Fossil Hunting Trip

[spartacus]

Look forward to seeing Spartacus's rocky balls too.

ooh, you are cheeky !

Keef

 

[sorseress]

Look forward to seeing Spartacus's rocky balls too.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO............. Me too.

 

[polyopsis]

Found this Forresteria alluaudi in a large concretion.

Your finds are very interesting Kevin.

I collect similar ammonites in the (assumed) Lower Coniacian of France. All of them are most likely to be Forresteria (Harleites) petrocoriensis, and they include flat and robust morphotypes.

The scenery is not as impressive as in Utah, but nice anyway

 

[Architeuthoceras]

First, let me say to TONMO Polyopsis

According to the latest time scale and zones for the late cretaceous, F. (H.) petrocoriensis is early coniacian (? is that wrong), just below the tridorsatum zone where those I find come from. Looks like you find some very interesting ammonites, most of the F. alluadi I get are the robust morphotype, yours seem to be the flat type, or is that just the way Harleites is. Thanks for posting pictures of your fossils.

The scenery looks beautiful over there, looks like you have some shade once in a while unlike over here.

 

[polyopsis]

First, let me say to TONMO Polyopsis

According to the latest time scale and zones for the late cretaceous, F. (H.) petrocoriensis is early coniacian (? is that wrong), just below the tridorsatum zone where those I find come from. Looks like you find some very interesting ammonites, most of the F. alluadi I get are the robust morphotype, yours seem to be the flat type, or is that just the way Harleites is. Thanks for posting pictures of your fossils.

The scenery looks beautiful over there, looks like you have some shade once in a while unlike over here.

Hi Kevin, thanks for welcoming a new member from overseas

It is right that standard ammonoid biozonation considers H. petrocoriensis and the likes lower Coniacian. However, recent work on inoceramids + the Turonian-Coniacian succession in Madagascar + others suggest that these faunas could be partly Turonian. This will be the topic of my PhD thesis

You're right, most of my Harleites are quite flat compared to F. alluaudi (nice specimens by the way !). The latter is very rare in France.

Yes, the scenery is nice but the temperature can also get very high in the summer. I took the pic last spring.

 

[spartacus]

Bonjour Polyopsis ! I'm in French France too but am an English interloper !
(sorry about the delay in posting pics but I'm old & slow, my eyes are dim, my bones are bent, my hair is grey etc. etc.)

Keef

 

[Architeuthoceras]

My brother Duane and I went out looking yesterday and found a couple of small Placenticeras syrtale. This one ended up being left as the inner whorls were crushed and the overlying rock turned out to be very hard. Still a nice specimen

 

[Architeuthoceras]

This one is the first i've took home in quite a while.

Placenticeras syrtale, Middle Santonian (Late Cretaceous)

 

[Animal Mother]

Wow.

I would love to stumble across something like that. I was helping a friend fill in a large hole in another friends yard down here in Texas. They had removed their septic tank, and while tossing dirt/rock back into the hole I came across a few tiny bivalve fossils mixed in the rock. Made me want to sift through the rest of the soil before we put it back in the hole.

 

[neuropteris]

Nice ammonites! Are they rarely found intact? Is there much else to be found in that area - bivalves etc?

Andy

 

[Architeuthoceras]

Most of the ammonites have crushed inner whorls, the weight of the sediment prior to fossilization crushed the hollow phragmocone, while the living chamber got filled with sediment and was un-crushed. Only those that were broken and filled with sediment prior to sediment compaction get fossilized complete.

The most common macro fossil in these beds are the bivalve Inoceramus, some concretions filled with them (unfortunately no pics[a big one back on this thread]). This gastropod was found the other day, and this bivalve was found a few years ago in the same beds. I havent identified either one yet.

 

[Phil]

Congratulations on yet more spectacular finds Kevin. For interest, here is a nice artist's reconstruction of Placenticeras catching fish. Not convinced by the tentacles, but a nice drawing nonetheless:

Dino Hunter Art Page

Well done again on those finds.

 

[Architeuthoceras]

Found this a couple of weeks ago. A very nice example of Lusitanites subcircularis a Carboniferous (Late Mississippian [Brigantian]) goniatite. This is the largest I have found of this species, a little over 24mm, almost an inch dia. And one of the best preserved.

 

[Jean]

WOW that's gorgeous!

J

 

[main_board]

WOW that's gorgeous!

J

I concur. The grooves are beautiful! So symmetrical and regular. Amazing craftsmanship!

Cheers!