preston b Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 So i recently went to a location in arkansas its a geologic formation called the pitkin limestone. i spent a few hours there and found a few rough crionoid stem negatives which were on top of a 70ib boulder and i removed said boulder which unfortunatley went flying off the bluff i couldent catch it...ugh so it was lost. other than that find it was a dud day...i think maybe I'm inexperienced with limestone. i may not know what to look for. so does anyone have any hints on finding fossils in this stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squalicorax Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Try looking at the bottom of the hill in any gravel you find. Maybe some loose sharks teeth or crinoid calicies. Otherwise there just might not be much in these limestones near you. My Flickr Page of My Collection: http://www.flickr.com/photos/79424101@N00/sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobWill Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Finding fossils is all about looking. If nothing is visible on the surface I don't go busting rock to look inside unless it's a site that yields frequent fossils from easily split stone like Green River. Once you've spotted something in hard rock too large to carry out you have to chisel it out with matrix still attached to finish cleaning in the lab. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Fossils are not evenly distributed throughout the rocks, even at a location known to be highly fossiliferous. A few feet (or inches, or yards) up or down in the 'layer cake' and things can change dramatically. Any exposure of sedimentary rock deserves a look, and remember to explore vertically, where practical. 1 "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...
cgodwin37 Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Pitkin should be fossiliferous, generally speaking, i know in OK it is full of Archimedes. Being from Batesville you should have a number of Mississippian formations to check out. In parts of Arkansas the Fayetteville Shale should contain some ammonoids in concretionary limestone lenses that protrude from the more weathered back shale (check out a large roadcut near Marshall) especially toward the base of the formation. The underlying Hindsville is also very fossiliferous. Both the Pitkin and Hindsville are relatively high energy, so a lot of fossil fragments. Although, I know that there are some low energy brachiopods beds in the Hindsville near Harrison and Alpena. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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