The whole gang.
June 28, 2008 - Cretaceous Fossils, Sumter County, AL
Trip to Sumter County, Alabama. . . more to follow, wanted to get pictures up for everyone.
(Pictures courtesy Jan Novak and Vicki Lais)
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After a brief overview of the geology of the area, and a review of collecting and flagging procedures by James Lamb, the group headed out into the gullies. Almost immediately, fossil mosasaur vertebra and turtle pieces are found and marked with flags.
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This is a very well detailed fossil fish vertebra. Fossil shells and fragments littered much of the gully.
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Close up of one of the mosasaur vertebra.
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Several members found blackened fossil wood, which looked like charcoal. Note the shell attached to the wood. Samples were gathered, as sometimes the specimens are so well preserved one can determine the species.
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James Lamb spotted the bones of an adult mosasaur skull, and several (5-6) vertebra of a baby mosasaur, mostly caught in the roots of the small tree. One was so lightweight, it was caught in a spiderweb! The bulk of the bones washed down the gully long ago.
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Five or six baby mosasaur vertebra were found in the roots of the tree.
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Mosasaur bone of an adult or larger juvenile found in the roots of the tree.