jcbshark Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Today I had the absolute pleasure to meet some local Florida fossil hounds for a creek hunt in Desoto county in a tributary of the Peace river.First I would like to give a heartfelt THANK YOU to all the members that made this great trip possible.I was joined by Chris(Plantguy) who I have been hunting with the last few months,John(Sacha),Ken and Tammy(Digit),Caleb(Scramblered),Jim and Sally(Beachbum) and Chris and Elizabeth(Search4).Several of these folks made a multi-hour drive to hunt today even though the only one who knew me personally was Chris and I would like them to know I appreciate the faith they had in someone they only knew thru PMs on here and maybe one phone call.We had a wonderful Florida winter day to dig and sift in a creek I have only hunted a handful of times over the years.Everyone arrived bright and early to make the most of the day and after a short hike we spread out like ants at a picnic to start hunting.There were some nice finds to be had and even though I brought my lucky shovel I wasn't prepared for the pressure I was subjected too lol.No Smilodon teeth or Mammoth tusks were to be had but I must say I was in very good company.One thing I took away from this dig was that John(Sacha) uses a half inch mesh sifter and he processes more material than a dragline could keep up with so next time I head out there I'll be toting one of those by my side.I would also like to thank all the people who keep this forum up and running.If it wasn't for all the thankless hard work that you all do this trip would have never happened.Here is a handful of pics that I took,please feel free to add your pics and/or finds.Jim and Sally who traveled from Gainesville to huntThe only known photograph of John,I think he's in the witness protection program lol,sorry it's not a face shot.He was fully intent on finding the good stuffCaleb is just visiting from New Jersey but he had all the beginners luck.Chris was in it for the long haul as is the normKen and Tammy with a beautiful Lower Mako they popped out from it's resting placeClose up of that nice toothChris and Elizabeth did their share of hunting as wellMe standing around holding a shovel up lolCaleb with some huge Gator teeth,a Meg and a nice Horse insisorA couple Camel teeth I foundA couple shark teeth and a Dolphin bullaSome beads that didn't slip thru the sifterA couple verts I found.The one looks like Gator,the other I'm not sure,Any ideas? Unknown vert view 2Unknown vert view 2 Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old dead things Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I always like to see pictures of members doing what they do best. ( not to imply that "standing around" is what jcbshark does best ) It looks like you all had a great time and best of all no snow. Jim Old Dead Things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacha Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Jeff is a great host and good company. We both talked about club meetings and how they didn't seem to agree with us, but on this trip he was the President and we were all happy to follow along. Great group of people, all hard working (I'm sore today) and will look forward to doing it again. This message will self destruct in 5....4.....3.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Looks like a good time. I agree on the 1/2" sifter. I learned long ago that I can get through much more material that way. It is all I use now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 I always like to see pictures of members doing what they do best. ( not to imply that "standing around" is what jcbshark does best ) It looks like you all had a great time and best of all no snow. Jim Old Dead Things Thank you Jim, it was great to get out with a great bunch of people who share the passion for the hunt! Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Jeff is a great host and good company. We both talked about club meetings and how they didn't seem to agree with us, but on this trip he was the President and we were all happy to follow along. Great group of people, all hard working (I'm sore today) and will look forward to doing it again. This message will self destruct in 5....4.....3.... Thanks John,and I'm not surprised that your sore.Your spoil piles were starting to look islands out there lol.Thanks so much for coming out,maybe next time I can meet you closer to your area. Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Looks like a good time. I agree on the 1/2" sifter. I learned long ago that I can get through much more material that way. It is all I use now. Is that because you NC guys just find sooooo many nice big teeth Rick?Lol. Where we were hunting yesterday there is just an overwhelming amout of small gravel,much like the Peace.In some of the other spots I hunt it's not near as bad.Also everything and I mean everything is black in there which makes it tough to spot the goods.I'll make a half inch sifter for out there but hate the thought of loosing those little posterior Megs and deer teeth and other odds and ends that are out there.But processing material is the name of the game when it comes to adding quality pieces to your collection for sure. Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Jeff You always seem to find a nice variety of fossils. I wish I had luck in the Florida rivers. The several times I went down to Florida to dig in the rivers the water was high, which really limited where we could dig. It is great to see a group of TFF members get together for a fossil dig. It is nice to see a picture of John who has been sending me really nice matrix. I would also like a few pictures of the occasional gator you run across. We saw a 10 footer (probably a 2 footer but looked 10) just sunning on a river bank when we were digging in the Peace River. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Jeff You always seem to find a nice variety of fossils. I wish I had luck in the Florida rivers. The several times I went down to Florida to dig in the rivers the water was high, which really limited where we could dig. It is great to see a group of TFF members get together for a fossil dig. It is nice to see a picture of John who has been sending me really nice matrix. I would also like a few pictures of the occasional gator you run across. We saw a 10 footer (probably a 2 footer but looked 10) just sunning on a river bank when we were digging in the Peace River. Marco Sr. Thank you Marco,for hunting the rivers and creeks around here you would be pretty safe to plan a trip in the winter or spring.That's when our dry season is in full swing and water levels are at their lowest.Of course to hunt new construction rain is a benefit to wash the fossils off so you can see them.Also summer is the time for diving off Venice or nearby beaches,with water temps in the mid 80's it's an easy way to collect.To be honest,while diving is very easy on the back and people do find nice pieces from time to time I would take creek hunting or surface collecting on a construction site over diving most days.As for the gators,I give the large ones a wide berth.I feel a little uneasy wading neck deep where I know there are large gators in the area.I have to give it to John with his devotion to collecting micro matrix too.I had told everyone that we would meet at 8:30 Saturday morning and since I was organizing this outing and I only live an hour away from the creek I wanted to arrive early to greet the hunters.I think I got there about 7:50 and there was a truck parked by the bridge and John was already waist deep and had about 30 lbs.of matrix collected already.He had almost a 3 hour drive to get there and near the end of the day he still was a man on a mission and faired better than I did on the finds.It was great to get to put some faces to names of some of Floridas fossil hunters as well. Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickNC Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Is that because you NC guys just find sooooo many nice big teeth Rick?Lol. Where we were hunting yesterday there is just an overwhelming amout of small gravel,much like the Peace.In some of the other spots I hunt it's not near as bad.Also everything and I mean everything is black in there which makes it tough to spot the goods.I'll make a half inch sifter for out there but hate the thought of loosing those little posterior Megs and deer teeth and other odds and ends that are out there.But processing material is the name of the game when it comes to adding quality pieces to your collection for sure. Some things definitely are lost but I find 1/4" to just be too slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Hey Jeff, thanks again for the invite and hosting. Had a great time meeting everyone and digging in the creek with the gang. Weather was absolutely gorgeous and seeing the citrus trees loaded with fruit along the banks reminded us how fortunate we are to be collecting in the dead of winter. I did run into those nasty thunderstorm squall lines on the way home, but that didn't dampen the fun as I was already wet and its becoming 2nd nature to be soaked on the weekend as long as I have a pile of fossil finds nearby. Aside from the good amount of smaller shark teeth that are cool, here's some of them, maybe even a partial little meg (pretty thick tooth) on the left hand side of this first photo I was also intrigued by the various patterns in fresh water/tortoise shell--this addiction with that dang turtle stuff has too stop! I didnt have no scream about vertebrate complete finds but here's the Glyptodont osteoderms that I'm keeping. They are cool and look better with some light on them! Looking forward to seeing all of the others finds! Still not figured out the phone charging goof on my part. I'm going to blame it on operator error--you simply get what you pay for! Its a tough job to get those dang things plugged in and charging---NOT! UGGH!! Looking forward to the next outing. Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Some things definitely are lost but I find 1/4" to just be too slow. How about 3/8"? A happy medium, perhaps? "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...
