Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 (other photos to follow) The weather is usually cooling this time of year so I headed off to the badlands in the southeast part of Alberta on the Montana border. But hot....in the 90's and glad I took a watermellon with me. Gorgeous day...lots of wildlife including pronghorn antelope, mule deer...various raptors including a prairie falcon and golden eagle. No rattlers as I think they are in their hibernaculums by now. Lost River area is Late Creataceous (Campanian) about 75 MY and mostly Oldman Formation with possibly a few other formations. Also things have been stirred up by glaciation. Deposits are terrestrial with brackish and marine 'stuff' here and there. Neat area. Really isolated. Spent 6 hours hiking around and only one other car went by. First photo shows the Sweetgrass Hills in the distance. This is where Sitting Bull led his warriors after the battle of the Little Big Horn. Second is of a large Pronghorn male heading off to find a lass. Pronghons are the second fastest land animal in the world after the cheetah...their preditors Wolves, plain Grizzlies and Cougars are slowpokes in comparison. A bonus to anyone who can guess why the Pronghorn evolved to run twice as fast as them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 Most of the fossil bearing layers are bentonite clay....lots of erosion. Fourth photo is a hodgepodge of fragments of dino bone, petrified wood and shells. All Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 This is the productive type area. Plus the ground is soft so good for a snooze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 Enough solitude to reach the moon and beyond... ...Pronghons are the second fastest land animal in the world after the cheetah...their preditors Wolves, plain Grizzlies and Cougars are slowpokes in comparison. A bonus to anyone who can guess why the Pronghorn evolved to run twice as fast as them. The N. Am. Pleistocene analog to the Cheetah: Miracinonyx "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...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 Most of the time is on ones stomach with eyes to the ground trying to pick out anything good or different from the 'bits. First photos...neat raptor teeth at one site...almost a cross between Saurnitholestes and Troodon. Third phot..most common fossil found, freshwater Ray teeth (Myledaphus bipartitus). Fourth photo...a raptor claw (Ornithomomus). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 More speciments...how thet are often found on the surface: Croc tooth,... Croc scute Anklylosaur tooth Hadrosaur Tooth Ceratopsian tooth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 (edited) Few more speciemns Fragmented hadrosaur jaw...didn't collect. Glueing days are over Tip down raptor tooth An 'I don't know' weird texture bit (sort of like dino egg shell but not sure) Raptor vertebra (fractured. Left as as is) Edited September 11, 2013 by Ridgehiker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 it took me 15 minutes climb up one steep hill and then a mule deer spooked me by doing the same in about 10 seconds. Found a little shelf with some shark teeth. Must be a marine lens but couldn't hang on for long as it was smack in the hottest sun and hard to see. The first teeth are about a centimeter...the second photo about a third of that. Not sure what the third things are...shark scales? The shark and fish (?) vertebrae were found down among the terrestrial clays...maybe washed in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 (edited) Some speciments cleaned up at home. the quality of preservation varies a lot...depends on many variables but mostly on how long exposewd to the elements. Hadrosaur tooth Crock bits found together Croc teeth Misc. tooth bits Salamander jaw Edited September 11, 2013 by Ridgehiker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 This is an odd raptor tooth I found. It is more like 'Richardoestia' teeth found in the much later Maastrichtian deposits of the Scollard and Hell Creek. Very fine serrations. Also a photo of a Tyrannosaurid tooth I left as is. At first I thought it a giant croc tooth because of the growth rings...then looked close and found the serrations. Photo of various vertebrae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 Just for fun...raptor phalange sticking out of the clay...can you spot it? Pronghorn on way home. I was driving slowly along this stretch to avoid running over rattlesnakes and all the migrating birds going through. This fellow wouldn't get off the road...I was doing 70kms and he wasn't even trying. Then he sped up,swerved off and jumped a fence (usually they go under). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 Enough solitude to reach the moon and beyond... The N. Am. Pleistocene analog to the Cheetah: Miracinonyx Auspex True. Kind of neat if you think about it...cheetahs roaming the American plains at one time. Pronghorns evolved to outrun them. But...their speed was almost their downfall. They could be lured in by waving a white cloth. Pronghornscould run away from a predator but they couldn't outrun a bullet. On the positive side they have recovered well. In Alberta there was a National Park dedicated to Pronghorn preservation that was decommissioned decades ago after the numbers grew back into the thousands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 that was a killer hunt quite different from my own experiences. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 12, 2013 Author Share Posted September 12, 2013 I like the area as much for the Nature as the fossils. Collect a while then hike around for an hour or so. Always curious as to what is over the next horizon. There were some buffalo bones at the base of some cliffs so I walked along the top looking for teepee rings, etc. but no luck. But then to the north is more exposures and.... Hiked over and zip other than scrappy Dino bone. More exposures even further...never went over but I always wonder what is laying on rather ground saying 'find me'. We fossil nuts are so intent on looking at the ground that we often forget to look around. A few times I've looked up to see a moose, bobcat or whatever and wondered how long it has been there looking at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfin1974 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 awseome finds, my 2 faves..shark teeth and dino teeth tec.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejd Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Great finds and it sounds like it was a fun day. I would love to venture down there some day. Would you be willing to share some info with a local like myself? Maybe over a coffe one day? A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejd Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Just for fun...raptor phalange sticking out of the clay...can you spot it? Yup. Also, does that look like a small vert near the bottom where the other arrow is? A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 12, 2013 Author Share Posted September 12, 2013 (edited) Rejd..No problemo. Need to get your shark matrix to you. In the meantime if you go. It's really not that far time wise from your place. 