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Posted

REMINDER: PLEASE carefully read ALL of the rules below.

Make sure you include all the required information, IN THE REQUESTED FORMAT (below) when you submit your fossil! 

If you have a question about a possible entry, please send me a PM.


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.


Entries will be taken until 11:59:00 PM EDT on OCTOBER 31, 2019

Any fossil submitted after that time, even if the topic is still open, will be deemed ineligible! 

 

Only entries posted with CLEAR photos and that meet the other guidelines will be placed into the Poll. 

Photos of the winning specimens may be posted to TFF's Facebook page.

 

Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for sharing more of your fossils and research this month.

 

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. 

Tell us more about your fossil, and why you think it is worthy of the honor. 


To view the Winning Fossils from past contests visit the Find Of The Month Winner's Gallery.

 

Now, go find your fossil, do your research, and make an entry!
Best of success to all, and good hunting!

 

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


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

  1. Find a great Vertebrate Fossil or Invertebrate/Plant Fossil! Only fossils found personally by you are allowed. NO PURCHASED FOSSILS.
  2. Post your entry in the Find of the Month topic. Use a separate post for each entry. (Only two entries per member 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 Discovery (when found in the contest month); or the Date of Preparation Completion and Date of Discovery (if not found in the contest month).
  5. Before and After Preparation photos must be submitted for prepped specimens not found during the Month of the Contest. Please make sure you arrange for photos if someone else is preparing your fossil find and completes the prep requirements in the contest month.
  6. You must include the Common and/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. You must include CLEAR, cropped, well-lit images (maximum 4 images). If you are proud enough of your fossil to submit it for FOTM, spend some time to take good photos to show off your fossil.
  10. Play fair and honest. No bought fossils. No false claims.

 

* Significant Preparation = Substantial work to reveal and/or repair important diagnostic features, resulting in a dramatic change in the look of the fossil. The qualification of Significant Preparation is decided at the discretion of staff. Any doubts as to the eligibility of the entry will be discussed directly with the entrant.

 

******* Please use the following format for the required information: *******

Date of Discovery

Scientific and/or Common Name

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation

State, Province, or Region Found

Photos of Find

 

(Please limit to 4 clear, cropped, and well-lit images.)

(If prepped, before and after photos are required, please.)

 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Again starting FOTM entries :D!

Its nothing very special nor rare, but I have not found such an intimate association of this type of predator and prey so far:

 

Date of Discovery: 10/01/2019

Name: Naticid gastropod Cochlis sp., arc clam Striarca lactea with naticid drill hole.

Age and Formation: Langhian, Miocene / "Florianer Schichten", Styrian basin, Eastern Alps

Locality: Höllerkogel-10, St. Josef, Styria, Austria

Mondschnecke_Hoellerkogel10_01102019_Zus_kompr.thumb.jpg.a045140354c57d78891404d4513b1f06.jpg

 

 

I don´t suggest that this particular naticid gastropod has drilled this particular arc clam nearby. But its still nice to have prey and predator within a few millimeters in the same specimen. Arrangement of fossils is not totally optimal, but that would be over the top :D; I am still very satisfied with the specimen :).

"Preparation" was mostly done with sharpened, wooden tooth picks, no stabilization necessary. Specimen is photographed damp, but not wet.

And now eagerly waiting for the next entries, I like this topic very much, always exciting and educational!

Franz Bernhard

  • I found this Informative 20
Posted

Good start, Franz. That is a particularly nice association piece, even if we don't know for sure that that particular snail drilled that hole! (Do you recall nala's 'fossil associations' thread?)

  • I found this Informative 1
Posted

I felt this was worth posting as it is only the second I have come across, and it's a decent size. Originally I only took one half due to all my equipment being so heavy and not having a third hand. After returning the next day and grabbing the other split half, along with some minimal cleaning I definitely think it was worth going back. 

 

Date of Discovery: October 14, 2019

Scientific and/or Common Name: Aviculopecten sp. Pectinid Bivalve

Age: Mississippian

Province, or Region Found: Henry County, Missouri, USA.

20191015_205735.jpg

20191015_210057.jpg

 

 

  • I found this Informative 11
Posted

I'd say it was definitely worth going back!