digit Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I too had the honor and privilege of joining Jeff and the cast of thousands on the expedition he organized. We had a great time slogging through the water and sifting till we were sore (what more could you ask for?) and the only thing that surpassed the finds we pulled from our sifting screens was the company. If you want to spend a day with some really like-minded classy folk have an expedition with some TFF members (you heard it here first). I spent the day today driving up to Orlando and back (lots of driving this weekend) to meet-up with Col. Joe Kittinger who is a national treasure and a really great guy. If you are unfamiliar with the name just google it or Project Excelsior and you'll see why I had a great weekend--fossil hunting with TFF members and meeting a legend in the same weekend. I'll get around to sorting out and photographing some of my finds from this weekend soon but I'll tell you all now that meeting some great forum members were the real treasure from this outing. Hoping this will be the first of many outings with these TFF members. I encourage others on the Forum to seek-out members in your area as the social aspect of a fossil hunting expedition really adds a new dimension. Pics of my prizes coming soon as I can photograph them. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Hey Jeff, thanks again for the invite and hosting. Had a great time meeting everyone and digging in the creek with the gang. Weather was absolutely gorgeous and seeing the citrus trees loaded with fruit along the banks reminded us how fortunate we are to be collecting in the dead of winter. I did run into those nasty thunderstorm squall lines on the way home, but that didn't dampen the fun as I was already wet and its becoming 2nd nature to be soaked on the weekend as long as I have a pile of fossil finds nearby. Aside from the good amount of smaller shark teeth that are cool, here's some of them, maybe even a partial little meg (pretty thick tooth) on the left hand side of this first photo I was also intrigued by the various patterns in fresh water/tortoise shell--this addiction with that dang turtle stuff has too stop! I didnt have no scream about vertebrate complete finds but here's the Glyptodont osteoderms that I'm keeping. They are cool and look better with some light on them! Looking forward to seeing all of the others finds! Shark teeth.jpgTurtle fragments.jpg Glyptodont osteoderms.jpg Still not figured out the phone charging goof on my part. I'm going to blame it on operator error--you simply get what you pay for! Its a tough job to get those dang things plugged in and charging---NOT! UGGH!! Looking forward to the next outing. Regards, Chris Nice stuff you got there Chris and as for the phone at least you made it out there with time to spare.Btw the triangular shark tooth on the top right is a nice little upper Mako Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 How about 3/8"? A happy medium, perhaps? That's a good thought,I'll have to see if they make that.The half inch stuff does wiz thru the material though lol. Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcbshark Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 I too had the honor and privilege of joining Jeff and the cast of thousands on the expedition he organized. We had a great time slogging through the water and sifting till we were sore (what more could you ask for?) and the only thing that surpassed the finds we pulled from our sifting screens was the company. If you want to spend a day with some really like-minded classy folk have an expedition with some TFF members (you heard it here first). I spent the day today driving up to Orlando and back (lots of driving this weekend) to meet-up with Col. Joe Kittinger who is a national treasure and a really great guy. If you are unfamiliar with the name just google it or Project Excelsior and you'll see why I had a great weekend--fossil hunting with TFF members and meeting a legend in the same weekend. I'll get around to sorting out and photographing some of my finds from this weekend soon but I'll tell you all now that meeting some great forum members were the real treasure from this outing. Hoping this will be the first of many outings with these TFF members. I encourage others on the Forum to seek-out members in your area as the social aspect of a fossil hunting expedition really adds a new dimension. Pics of my prizes coming soon as I can photograph them. Cheers. -Ken You sure did a fair bit of miles this weekend and I'm so glad you made the trip from the east coast to hunt.It was a pleasure to meet and talk to you both and I look forward to your pics.And I can see why you went to see Col. Kittinger,he has quite the resume.It's always entertaining and informative when you can spend time listening to someone who has lived life to the fullest. Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Thank you Marco,for hunting the rivers and creeks around here you would be pretty safe to plan a trip in the winter or spring.That's when our dry season is in full swing and water levels are at their lowest.Of course to hunt new construction rain is a benefit to wash the fossils off so you can see them.Also summer is the time for diving off Venice or nearby beaches,with water temps in the mid 80's it's an easy way to collect.To be honest,while diving is very easy on the back and people do find nice pieces from time to time I would take creek hunting or surface collecting on a construction site over diving most days.As for the gators,I give the large ones a wide berth.I feel a little uneasy wading neck deep where I know there are large gators in the area.I have to give it to John with his devotion to collecting micro matrix too.I had told everyone that we would meet at 8:30 Saturday morning and since I was organizing this outing and I only live an hour away from the creek I wanted to arrive early to greet the hunters.I think I got there about 7:50 and there was a truck parked by the bridge and John was already waist deep and had about 30 lbs.of matrix collected already.He had almost a 3 hour drive to get there and near the end of the day he still was a man on a mission and faired better than I did on the finds.It was great to get to put some faces to names of some of Floridas fossil hunters as well. Jeff My trips to Florida were in the late Fall. Good temperatures but high water. John had PMed me that he was going to get to the Creek early so he could collect some matrix for John H. and me. Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosaj Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Wow!Looks like you guys had a fantastic time!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcoSr Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Hey Jeff, thanks again for the invite and hosting. Had a great time meeting everyone and digging in the creek with the gang. Weather was absolutely gorgeous and seeing the citrus trees loaded with fruit along the banks reminded us how fortunate we are to be collecting in the dead of winter. I did run into those nasty thunderstorm squall lines on the way home, but that didn't dampen the fun as I was already wet and its becoming 2nd nature to be soaked on the weekend as long as I have a pile of fossil finds nearby. Aside from the good amount of smaller shark teeth that are cool, here's some of them, maybe even a partial little meg (pretty thick tooth) on the left hand side of this first photo I was also intrigued by the various patterns in fresh water/tortoise shell--this addiction with that dang turtle stuff has too stop! I didnt have no scream about vertebrate complete finds but here's the Glyptodont osteoderms that I'm keeping. They are cool and look better with some light on them! Looking forward to seeing all of the others finds! Shark teeth.jpgTurtle fragments.jpg Glyptodont osteoderms.jpg Still not figured out the phone charging goof on my part. I'm going to blame it on operator error--you simply get what you pay for! Its a tough job to get those dang things plugged in and charging---NOT! UGGH!! Looking forward to the next outing. Regards, Chris It is really interesting to see all of the different turtle shell patterns. I wonder if one species had a wide variety of patterns or they are from different species? Marco Sr. "Any day that you can fossil hunt is a great day." My family fossil website Some Of My Shark, Ray, Fish And Other Micros My Extant Shark Jaw Collection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Finally got out the camera to provide some additional eye candy from our weekend hunt. As you can see from the photos below shark teeth were plentiful and in some cases decent size. We also scored well with plenty of fish scales, pufferfish mouth plates, gator teeth and a few interesting pieces including a tapir molar and an unidentified incisor and vertebra. Not pictured but among the finds were some nice turtle shell frags, a small frag of what appears to be proboscidean tusk, a tiny (but identifiable piece) of cabybara molar and a few other odds and ends. A few more detailed images to follow. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Here is a closer look at some of the fishy parts--a nice assortment of fish scales (mostly the thicker bony garfish scales). The one on the lower right is notably different though showing some rayed patterning. I thought I had another one similar to this but upon closer examination it turned out to appear to be a small bivalve shell cast. Will need to study that one under a photographic loupe to see what I can make of that. Additionally, pufferfish mouth plates were quite abundant at the spot we were digging many being quite large and intact. