Ramo Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 It was nice weather today, and I took my oldest kid out to search for the elusive Fish Tooth Conglomerate. (FTC) I think Mike Everhart named this layer of the Blue Hill shale a few years ago. (You can go to his web site for more info www.oceansofkansas.com) The Blue hill shale isn't know for having many fossils, but back in the 40"s they built a lake and found a thin layer of hard rock in the relative soft shale. This layer of rock is made almost entirely of fish teeth. Mostly enchodus, but also quite a few shark teeth. I have been going to the area for a few years, and all I can find are little bits and pieces of this rock. The soft shale above the layer erodes over the good stuff, and I haven't been able to find a piece much bigger than a .50 piece. Today with my little girl, my luck finally changed. We were able to find several nice pieces, and some of them showed some big (as compared to the enchodus teeth) shark teeth in them. Here are a couple of photos of two of the nicer pieces. I'll get some other pictures to show how most of it looks. For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kauffy Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 great going Bowkil!!! i love that stuff, very very cool, im glad i got to see the location aswell! have you ever tried digging a massive hole? cant wait to see the other bits you found.... "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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramo Posted March 21, 2008 Author Share Posted March 21, 2008 The "massive hole" is now in the planning stage. I have dug holes all over that place, and today was the first time I found some of the rock in it's original position. Every other time, it was just float, along the hill side. Now that I know where the layer is, I plan on going back soon to try and dig some larger pieces out. All we dug with today was a stick, flat rock, multi-tool, and our hands. I hear that they have invented a flat piece of metal on a stick called "a shuv-el". I should probably get me one of these so called "shuv-el's" and carry it in the truck with me from now on. I'll let you know how it goes. Here is a photo of our entire find today. For one species to mourn the death of another is a new thing under the sun. -Aldo Leopold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kauffy Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 WHAAAAA WOW!!! you found loads!! *drool* well done! and i wish you good luck with digging a hole with your shuv-el! "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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorman Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Awesome stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 This reminds me of how many of the teeth in the Eagle Ford (90 MYA) are presented in TX. Often they are found in glauconitic lenses and thin limestone stringers sandwiched between massive beds of unproductive limestone and shale. At one site I haul in a 3 foot pry bar, 20 LB sledge, 3 LB hand sledge, chisel, and three 5 gallon buckets on a dolly. Then I spend a couple hours reducing 6 inch limestone overburden to manageable 100-200 LB chunks that can be rolled into the creek, exposing a 20-30 square foot work area. Then the fun begins. The glauconite lens is soft and less than an inch thick but contains lots of teeth in pockets. The layer is an oyster hash studded with varicolored phosphate nodules and pyrite in various stages of decay, giving things a reddish hue in spots. The teeth tend to be black to rich brown in color and the fauna is generally composed of Ptychodus anonymus, Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Squalicorax falcatus, Enchodus ferox, Pachyrhizodus sp., Carcharias sp., and perhaps a few others. The teeth tend to be in excellent condition. In fact if you get some broken ones, the chances are YOU broke them. I have also found good fish and shark verts, some articulated, in addition to a good set of Enchodus jaws and some nice Coniasaur (primitive mosasaur) verts, rough Plesiosaur teeth, a couple partial Onchopristis dunklei (sawfish) rostral teeth and turtle material. It is not uncommon to take 100 teeth or more if you find a good spot and spend a few hours, but most people are not willing to embrace the physical labor involved. When I see a few teeth I often just mine out as much of that layer as possible, fill the 5 gallon buckets, then scrub and inspect the slabs at home. Often concentrations of teeth up to 5 or 6 in just a few square inches can be found. This makes for a cool presentation. Most of the teeth are small at around a half inch, but sometimes I'll find a few Ptychodus 3/4 inch wide and Cretoxys at over an inch. For my area this pushes the upper end of the size spectrum, but certain areas farther north near Dallas can produce Ptychodus, Cretoxyrhina, and Cretodus in excess of 2 inches. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cris Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Great stuff, Bowkill! A "shuv-el" might just be your best bet if you plan on digging a massive hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xiphactinus Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 It was nice weather today, and I took my oldest kid out to search for the elusive Fish Tooth Conglomerate. (FTC) I think Mike Everhart named this layer of the Blue Hill shale a few years ago. (You can go to his web site for more info www.oceansofkansas.com) The Blue hill shale isn't know for having many fossils, but back in the 40"s they built a lake and found a thin layer of hard rock in the relative soft shale. This layer of rock is made almost entirely of fish teeth. Mostly enchodus, but also quite a few shark teeth. I have been going to the area for a few years, and all I can find are little bits and pieces of this rock. The soft shale above the layer erodes over the good stuff, and I haven't been able to find a piece much bigger than a .50 piece. Today with my little girl, my luck finally changed. We were able to find several nice pieces, and some of them showed some big (as compared to the enchodus teeth) shark teeth in them. Here are a couple of photos of two of the nicer pieces. I'll get some other pictures to show how most of it looks. Very, very cool!!! Good luck with the shu-vel. They have another thingee called a pik aaacks and a rock haa meer you might try too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nicholas Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 Great finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain1950 Posted March 21, 2008 Share Posted March 21, 2008 The "massive hole" is now in the planning stage. I have dug holes all over that place, and today was the first time I found some of the rock in it's original position. Every other time, it was just float, along the hill side. Now that I know where the layer is, I plan on going back soon to try and dig some larger pieces out. All we dug with today was a stick, flat rock, multi-tool, and our hands. I hear that they have invented a flat piece of metal on a stick called "a shuv-el". I should probably get me one of these so called "shuv-el's" and carry it in the truck with me from now on. I'll let you know how it goes.Here is a photo of our entire find today. Another new invention you could try is a pik; try that too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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