The Count of Cabezon Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I have not yet recieved my fossil book I ordered from Amazon, but thought I'd throw out some pictures to see what you guys think. From the small amount of information I have gathered regarding the area that I look for fossils I have the following info: Sandoval County, New Mexico Unit name: Hosta Tongue of Point Lookout Sandstone Unit Age: Cretaceous Primary Rock: Sandstone And Unit name: Mulatto Tongue of Mancos Shale Unit Age: Cretaceous Primary Rock: Shale Secondary Rock: Sandstone (From: http://mrdata.usgs.gov/sgmc/nm.html) Usually I just look for things that are laying on the surface that look out of place, mainly in ravines and washes. Here is a picture of the place that I hunt. This is the area where I look. Anyway, knowing the geological information and looking at the picture of the area, is there any specific way to 'hunt' this area? As I said, I mainly look on the surface in the small rivulets along the hills, etc. Any tips for hunting in this environment? Any specific specimens that I should find? I have mainly found ammonites and assorted inverts ('clamlike' stuff/shells). This is the very first thing I found out there, quite by accident. It just looked like it didn't belong. I also found this in some sandstone. It looks like some kind of leaf, but you can really find something when you are looking for it. Can anyone confirm it? The most recent find. Only the spine was showing from the side of a dirt embankment. Ammonite? These two pieces were sitting in soft sand in an arroyo. They looked very unusual so I grabbed them. I don't know what they could be, so I must rely on anyones knowledge here. They are surprisingly light weight (I am not very good with geology/minerology or I'd give more detail). Any information regarding these specimens would be appreciated! Thank you. (Especially Solius for opening my eyes regarding picture management. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 You can edit the post and delete the attachment; then resize the pic; hit edit again and resubmit the smaller pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Count of Cabezon Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Excellent! Thank you. Edited post incomming. Post edited! Thanks again, Solius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Is there any way that you can get a better closer picture of the one you think is a leaf, it almost looks like feather. Better pics would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Count of Cabezon Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Here is a tighter shot of the suspect. Thanks for looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I'm thinking it is an FeO stain leaching from the crack, but I know little of Mes. paleontology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I'm thinking it is an FeO stain leaching from the crack, but I know little of Mes. paleontology. I think you maybe right, if it was a leaf I would think some more of the veins would show up. It does look more like a feather, but with it in the crack, that I can see now, it probably is leaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jax Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Nice Ammonites!! And the leaf is a cool find. I think I would be out there fliping all the sandstone over looking for more!! Id say for the way to hunt that area, you seem to have a pretty good way. Unless you can find the layer that the fossils come out of, the easiest way would be to scan the surface. Good luck. Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Cool finds and a cool spot. Looks like your hunting technique is fine. I also look in rivulets for stuff that has washed out. Not sure how big that spot is, but I would probably climb (carefully) wherever I could climb around that spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Is there any way that you can get a better closer picture of the one you think is a leaf, it almost looks like feather. First thing I checked! I think the rounding at the base of the "vane" is more leaf-like than feather-like. "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...
The Count of Cabezon Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Unless you can find the layer that the fossils come out of, the easiest way would be to scan the surface. What I was wondering about that is this: I found the small ammonite in the side of a small dirt enbankment. I pulled it out and scrounged around in the dirt for a bit and found a piece of another ammonite (comparible in size). Would a place like this be worth sifting? I have thought about putting together some cheap, basic sift screens for something like this. I just wonder if my time would be better spent scanning the ground than digging and sifting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 You can always find micro fossils by sifting, it just depends on what you are looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanceH Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 From a quick survey of things on the net it looks like the Point Lookout Sandstone is lower Campanian in age and the Mulatto Tongue of the Macos shale is early-mid Coniacian in age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 ...Would a place like this be worth sifting? I have thought about putting together some cheap, basic sift screens for something like this. I just wonder if my time would be better spent scanning the ground than digging and sifting. Give it a shot (or two or three); use every method at your disposal to get to know the formation/exposure. All that experience is what puts fossils in the knapsack "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...
MOROPUS Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Here is a tighter shot of the suspect. Thanks for looking! The leaf resembles some Angiosperman (plants with flowers) tree; It could be a Salix member (Willow) or it could be a Cinnamomum sp., both living in the Cretaceous era.It is difficult to say, due to the nature of the matrix, that haven`t preserve the nerves of the leaves. But great hunt, nevertheless! By the way, welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Count of Cabezon Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Give it a shot (or two or three); use every method at your disposal to get to know the formation/exposure. All that experience is what puts fossils in the knapsack I made a crude sifter last night with some stuff from Home Depot. I am headed out in the field today and I think I will try it out and see if it's worth messing with. Hopefully it will produce something! I'll provide a report on the outing tomorrow. The leaf resembles some Angiosperman (plants with flowers) tree; It could be a Salix member (Willow) or it could be a Cinnamomum sp., both living in the Cretaceous era.It is difficult to say, due to the nature of the matrix, that haven`t preserve the nerves of the leaves. But great hunt, nevertheless!By the way, welcome to the forum! Thank you! Glad to be a part of the forum. Also, thanks for the possible ID's, I am waiting on a couple books I have ordered from Amazon. I also need to get to the library here and see if they have anything that would help ID some of my things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I still say it nothing more than iron stains coming from the crack in the rock. Click on the pic in THIS post and look closely, you will notice that the crack is irregular throughout the length of the rock. Is anyone aware of a leaf in which the central vein is irregular with no discernable pattern? And if so, would it follow a crack? The stone appears to be a well cemented quartzose. I can't see a fossil, at least of this size, introducing a stress in the stone that would fracture the length of the stone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrocklds Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 i also believe it is an iron oxide stain. solius and i did the same thing. zoom in clos and look at te details. there aren't any distinguishable fossil characteristics. Brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOROPUS Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 Perhaps you are right; I zooom it and yes, it looks like iron stain crack with irregular pattern.Sorry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FossilDAWG Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 The first ammonite is some species of Placenticeras, and the one below that (after the leaf/iron stain/?) is probably also a Placenticeras as well. It would help to have a photo with oblique lighting to show up nodes and surface features, and a closer view of the outer margin and a view of the specimen "edge-on" to show the whorl profile would also help to ID the species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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