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 (edited) Here is a close-up of the tapir molar. It is well worn with the cusps ground down significantly. I only noticed while photographing this tooth that the surface has an interesting ridged texture to it resembling finger prints. Unfortunately, as with most tapir molar dug up from a gravel pile in a river or creek the root of this tooth is pretty much non-existent. I guess the chewing surface is more dense than the underlying bone as it seems to survive the rigors of transit from tapir mouth to my sifter. I do enjoy the mammal teeth quite a bit due to their relative rarity (when compared to the abundance of shark teeth). -Ken Edited January 13, 2014 by digit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 The shark teeth were not only plentiful but there were more larger (and whole) teeth where we were digging than I usually encounter in the locations I've recently been digging. There were quite a few nice size tiger teeth (as you can see from the image below) and a few nice hemis but for me the theme of the day was "Mako me crazy!" The first one was a small but intact upper mako which was welcome since we hadn't pulled any mako teeth on the last couple of trips. This was followed by a similar size lower mako. It has been so long since I'd seen a lower mako that I initially thought it was just a sand tiger tooth till Jeff pointed out that it lacked the characteristic side cusps. Finding a "matching" though not associated pair of mako dentition filled my fun quota for the day. Or at least I thought so since that was soon topped by my wife Tammy spotting a really sweet 1.75" lower mako sitting in the top of the gravel in the sifter. Since I shovel and she shakes the sand from the sifter she always has first dibs on cherry picking the good stuff out of the sifter but she let me pull this prize. No megs at all on this trip but sometimes it's not all about the "big prize". I never could have said that with any sincerity till I pulled a nice meg or two from the river but having passed that initiation teeth like this mako really make my day better than if I'd found a meg. Does anybody know if it is possible to estimate the size of a mako from a tooth? While this 1.75" tooth is not as big as some of the beasts I've seen on this forum, I suspect it came from a shark that was big enough to have made me warm my wetsuit had I the opportunity to encounter it during its lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digit Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Here are my last two picture posts from this trip--a couple of mysteries: One is a small vertebra that is (sadly) missing most of its processes. Can anybody on the forum hazard a guess as to what type of critter might have included this among its inventory of bones? The other is a small incisor? or at least some sort of mammal tooth. It has a flattened (worn away) top surface and a bit of a "keel" on either side giving it a flattened appearance. If this tooth is not immediately obvious to those with more knowledge than I then I can always take additional angles to help secure an ID. Thus concludes my eye candy contribution to the results of this Florida members get-together hunt. Cheers. -Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MakoMeCrazy Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 (edited) The shark teeth were not only plentiful but there were more larger (and whole) teeth where we were digging than I usually encounter in the locations I've recently been digging. There were quite a few nice size tiger teeth (as you can see from the image below) and a few nice hemis but for me the theme of the day was "Mako me crazy!" The first one was a small but intact upper mako which was welcome since we hadn't pulled any mako teeth on the last couple of trips. This was followed by a similar size lower mako. It has been so long since I'd seen a lower mako that I initially thought it was just a sand tiger tooth till Jeff pointed out that it lacked the characteristic side cusps. Finding a "matching" though not associated pair of mako dentition filled my fun quota for the day. Or at least I thought so since that was soon topped by my wife Tammy spotting a really sweet 1.75" lower mako sitting in the top of the gravel in the sifter. Since I shovel and she shakes the sand from the sifter she always has first dibs on cherry picking the good stuff out of the sifter but she let me pull this prize. No megs at all on this trip but sometimes it's not all about the "big prize". I never could have said that with any sincerity till I pulled a nice meg or two from the river but having passed that initiation teeth like this mako really make my day better than if I'd found a meg. Does anybody know if it is possible to estimate the size of a mako from a tooth? While this 1.75" tooth is not as big as some of the beasts I've seen on this forum, I suspect it came from a shark that was big enough to have made me warm my wetsuit had I the opportunity to encounter it during its lifetime. MakoMeCrazy!! haha. Great finds! Edited January 13, 2014 by MakoMeCrazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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