June 2016 Finds Of The Month

[JohnJ]

Of the fossils found in the areas you hunt, what would be your 'dream find'?

In the meantime, I hope you make great discoveries this month.

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 June 30th. 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!

[prem]

Vertebrate ichnofossil: Nanopus reidiae
Found: 06/08/2016
Pottsville Formation, Union Chapel Mine, Alabama, USA
Found in recent trimmings from material collected in Dec 2013.

A few years ago, I entered images of a Nanopus reidiae ichnofossil into the FOTM contest. My specimen had always been a bit unwieldy in the fossil case, so several children of mine and I set about recently to trim the slab down to size. Too thick to use a tile saw, we used a hacksaw instead and kept at it for perhaps 8 hours between all the volunteers working on it.

Once we were done, there were some sizeable chunks of shale left that we could further explore for ichnos. One of the first pieces I split yielded this beautiful Nanopus reidiae under-trackway -- with a very small piece of the actual trackway, or perhaps the infill from just above it, with a bit of tail drag mark.

Nanopus reidiae is an ichnospecies attributed to a small salamander-like amphibian from the Pennsylvanian age.

This rock is the gift that keeps on giving!

There are also a few random prints not associated with the trackway, some other worm burrow, and some interesting gas bubbles.

---Prem

Edited June 11, 2016 by JohnJ
(contest photos uploaded to TFF)

[prem]

Invertebrate ichnofossil: Diplichnites gouldi
Found: 06/08/2016
Pottsville Formation, Union Chapel Mine, Alabama, USA
Found in recent trimmings from material collected in Dec 2013.

Then, on the other side of the small counterpart, there is this trace made by some sort of myriapod arthropod, Diplichnites gouldi:

---Prem

Edited June 11, 2016 by JohnJ
(contest photo uploaded to TFF)

[Strepsodus]

Two overlapping Strepsodus scales
Bottom of the Pennine Middle Coal Measures Formation
Upper Carboniferous; 312 million years old
Found in West Yorkshire, UK
Found Saturday, 18th June 2016

[JohnBrewer]

That's pretty cool Daniel

[Strepsodus]

Thanks.

Daniel

[Lori LuvsFossils]

Found June 13, 2016
Diplomystus dentatus (I'm brand new to this kind of fishing, I've ID'd to the best of my current ability)

**Correction: Diplo (Thanks Ken/ Digit)
Green River Formation, 53 MYA
Kemmerer, WY

The people I hunted with thought there was no way I would make it home with this piece (honestly, I didn't either). I babied it in the quarry, off the rough mountain, through 2 states via automobile, thru airport security, two flights equalling 2500+/- miles, then another car ride home. A raw chicken egg would have been easier to travel with...but we made it !!!! It's thinner than a credit card & those of you who hunt this land, know how fragile this material is. Win or lose a contest doesn't really matter. I'm loving this little guy! :-)

(I'm out of KB upload space. 2 close up photos following)

[Lori LuvsFossils]

(close up continuation of previous post) I hope at least one of you like it even though it's a common fish. :-) ~Lori

[DeepTimeIsotopes]

DSCN9964.JPGDSCN9965.JPG(close up continuation of previous post) I hope at least one of you like it even though it's a common fish. :-) ~Lori

I bet you could shine light through that fish! that's way cool. Great job transporting it.

[digit]

Lori,

I like the fish.

It is not the most common fish of the Green River Formation (Knightia eocaena) but is the less common genus Diplomystus (likely D. dentatus). Unlike my avatar image, your fish is quite a ghostly X-ray version.

Cheers.

-Ken

[sseth]

Here is my first good find of the year. A pretty nice little stingray. I am still finishing up the piece but thought I would throw it out there.

Heliobatus radians

Eocene Period 50 MYA

Green River Formation

Fossil Lake Member

Found June 4th, 2016.

Edited June 21, 2016 by sseth

[sixgill pete]

Beautiful sting ray Seth.

[Lori LuvsFossils]

I bet you could shine light through that fish! that's way cool. Great job transporting it.

I will give that a try once I put some sort of sealant on it. Lol. I'm afraid to touch it more than I have to.

Seth, GREAT FIND. I had no idea how sought after the Stingray are. We tried for 2 days to find one for FossilDudeCO. It eluded us this trip. Glad to see someone found one.

And THANKS Ken! I've ordered a book, but I won't have it until next week.

Edited June 21, 2016 by Lori LuvsFossils

[Fossildude19]

Wonderful little Diplomystus, Lori!

Seth, that Heliobatis is fantastic!

Regards,

[sseth]

I will give that a try once I put some sort of sealant on it. Lol. I'm afraid to touch it more than I have to.

Seth, GREAT FIND. I had no idea how sought after the Stingray are. We tried for 2 days to find one for FossilDudeCO. It eluded us this trip. Glad to see someone found one.

And THANKS Ken! I've ordered a book, but I won't have it until next week.

They are quite prize. They are my favorite fossil that comes out of the formation.

I may have seen you up there with FossilDudeCO. We talked with him while he was there digging with the group a few weeks ago.

That is a great diplo you found. They are my favorite of the fishes because they have such a great shape. Nice find.

Seth

[prem]

Looks like I need to start preparing my concession speech to sseth. That is really neat.

---Prem

[Malcolmt]

Amazing sting ray fossil ... will be hard to top that one but you never know what lurks out there.....

[Guguita2104]

Fantastic fossils !

[Strepsodus]

Hi. Here is my best invertebrate find from this month.

Plant fossil (positive and negative)

I think it's Neuropteris sp

Pennine Lower Coal Measures Formation (312 million years)

West Yorkshire, UK

Found 25/6/16

Thanks,

Daniel

[MikeR]

My submission for the Invertebrate Fossil of the Month for June is a near perfect example of the echinoid below.

Echinocardium orthonotum (Conrad, 1843)

Upper Pliocene (Piacenzian)

Raysor Formation

Florence County, South Carolina USA

Found on June 12. 2016

[Guguita2104]

My submission for the Invertebrate Fossil of the Month for June is a near perfect example of the echinoid below.

MR 11930-1110.jpg

Echinocardium orthonotum (Conrad, 1843)

Upper Pliocene (Piacenzian)

Raysor Formation

Florence County, South Carolina USA

Found on June 12. 2016

PeeDee River 2.jpg PeeDee River.jpg

Nice echinoid Mike !

[300BLK]

DSCN9964.JPGDSCN9965.JPG(close up continuation of previous post) I hope at least one of you like it even though it's a common fish. :-) ~Lori

Beautiful! And congrats on the long journey with the fragile flake!

[Coco]

Oh, I have never heard about this sea urchin species before !

Coco

[fossilized6s]

I'll throw my worm into the ring. The contrast and preservation of this polychaete is great.

Didontogaster cordylina

Francis creek shale (essex)

Late Carboniferous

found June 8th.

[fossiladdict]

North Sulphur River, Texas, Upper Cretaceous Ozan Formation

Tylosaurus rostrum (premaxilla) with sockets and juvenile teeth

Discovered June 4, 2016

I’ve only found one other rostrum in all my time in hunting the NSR. It was not near this size or this detailed. I was in awe finding this one simply because of all the detail in it. Those who hunt the NSR will understand and truly appreciate this find!

When I found it.

Few detailed shots.

Edited June 28, 2016 by fossiladdict