Posted

Agreed. Nice to have the matched set. ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Posted

Date of Discovery: October 12

Scientific and/or Common Name: Unidentified chondrichthyan tooth Cymatodus oblongus

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: LaSalle Limestone Member of the Bond Formation (Pennsylvanian)

State, Province, or Region Found: Oglesby, IL

st1.jpg.a35ca6066fbdaf39c7b1e9d60a317b78.jpg st2.jpg.c84c26ad5265f177473cd93eceb9a508.jpg

st3.thumb.jpg.667634508277ec3eeea3cbf972b5e9e5.jpg

 

  • I found this Informative 13
Posted

Three weeks into October, and only 3 entries... :o:headscratch:So I will upload another one:

 

Last Thursday, I visited the Langhian Weißenegg-formation about 30 km south of Graz. I have only checked out areas north of Heimschuh in the Sausal hills this day, that I have prospected already four years ago for coral specimens. The Weißenegg-formation is mostly limestone, containing in some parts coral carpets and patch reefs, witness of the subtropical to tropical climate in this area about 15 Million years ago.

Fossils in the "wild" (aka forests) are not super-abundant in this formation, with corals being the most common, but there is a very large, active quarry for portland cement fabrication in Retznei nearby, that is famous for all kind of marine stuff, incl. Meg teeth and other large vertebrates. But as some of you may know, I am not interested in active quarries ;). (Note: The quarry operators are very cooperative and supportive saving fossils encountered during mining, and fossil collectors are welcome!)

 

Quite a distance below a small limestone cliff in a forest north of Heimschuh, this coral specimen was presenting itself on the soil below an overturned tree. Its shape is essentially that of a half-cone (pic middle left, above red object, specimen as found, untouched). It is a chunk of a coral colony that is very nicely weathered all around, with absolutely no ding. Scelletal elements are more strongly weathered than the infilling sediment, so the specimen is essentially a negative. I have tried the usual method inverting the greyscale pic, see lower left. Preservation is very good, I think it is a Montastraea sp., considering the size of the corallites, strong costae and spongy columella. Such nicely weathered specimens are very rare, its only the second one that nice that I have found in this area.

 

Date of discovery: 10/17/2019

Name: Coral Montastraea sp.

Age and Formation: Langhian, Miocene / Weißenegg-formation, Styrian basin, Eastern Alps

Locality: Kittenberg, Heimschuh, Sausal, Styria, Austria

 

5daea67c62dc7_Koralle_17102019_gro_kompr.thumb.jpg.5a6e492f3fef5615e54c5773d3ba7306.jpg

 

Franz Bernhard

  • I found this Informative 8
Posted

Ok, Ken, I'll throw in. :D 

 

Trilobites in the Amherstburg Fm are a distinct minority, and almost always present as disarticulated bits caught in the tangles of bryozoans and coral. Finding more complete than that is a real stroke of luck.

 

This one is not fully complete, but somewhat close (and much closer than the litany of bits that generally appear). Preparation on this one would not really improve its lot. The precise species is still uncertain, although there are some potential candidates as described in Lieberman's masterful efforts at revising the proetids of Eastern North America. For now, I'll keep it to genus. Pictured here is the positive and negative.

 

Date of Discovery: October 12, 2019

Scientific and/or Common Name: Pseudodechenella sp.

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: Amherstburg Fm (Lower Devonian)

State, Province, or Region Found: London, Ontario, Canada (imported fill, possibly from nearby Ingersoll).

Screen Shot 2019-10-23 at 9.05.01 AM.png

  • I found this Informative 12

...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

Posted
On 10/19/2019 at 6:17 PM, connorp said:

Date of Discovery: October 12

Scientific and/or Common Name: Unidentified chondrichthyan tooth Cymatodus oblongus

Geologic Age or Geologic Formation: LaSalle Limestone Member of the Bond Formation (Pennsylvanian)

State, Province, or Region Found: Oglesby, IL

st1.jpg.a35ca6066fbdaf39c7b1e9d60a317b78.jpg st2.jpg.c84c26ad5265f177473cd93eceb9a508.jpg st3.thumb.jpg.667634508277ec3eeea3cbf972b5e9e5.jpg

Great color on this tooth, do they usually preserve with this pattern?

