Fossil Hunting Trip

Oh that really is a stunning find. Do you have any interesting snippets about Lusitanites you could kindly share? Is this fully grown do you think? Come to think of it, did goniates display sexual dimorphism as did some of the later ammonoid families?

Great find Kevin, well done indeed.
 
Phil;91569 said:
Oh that really is a stunning find. Do you have any interesting snippets about Lusitanites you could kindly share? Is this fully grown do you think? Come to think of it, did goniates display sexual dimorphism as did some of the later ammonoid families?

I just re-measured it, 22mm, the micrometer scale in my eyeball must need re-calibration. :wink: No interesting snippets for this one at the moment Phil. The sutures end right at the aperture so the body chamber is the complete last whorl, I cant tell if there was more that has broken off or not. The last few sutures (you can barely see them on the earlier whorl, right at the aperture) seem to be closer together than the earlier ones so maybe this is an adult (when ammonoids approached maturity their growth slowed so the last few sutures were formed closer together than the earlier ones). Alot of goniatites were small, they average about 20-30mm dia. I dont think there was near as much dimorphism in the Carboniferous as there was later, at least not in the shells I have found.
 
I found these yesterday, the body chamber and part of the phragmocone of a Jurassic (Oxfordian) ammonite Goliathiceras (Pachycardioceras) sp. Shown kinda put back together and as a bunch of pieces on the ground, the small portion of septate whorls actually fits in one of the body chamber molds.

Also from the same place a bunch of Belemnite guards, these are from Pachyteuthis densus.
 

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I had the great pleasure of spending a few days collecting with Dr's Alan Titus and Dieter Korn in Western Utah and Eastern Nevada a few weeks ago. I just wish I would have taken more pics, here are a few I took.

The top left pic is of a layer of limestone filled with goniatitids.
The top right pic is a few nice fossils Dieter found, the large one is a Goniatites and the other is a Girtyocerid. (they are in the process of writing these up so I will hold any specific IDs)
btm. left pic, Dieter Korn on the Left and Alan Titus on the right, the House Range in the background.
last pic is a Goniatites I found.

I really learned alot from these guys and had a great time. The main difference between pro and avocational (besides knowledge) is the size of their backpacks, mine was very small:oops:

By the way, I have been working in Wyoming with limited internet access the last few weeks and will be there for a few more weeks so I may not be posting two much (if it is at all noticeable).
 

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I visited an outcrop of the Jurassic Redwater Member of the Stump Formation and found these. I have been drooling over this outcrop all summer on Google Earth and decided to stop off on the way back from Big Wonderful Wy. this weekend.

Cardioceras hyatti from the C. cordatum zone. The bottom photo shows them as found and the top two show them after being subjected to my preparation skills. Notice also the small marine reptile vert. on the right of the bottom pic. from the same concretion.
 

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Makes you wonder why it will snow in October around here, but in December the ground is bare... maybe that is why there are so many trees :wink: a photo of the Early Ordovician Fillmore Formation. Found today, a rock full of imprints of orthoconic nautiloids, probably Protocycloceras. Also a small orthocone with a few chambers and part of the siphuncle preserved.
 

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Two small ammonoids found today. The first may be Owenites, and the other is just a portion showing some well defined ceratitic sutures.:biggrin2: Funny how the partial fossils always have well preserved sutures and the complete ones don't.:hmm:
 

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I can't believe the clarity of those sutures. They brilliantly demonstrate how in such well preserved specimens they can be used as a 'fingerprint' by experts to identify the species.

Lovely finds.
 
I hope you are taking some pictures of what the site looks like (not the whole field, but a specific spot that you THINK there may be something of interest) before you start digging and put them up on the screen at TONMOCON III. You always make it look like these interesting finds are just sitting there waiting for someone to stumble on them and I am sure it is not so.
 
dwhatley;133878 said:
You always make it look like these interesting finds are just sitting there waiting for someone to stumble on them and I am sure it is not so.
With miles and miles of outcrop, some are just waiting for Me to stumble upon them. This one was found about 2 miles from the truck, close to where the pic below was taken. It really was just sitting there. :wink:
 

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