HORN CORAL HEAVEN
The Dry Dredgers had a slightly cool, overcast Autumn day for fossil collecting on a US highway in Ohio. It had rained earlier that morning, so the fossils were still partially wet. This site is one that was hand chosen by Bill Heimbrock, for yielding exceptional quantities of Horn Coral. The site exposed the top of the Liberty Formation and the bottom of the Lower Whitewater. Uncommon and rare fossils are more common on this site and it was hoped that, in addition to finding buckets and buckets of Horn Coral, some real collectors items would turn up. We were not disappointed on either count.
The turnout of about 20 people was fairly decent for a field trip. Afterwards, many of us continued on to another road cut just down the road a little, where the same layers were exposed.
Here are a few shots of us collecting on the first site.
Bill Heimbrock told everyone to bring a bucket because you'll
need it for all the horn coral. As you can tell in these photos, it was taken to
heart.
In the Dry Dredgers, we have an ongoing debate as to what to use to hold your fossil finds. Most say they prefer cloth sacks, including tube socks. Besides the fact that they are washable, if you drop them, you don't loose your specimens all over the hillside. It is warned that buckets tend to tip over on these road side inclines. And sure enough, we did have at least one tip over and loss of fossils. A small price to pay, though, for being able to rapidly collect these horn coral hand-over-fist. (report by Bill Heimbrock, bucket advocate)
Here's one of the many smart tube sock users.
Fossils Found at the First Site
BEST FIND OF THE YEAR!
The best fossil find of the year was found that day by Kay Bonar. She found a beautifully preserved and extremely rare "weird" Echinoderm Cyclocystoid. The genera appears to be Apycnodiscus decussatum. Congratulations Kay! Not many Dry Dredgers find one of these in their lifetimes. (Next 5 shots)
Next Page: Fossils Found at First Site
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Page 1: First Site Collecting
and Best Find of the Year
Page 2: Fossils Found at First Site: Corals
Page 3: Fossils Found at First Site: Crinoids and Clams
Page 4: Fossils Found at First Site: Cephalopods, Trace Fossils and Bryozoans
Page 5: Fossils Found at First Site: Brachiopods
Page 6: Fossils Found at First Site: Snails
Page 7: The Second Site and Fossils Found There
See also Greg Courtney's video of the trip on YouTube.com
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