Terry Dactyll Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 (edited) I was having a dig through the many plant fossils I got stashed away kept as trades etc when I was hitting the opencasts... Collecting temporary exposures is diffferent in that what you leave behind just gets buried never to be seen again so its worth grabbing what you can at the time as once the holes are filled in it will never be opened up again...I feel you are able to collect a sample of the paleoenvironment at that particular spot in the earths history in this case over 300 million years ago...They should involve palaeontologists recording these exposures but us amateurs do our best.... Heres a couple of bits I had forgot about and theres no way I could part with them.... 3D section of Lepidodendron.... I have scoured many a opencast and have a large tree section but nothing ever like this about 4 inch diameter... a big chunk of Calamites 5inch diameter... a Calamites tip section around 12 inches long... compressed but clearly visible what it is.... I got literally hundreds of plant fossil nodules too... but only collecting UK liassic ammonites and upper carb stuff my trading options are pretty limited... Edited April 25, 2013 by Terry Dactyll Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paleoworld-101 Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Nice specimens, thankyou for sharing! Good on you for 'rescuing' these fossils from never being seen again. "In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..." -Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossildude19 Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Wonderful plant parts, Steve! Glad you were able to preserve a little of those temporary exposures. Thanks for posting them. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Wow very nice! I wouldn't be able to part with them either!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockin' Ric Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Love the specimens, Steve! Really nice! WELCOME TO ALL THE NEW MEMBERS! If history repeats itself, I'm SO getting a dinosaur. ~unknown www.rockinric81.wixsite.com/fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Very nice, Steve. Could I ask you for some cuttings? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Boy Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Thanks for showing Steve Great photos 1st time iv'e seen trunks, the nearest i have got is this root from the Holderness coast Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 (edited) Thanks Guys... & Lissa.....It does take some effort trampling about in wellies deep mud every week for 3 years or so especially through the winter... if you dont go the fossils just get buried again so you have to....all worth it though when you get to enjoy the results.... Dave....Thats a great specimen showing plenty detail for an erratic.... Thanks for sharing it.... Edited April 25, 2013 by Terry Dactyll Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Heck of a woodpile, mate! You Brits do Westphalian right "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...
Missourian Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 (edited) Those logs are amazing. They could at least be used as home decor, perhaps as pedestals for other objects or as logs in the fireplace (when not in use). Edited April 25, 2013 by Missourian Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Logs in the fireplace - thats a neat idea! Just don't go forgetting to take them out "Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - Saint Augustine"Those who can not see past their own nose deserve our pity more than anything else." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 OMG love your display cases!!!! Niiicce! What a great collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Thanks Guys... & Lissa.... Good idea about the logs... I hope one day to find a use for these trunks to... I gave my best one to a museum but the last I heard it wasnt on display due to ' health & safety ' issues ... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lissa318 Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Health and safety issues??? I am puzzled... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Lissa.... I should of explained.... because of the trunks size and ' robustness ' it was going in the foyer of what is a truly inspirational victorian style museum part of Birmingham University with all the hardwood and glass display cabinets you would expect etc...known as the Lapworth Museum.... Its a robust fossil people could touch and explore without really worrying too much about it getting damaged and theres not many fossils you can say that about... due to its size and weight it was considered that it needed bolting down somehow incase someone decided to pull it over on themselves... and this hadnt been sorted at the time.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 "Killed by a falling Lycopod" is not the sort of headline one wishes to see... "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...
Terry Dactyll Posted April 26, 2013 Author Share Posted April 26, 2013 Chas.... Yes... Imagine that !...Something more likely to occur in the quarry where I found it... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welsh Wizard Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Steve Fantastic fossils and really well displayed. The health and safety stuff regarding your museum donation is pretty poor but I'm a strong believer that all fossils should ultimately end up in museums for safe keeping. Private collectors should find them and treasure them until they pass them on to these institutions for future generations. I do find it frustrating the number of fossils hidden away in basements, cupboards and boxes in Musuems, but they are the places where our specimens should reside when we pass them on. I've recently been discussing donating an ichthyosaur to a museum but i said if it's going to be put into "storage" then I'd rather store it myself until I pass away (then they can have it). Well done and keep up the collecting. Regards Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 Nick..... Thanks...the upper carboniferous is pretty generous fossil wise and these museums and institutions must have endless nodules and specimens from the coal mining days locked away, I have been behind the scenes at a few.... but the locations these finds came from are spread out so the knowledge about the palaeoenviroment is like a jigsaw puzzle with more missing pieces than what you can see...any new exposure is another piece of the jigsaw...We gave them a lot of nodules from there as well so they have a good representation of the site.... '' The health and safety stuff regarding your museum donation is pretty poor ''.... I agree and I was initially very frustrated by this but on reflection when your dealing with places accessed by the public you cant be too careful.. especially these days!....I tried to donate a big Coroniceras that took me 40 hours plus to prep to one place and the center in question had no where to put it behind glass and were again worried about it falling on people...I said I'd have a re-think... '' I'm a strong believer that all fossils should ultimately end up in museums for safe keeping ''... I used to think that to and have corresponded with and met some inspirational guys in paleontology who encouraged and helped us and made us feel involved...but I hear lots of contradictory stories (and have experiences first hand) that make me think differently these days and I'm sure you have heard a few yourself.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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