HOT and dry day on the Potomac

[Atoothsatooth42]

WOW has it been hot in the DMV. No real weather patterns have been through the area in what feels like forever, things are dry, dusty, and uncomfortably hot. So what do I do? Look for fossils!

 

I came to the beach with the understanding that I may not find much, considering there has likely been next to no movement in the material along the beaches besides the tides. But to say that I am pleasantly surprised is an understatement! It was a great day, despite the hot sun beating down on me.

 

I spent a little more than 3 hours out searching, some highs and some lows, at certain times I’d hit a stretch of beach and find literally nothing, and other times there was a nice collection of fossilized items for me to grab. They came in groups. I found the nice little busted Otodus fairly early peeking out at me, some nice sand tigers mixed in, baked a light color from sitting out in the sun for so long. 
 

Among the numerous ray plates and tiny teeth, I managed to find 3 Otodus (I think? The tiny ones are either Otodus or 

Cretolamna, they are hard to tell apart sometimes), 2 Croc teeth (I guess 1.5 again 🙄), and my second, and largest complete sting ray mouth plate! I wish I had taken an insitu shot of it, but I was in shock seeing it poking out of the dry desert like sand, I had to grab it! 
 

All in all, a pretty darn successful day considering the poor weather patterns over the last 2-3 weeks, and the sun burn! Looking forward to the next one! 

Edited June 23 by Atoothsatooth42

[Bjohn170]

Looks like a great day! I really don’t hit the beach much this time of year but seeing finds like that get me antsy!

Great croc tooth and ray plate!

[Atoothsatooth42]

17 minutes ago, Bjohn170 said:

Looks like a great day! I really don’t hit the beach much this time of year but seeing finds like that get me antsy!

Great croc tooth and ray plate!

I just can’t help myself even with the knowledge of less finds and more crowds at this time of year, I have to scratch the itch! The beach was surprisingly empty this time around, likely due to the heat and dryness. So I had full reign over the pickings! Thanks! Always a pleasant surprise!

[Jeffrey P]

I too am impressed with the ray plate and croc teeth. They alone would make an excellent day for me. 

[Atoothsatooth42]

1 hour ago, Jeffrey P said:

I too am impressed with the ray plate and croc teeth. They alone would make an excellent day for me. 

Thanks! It was harder work to find everything through the pale baked gravel bars, everything seemed to be the same color. Definitely a worth while day.

[patelinho7]

Fantastic haul! Multiple tripmakers. I went out to a Cretaceous site on Friday. Not much found and I gave up in 45 mins due to heat and I was there at 9am. So kudos to you for sticking through the heat!

[Atoothsatooth42]

44 minutes ago, patelinho7 said:

Fantastic haul! Multiple tripmakers. I went out to a Cretaceous site on Friday. Not much found and I gave up in 45 mins due to heat and I was there at 9am. So kudos to you for sticking through the heat!

Thanks! Yeah, once I was focused and started finding worth while stuff, I only noticed the heat once I stopped looking. I don’t blame anyone for not enjoying themselves in that kind of heat. It really sucks. I might have left much sooner if I finished certain parts and wasn’t finding anything.

[automech]

Great work! Love the complete ray plate. I have one from the Potomac also. I'll be heading down this Saturday with a few dad's and boys from my church.