350 kms? Leave at 6am you'll be there at 9am. Don't try to wiggle southeast on the secondary roads but take the TC hwy to Medicine Hat....then Crowsnest hwy turn to Red Rock Coulee...then to signs to Orion....do not turn towards Manyberries but take 501 towards Onefour. All the gravel roads are in good condition. Warning...no gas station for a 100 kms or so (and can be closed in Foremost, etc ). so best to gas up in Medicine Hat. Also, Onefour is not a town but research station...no stores, etc. Aden the other way is also a token dot on the map. you are not driving as far as Onefour. You will be on 501 driving towards Saskatchewan running parallel to the Montana border. You will eventually start passing exposures on the north side....then a few Kim's later you will dip down into the Lost River coulee. This will be unmistakable. Anything on note to find is on the north side....and about 2/3rds of the way up. You will have to climb and then search around. I've found large Dino bone on the steep slopes but the micro verts are in dips up above. This is Oldman Formation but not as you are familiar with but much more mixed up....look for shell glistening. A note...I've not explored a hundredth of the area so this is all a suggestion only. Don't get discouraged by sterile exposures...Need to persevere. Great area even for the hiking. Edited September 12, 2013 by Ridgehiker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 12, 2013 Author Share Posted September 12, 2013 Yup...you have 'the eye'. Interesting we how learn to see things. I went arrowhead collecting with a guy near Rockyford and he found about a dozen and I found zero. One wonders about all the good stuff we've missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejd Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Rejd..No problemo. Need to get your shark matrix to you. In the meantime if you go. It's really not that far time wise from your place. 350 kms? Leave at 6am you'll be there at 9am. Don't try to wiggle southeast on the secondary roads but take the TC hwy to Medicine Hat....then Crowsnest hwy turn to Red Rock Coulee...then to signs to Orion....do not turn towards Manyberries but take 501 towards Onefour. All the gravel roads are in good condition. Warning...no gas station for a 100 kms or so (and can be closed in Foremost, etc ). so best to gas up in Medicine Hat. Also, Onefour is not a town but research station...no stores, etc. Aden the other way is also a token dot on the map. you are not driving as far as Onefour. You will be on 501 driving towards Saskatchewan running parallel to the Montana border. You will eventually start passing exposures on the north side....then a few Kim's later you will dip down into the Lost River coulee. This will be unmistakable. Anything on note to find is on the north side....and about 2/3rds of the way up. You will have to climb and then search around. I've found large Dino bone on the steep slopes but the micro verts are in dips up above. A note...I've not explored a hundredth of the area so this is all a suggestion only. Don't get discouraged by sterile exposures...Ned to persevere. Thanks for that. I appreciate it. You around tomorrow? I could swing by during the day sometime. A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rejd Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Yup...you have 'the eye'. Interesting we how learn to see things. I went arrowhead collecting with a guy near Rockyford and he found about a dozen and I found zero. One wonders about all the good stuff we've missed. It is amazing how we can learn to see things. I know some days when I am out I can spot something from a long way away. Although, I do love the small stuff as well. I enjoy getting close to the ground and picking the little beauties that can be found. A fossil hunter needs sharp eyes and a keen search image, a mental template that subconsciously evaluates everything he sees in his search for telltale clues. -Richard E. Leakey http://prehistoricalberta.lefora.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 12, 2013 Author Share Posted September 12, 2013 No..If you have an evening free Friday onwards that would be great. Glad to show you my collection. Bring your good stuff over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moahunt1 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I would love to be there that's really exciting!!!!! Thanks for showing us your finds. Im kinda in love with the teeth and claws!!!! Hunted for fossils in:UK - Lyme Regis, Charmouth, The Thames and Hampshire (two trips) Egypt - Desert somewhere near Giza - Nummalites and petrified wood Australia - Lightening Ridge opal fields - opalised things!!!!USA - Florida- Gainesville creeks and Diving in the Santa Fe river Meg teeth and 10 000 year old mammalsNew Zealand- Around 30 sites visited and collected from. Including Chatham Islands. and now Canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgehiker Posted September 12, 2013 Author Share Posted September 12, 2013 Moa, We often want to find what we don't have in our area. Back in the 80's I had the chance to collect Oligocene mammal fossils with a local in South Dakota and thinking it was heaven...then we met up in Montana and he was thrilled to find Dino stuff. There is something special about finding a first ammonite, shark tooth or whatever. I like brachiopods and drool over some of the specimens I see posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moahunt1 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Moa, We often want to find what we don't have in our area. Back in the 80's I had the chance to collect Oligocene mammal fossils with a local in South Dakota and thinking it was heaven...then we met up in Montana and he was thrilled to find Dino stuff. There is something special about finding a first ammonite, shark tooth or whatever. I like brachiopods and drool over some of the specimens I see posted. Of course!!! Its just dinosaurs do take precedent over everything else!!! My first meg was amazing, And all my other firsts which keep coming!!!! lol I found my first plesiosaur tooth which then makes everything else i have found not as exciting!!! hehe Hunted for fossils in:UK - Lyme Regis, Charmouth, The Thames and Hampshire (two trips) Egypt - Desert somewhere near Giza - Nummalites and petrified wood Australia - Lightening Ridge opal fields - opalised things!!!!USA - Florida- Gainesville creeks and Diving in the Santa Fe river Meg teeth and 10 000 year old mammalsNew Zealand- Around 30 sites visited and collected from. Including Chatham Islands. and now Canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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