bluepickup Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Although it was a rather uneventful day (I have many), I did manage to find a couple of little things. Here is a bivalve peeking out of the matrix. I think it's inoceramus. Pretty common to find, but sometimes pretty. I don't know what they are, but I found a number of these. Most of them were pretty well broken up by other hunters, but I should be able to get a nice one if I don't forget to bring my hammer. The best find is probably this ray tooth, ptychodus? I'll bet there is more of these, but it was near the end of the day and quite a ways back to the truck so I didn't pursue any more. I just had to take some landscapes on the way home. Here is a favorite cuesta of mine. Good luck on your trips! bp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH4ShotCaller Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Nice finds and a great shot of your dig site. Thanks for sharing! Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. -Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluepickup Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 ShotCaller Thanks. Actually the cuesta in the photo is a several miles from where I was hunting. it's was on the road home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 What is a cuesta? A small butte? Nice shot, anyway, it looks like juicy fossiling grounds besides being picturesque (love that combination) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluepickup Posted December 18, 2013 Author Share Posted December 18, 2013 Wrangellian A cuesta is similar to a mesa, but rather than the steep sides all the way around that a mesa has, a cuesta has one, two or three sides that are steep and a characteristic long slope on the back side. Here's a shot of a couple that show the sloping backside. Some of them have fossils eroding out in the steep front slopes beneath the sandstone caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Great photos BP. Your second photo is a large species (the name escapes me at the moment) of bivalve. Definitely bring your hammer for there are nice specimens to be had within the nodules of these outcrops. Very nice Ptychodus tooth, good size for the area. The geology out there is quite amazing. Much to explore. Your "favorite" cuesta is Dakota Sandstone and is Cenomanian in age. Keep your eyes peeled for Turrilites on these slopes. One of my favorites. How was the road out there? Last time I headed that way it was pretty darn rough. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 (edited) Nice specimens and wonderful scenery. I've only had a chance to explore a very small fragment of your state but hope to do much more in years ahead. That first "Inoceramid" looks like a good specimen. The Ptychodus is nice too. FYI, Ptychodus were sharks with crushing teeth and not rays or skates (Batoids) I think they are one of the few sharks where complete specimens are known and there is some idea of what the whole animal looked like. Edited December 18, 2013 by erose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 (edited) Wrangellian A cuesta is similar to a mesa, but rather than the steep sides all the way around that a mesa has, a cuesta has one, two or three sides that are steep and a characteristic long slope on the back side. Here's a shot of a couple that show the sloping backside. Some of them have fossils eroding out in the steep front slopes beneath the sandstone caps. P9070800.JPG I think I gotcha, like a long ramp up one side ending at a cliff at the other? Used as lookout points I would guess, if my reading of the Spanish name is correct (sounds like 'quest') If I were you I'd collect those ammos to rescue them from the elements even if they need some gluing at home (I'm becoming well acquainted with this process myself... Good to have something to do during the winter months esp. up here) Or do you think someone else will come along and find them soon enough? BTW I would agree with the others that your bivalve is not a geoduck. I am familiar enough with live and fossil ones to say that. A new member found a dead ringer for a geoduck at my local Santonian collecting site recently and posted it on the Forum - never seen them there before but I have found them elsewhere and I have some specimens from Drumheller (Campanian) too. I have no idea what yours is. The ornamentation is too regular for Panopea I think, besides the lack of gape. If your area is like mine there are lots of oddball mollusks that are as yet undescribed, though it's also possible yours is and we just haven't found it yet. Edited December 20, 2013 by Wrangellian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2ynpigo Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I think there is a bit of the Morrison in the foreground of the photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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