Overview of one of the gullies surveyed on Sunday.
Visitor
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)
Fossils: enchodus
Enchodus tooth still connected to bony part of jaw.
Fossils: shark tooth
Cretoxyrhina mantelli shark tooth (ginsu - ecologically similar to the great white shark).
Fossils: shark vertebra, Fossils: shark tooth
Scapanorhynchus shark tooth and shark vertebra.
Fossils: ammonite
Part of ammonite replaced by iron pyrite.
Fossils: fish
Fish vertebra.
Fossils: fish
Fragments of fish bone.
Unidentified item
James examines mosasaur rib bone fragments found by Don.
Fossils: burrow
Distinctive burrow internal molds, probably made by ghost shrimp, were common in the gully.
Fossils: mosasaur vertebra
Mosasaur vertebra.
Bob is assisting James with wrapping of specimens so they will make it back to the museum safely.
Fossils: shark vertebra, Fossils: fish
Fish bone in lower left, broken shark vertebra in upper right.
Fossils: bone
Small bone in area filled with bone and shell fragments.
Fossils: bone
Mosasaur rib bone fragments found by Don.
Fossils: bone
Protestega (turtle) bone
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 in the gully.
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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)
The gang met on Saturday morning for a day of fossil collecting.
The "put-in" at the first creek, where Greg decided to hang out while we searched for a productive site.
As everyone has gone on ahead, Martha is last in line, and carefully climbs across the strainer.
Ta-da! Everyone made it safely through the strainer.
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.
Once arriving at the new creek location, we had to climb down an even steeper bank.
Don
Screening for shark teeth in the creek.
Screening for shark teeth.
Fossils: shark teeth
Scapanorhynchus shark teeth found by screening gravel from the creek.
Screening for shark teeth.
Screening the gravel in the creek bottom for shark and other teeth.
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.
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.
Fossils: vertebra
Mosasaur tail vertebra.
Fossils: fish vertebra, Fossils: worm tube
Echinoid or crab fragment, fish vertebra, Hamulus worm tube.
Fossils: mosasaur vertebra
Clidastes mosasaur vertebra.
Fossils: mosasaur vertebra
Clidastes mosasaur vertebra.
Fossils: shark vertebra
Several shark vertebra.
Fossils: shell
Fossil Paranomia shell.
Fossils: turtle shell
Part of a large turtle shell (toxochelid turtle plastral element).
Large broken shells of inoceramids were common in the gully.
View of our camp area.
Bob and Pam preparing dinner in camp.
James Lamb, taking questions as he completes his entry for the day in his log book.
Very large orb spider web.
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August 15, 16, 17, 2008 - Cretaceous Fossils, Dallas and Perry Counties, AL
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 1 Friday Day 2 Saturday Day 3 Sunday
DAY 1 - FRIDAY
On Friday morning, Jan, Becky and a co-worker joined James Lamb on a search for ancient bones in a set of gullies that had not been visited for a number of years. Very nice specimens of fish, shark, mosasaur, enchodus, and rudistid clam were found. To excavate shark vertebra which were scattered over a large area, an awning was erected to provide protection from the 100+ temperatures of the gully. Later that afternoon, other members of the group began showing up for the weekend campout.
That night we set up camp in a cow pasture, where we fended off curious cows and hungry fire ants that seemed to find every crack into anything. One could literally not stand still without finding several ants crawling up their boots. Beautiful spider webs and large cow patties were obstacles to dodge during the night. Then, about midnight, the rain started. A slow, gentle rain. And it continued through the night. Not good, since it would make the gully chalk as slick as oiled glass.
(photos courtesy Jan Novak and Vicki Lais)
Fossils: shark vertebra
Shark vertebra
Overview of one of the gullies surveyed on Friday.
Fossils: shark tooth
Cretolamna appendiculata shark tooth
Fossils: shark vertebra
Shark vertebra
Fossils: Rudistid clam
Rudistid clam
Fossils: shark vertebra
Large shark vertebra
Fossils: clam
Becky holding a rudistid clam.
Fossils: mosasaur vertebra
Mosasaur vertebra (fish vertebra in middle).
Fossils: fish
Enchodus fish tooth.
Fossils: shark vertebra
Shark vertebra scattered on the sides of a gully. The red flags mark the highest spot a bone has been found.
An awning was set up over the shark vertebra excavation to provide relief from the relentless glare of the sun.
Fossils: fish
Fish bones
Fossils: shark vertebra
Shark vertebra
Becky watches as James records the site and finds of the day in his logbook.
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