MikeD Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I went on a three day field trip with HGMS to the Brownwood, TX area this past weekend. The Brownwood area is in the Pennsylvanian and I had to pass through the Cretaceous to get there (300 miles each way). On the way there, I made a brief stop at a Cretaceous spot I found last year with Oh-Man. Spent the first day at the old Wilson's Clay Pit and a hit few locations near the north side of the lake. Spent the second day at the spillway excavating Archaeocidaris echinoids from the shale. Was going to hit a couple of other nearby spots, but was too tired, dehydrated and hungry. The third day was spent stoping at various Cretaceous sites along a different route home. Some of our group headed for Bandera instead to check out a sale of 50 years worth of a collection. These are some pictures from day 1. More will follow. From the clay pit: various crinoid columnal pieces, horn coral, crinoid calyx plates, brachiopods, bryozoans, fusilinids (forams), and a crinoid anal spine. What the heck is this? A friend from the pit. Another site which is mostly urchin spines and plates, with some crinoid pieces and myalina clam pieces. Another new friend (the second that day). It's dead - a victim of a passing car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 A couple more that wouldn't fit in the previous post. Horn corals, brachiopods, fusilinids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Nice! :thumbsup: 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 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Hey great picts and good finds. Thanks for the show 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...
CreekCrawler Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Way to go Mike...love the small Atrox! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy1971 Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 WOW! Looks like you found some really nice stuff! Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Looks like a good trip. What are the small(about 5mm???) cylindrical objects with the diamond pattern near the coin in the second pic? bryozoans??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texaswoodie Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Nice trip! Curt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 Looks like a good trip. What are the small(about 5mm???) cylindrical objects with the diamond pattern near the coin in the second pic? bryozoans??? Yes, small fragments. I also have some larger ones. There is another growing on the brach (which I'm sure you already saw). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Looks like a great trip, nice finds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wim Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn835 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Nice pics mike, ps the scorpion wont be a fossil for another 10 million years. With rocks in my head, and fossils in my heart.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 ^^ but it sure looks tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grampa dino Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 You found some nice fossils and all that coin to makes it even better. Up here we are under another winter storm warning ( more friking snow) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Super photos! There is so much on the ground there, it's wild. Speaking of wild, that area also seems to have some great wildlife. Seeing those fossils on dry land is awesome and being on dry land looking for fossils sounds awesome too! Here in Florida I am feeling a little like I am in Water World. No complaints though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Boy Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Nice finds! Kevin Wilson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Day 2 was spent at the Lake Brownwood spillway. The primary target was excavating Archaeocidaris echinoids from the shale. There are also a few other species of echinoids, crinoids, brachiopods, bryozoans, a few other critters, and plant material encountered in the shale. We will see what emerges once the shale is stabilized, split, stabilized more, and then prepped. I did see a lot of plant material this time. A lot of it was carbonized, very fragile and crumbled away just by looking at it too hard. A lot of the plant material was covered with sulphur and calcite leaching out as the shale decomposes. I did see a few nice fern leaves come out of there. Oh-Man found a nice one and also got an easy single Archaeocidaris that split right out of a chunk of shale that was about to fall over. Hopefully mine will be good. It was a hot, dry, dusty day that resulted in some potentially good finds for some, plumber's crack sunburn, a few cuts and scratches, and a lightly sprained ankle for one (not me this time!) along with dehydration and hunger. Taco Bueno and a Coke never tasted so good! (they left Houston a long time ago) Here is the lower part of the spillway where the urchins are (under the limestone cap). catfuraplenty and Oh-Man at work. The spines sticking out of the shale is how you locate the urchins. You can see the sulphur and calcite in the second picture. Burrow fossils on the bottom of the limestone layer become exposed when the rock breaks loose and falls. Not where I would want to dig (notice the overhang). Why you don't want to be under the overhang (see cracks in rock and notice rocks that have fallen in the first picture). Bluebonnets in the spillway. This is what Archaeocidaris looks like after prep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Friends Neal and Dallas hard at work in another spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Day 3 was a "marly" day. Hit some more Cretaceous sites on the way home. In addition to more quarters, a lot of good fossils were collected. Stop number 1 one (a new place) was guarded by a goat. So, risking a head butt, I dove in anyway. There were a couple of layers of fossils a few feet below her plus some other random outpourings of fossils. Found some nice fossils (gastropods, bivalves, oysters, but was concentrating on mostly on urchins. An ech and a gastropod followed by a small ech and an echinoid spine. My first salenia with another spine nearby followed by an unknown ech (need to clean up) and another spine piece beside it (with goat turd for scale). Probably a Phymosoma (complete)(still working on this ID thing and need to clean this one). Some other Salenias (a few by me) and a Coenholectypus (not by me unfortunately) were also found at the site. At least five species, possibly more were found. I will have to check my maps to find out which formation I was in for sure. Site number 2, (also known as Walnut site 181 to some) is a favorite of mine. Also, collected there on New Year's Day. Filled a 5 gallon bucket about half full with stuff. Found lots of urchin spine pieces as I knew to look for them this time. Lots of Heteraster sp. Also one complete, unexploded Phymosoma FINALLY! and a lot of pieces. Lots of clean up to do. Martijn, I'll get you some pictures as soon as I can sort this stuff. And finally a badly beaten and broken rudist. The second one I have found there (or anywhere for that matter). I stopped briefly at several other road cuts/exposures which were barren. Part of exploring the formations. I don't have any pictures from Site number 3 (which I picked out by chance and it was getting late), but found quite a variety of fossils within just a few minutes, urchins (one Phymosoma - whoo hoo! - 3 for the day!), a small ammonite, bivalves, oysters, gastropods, pectin, etc. I will definitely be back to that place for a longer visit. I will post some more pictures when everything is unpacked, sorted and cleaned up a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Thanks for the virtual field trip! "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...
Roz Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Wow, love those echs and that plate! I have only been there once and was not as successful as your group. That rain must have helped bring some of those up/ Great pics, enjoyable to join in the hunt.... Have only seen one other guard goat, on the porch of someone's house. Welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefootgirl Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Wow , you found some great stuff there. I hope your next trip is just as exciting and full of fossils. 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...
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