Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I ran north to collect yesterday since there was good rain up that way a week ago. I met my friend Robert Bowen who coincidentally brought along Andre from Dallas, a relatively new guy on this board, nice guy by the way. We kicked things off at the Waco Pit. Our first stop was a Goniophorus echinoid nest that I had found and surface collected 5 years ago. The nest has about a 5 square foot area, and with 3 of us huddled we got about 40-45 nice 6 mm echies in 10 minutes, and I later bulk sampled that microsite. Hopefully I can double the count. We pressed on to a profuse micro Goniophorus nest where the specimens are 1-2 mm diameter and sometimes found in small pieces of matrix composed of hundreds of specimens on beds of hair like spines. Both those guys found these matrix pieces while I didn't. I bulk sampled 5 gallons from this zone for later scrutiny. At a minimum I should get lots of individuals. After that we found a mix of larger individual Goniophorus, my large Coenholectypus, 3 brittlestars between us, mine being my first, shark and pycnodont teeth, Robert's 2 shrimp, and a bunch of pyritized micromorphic ammonites. I'm usually not a big fan of organized group hunts of more than a handful of people, but this site is large and the fossils are small, so it can and does support groups with continual return on the effort. Effective collecting requires slow crawling and sometimes belly flopping. In other words, a group can't hunt this place out, and if they do, the Cretaceous Del Rio Clay erodes quickly and exposes more of these little treasures with the next rain. The ammonites, particularly the heteromorph Plesioturrilites, are so abundant that no experience or zonal knowledge is required to find your fill. A good day's hunt fills a medicine bottle and no tools are required except for perhaps a screwdriver to pry things out. Vert material is randomly distributed but again a slow crawl will reveal it. You simply can't rush at this site or you'll miss the best stuff. I broke away from the other guys and picked through some sites solo on the way home. I worked 3 Central TX Walnut formation exposures with good results. The first gave up 8 Phymosoma texanum and about as many Heterasters in 45 minutes of looking. The second gave up another Phymosoma, a Salenia mexicana, and a shark tooth blade. The third is a huge construction site cut into a hill. I slipped in and began worked the base of the exposure and the terrace in plain view and nobody came over to run me off. This afforded me 3 or 4 Phymosoma plus a pile of the best and largest Walnut Heterasters I've ever seen, some in matrix and some loose, the ones in the gray marl dusted with pyrite. Unfortunately the boys with the hard hats were actively building a retaining wall over much of the exposure and I suspect within a couple weeks the party will be over. An exposure of Georgetown formation provided one nice 3 inch Macraster in matrix that I'll try to prep on a pedestal. My final site put me back in the Walnut fm. In fading light I nabbed 3 Coenholectypus, 1 Loriolia, and 1 Phymosoma echinoid. Even before fuel got expensive I ran dawn to dusk, but now I take a lantern and continue my search well past dark. Now, 500 miles later, my prep work is cut out for me for the next couple of weeks. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Nice haul! "... Goniophorus nest where the specimens are 1-2 mm diameter and sometimes found in small pieces of matrix composed of hundreds of specimens on beds of hair like spines." I would love to see a pic of that, if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitbat Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 VERY nice mostly round dead things! -Joe Illigitimati non carborundum Fruitbat's PDF Library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 Solius Attached are images of the death slabs (or flakes if you will) from last time I was there. These paper thin pieces of matrix have echies on both sides, or maybe they are so thin that we are looking at the same echies from both sides. Either way they are cool and unusual for TX. Yesterday's finds were similar, and I could have more in my bulk sample. I had trouble photographing these things as I don't yet have a decent microscope. Enjoy. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatorman Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Awesome stuff Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Wow! Echinoid Brittle! I just ordered a hand-held, USB connected, digital microscope; should be just the ticket for this sort of photography. Once I get it, I'll be posting some pics, along with my thoughts on its usefulness. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 I had trouble photographing these things as I don't yet have a decent microscope. Nice! Before I had a scope, I would hold my hand lens up to the aperture of my camera. It gave surprisingly decent results. I just ordered a hand-held, USB connected, digital microscope; should be just the ticket for this sort of photography. Once I get it, I'll be posting some pics, along with my thoughts on its usefulness. I've been thinking about getting one of those. I'm looking forward to your review. I have an old 1.3 meg Cmos monochrome chip that I have thought about trying to connect to my scope, but I need a driver for the thing, and I have no ideal where to get one. Any ideals anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 I have a Digital Blue $50 digital microscope and it is truly a POS. I let my 6 year old son have it. I look forward to any suggestions that y'all can make, the cheapest to get the job done well being my objective. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 I have to say Dan, you are one heck of a fossil hunter!!! Can I ask how much room you have left where you live to put fossils? RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 Thank you for the compliment, sir. Echinoids don't take up much space as you will soon see in my April report. When dealing with micros sometimes you can fit 1000 in a 35 mm film container. They certainly don't eat up space like mammoths and ammonites. Of course I've been peddling a handful of fossils here and there to support my habit, but what I keep far outpaces what I sell or donate. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest N.AL.hunter Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Nice finds. Do you know what type of brittle star that is? I found one exactly like it, or pretty darn close to it, in El Paso along the rails next to Mount Cristo Rey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted May 5, 2008 Author Share Posted May 5, 2008 This brittlestar is Ophiura graysonensis. I know little about its range, laterally or stratigraphically. My friend Robert has found death beds of these things in Waco. He had enough a couple years back to give me a perfect one with arms intact. I was happy the other day to find the apical disk, even if it doesn't have complete arms. Robert said that mine was the largest apical disk he'd ever seen. Do you know what formation you were in? The Del Rio Clay extends into West Texas, I'm not sure how far west, but at least in the type locality and vicinity it is sort of a peanut butter colored clay studded with bajillions of oysters Ilymatogyra and Gryphea. Does this describe the lithology where you found yours? I've seen the color of the Kdr vary to a gray up around Waco, and I'm not sure if that color would change in far west TX, but as far as I know the oysters would be a consistent and diagnostic component of the formation. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kauffy Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 wow Dan, exceptional fossils, and photos...i really enjoy in situ shots....makes me want to get out there and hunt! thanks for sharing "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...
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