2008-09-20

September 20, 2008 - Cretaceous Fossils, Dallas County, AL

Once again, BPS took a trip south to Dallas county, Alabama, to search in the extensive Cretaceous chalk gullies found there. This was our last gully trip of the season, since hunting season is about to start, so we were in a frantic hurry to collect the items we had previously flagged, and find as much as we could so it could be preserved, and not get washed down a gully, and potentially lost for research. In addition to the normal variety of shells, shark teeth and vertebra, fish including enchodus, and turtles, this month a baby crocodile was found, the first one found in Alabama, so we were quite excited.

(Photos courtesy Joey Golson and Vicki Lais)

Dallas

A hot day in the gullies, but we had a good turnout.

After a slight delay, well, a very long delay, due to a mixup in who was going to call who, we finally gained access to the site. To get to this new set of gullies, we had to drive in, then park and walk the rest of the way.

We've just gotten into the gully, and are preparing to survey in different sections so we can cover the entire gully several times.

When we first arrived at the gully, it was difficult to find anything. No matter where we looked, it didn't seem like there was anything other than rocks and broken shells.

shells

A couple of shells common to the area, though most are broken in pieces.

Overview of the large gully where we first collected today.

shark teeth

Squalicorax on left, Cretolamna appendiculata on right

This large slab of calcite or selenite crystals was found near the entrance to the gully.

teeth, fish, jaw

Part of a fossil fish jaw, with several teeth still embeded in the jaw.

Part of what makes it difficult to find fossils is the large quantity of rubble on the ground, that all looks like fossils. One has to tune out the "trash" and tune in to the correct shapes before being able to spot vertebra and teeth.

shark vertebra

Three shark vertebra

crocodile

This tiny bone found by Vicki turned out to be one of the most important finds of the day. At first thinking it was a very large bird, after closer examination, James realized it was a baby crocodile, the only baby one found in Alabama! After waving us all away from the area, he proceeded to search on hands and knees, finding at least 8 tiny scutes, which had been missed when the bone was flagged. He even hiked back to the cars to get a screen, so the area below the find could be searched. If you examine the photo carefully, the small items that look bits of broken shell are actually parts of scutes.