Fossils of Texas
A Journey
DPS Permian Quarry
On November 7th, 2009, A few DPS members hit the quarry...
We met on the main street in Texas
Adam Armstrong in the red, showing what could be found there.
Views of the quarry
Lots of good rock. Most of the fossils are in the matrix. Some were lucky enough
to find good fossils loose.
Lance ready to pounce...
This is a cephalic spine (clasper) (very rare find) One of Wayne Mandrell's finds..
Left to right
Wayne Mandrell, Mark McKinzie, and Lance Hall
Mark is co-author of the book, Pennsylvanian Fossils of North Texas.
Also co-author of Fossil Collector's Guidebook to the North Sulphur River.
Lance pointing out a very nice nautilus in very hard limestone.
A complete hybodus spine found by Mark's friend...
To the left is where the spine was found. He had been
splitting open gray shale...
Some of Lance's finds below..
Deltodus shark tooth (pics by Lance)
Schaefferichthyes fish dentition (mouth plate)
Another Deltodus...
Janassa Shark tooth ( Extinct Petalodont shark ...)
My one find which I think is pretty cool, digested Petalodus
material...
Top above
We met on the main street in Texas
Adam Armstrong in the red, showing what could be found there.
Views of the quarry
Lots of good rock. Most of the fossils are in the matrix. Some were lucky enough
to find good fossils loose.
Lance ready to pounce...
This is a cephalic spine (clasper) (very rare find) One of Wayne Mandrell's finds..
Left to right
Wayne Mandrell, Mark McKinzie, and Lance Hall
Mark is co-author of the book, Pennsylvanian Fossils of North Texas.
Also co-author of Fossil Collector's Guidebook to the North Sulphur River.
Lance pointing out a very nice nautilus in very hard limestone.
A complete hybodus spine found by Mark's friend...
To the left is where the spine was found. He had been
splitting open gray shale...
Some of Lance's finds below..
Deltodus shark tooth (pics by Lance)
Schaefferichthyes fish dentition (mouth plate)
Another Deltodus...
Janassa Shark tooth ( Extinct Petalodont shark ...)
My one find which I think is pretty cool, digested Petalodus
material...
Top above
March 7th, 2009 Trip to the Midlothian, Texas quarry... DPS
It was a good trip with maybe 20 or 25 hunters present. There were some excellent finds.
First is a pic of Willis's large tooth he found.
Next is a shark vert that Kevin found
May be a fish spine that Robert found. On the surface it was 5 inches long
Dave found a fish spine. Looks different than Robert's though
Some of Lance's catches of the day
A few things I managed to find. I took the pics at a second place we hit on the way back..
Many teeth were found, hands show most of them
A gastropod of Phyllis's
My first fish fin fossils (pic by Lance)
Also someone found a very large chunk of wood, but it was loaded away before I good get a shot. Many other fossils not
pictured....
Some of the group, minus me of course, comparing notes and fossils...
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September 27th, 2008
DPS hunt to Jacksboro, Polly leading the trip.
Lots of first time collectors on this one. Everyone
with their hand raised are first timers.
This area we were hunting is Pennsylvanian in age (300 million years ago)
(Pic by Polly)
Some of the youngest hunters, hitting the slopes.
A jaw with teeth, found by Lance.
Another hunters finds (possibly racecar vw's) (above)
Some of my finds that I liked the best (below)
The main target that I was after was the Conularids. They are the grayish-blue fossil
to the left.
It was a good trip with maybe 20 or 25 hunters present. There were some excellent finds.
First is a pic of Willis's large tooth he found.
Next is a shark vert that Kevin found
May be a fish spine that Robert found. On the surface it was 5 inches long
Dave found a fish spine. Looks different than Robert's though
Some of Lance's catches of the day
A few things I managed to find. I took the pics at a second place we hit on the way back..
Many teeth were found, hands show most of them
A gastropod of Phyllis's
My first fish fin fossils (pic by Lance)
Also someone found a very large chunk of wood, but it was loaded away before I good get a shot. Many other fossils not
pictured....
Some of the group, minus me of course, comparing notes and fossils...
__________________________________________________________________________________________________-
September 27th, 2008
DPS hunt to Jacksboro, Polly leading the trip.
Lots of first time collectors on this one. Everyone
with their hand raised are first timers.