  • I found this Informative 1
Posted

I figured that I would put in this cool piece that I recently found in the upper level of the St. Leon road cut, I never found one like it before and from other pictures that I have seen, it seems to be pretty complete.

 

Date of Find:              10-12-19

Name:             Oncocerida Orthoconic Nautiloid 

Formation/Age:     Saluda Formation, Ordovician 

Location:                   St. Leon, Indiana

457DD407-0B01-48B4-AD8E-E18BF0449D14.thumb.jpeg.756ccbdb023f5f32899c9bc06c2dfd9b.jpegD8D00727-7BA6-4D1D-9C0E-CED5CE5E4C79.thumb.jpeg.38064fa6f55a01c0d9e372080e384e41.jpeg85709C1E-BEB1-4B73-8191-D1B6C037576B.thumb.jpeg.53afeee714837daf4f1a56aa086b7547.jpegA4D6FB36-F4CB-428C-A05D-A4B9893C99A5.thumb.jpeg.bc545209199c9302d92f9dd0f5cfa246.jpeg

  • I found this Informative 12
Posted
47 minutes ago, Jackson g said:

Great color on this tooth, do they usually preserve with this pattern?

I think so. The only depiction of the holotype is a sketch, and I can find no other examples of this species in literature.

 c2.png.bb81c197f43f2929a0a3aaba91359df8.png

(Geological Survey of Illinois Vol. 4. Figure 7a)

 

The related species Paracymatodus from the Pennsylvanian of Russia (Handbook of Paleoichthyology Vol. 3D) does have a very similar stippling pattern however.

IMG_7105.thumb.jpeg.2e8906da941e2b88a5e4c400e0c20a35.jpeg

  • I found this Informative 3
Posted

Please remember to keep extra discussion of the fossils presented off of the FotM topic.  ;) 

Thank you. 

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

 

   VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png    VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015    Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg  MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png  PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png    Screenshot_202410.jpg     IPFOTM -- MAY - 2024   IPFOTM5.png.fb4f2a268e315c58c5980ed865b39e1f.png

_________________________________________________________________________________
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~   ><))))( *>  About Me      

Posted

My best Mariopteris muricata plate found 10-19-19 From the Westphalian(upper carboniferous) of Northern France near Lens

Negative an positive on the field and after a little prep behind the positive plate :)

 

 

Date of Find:    10-19-19

Name:  Mariopteris muricata         

Formation/Age: Westphalian(upper carboniferous)

Location: Northern France near Lens      

 

IMG_2346.JPG

IMG_3418.JPG

  • I found this Informative 13
Posted

Very nice! :)

 

Still some days left to enter your best finds for October. Let's see what other drool-worthy fossils y'all have been finding.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Posted

I’ll take another stab at this contest with my most recent GRF fish prep.

 

Date of Find: Collected June 2019    

Name: Knightia eocaena multi-plate          

Formation/Age: Green River Formation, Eocene

Location: Lincoln, County Wyoming

 

Preparation began 16 October 2019

Preparation completed 23 October 2019

 

Unfortunately, I neglected to take a “before” picture but there was nothing exposed anyway.:P

C6999559-6AFF-497B-8344-B758975B1EAC.thumb.jpeg.47453d903c3faf94e456bdbda61a0792.jpeg

 

 

CBD5CDA9-37F5-43BD-8EE5-A6D5518D61E8.thumb.jpeg.9ba9f12df2952f80970f6ae3ed329620.jpeg
 

close up of tail preservation 

D1C08223-E059-4955-84C4-5D6C114231DB.thumb.jpeg.4da1b76278d797a318c23a4a9bc9fd40.jpeg

 

close up of skull preservation 

E33BADF0-9DA6-4934-AD7A-B2691BAAC924.thumb.jpeg.a9a76d28baba68c750cf32e9b827f00a.jpeg

 

