I dont even know who I would ask. Today I went to Honeymoon Island to hunt for agatized coral. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow as well as some nice foissil cowries and a few other shells I found in a pile of material along the Dunedin causeway. Anyway, here's the photo I took of the Sarasota Co site where the shells at the beninning of this post were found. Actually I did find a few sharks teeth as well as a nice piece of pertirfied wood. Edited November 5, 2012 by taylorcold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Maybe 5-6 years ago, I was in Tampa on business and just happened to be visiting a fossil collector who lived in the area. He got a tip on some phosphate piles dumped along a local road and near a construction site and he invited me to tag along to check them out. We were at each site about 15 minutes as there was not much to look through. I found a couple of partial shark teeth but he found a nice camel astragulus, "Bone Valley blue" in color. I think Foshunter is correct. They do appear to be Caloosahatchee Formation but I dont recall the specific index shells that identify the formation. Actually that location's material, according to the sheriff that kicked me out, was from the pit behind it. I've incuded an image of the pile of material. The property belongs to Sarasota Co. Its been my impression that they dont give permission. I dont even know who I would ask. Today I went to Honeymoon Island to hunt for agatized coral. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow as well as some nice foissil cowries and a few other shells I found in a pile of material along the Dunedin causeway. Anyway, here's the photo I took of the Sarasota Co site where the shells at the beninning of this post were found. Actually I did find a few sharks teeth as well as a nice piece of pertirfied wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowsharks Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Wow, with specimens like that I'd definitely try to figure out who to ask for permission. Daryl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeymig Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Nice! I have some great fossil shells from Florida but I had to purchase my specimens. I had the sheriffs Dept call me recently because someone called them and said they saw some guy walking near a field with weapons. Yeah I had permission and been collecting this site for years but a concerned citizen saw me with a pry bar and felt I might be a danger to the community. Mikey Many times I've wondered how much there is to know. led zeppelin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Dente Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I really like these: A good demonstration of symbiosis between a hermit crab and a coral. We have similar in North Carolina except it is a bryozoan that coats the shell inhabited by the hermit crab. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Based on the oyster Hyotissa haitiensis (Sowerby, 1850) and the coral Septastrea marylandica (Conrad, 1837) your fossil are older than Caloosahatchee. They are from the Upper Pliocene Pincrest beds/member of the Tamiami Formation. Also Sarasota County is where APAC and Quality Aggregates are located which produced many fine Pinecrest shells. Mike "A problem solved is a problem caused"--Karl Pilkington "I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit." -- Mark Twain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorcold Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Thanks for the info Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Anyway, here's the photo I took of the Sarasota Co site where the shells at the beninning of this post were found. The shells looks fabulous... Shame about access, although keep trying the county office etc...What harm could you be doing there on a pile of rubble...The worlds gone mental... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taylorcold Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 They are all so afraid of being sued. Unfortunately, by the time I could even get permmission, the stuff I'm looking at will already be crushed and used to grade roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwbh Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Great finds, dredge spoil is some of my favorite hunting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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