Dave Albert Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Recently I've gone on a few trips to the Mazon Creek area to collect. I used to go years ago, but it's been awhile. I collected quite a few concretions and used the freeze/thaw technique to encourage them to crack. In nearly all the ones I've attempted to crack, I've found that the reddish brown siderite encases a purely grey nodule inside. Some of them have cracked clean, revealing either nothing, or what looks to be trace fossils. With others, the siderite has cracked away revealing just the grey nodule. My question is essentially can fossils be found inside the grey nodules? Should I continue to freeze/thaw these or are fossils really only found in the concretions that are predominantly the reddish/brown material? Lastly, what is the grey material? I've Googled it and it would seem to be labeled "siderite cement" - is that accurate? Any help anyone can lend me would be greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicranurus Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 I've read only ca. 10 % nodules contains fossils but I'm not sure is this a correct percentage. "It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." -Sir David Attenborough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Hi... I'm from the UK and Ive found a large percentage of our nodules dont contain anything and in many cases just a very small plant fragment that induced the formation of the nodule...Sometimes nodule contents can be almost anticipated based on the 'shape' and 'where' you collect them... Some collecting spots are more productive than others and the area you collected might be known for relatively sparse fossil contents... I do occasionally find the fossil 'off-centre' in the nodule so its worth persevering with any promising looking ones... I would hit the dodgy ones open so its not too much of a waiting game... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glacialerratic Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Yes, continue to freeze/thaw the grey nodules after the outer layer chips away. Some of my best Mazon fossils were found that way. Don't give up, it can take several dozen cycles. I was about to give up on one, but eventually got a flying insect out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCFossils Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 It really depend on where the concretions were collected. Some of the areas where you can find Mazon Creek concretions have a lot more "duds" then others. I know of several sites where you could easily collect several buckets in a day but your almost none will contain fossils. Most experienced collectors will skip these areas in favor of more productive sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Albert Posted September 28, 2011 Author Share Posted September 28, 2011 Thanks everyone--that's encouraging. Given that the season is ending I'm going to head out there one more time this weekend. The spot I found was yielding a lot of concretions but perhaps I'll broaden my search. I'll keep the faith on my current mess of grey nodules! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilcrazy Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Thanks everyone--that's encouraging. Given that the season is ending I'm going to head out there one more time this weekend. The spot I found was yielding a lot of concretions but perhaps I'll broaden my search. I'll keep the faith on my current mess of grey nodules! Hi Dave, Glad you found a place that still yields nodules. I have shared your surprise and disappointment that so many nodules end up being "duds". After a year or two of freeze/thaw cycles there have been the stubborn ones. The hammer didn't add many collection pieces. I did see what you found, a clean break with a dark center and little or nothing for a neuclus. The vets says that is par for the course. If every nodule was "a keeper" our collections would be huge and of less value. We all love a surprise. Surprise this one is a "dud"! Don't take "NO" for an answer, go ahead and let shear numbers help your cause. Happy Hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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