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Blue Hill Shale

missingdigits

By missingdigits
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missingdigits Regular Member

missingdigits

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Hey everyone. Just wanted to share last weekends outing. Kind of funny, but in the course of two weeks I went from have never found a shark tooth to finding a dozen and now possibly hundreds. I went to another place in the Blue Hill Shale in Osborne county Kansas on an unexpected day trip with my father just to look around. Couldn't go to our new favorite spot because of deer season. Anyway, we found about a dozen nice teeth and a HUGE Cretodus tooth (my dad's first shark tooth ever). But the real interesting thing is that I found several small and very thin conglomerates of tiny shark and fish teeth as well as some vertibrate and various other parts and pieces. Hopefully you can get the idea from the pictures. It's pretty neat- hundreds of tiny teeth from various fish and sharks. Read about a similar find on Oceans of Kansas in Jewel county in he Blue Hill Shale. Here are a few photos.

Dad's find on top- bigger than the one from last week and beautiful. Not sure, but isn't Credotus the biggest shark from Kansas?

post-7675-0-06200500-1354664650_thumb.jpg

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missingdigits Regular Member

missingdigits

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Conglomerate. Sorry, pictures don't do it justice. I took very high resolution scans to ease looking it over but obviously can't post them. It's so amazing- teeth by the hundreds. Scales,vertebrate and what not.

post-7675-0-45077500-1354665206_thumb.jpg

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missingdigits Regular Member

missingdigits

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Quite a bit of variety in the shale. These are a few of the finds. I am particularly curious about the bottom left tooth which is conical and could be a reptile?

post-7675-0-44669200-1354665882_thumb.jpeg

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Ramo Regular Member

Ramo

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Wow, you are really cleaning up in that shale. I like those comglomerate pieces. They are a lot different than the the Jewell County stuff.

Ramo

(Stop by next time you are in the area)

Edited by Ramo

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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Auspex Regular Member

Auspex

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Wow + on the 'conglomerate' masses! I have to wonder whether they might not be either regurgitant/coprolitic material, or a serious lag deposit?

"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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missingdigits Regular Member

missingdigits

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Wow, you are really cleaning up in that shale. I like those comglomerate pieces. They are a lot different than the the Jewell County stuff.

Ramo

Thanks Ramo! How do you mean different than the Jewel County stuff? I can't tell you how much fun we have been having. And again, thanks so much for all of your help!

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missingdigits Regular Member

missingdigits

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Wow + on the 'conglomerate' masses! I have to wonder whether they might not be either regurgitant/coprolitic material, or a serious lag deposit?

Thanks. Oddly enough, on the first day after I found just one chunk (not pictured here) I was sure it had to be just that, but after I went back and found a few more pieces the next day I thought otherwise as I found several more in a sort of "layer". I forgot to mention that I found an extensive number of what I believe to be bone fragments eroded out- long skinny fragments. Dozens of them. Collected many. I'll look for a picture.

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Ramo Regular Member

Ramo

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Yours looks more like stuff I've seen from the Granerous shale, than the Blue Hill shale. Here is a close-up of a piece from Jewell County. It is black, and very hard (Lag Deposit)

post-40-0-24986200-1354666495_thumb.jpg

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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missingdigits Regular Member

missingdigits

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Wow, you are really cleaning up in that shale. I like those comglomerate pieces. They are a lot different than the the Jewell County stuff.

Ramo

(Stop by next time you are in the area)

Funny that you mention that. I told my dad about you and how you have helped me with advice and information and after we found the conglomerate he said "maybe we should whip it by that guy in Sylvan Grove and ask him, he'll know". He thought we had found something really spectacular. :)

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Ramo Regular Member

Ramo

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All your finds appear spectacular to me!! By all means stop by next time your in the area. Here are a couple better pictures of the Jewell Co stuff.

If you stop by I'll give you a piece of this.

post-40-0-52774700-1354667181_thumb.jpg

post-40-0-55779200-1354667190_thumb.jpg

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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missingdigits Regular Member

missingdigits

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All your finds appear spectacular to me!! By all means stop by next time your in the area. Here are a couple better pictures of the Jewell Co stuff.

If you stop by I'll give you a piece of this.

