January 2016 Finds Of The Month

[JohnJ]

2016!!! A new year full of fantastic possible discoveries!!! Don't be a "sloth" about entering your finds...(unless you're Jack )

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 January 31st. 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.
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Rules for The Fossil Forum's Vertebrate and Invertebrate/Plant Find of the Month Contests

1. 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. (Only two entries per contest category.)

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. You must include the State, Province, or region where the Fossil was found.

9. 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!

[Shellseeker]

Fossil Identification: Paramylodon .sp Jaw

Right side Mandible with intact M2 and M3 teeth

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...eaceriver3A.htm

Age:

Specifically identified as either from Paramylodon Garbanii or a sub-adult Paramylodon Harlanii. See http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/60288-sloth-teeth/

If Garbanii _Pliocene to early Pleistocene Epoch; Blancan (Bl2) Land Mammal Age. About 1.6 to 2.9 mya.

If Sub_adult Harlanii _Miocene to late Pleistocene Epoch; About 4.9 MYA to 10000 years ago

Date found: Saturday January 2nd, approximately 2:30 pm

Size: Jaw is length 4 inches, height 3 inches; M3 is 23mm Occlusal length; M2 is 9.5x13mm Occlusal length/width

Paramylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Mylodontidae endemic to North America during the Pliocene through Pleistocene epochs, living from around ~4.9 Mya–11,000 years ago.

*************************************************************************************************

The presence of Paramylodon garbanii rather than Paramylodon harlani is indicative of the early late Blancan interval in Florida, as is the relatively small size of the specimens of Holmesina floridanus (Hulbert, 2010).

Edited January 10, 2016 by Shellseeker

[sixgill pete]

Now that is a great start to the new year.

[ZiggieCie]

I agree, very good start.

[JarrodB]

Fossil Identification: Xiphactinus Audax

Lower jaw section with 14 tooth sockets & 9 partial teeth showing

Geological Formation: Upper Cretaceous, About 80 MYA, Taylor Group, Ozan Formation, North Sulphur River, North Texas

Date Found: Jan 8, 2016

Size: Length 6 inches

Width 4 inches

http://oceansofkansas.com/xiphac.html.

Edited January 11, 2016 by JarrodB

[Shellseeker]

Jarrod, NICE find. I had to look it up to get a sense of the fish. Wow. http://oceansofkansas.com/xiphac.html.

[JarrodB]

Jarrod, NICE find. I had to look it up to get a sense of the fish. Wow. http://oceansofkansas.com/xiphac.html.

Thanks buddy. Your sloth jaw is awesome. Sloth is on my list of items to find. Where I hunt you can find Cretaceous and Pleistocene fossils.

[David in Japan]

Fossil Identification: Sea Urchin (No better ID yet sorry)
Can still see needle on the lower and upper part

Geological Formation: Upper Cretaceous, Santonian, Lower Himenoura formation, Kugushima, Amakusa Japan

Date Found: Jan 11, 2016

Size: Size of a quarter

[digit]

Love the urchin--great texture (and spines too). Most of the urchin fossils I see are the (inflated) calcitic tests like the (almost) Florida state fossil, Eupatagus antillarum, or the beautiful finds we've seen here from places like Texas, Germany or Morocco. I don't think I've ever seen a 2-D urchin before--pretty cool. It's also great to see fossils from areas not commonly featured on this forum, like Japan. It made me go hunt down your other posts so I could learn about fossils from this corner of the world.

Cheers.

-Ken

[David in Japan]

Love the urchin--great texture (and spines too). Most of the urchin fossils I see are the (inflated) calcitic tests like the (almost) Florida state fossil, Eupatagus antillarum, or the beautiful finds we've seen here from places like Texas, Germany or Morocco. I don't think I've ever seen a 2-D urchin before--pretty cool. It's also great to see fossils from areas not commonly featured on this forum, like Japan. It made me go hunt down your other posts so I could learn about fossils from this corner of the world.

Cheers.

-Ken

I still haven't find any inflated urchin tests here only this 2D orange Urchin. I am happy that you found it interesting and hope you found my posts interesting.

