jpc Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) It has been a long time since I have posted a report on any of my outings. It has been a busy summer and my home computer is buried in stuff. So here I am on lunch break at the office. I took a coule days off last week to chase down some Eocene mammals in southwestern Wyoming. I spent my time in the Washakie Formation, which is 43 to 45 million years old and produces both great badlands hills and less dramatic low lying outcrops in the area I was in. I started at a site where i have previously found mammal jaws. I only found one this time in about three hours of quarrying. It is very small and this picture of it is rather lousy. It is the little dark blob in the center of the shot... a small jaw piece going into the rock that has so far, one tooth visible. Here is a photo of my little quarry up on the badlands. Then I went exploring. On another chunk of these badlands hills, I got skunked for a few hours. Then off to a new area where I found a couple of partial skeletons. The first one is of a fairly big animal. Here are the bones I saw on the surface, as found... your job is to find the two bones in this picture. After a bit of digging I found that one of the bones is metatarsal, the other one is a distal metatarsal. But underneath I did find a few more metatarsals, a calcaneum, an astragalus, another ankle bone and some other bone pieces. here is a shot in which you challenge is to find 1) one of the original surface bones, 2) a calcaneum, 3) a metatarsal, 4) the other ankle bone and 5) two scraps of bone. OK... the photo is too big. It will be in the next post.... Edited October 27, 2014 by jpc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted October 27, 2014 Author Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) Here is that photo.... And here are the answers... This is the results of a short afternoon of digging (days are getting short).... I hope there is more of this beast but I will not know until next spring. As I clean up some of these bones I will post them here. I leave you with a shot of this site.. it is kinda pretty as badlands go. The site is right there where my backpack is. edit: Oh, I forgot to mention the second partial skelteton site. The bones there are much smaller and include a blown up leg bone and some verts. Again, the days are too short too work on two skeletons in one afternoon, sop more on that next spring. I exposed a few things and then buried it. Edited October 27, 2014 by jpc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TyrannosaurusRex Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Very Nice!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triceratops Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Sounds like fun! -Lyall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterpillar Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Weather is good in Wyoming. I hope to see that one day http://www.paleotheque.fr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squali Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Great report. It seems like looking for a needle in a haystack but it's a beautiful haystack. It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 Great report. It seems like looking for a needle in a haystack but it's a beautiful haystack. Funny you should mention haystacks... the hills here are called The Haystacks. Yes, caterpillar, the area awaits your visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Hey JP. Always cool to see fossils just the way they are found. Very cool photos! RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Nice report. It reminds me of hiking the Badlands. 98% of finds are heartbreakers due to extended weathering, but still fun. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 I got a chance to prep a few things from this outing. And identify the mammal bones... at least to family. I am pretty sure they are titanothere. The early Eocene titanotheres are not as big as the more well known titanotheres of the White River Fm, but they were still among the biggest of early Eocene beaties. Here is the calcaneum... or ankle bone. These next two are the astragalus (the other ankle bone) and one of the foot n=bones, the navicular, I think. And here is all three articualted together. And here are two shots the astragalus of an artiodactyl. A much smaller animal than the titanothere; this shot is taken throught he microscope. I found two of these... rodent incosors. Here is the nicer of the two. Also photographed thropugh the microscope. And this fossil is the little jaw I showed in the field shot in the original post. I am pretty sure it is a primate. Primates were very small and quite varied in the Eocene of WY. This lttle jaw is about 8 mm long. I wish it had more teeth, but beggars can't be choosy. These are from two sites in the Bridgerian Washakie Fm.... titanothere, artiodactyl, rodents and primate. A good Eocene sampling. And in honor of winter's arrival tomorrow, my girlfriend and I went out for a couple hours this morning. I spent my time jacketing some turtle bones, but here is Becky's collection of Eocene goodies. Two views. See what you can identify in there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Nice looking finds! I'll have to pass on guessing those last pics since I only see bones here once in a blue moon. Missed out on your outing report up to now...how do you mark the locations you'll return to in that seemingly monotonous landscape? Or do you have built in radar? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Eocene Mammals... The big ones are impressive, but it is the tiny ones that really kindle my sense of wonder. "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...
jpc Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 Eocene Mammals... The big ones are impressive, but it is the tiny ones that really kindle my sense of wonder. I agree, auspex. Ludwigia... I generally rely on topo maps and good field notes and sometimes photos. I can't remember meeting people, but I can remember a lot about a fossil site in the hinterlands. I have recently added to my arsenal this thing called a GPS. It makes me feel weak and stupid, but it works. I also make small piles of rocks on sites if I have to bury them between visits. And I put a note in my field notes about that, including how many and what color rocks I used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Pristis Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Thanks for dispelling my size prejudice about titanotheres . . . somehow, I had the notion that they were all large. I really like the articulated ankle. http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page What seest thou else In the dark backward and abysm of time? ---Shakespeare, The Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I agree, auspex. Ludwigia... I generally rely on topo maps and good field notes and sometimes photos. I can't remember meeting people, but I can remember a lot about a fossil site in the hinterlands. I have recently added to my arsenal this thing called a GPS. It makes me feel weak and stupid, but it works. I also make small piles of rocks on sites if I have to bury them between visits. And I put a note in my field notes about that, including how many and what color rocks I used. I figured you'd have to go into detail like that. I don't know how many times I've lost my bearings in my neck of the woods... Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamalama Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Lovely finds and pretty cool to find those bones that can still be articulated! -Dave __________________________________________________ Geologists on the whole are inconsistent drivers. When a roadcut presents itself, they tend to lurch and weave. To them, the roadcut is a portal, a fragment of a regional story, a proscenium arch that leads their imaginations into the earth and through the surrounding terrain. - John McPheeIf I'm going to drive safely, I can't do geology. - John McPheeCheck out my Blog for more fossils I've found: http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Nice finds...beautiful area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 JP, I think that's a primate too - a premolar with a hook-like crown. In your girlfriend's stuff I see gar scales, croc vertebrae and scutes along with some turtle shell pieces. Jess And this fossil is the little jaw I showed in the field shot in the original post. I am pretty sure it is a primate. Primates were very small and quite varied in the Eocene of WY. This lttle jaw is about 8 mm long. I wish it had more teeth, but beggars can't be choosy. P1110082b.jpg These are from two sites in the Bridgerian Washakie Fm.... titanothere, artiodactyl, rodents and primate. A good Eocene sampling. And in honor of winter's arrival tomorrow, my girlfriend and I went out for a couple hours this morning. I spent my time jacketing some turtle bones, but here is Becky's collection of Eocene goodies. Two views. See what you can identify in there. P1110083b.jpg P1110084b.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 (edited) HI Jess- Yup, that is my reasoning on the primate, and the wide "talonid" portion. And I'm glad someone gave a look at Becky's things. There is also a bullet... probably not Eocene. Edited November 11, 2014 by jpc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squali Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Excellent post thanks. Is the bullet upper right? It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 The upper right (in the second photo) is a croc vert. That bullet-like ball end is typical of croc verts (and a few others... snakes and some lizards). Below it along the right edge are two more croc verts, then a squarish thing (a turtle shell frag) and below that on the edge of the paper towel is the bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squali Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Ha yes I see it now. I was focused on seeing the mushroom and saw the vert not paying attention to color and texture. It's hard to remember why you drained the swamp when your surrounded by alligators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Hre is a fun photo my girlfriend took out there... a piece of Eocene croc scute with a modern ladybug. This was the last day of summer. It has been cold and snowy since this outing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustPlainPetrified Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Very interesting picture with the ladybug...good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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