Uncle Siphuncle Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 OK so our own Johnny Jackson accompanied my faithful sidekick Boy Weston on a long overdue stomp down the "Arroyo of Anonymity" yesterday. Considering all factors we had flip flopped a couple times on what site to hit, how to approach it, etc. I supposed I sounded convincing enough to John to prompt him to crash at my house Friday night and get up early for a daylight assault on a stream bed that has apparently escaped the mainstream collecting community (mua ha ha!). Anyway, a couple miles into our trek we encountered a virgin stretch of Escondido limestone studded with dozens of rare Sphenodiscus ammonites....plenty for 3 guys to spend a couple hours filling our backpacks to the point of overflowing and literally blister our fingers from the steady cadence of hand sledge blows. In short I scored 30 ammonites from 2 to about 12 inches, Weston got 3, and I'll let Johnny report on his haul. I also beat 3 Eutrephoceras nautiloids into submission, my first for the formation. A 100 LB back pack isn't really good for my aging frame when covering distance but in this case adrenaline kicked in and made up the difference. The rest of the day brought teeth, teeth, and more teeth...Squalicorax pristodontus, Serratolamna serrata, Rhombodus binkhorsti, Ginglymostoma lehneri, and perhaps one other oddball I'll save for the end of this thread. Maybe you guys can help me ID it. I've never encountered one of these in the field..... And now for a few tickler photos.....the rest will be in my March report. I'll provide some close ups on the ammos at that time. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Sven seems like a genial chap, so I guess having to wait until he's freshened-up a bit to make better acquaintence with him and his clan isn't asking too much. "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...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 OK here is one of my Sphenodiscus properly showered and groomed......... Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 Oh yeah and what is this thing I found? Just another rock? Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Oh yeah and what is this thing I found? Just another rock? Dang that can't be a mammoth tooth, can it? Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 so how long did you lie there beside it? i'm thinking you need to start taking along a bottle of bubbly or something to pop and just sit around and have a little party over some of your finds. actually, maybe take a tent and just camp next to them without touching them for a couple of days to savor the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted March 8, 2009 Author Share Posted March 8, 2009 John suggested I pipe some celebratory tunes on the ride home, so Iron Maiden, 3 Dog Night, and Grand Funk Railroad it was, young Weston playing air drums in the back seat the whole time..........Mua ha ha!!!!!!!!!! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 HOLY COW!!! Sounds like one HECK of a fun day Dan. I know you find lots of fossils, but this is a bit uncommon isnt it? That one ammo your holding is a very very nice looking ammo. and that rock looks very much like a mammoth tooth? You guys must have been smiling all the way home. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 Awesome finds, looks like ya'll had a good trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roz Posted March 8, 2009 Share Posted March 8, 2009 John suggested I pipe some celebratory tunes on the ride home, so Iron Maiden, 3 Dog Night, and Grand Funk Railroad it was, young Weston playing air drums in the back seat the whole time..........Mua ha ha!!!!!!!!!! I love 3 Dog Night... If you mail me the tooth I can figure out how old it is. May take me a few years though... Congratulations on some excellent finds! Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Oh yeah and what is this thing I found? Just another rock? GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!! "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...
JohnJ Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!! I've been fortunate to be on a few hunts where someone SCORES one of their "lifetime" finds, and this was definitely a special occasion. As Dan relayed, the trip to "Sven's" house was not as we expected...just more of the consequences of the Texas drought. In spite of a few situational adaptations, we prevailed. I added some new specimens to my collection from Sphen's place. However, the highlight of the day is always sweeter when found on the last leg of a trip. Struggling with a heavy boat on a shoal, I heard Dan's serious command, "John! Get over here, now! You need to come here! Oh wow! Bring the camera, come here! Visions of a wagon-wheel ammonite, or a Clovis point...or maybe that elusive mammoth tooth. "What did you find?" He couldn't contain himself any longer, so handshakes and backslapping ensued as we worked our way back to his prize. It was a moment to savour! Congratulations and well done, Dan. You've paid your dues and I am glad I was there to witness it. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 good thing ya'll weren't seeing which one of ya'll could throw a sphenodiscus the farthest, cause you might have smashed the mammoth molar into mithereens. don't know - it's just the way i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Just to show Dan is no pool...I mean fossil "shark"..... go fish. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 good thing ya'll weren't seeing which one of ya'll could throw a sphenodiscus the farthest, cause you might have smashed the mammoth molar into mithereens.don't know - it's just the way i think. ...there were some regulation size discs. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefootgirl Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 this is littlebarefoot. I count ten teeth in that picture. Awesome finds. Mom says that totally wicked cool to. In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat: but in the evolution of real knowledge, it marks the first step in progress toward victory. Alfred North Whithead 'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 this is littlebarefoot. I count ten teeth in that picture. Awesome finds. Mom says that totally wicked cool to. You're around halfway there, Cierra... The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandpa Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 EXCELLENT!! Boy am I jealous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 So Johnny give me a number to add to our aggregate body count. Weston and I got 33 ammonites and 3 nautiloids. And we need to talk ID too. I think the thin ammonites are S. pleurisepta. I don't have descriptions of S. intermedius or S. lenticularis, but I'm curious if we found some of them too. Some of my ammonites are more inflated than others. I'm curious if this is a diagnostic feature of one of the other species mentioned. I'm also wondering if we found Coahuilites sheltoni, also said to be found in the same strat zone. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 So Johnny give me a number to add to our aggregate body count. Weston and I got 33 ammonites and 3 nautiloids. And we need to talk ID too. I think the thin ammonites are S. pleurisepta. I don't have descriptions of S. intermedius or S. lenticularis, but I'm curious if we found some of them too. Some of my ammonites are more inflated than others. I'm curious if this is a diagnostic feature of one of the other species mentioned. I'm also wondering if we found Coahuilites sheltoni, also said to be found in the same strat zone. 14 or 15, plus 1 nautiloid; I'm not sure how many are in one of the last slabs I collected. I agree the majority are S. pleurisepta. Being so streamlined, these guys must have been the fastest ammonites in water. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Dudes.... very nice to see some different ammos from the norm.They have great looking sutures! And a Columbian mammoth tooth!!! Jeeez what a collecting triumph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrocklds Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 well dan, congratulations. i know you have been waiting along time for this one. keep up the good work. Brock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh-Man Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 John suggested I pipe some celebratory tunes on the ride home, so Iron Maiden, 3 Dog Night, and Grand Funk Railroad it was, young Weston playing air drums in the back seat the whole time..........Mua ha ha!!!!!!!!!! MikeD and I always celebrate by cranking up Highway Star by Deep Purple. That's what we were blaring when you showed up at Waco last year!!! Congrats - finallyyyyyy!!! What is geology? "Rocks for Jocks!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oh-Man Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Just to show Dan is no pool...I mean fossil "shark".....go fish. Wow - cool pic - I think you have the same amount of teeth in that one pic as I got in 3 hours at POC today. But I did get a bigger one. Hopeully I'll get some pix posted when I get home later this week. What is geology? "Rocks for Jocks!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Just to show Dan is no pool...I mean fossil "shark".....go fish. Holy mackerel! I want to go there! Nice 'where's waldo' pic. Hey, those ammo's look kind of crystalline. Calcite or something there? Great looking specimens. Nice tooth, Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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