David

[Welsh Wizard]

Hi

Here's a small block of the newly named Dracoraptor hanigani

It was found in three pieces over the space of six months between August and Christmas Eve of 2015. All pieces were glued back together with paraloid, and the bones were prepared using pneumatic chisels, dental picks and dolomite air blasting. I started the prep and my friend Mike Marshall, who runs Yorkshire Coast Fossils did the hard bits. Preparation was completed on 17th January 2016.

The fossil is from the Lower Lias, Hettangian Stage of the Jurassic and is 201 million years old. It was found at Lavernock Point in South Wales. The block consists of a foot claw, four toe bones, a partial caudal vert and a dorsal neural arch.

There is also a small claw (in bag), probably from foot digit I, that was tucked underneath the neural arch and was spotted by Mike when being prepped.

Nick

Edited January 21, 2016 by Welsh Wizard

[Raggedy Man]

.....and the penny falls.

[Mike Pocock]

I see another award being posted under your name, great find, thanks for sharing

Regards

Mike

[David in Japan]

I think we can close the contest for this month and thank all the challenger.great fossils this month but...what can we say...

Btw, your find is in french newspaper too.

[prem]

Well, I'd say there seems to be a lock on the vertebrate section, but the invert/plant section might still have some worthy contenders.

[JarrodB]

Hi

Here's a small block of the newly named Dracoraptor hanigani

It was found in three pieces over the space of six months between August and Christmas Eve of 2015. All pieces were glued back together with paraloid, and the bones were prepared using pneumatic chisels, dental picks and dolomite air blasting. I started the prep and my friend Mike Marshall, who runs Yorkshire Coast Fossils did the hard bits. Preparation was completed on 17th January 2016.

The fossil is from the Lower Lias, Hettangian Stage of the Jurassic and is 201 million years old. It was found at Lavernock Point in South Wales. The block consists of a foot claw, four toe bones, a partial caudal vert and a dorsal neural arch.

20150728_201823_resized.jpg

toe bones and claw.JPG

Foot bones 1 (small).jpg

There is also a small claw (in bag), probably from foot digit I, that was tucked underneath the neural arch and was spotted by Mike when being prepped.

Nick

Nick, after seeing this I taste defeat. Lol nice job.

[Triceratops]

Hi

Here's a small block of the newly named Dracoraptor hanigani

It was found in three pieces over the space of six months between August and Christmas Eve of 2015. All pieces were glued back together with paraloid, and the bones were prepared using pneumatic chisels, dental picks and dolomite air blasting. I started the prep and my friend Mike Marshall, who runs Yorkshire Coast Fossils did the hard bits. Preparation was completed on 17th January 2016.

The fossil is from the Lower Lias, Hettangian Stage of the Jurassic and is 201 million years old. It was found at Lavernock Point in South Wales. The block consists of a foot claw, four toe bones, a partial caudal vert and a dorsal neural arch.

20150728_201823_resized.jpg

toe bones and claw.JPG

Foot bones 1 (small).jpg

There is also a small claw (in bag), probably from foot digit I, that was tucked underneath the neural arch and was spotted by Mike when being prepped.

Nick

Wow! Another stunning find Nick.

[MarleysGh0st]

Can we have reached the last day of the month with only one invertebrate entry? That's no contest, so allow me to enter this one.

Dipleura dekayi Green, 1832

Collected on August 15, 2015

Geer Road Quarry, Lebanon, Madison County, New York

Middle Devonian (Givetian), Moscow Formation

Prepped with a micropick on January 18, 2016, and coated with a thin mixture of Butvar.

Pictures before prepping:

After prepping:

This specimen is much smaller than the the other DIpleura I've collected at this site, but it's unique in being the only complete specimen I've found, and in being partially enrolled.

[Guguita2104]

Here is my entry for this month.

-Scleractinia colonial coral (maybe Thecosmilia sp.)

-Serra d'Aire e Candeeiros,Late Jurassic (probably Kimmerdgian)

-Found on the 27th January 2016

[PFOOLEY]

Invertebrate

Prionocyclus hyatti

(scale in inches)

Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Carlile Member of the Mancos Shale

Santa Fe County, New Mexico

Discovered: January 30th, 2016