This area we were hunting is Pennsylvanian in age (300 million years ago)
(Pic by Polly)
Some of the youngest hunters, hitting the slopes.
A jaw with teeth, found by Lance.
Another hunters finds (possibly racecar vw's) (above)
Some of my finds that I liked the best (below)
The main target that I was after was the Conularids. They are the grayish-blue fossil
to the left.
July 20th, 2008
This hunt took place in a quarry near Dallas, Hutchins.
Mammoth teeth had been found there in the past. Afraid I came
up empty-handed in that area.
A few pics of the place and some of the finds, none mine...
One of the many spots to hunt
A skull coming out of the matrix. This may have been
a few thousand years old, not a fossil but really
cool anyway.
An unknown bone and perhaps a horse or camel tooth.
Unknown bone
More bone Sure wish I could provide an ID but I
cannot
Same here
Far right is a shark tooth
A killer mammoth tooth. A worker brought it down after the hunt. It was
one of his finds in the past. I wanted one so bad but it was not meant to
be. I will find one at some point..
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Following the hunt, Lance and I took off to scout a new place. Unfortunately while it
looked like it would be screaming with fossils, it was almost completely void of them.
Only saw a few small oysters. I am including pics of the place, as I know there are
other hunters that find spots that visually look so promising....and yet....
This hunt took place in a quarry near Dallas, Hutchins.
Mammoth teeth had been found there in the past. Afraid I came
up empty-handed in that area.
A few pics of the place and some of the finds, none mine...
One of the many spots to hunt
A skull coming out of the matrix. This may have been
a few thousand years old, not a fossil but really
cool anyway.
An unknown bone and perhaps a horse or camel tooth.
Unknown bone
More bone Sure wish I could provide an ID but I
cannot
Same here
Far right is a shark tooth
A killer mammoth tooth. A worker brought it down after the hunt. It was
one of his finds in the past. I wanted one so bad but it was not meant to
be. I will find one at some point..
*******************************************************************************************************************
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Following the hunt, Lance and I took off to scout a new place. Unfortunately while it
looked like it would be screaming with fossils, it was almost completely void of them.
Only saw a few small oysters. I am including pics of the place, as I know there are
other hunters that find spots that visually look so promising....and yet....
On July 12th, 2008, quite a few members of the DPS headed out to a quarry near Lake Worth.
Echinoids (several species), clams, gastropods, bi-valves, ammonites, and other fossils were found here.
Pics of the trip and some of the fossils found there.
The gathering before we headed out to the quarry (above)
Pretty steep
Another view
Some of the fossils from there. Would have gotten more
but everyone was scattered around.
That may have been Justin's ammonite
Some nice echs. There were quite a few different species
of echs found that day. Wish I had pics of all of them.
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Part 2 of the trip. This was a construction site and very fossil rich.
A beautiful echinoid, Tetragramma. Several hunters found theses including
Lance and Brian
Another one...
One of Roger Fry's finds. Think it maybe the cross section
of a gastropod.
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On Saturday, March 22nd, the DPS headed for Denton. We hunted in a dug out area where construction was taking place.
I put my best finds in an open area of my backpack, where they they fell out. I lost my high-topped echinoid and a nautoloid
with pyrite. I found a few other things which I can show. Unfortunately, I didn't get pics of my 2 favorites before I lost them...
Starting out the day
Pic by Lance
This is what the area looked like...
Another hunting area along the side of the pit. There were actually 2 pits, one full of kingena wacoensis.
Pic by Lance
Pic by Lance
A pecten I found
More fossils
Some of Lance's finds below..
Pics by Lance
All in all, a good day!
Getting ready to see what everyone found
I put my best finds in an open area of my backpack, where they they fell out. I lost my high-topped echinoid and a nautoloid
with pyrite. I found a few other things which I can show. Unfortunately, I didn't get pics of my 2 favorites before I lost them...
Starting out the day
Pic by Lance
This is what the area looked like...
Another hunting area along the side of the pit. There were actually 2 pits, one full of kingena wacoensis.
Pic by Lance
Pic by Lance
A pecten I found
More fossils
Some of Lance's finds below..
Pics by Lance
All in all, a good day!
Getting ready to see what everyone found
January 12th, 2008 DPS headed to Texoma. We hunted along the lake and then near the dam.
Unfortunately my camera didn't cooperate, so all pics are by Lance...a big thanks or I would have nothing
for this hunt
A formation near where we hunted.
