Hunting Indiana For The 1St Time. Feel Free To Id Our Finds.

[Lori LuvsFossils]

5 of us hunted 2 locations in northern Indiana. Here is some of what we found. We are going to hunt again at another location before head home. Since we are brand new to hunting this state, any ID help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[6ix]

Amazing spread of fossils.. pity I cant see them closer!

[erose]

Crazy mix of things there. Do you know what the geologic age is for the area?

[Lori LuvsFossils]

I'm sorry I couldn't post each picture individually 6ix. My photos are still too large. There are a couple of pieces I really want to know about so I'll likely re-post those. For now, we are still sorting thru our finds from yesterday and have found a couple more pieces we really like. I'm fortunate to have so many good friends in the area. We've been offered literally hundreds of acres to hunt, but won't have the time to cover that much ground. I think a return trip in the fall might be in order.

I don't know a thing about the age, erose. One of my friends has a large rock ledge on her land. It shows many layers. I asked if she knew the age of each. She didn't, but did tell me that a Geologist is supposed to come by and take a look. I'll add info to this thread if she comes to any conclusions.

Happy hunting guys!

[mikeymig]

I love trekking thru creeks lookin for whatever I find. The first batch looks like a type of Favosites coral with a hole thru it, sections of straight shelled Nautiloids, a bison or cow tooth, and what appears to be an Ammonite. The Ammonite I think is surprising cuz I wouldn't think you could find them there.

The second batch is hard to see but I think I make out more Nautiloid pieces and Trilobite parts. Some things look like mineral filled cracks not fossils.

The third batch looks like a group of humans, bark impression, and a worn section of a Nautiloid.

The forth batch looks like a large fairly if not complete Nautiloid the others can't really see them well and I would love to see more photos of the one in your hand.

Not sure as age goes but maybe Ordovician? Not for the "bison" tooth, humans, or "bark" impression.

Mikey

Edited July 12, 2013 by mikeymig

[lissa318]

Sounds and looks like you are having a great time!!!! Looks like you are finding some pretty awesome fossils too! Looking forward to seeing more pics.

Edited July 12, 2013 by lissa318

[piranha]

Please include the county and general vicinity where the fossils were found so an approximate age can be determined.

[dragonsfly]

Looks like "The Dunes"? I heard there were fossils there... Nice finds. John

[Lori LuvsFossils]

Thanks Mikey! I think we found another Amonite in addition to the one I posted. Lets see if I can post multiple individual photos so you can see a little better. By the way, you nailed it re: that human pic. lol Quite a crew we are!

Thanks Lissa! Perfect weather, good company and beautiful land to hunt. Could it get any better?!

John & Piranha, We are hunting south Wabash county. I remember going to the dunes as a kid and rolling around, but I don't know anything about the fossils up there. I think the dunes are probably 3+/- hours north of our current location.

Only one of the pics you asked to see closer (Mikey) will fit as an attachment. It's covered in bumps, sort of like a pinecone. Maybe just a cool rock ??

[Lori LuvsFossils]

[Lori LuvsFossils]

[Lori LuvsFossils]

[Lori LuvsFossils]

[piranha]

My hunch is confirmed with the Calymene and Dalmanites trilobites posted. According to the Indiana geo maps it looks like the Silurian Wabash Formation. Congrats on the great group of fossils!

[mikeymig]

Lori, is that "pinecone" heavy? It looks like it could be a hunk of pyrite. Now we know it's Silurian it would be nice to hear from someone as to what the "Ammonite" really is.

Mikey

[Lori LuvsFossils]

Yes Mikey, the Pinecone looking piece is very heavy....well as heavy as a solid rock would be.

Are you saying the Ammonite isn't really an ammonite or we just don't know what kind? This is all foreign to me.

We are going to try to squeeze in another afternoon hunt tomorrow. Hopefully we'll find some more great things to add to the confusion. Hahaha

I'm re-attaching an image from the first set. It's one I would like to ID even tho we can't move it.

[garyc]

To me your last pic looks like a large lobster, but it's hard to tell from the pic.