JohnJ Posted February 6, 2015 Posted February 6, 2015 Cold weather in many collecting areas has reduced the members hunting afield...so, 'cabin fever' will continue to build. I hope you will be able to make time to 'get well' in the outdoors soon. Carefully read the rules below, make sure you include all the required information, and submit your fossil! Please pay special attention to Rule #5: Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for Prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest. In addition to keeping the contest fair, this new qualification will encourage better documentation of our spectacular past finds. Best of luck to all and good hunting! Entries will be taken through February 28th. Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month.To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery.____________________________________________________________________________________Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests1. You find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found by you.2. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry.3. Your Fossil must have been found during the Month of the Contest, or significant Preparation of your Fossil must have been completed during the Month of the Contest.4. You must include the Date of your Discovery or the Date of Preparation Completion. 5. Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for Prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest.6. You must include the common or scientific name.7. You must include the Geologic Age or Geologic Formation where the Fossil was found.8. Play fair and honest. No bought fossils. No false claims.Shortly after the end of the Month, separate Polls will be created for the Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month.In addition to the fun of a contest, we also want to learn more about the fossils. So, only entries posted with a CLEAR photo and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll.Within a few days, we will know the two winning Finds of the Month! Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry! The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ
DeepTimeIsotopes Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Looks like an empty month so far... Each dot is 50,000,000 years: Hadean............Archean..............................Proterozoic.......................................Phanerozoic........... Paleo......Meso....Ceno.. Ꞓ.OSD.C.P.Tr.J.K..Pg.NgQ< You are here Doesn't time just fly by?
jpc Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 it is past the Ides, and not a fossil to be seen... let's see your cool finds, folks.
Fossildude19 Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Kinda hard to fossil hunt here in New England with 2 feet of snow on the ground. With all the cold temps (negative #'s here!) and the snow, I think many have the same problem. Hope there are some doing prep that will qualify. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024 _________________________________________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me
busyeagle Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Yep, everything's been frozen solid here too, suffering from some serious fossil hunting withdrawal.
digit Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 C'mon guys...don't make me go to my backyard and dig up a fossilized shell to take this contest by default. Seriously, someone out there must be able to get out and find something. I'd love to be out this weekend but the river and creek levels are too high do to unseasonable rains. The thought of standing waist deep in chilly water during one of these cold blasts from the north causes me to wither as well as I've become a card carrying member of the Warm Water Wimps since moving to Florida two decades ago. I suspect there are some members putting the finishing touches on some lovely prepped pieces which they will soon reveal to us and make our jaws drop in awe. Looking forward to the February finds when they finally arrive.... Cheers. -Ken
Rob Russell Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 I'm working some mazon nods pretty hard. We'll see. Finding my way through life; one fossil at a time.
jcbshark Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 I'd love to find something worthy but I won't get out till next Saturday so here's to hoping! Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!
digit Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 I'm working some mazon nods pretty hard. We'll see. Freezing them shouldn't be too difficult at the moment with your current weather conditions. Thawing them may require extra effort. Looking forward to meeting up with the Mazon Creek enthusiasts sometime later this year for come camaraderie and nod hunting. Cheers. -Ken
Shellseeker Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 It is a very odd time to find a great fossil with the increased depth of the Peace River and the unusual cold snap. I realize that I have an advantage in that my cold is not the "real" cold of so many northern climates. I did in a creek that empties into the Peace River on Monday, February 16th. It is a Sloth Claw in very good shape. Now I'll do my best to identify the specific species and complete my entry. Just a heads-up. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"
Jeffrey P Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Plenty of snow here in the Hudson Valley, NY. and COLD temperatures as well. Spending a lot of time INDOORS. Last night I was examining a Mediospirifer I found at Penn Dixie last summer and "found" a small complete Paleozygopleura (cork-shaped) gastropod on a piece of matrix on the back. Using my engraving tool I was able to extract it whole. It is a nice specimen and the first complete Paleozygopleura I've found at Penn Dixie, but I don't think it is Fossil of the Month material. I'm believing somebody from a warmer state or country will submit better material. Good luck.
