Fossils

[elgecko]

I know some people here are also interested in fossils. I made a page with some pictures of my fossils.
If you have time take a look, let me know what you think of it.

http://www.geocities.com/elgecko1989/fossils.html

kayaker78,
There is one on there that should look very familiar.

 

[Amateur_Expert]

How do you know if a fossil or a site is worth digging up and studying? My dad owns some land where i found fossils at. The area isn't really explored and its alot of land. The whole area is basically clay and very fertile with lots of plant life (it's a mountainous region so when it rains its pretty hard getting down to the river). Among the Amber deposits and other types of rocks and minerals, i also found fossils. Me and my cousins went down to the river (more like a stream if you ask me) the water was clear and cool so i now its being fed by a cloud forest nearby. Well my cousin went over to a sort of cavern (he had a look like he knew what he was looking for) and passed me a fossil. It was kind of surprising and i looked around and i found another. I bought 2 of those fossils with me back. Both are rather small and look like shells (one half the size of the other one). They have the grooves and curves like shells. I was thinking of showing them to one of the people at the museum but i don't wanna embarass myself. My question is: how do you determine a site where you know houses lots of specimens is worth studying? I'm gonna nonchalantly ask one of them they think of some fossils found lying on the grond while i was in the beach.

 

[jimscott]

Nice pics! Were they found around Red Lion?

 

[elgecko]

Quote[/b] (jimscott @ Nov. 08 2004,5:11)]Nice pics! Were they found around Red Lion?

I wish. I would not have to drive so far.

 

[Grim]

I have several Trilobites, ammonites, a hunk of raw amber, a Manatee rib, a peice of large ?dinosaur? bone, a couple fish, and a small, damaged megeladon tooth. a pretty minuscule collection, I wish I had a few more

 

[elgecko]

Quote[/b] (Amateur_Expert @ Nov. 08 2004,11:36)]How do you know if a fossil or a site is worth digging up and studying?

I do not know.
Fossils are something I enjoy looking for from time to time.

 

[scottychaos]

I happen to live in a great trilobite and eurypterid zone!
I know of several excellent eurypterid locations nearby..I want to find one!
I have found a few trilobites nearby, but no eurypterids yet.



http://www.eurypterid.net/Eurypterids.html

the vast majority of eurypterids were under a foot in length,
most about 6"..
but there was a rare variety that could reach 6 feet!

 

[rattler]

i live near one of the best known dinosaur fossil formations (Hell Creek formation) and i have yet to stumble upon one. maybe i will this weekend i will when im out elk hunting. a few weeks ago there was a marine reptile found by another hunter almost complete(they arent sure yet wiether the head is there) out where im hunting. lots of shell fish fossils though.

 

[elgecko]

scottychaos,
I would love to find one of those. When should I come up next year to go fossil hunting?

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

aww! I want some more fossils.
here's what I have (don't laugh LOL):
a couple of tiny shark teeth,
broken sea urchin spine,
broken pieces of shell
that's it folks!

 

[rattler]

more than i have..........i think all i have at the moment is petrified wood. i had more stuff at one time. i focus more on precious and semi-precious gemstones.

 

[TheAlphaWolf]

speaking of the devil,
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/11/09/amphibianf.ap/index.html

 

[elgecko]

How cool would that be.

 

[herenorthere]

Many of the more fossiliferous states have very detailed books to help with fossil identification.  Go to your state's website and search for geology or geological to see what they have.

The guides aren't as beginner friendly as a Peterson bird guide and you'll need to learn some terminology.  The titles can be pretty dusty too, such as The Invertebrate Macropaleontology of the Clarke County, Mississippi Area.  That won't attract a lot of impulse buyers.

If you're the kind of person who likes to know names, learning to identify fossils will certainly add to the fossil collecting experience.  I'm lacking in that quality.  I have bunch of fossils from the last time I was in Mississippi (ca 1998) and, even though I have the necessary fossil ID books, I've never bothered to identify a single one.  Identifying minerals and fossils was never my favorite part of geology.

 

[scottychaos]

here is an excellent book..a must if you live in NY and like fossils!
(or if you dont live in NY but are a trilobite fan!
I got it a local Barnes & Noble a few years ago..
amazon.com has it too.
Scot