  • I found this Informative 8
Posted

A few of our fossil club members took a two day trip through NE Iowa and SW Wisconsin looking for trilobites. I found a few that could be entered for fossil of the month , but I rather liked this orthocone nautiloid found on the trip. My hunting partner was splitting rocks when he called me over to look at a cerarus cephalon he had found. As I stood there, I told Marv, look under your foot. There is a cephalopod there. Then I went back to my "hot spot". An hour later I went over to visit with Marv again and he still hadn't teased the nautiloid out of the rock and made it clear he wasn't going to. He is strictly a trilo person. So I retrieved my rock hammer and had at it. After exposing 4 inches of it, the body disappeared and I was left with just the siphuncle on further uncovering. To my surprise, way back in the rock, the body returned!!!! When I returned home, I just kept looking at this unique fossil and thought, why not enter it in this month's competition. It is freakish but enticing.

 

Date of Find: Found 10/23/2019

Name:  27 inch Orthocone Nautiloid with Exposed Siphuncle, likely Endoceras    

Formation/Age:  Platteville Formation, Ordovician

Location: Grant County, Wisconsin

 

2019-10-25.thumb.jpg.5f3b3669a3a2d18dc3ba1f56cc3fb1d1.jpg 

  • I found this Informative 11
Posted

Nice nautiloid!  I think that Endoceras is a reasonable suggestion for the genus.

 

Don

  • I found this Informative 1
Posted
39 minutes ago, FossilDAWG said:

Endoceras

Thanks @FossilDAWG

Posted

@minnbuckeye cool find! I've been looking at your photo for more minutes than I would like to say... so just to be clear, you took 2 photos (on garden tiles) and put them onto a picture with leaves, right? Because the 'continuity' of the leaves is really confusing. Sorry for the very random question btw :wacko:

Max Derème

 

"I feel an echo of the lightning each time I find a fossil. [...] That is why I am a hunter: to feel that bolt of lightning every day."

   - Mary Anning >< Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier

 

Instagram: @world_of_fossils

Posted
8 hours ago, Max-fossils said:

@minnbuckeye cool find! I've been looking at your photo for more minutes than I would like to say... so just to be clear, you took 2 photos (on garden tiles) and put them onto a picture with leaves, right? Because the 'continuity' of the leaves is really confusing. Sorry for the very random question btw :wacko:

I noticed that too - had me going for a moment!

11 hours ago, minnbuckeye said:

... He is strictly a trilo person. ...

 

I like trilos as much as the next guy, but I don't know why anyone would limit themselves like that. I guess in such a vast and diverse field you choose to specialize, but why not collect it if it's there begging you to?

  • I found this Informative 1
Posted

@Wrangellian, His loss was my gain!! But I must admit the trilobites we were finding were nicer than the cephalopod. I just grew attached to this one!!!

 

 @Max-fossils, I attempted to send a response yesterday and forgot to hit send. So here is a second attempt to explain the picture. The center ceph in the leaves was the background photo. To it, I added the other ceph pictures above and below it. Here are the individual pictures:

 DSC_0830-001.JPG.b32e6b2e60745bea9ed3960ab765530c.JPG 

 

 

 DSC_0831-001.JPG.5af66f1d201748edeade9460c499fae8.JPG

 

 

 DSC_0832-001.JPG.eaf5f72fc9ad28caa13aa2a459f71268.JPG 

 

I am trying to hurriedly mount this beast to a board for support. Hopefully I can get a better picture submitted before the polls close.

 

2019-10-25.cxf

  • I found this Informative 3
Posted

  I was thrilled to find this GW tooth in such good condition on my annual hunt in S.C..

 

  Date of find: 10/9/2019

  Name: Great White shark tooth   Carcharodon carcharias

  Age: Miocone

  Location: Beach in Charleston County, South Carolina

 

E-AB-Shark-tooth.thumb.jpg.c1272e3e20557fe088b9c0561e3291c8.jpg

  • I found this Informative 6

' Keep calm and carry on fossiling '

Posted

They don't get much prettier than that. Congrats! :)

 

 

Only a handful of days left--let's see what else you all turned up this month.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

Posted

Finished to prep: 10/20/2019

Name: Litoricola macrodactylus

Epoch: Lower Thanetian

Location: southwest France

Litoricola.JPG

Litoricola1.jpg

  • I found this Informative 14
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