JohnJ Posted February 20, 2015 Author Posted February 20, 2015 It is a very odd time to find a great fossil with the increased depth of the Peace River and the unusual cold snap. I realize that I have an advantage in that my cold is not the "real" cold of so many northern climates. I did in a creek that empties into the Peace River on Monday, February 16th. It is a Sloth Claw in very good shape. Now I'll do my best to identify the specific species and complete my entry. Just a heads-up. Looking forward to it, Jack. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ
jcbshark Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 That is a beautiful find you got Jack, congrats! Every once in a great while it's not just a big rock down there!
steedman Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) Well it's been suggested that I enter my latest find into fossil of the month... Found 7th of February Sandwick fish beds, Orkney, (just off the North coast of Scotland) Middle Old Red Sandstone Devonian, approximately 380 ma Glyptolepis paucidens Edited February 20, 2015 by steedman
Shellseeker Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 I am blessed. Miatria has taken to calling me "Sloth Whisperer". Here is a great find in really odd conditions. Fossil Identification: Megalonyx jeffersonii Claw Geological Formation: Hawthorn Group, Peace River Formation, Bone Valley Member which ranges in age from Miocene to Pliocene. This area also has a Pleistocene mammal component layered on top and intermixed with the older marine sediments. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/vertpaleo/peaceriver3A.htm Age: late Pleistocene Epoch; Rancholabrean Land Mammal Age. About 11,000 to 20,000 years old (estimated). Date found: Monday February 16th, approximately 9:30 am Size: Measured around the outer curved edge is 7.75 inches Use your cursor to enlarge the 2nd photo to better see the fine blood vessel lines. This claw has minimal erosion. Note the amounts of clay and mud in the last photo. Wikipedia: Megalonyx (Greek, "large claw") is an extinct genus of giant ground sloths of the family Megalonychidae endemic to North America from the Hemphillian of the Late Miocene through to the Rancholabrean of the Pleistocene, living from ~10.3 Mya—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately 10.289 million years. Type species, M. jeffersonii, measured about 3 m (9.8 ft) and weighted up to 1000 kilograms.[1] Richard Hulbert email Feb 20th: This is a very nice claw of Megalonyx jeffersonii. Claws of Megalonyx are relatively narrow compared to their size; in contrast those of Paramylodon which are wider. The larger claws of Eremotherium also tend to be narrow, but of the smaller claws can be broad. This generalization also holds for older members of their respective families, such as the megalonychid Pliometanastes. The White Queen ".... in her youth she could believe "six impossible things before breakfast"
fossilized6s Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Omg Jack! That thing is amazing! That is my dream find! ~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
JohnJ Posted February 20, 2015 Author Posted February 20, 2015 Jack... The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ
Carl Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 (edited) My very first post to the Fossil of the Monthcf. Imagotaria (stem walrus) toothMiocene Purisima Fm. (~7MA)Santa Cruz, California14 February 2015 Edited February 23, 2015 by JohnJ
izak_ Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 Finally! Amazing finds guys! I still have nine days or so, hopefully other people will find some nice stuff too!
Auspex Posted February 20, 2015 Posted February 20, 2015 This is shaping up quite nicely! "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!
JohnJ Posted February 21, 2015 Author Posted February 21, 2015 Time for some invertebrates and plants.... The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ
kauffy Posted February 21, 2015 Posted February 21, 2015 Ive got a few ammos im working on prepping... hopefully I get them done to submit them! "Turn the fear of the unknown into the excitment of possibility!"We dont stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.
Ludwigia Posted February 21, 2015 Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) Time for some invertebrates and plants.... Then I'll throw in this one for the sake of the competition. An internal mold of an ammonite phragmocone showing the suture lines in fine detail. Taramelliceras compsum. 6cm. circumference Lower Kimmeridgian, divisum Zone From Beuron in the upper Danube Valley, Germany Easy prep with scribe and abrader done on St.Valentine's day after being found the day before. Edited February 21, 2015 by Ludwigia Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/
TqB Posted February 21, 2015 Posted February 21, 2015 Nice one, Roger. For the sake of variety, here's a large belemnite with phragmocone. These are generally rare although phragmocones are common at this horizon and locality. Despite that, it's difficult to collect a complete specimen like this. Collected 10th Feb., more or less as found apart from some gluing. Passaloteuthis bisulcata (Blainville) Jurassic, Lower Toarcian, Tenuicostatum Zone. Grey Shale Member, North Yorkshire coast, UK 9" long Tarquin
bruce Posted February 21, 2015 Posted February 21, 2015 Here is a Pulalius vulgaris from the 30 MYO Lincoln Creek Formation, WA. that I started preparing in December and finished Feb 18. This was a difficult one with many hours of preparation. (50 -80?). A small portion of the lower left dorsal carapace was missing and filled in with uncolored concrete matrix. It came with two attached barnacles and a circular serpulid. (pictures copyright retained)
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