You are correct, that looks very different than the stuff I found. Some teeth are quite a bit larger in my pieces (maybe 1/2 inch or so on a few). Would like to see it. Is this stuff you found? Could I email you a couple of better photos of the two pictures I posted so you could check them out in better detail? Would love to stop by and see your stuff sometime. PM if you are interested. Thanks so much!

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Bullsnake Regular Member

Bullsnake

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Really cool stuff, missingdigits! Congrats!

It's amazing that this stuff is right here in Kansas. Glad you're finding it.

And, nice job 'coach' Ramo! :D

Steve

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Auspex Regular Member

Auspex

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If the dense hash is coming from a discrete layer (especially if it thins in and out), it could be a "storm lens" like the Whiskey Bridge site in Texas.

"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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wbarron Newbie

wbarron

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Greetings All!

I haven't responded to any postings prior to this one so here's a first. I will be having a geology summer camp for my school in Topeka early this summer with the idea of getting a bunch of kids out and looking for rocks, minerals and fossils in Kansas. I would like to take them to Lake Kanopolis and then to another location to look for shark teeth or other fun finds for middle and high school students. Do you have any particular places in mind that would be safe and within 1/4 day's drive from Lake Kanopolis? Thanks in advance for the help.

William Barron

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Ramo Regular Member

Ramo

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Kanopolis is in the Dakota Sandstone. You will have a chance of finding shark teeth there, but I have no teeth from the Dakota despite looking in it for a few years. You have a good chance of finding leaf imprints in the area. That is near where Charles H Sternberg found some of the first western Kansas fossil leaves. You will have to travel a bit further west (up) to get to the Greenhorn Limestone. Send me a PM and I may be able to help you out.

Ramo

For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun.
-Aldo Leopold
 

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wbarron Newbie

wbarron

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Greetings from Topeka!

I am taking a bunch of kids to Lake Kanopolis and Lake Wilson next week to look for minerals and fossils. I saw your shark teeth. I would love to either meet up with you on one of our days or else if you could suggest some areas we could look for the shark teeth that would be great. We leave Wednesday morning (May 29th) and will be in the area for three day. Any suggestions you could give would be great.

Thanks

William Barron

8th Grade Science Teacher

Cair Paravel Latin School

Topeka, KS

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missingdigits Regular Member

missingdigits

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Greetings from Topeka!

I am taking a bunch of kids to Lake Kanopolis and Lake Wilson next week to look for minerals and fossils. I saw your shark teeth. I would love to either meet up with you on one of our days or else if you could suggest some areas we could look for the shark teeth that would be great. We leave Wednesday morning (May 29th) and will be in the area for three day. Any suggestions you could give would be great.

Thanks

William Barron

8th Grade Science Teacher

Cair Paravel Latin School

Topeka, KS

William,

You have probably seen the KGS Kanopolis Lake field trip guide. It does have some good I formation. The Turritella shells are neat and easy to find and plentiful. The barite roses are also pretty neat for kids and easy to get. The lake is so low- or was, that you could walk around near shore and find large ripple mark slabs. There is a petroglyph (or what remains) on Inscription Rock but its hard to get to. There is a dinosaur track that was found at the lake at the Ranger's office. If you haven't yet I would contact them and they would be most helpful. They do not mind groups like yours doing a little collecting. Kanopolis has some interesting geology buy not much for fossils. You might be able to find leaf impressions.

I don't know where to go at Wilson Lake to find teeth to be honest. I have found many leaf impression fragments and a few complete ones on the north side around Lucas point. Do keep in mind that if you are on Corps. land they can jerks about collecting.

Just some ideas. Hope Ramo can show you some places but I suspect he will be working after the Oklahoma storms.

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Jwjbs Newbie

Jwjbs

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Hi I'm new to the forum. Can anyone tell me how to get to the blue hill shale area?

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siteseer Regular Member

siteseer

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That tooth might be Cretodus and the tooth next to it. You would have to clean it more to be sure. At the time of the Blue Hill Shale deposition, Cretodus was among the largest sharks.

Cretoxyrhina is also known from Kansas and can exceed 2 inches in slant height as well but it is better known from the younger chalks of the Niobrara Formation.

Dad's find on top- bigger than the one from last week and beautiful. Not sure, but isn't Credotus the biggest shark from Kansas?

attachicon.gifIMG_0341.jpg

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