Alabama

August 17, 2008 - Cretaceous - Dallas and Perry Counties, Alabama

Day 1 Friday         Day 2 Saturday         Day 3 Sunday

A weekend trip to the Cretaceous chalk gullies of Dallas County Alabama and a creek in Perry county turned up numerous fossils.  Ancient creatures, including shark, turtle, mosasaur, ptychodus, fish, clam, and ammonite were found during the three day weekend trip.

DAY 3 - SUNDAY

After a good night's sleep, we headed off to a set of larger gullies early Sunday morning. A lot of fish bones, shark vertebra, shark teeth, enchodus jaw/tooth, nice piece of turtle shell, and even crocodile bones were found.  As usual, we stayed in the gullies until darkness made it impossible to collect any more.

(photos courtesy Claire Smith and Vicki Lais)

Gully overview

Overview of one of the gullies surveyed on Sunday.

fish vertebra
Fossils: fish

Fish vertebra.

fragments of fish bone
Fossils: fish

Fragments of fish bone.

unidentified item

Unidentified item

enchodus tooth
Fossils: enchodus

Enchodus tooth still connected to bony part of jaw.

Shark tooth
Fossils: shark tooth

Cretoxyrhina mantelli shark tooth (ginsu - ecologically similar to the great white shark).

Shark tooth and shark vertebra
Fossils: shark vertebra, Fossils: shark tooth

Scapanorhynchus shark tooth and shark vertebra.

ammonite replaced by iron pyrite
Fossils: ammonite

Part of ammonite replaced by iron pyrite.

Bone
Fossils: bone

Mosasaur rib bone fragments found by Don.

bone
Fossils: bone

Protestega (turtle) bone

James and Don in gully

James examines mosasaur rib bone fragments found by Don.

shrimp burrow
Fossils: burrow

Distinctive burrow internal molds, probably made by ghost shrimp, were common in the gully.

Mosasaur vertebra
Fossils: mosasaur vertebra

Mosasaur vertebra.

wrapping fossil specimens

Bob is assisting James with wrapping of specimens so they will make it back to the museum safely.

fish bone and shark vertebra
Fossils: shark vertebra, Fossils: fish

Fish bone in lower left, broken shark vertebra in upper right.

bone
Fossils: bone

Small bone in area filled with bone and shell fragments.

collecting in late evening

As the sun gets low in the sky, we're still going around to the marked items, surface collecting or excavating as needed, trying to finish before dark.

sunset

Sunset in the gully.

August 16, 2008 - Cretaceous - Dallas and Perry Counties, Alabama

Day 1 Friday         Day 2 Saturday         Day 3 Sunday

A weekend trip to the Cretaceous chalk gullies of Dallas County Alabama and a creek in Perry county turned up numerous fossils.  Ancient creatures, including shark, turtle, mosasaur, ptychodus, fish, clam, and ammonite were found during the three day weekend trip.

DAY 2 - SATURDAY

Finally, after a night of gentle rain, around 7am Saturday morning the rain quit, and James Lamb set off to find another site that the large group could access without damage to themselves or the fossils.  After tracking down landowners for at least an hour, we were granted permission to collect in a creek in Perry county.  And what a nice creek!  Along with the adventure of exploring a creek we had never visited, climbing over strainers and up and down steep bluffs, everyone found numerous shark teeth, ptychodus teeth, gastropods, and even a small piece of belemnite with the iridescent sheen still visible.

After leaving the creek, we went back to camp, and once we arrived, we noticed the cows were quite interested in camp and the strange large metal boxes sitting all around their pasture.  One was carefully examining a particular red car!  After resting and filling our bellies, we decided to check out a gully near camp, to see if it was dry enough to collect.  Fortunately it was, and a number of nice specimens were found, including whole shells, mosasaur vertebra, turtle shell, fish vertebra, and worm tubes.

That night at camp Claire took numerous pictures of spider webs, and we listened to everyone's tall tales and tales of past field trips. 

(photos courtesy Claire Smith and Vicki Lais)

BPS members

The gang met on Saturday morning for a day of fossil collecting.

Hanging out with Greg

The "put-in" at the first creek, where Greg decided to hang out while we searched for a productive site.

navigating the limb pile

As everyone has gone on ahead, Martha is last in line, and carefully climbs across the strainer.

Martha excited

Ta-da! Everyone made it safely through the strainer.

climbing out of creek

Now we're told to cross over to another part of the creek with better collecting. Your choice - up the steep bluff, or back through the strainer and hike down a different trail.

climbing down the hill

Once arriving at the new creek location, we had to climb down an even steeper bank.

Don

Don

Screening for shark teeth in the creek

Screening for shark teeth in the creek.

Screening for shark teeth

Screening for shark teeth.

Screening for shark teeth

Screening for shark teeth.

screening for teeth

Screening the gravel in the creek bottom for shark and other teeth.

shark teeth
Fossils: shark teeth

Scapanorhynchus shark teeth found by screening gravel from the creek.

Shark teeth and belemnite
Fossils: shark teeth, Fossils: belemnite

Shark teeth - Cretolamna in upper left, Scapanorhynchus in lower left, ptychodus tooth in middle, turritella gastropod, and belemnite found in the creek.

Late afternoon collecting in the gully

After a couple of hours back at camp eating, resting, and drying off, we headed out for a late afternoon collecting trip in a nearby gully.

Vertebra
Fossils: vertebra

Mosasaur tail vertebra.

Echinoid fragment, fish vertebra, worm tube
Fossils: fish vertebra, Fossils: worm tube

Echinoid or crab fragment, fish vertebra, Hamulus worm tube.

Mosasaur vertebra
Fossils: mosasaur vertebra

Clidastes mosasaur vertebra.

Mosasaur vertebra
Fossils: mosasaur vertebra

Clidastes mosasaur vertebra.

Several shark vertebra
Fossils: shark vertebra

Several shark vertebra.

Fossil shell
Fossils: shell

Fossil Paranomia shell.

Part of a large turtle shell
Fossils: turtle shell

Part of a large turtle shell (toxochelid turtle plastral element).

Large broken shells inoceramid

Large broken shells of inoceramids were common in the gully.

camp area

View of our camp area.

camp cooking

Bob and Pam preparing dinner in camp.

James Lamb finishing log book.

James Lamb, taking questions as he completes his entry for the day in his log book.

spider web

Very large orb spider web.

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