Some of the cool fossils found by the hunters that trip..
Some of the hunters comparing notes
January 5th, 2008
We met in the town square in Ladonia, Tx. We then split in two groups entering the river at different points.
We entered at Hwy 34 entrance. I am going to link to Lance's site and he took a lot of great pictures of
the hunters and fossil finds. http://www.geocities.com/lancelhall/fossils/01-05-2008.htm
Lance searching on the banks
Below is a pic of this young hunter with a tooth
he found. No, it's not a fossil but very cool just
the same.
Me below (pic by Lance), hoping to find bone.
This is my first find of part of a mammoth tooth. Although
I hope to find an intact tooth was pretty excited to find any
mammoth material at all. It is what was between the ridges of
a mammoth tooth.
Flip side I understand that a lot of mammoth material has the same texture
and coloring.
Possible fragment of an unerupted Equus horse cheek-tooth. The protocone and the "lophs" are uncemented in the first few millimeters of an unworn tooth, and they easily shear away.
This is a view of the flip side
I also found a tooth, baculite pieces, and a
red zone ammonite section. Also possible rudists but need
to get an ID before I post.
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November 11th, 2007 Jacksboro, Texas
DPS members headed to Jacksboro, led by Polly.
A group shot in front of the courthouse. More hunters were present but not pictured.
They wanna get to the fossils and what energy :-) I believe that is a fossil wand he is holding.
Part of a trilobite that I found and other fossil finds.
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Mineral Wells, Possum Kingdom, and Graham Area Site
October 13th, DPS members met at the McDonald's to caravan to the Mineral Wells site, led by Brian.
Part of the group heading in
A beautiful trilobite found by Karen.
(pic by Lance)
An excellent crinoid... I am afraid I don't know the finder (pic by Lance)
Sections of a large crinoid found by Andy. There were other sections there also
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Next Lance led the DPS to sites he shared with the group. This is an area near Possum Kingdom.
I love that name!
Some really nice fossils were found at this site. (pic by Lance) Kids had buckets full of fossils.
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The last site of the day was outside of Graham where Lance led us; private property that he was able to get permission for the group hunt
That is the north side of the road. The other area where some of us were hunting was on the south.
Crinoid plates and spines, gastropods, and numerous other fossils were found here. (pic by Lance)
This is a rock that had fossils inside. Has been identified as the tabulate coral, Cladochonus texasensis.
More fossils that I found there.
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DPS trip to TXI Quarry
Unfortunately my camera didn't cooperate, so all pics are by Lance...a big thanks or I would have nothing
for this hunt
A formation near where we hunted.
Some of the cool fossils found by the hunters that trip..
Some of the hunters comparing notes
January 5th, 2008
We met in the town square in Ladonia, Tx. We then split in two groups entering the river at different points.
We entered at Hwy 34 entrance. I am going to link to Lance's site and he took a lot of great pictures of
the hunters and fossil finds. http://www.geocities.com/lancelhall/fossils/01-05-2008.htm
Lance searching on the banks
Below is a pic of this young hunter with a tooth
he found. No, it's not a fossil but very cool just
the same.
Me below (pic by Lance), hoping to find bone.
This is my first find of part of a mammoth tooth. Although
I hope to find an intact tooth was pretty excited to find any
mammoth material at all. It is what was between the ridges of
a mammoth tooth.
Flip side I understand that a lot of mammoth material has the same texture
and coloring.
Possible fragment of an unerupted Equus horse cheek-tooth. The protocone and the "lophs" are uncemented in the first few millimeters of an unworn tooth, and they easily shear away.
This is a view of the flip side
I also found a tooth, baculite pieces, and a
red zone ammonite section. Also possible rudists but need
to get an ID before I post.
*******************************************************************************************************************
*******************************************************************************************************************
November 11th, 2007 Jacksboro, Texas
DPS members headed to Jacksboro, led by Polly.
A group shot in front of the courthouse. More hunters were present but not pictured.
They wanna get to the fossils and what energy :-) I believe that is a fossil wand he is holding.
Part of a trilobite that I found and other fossil finds.
****************************************************************************************
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Mineral Wells, Possum Kingdom, and Graham Area Site
October 13th, DPS members met at the McDonald's to caravan to the Mineral Wells site, led by Brian.
Part of the group heading in
A beautiful trilobite found by Karen.(pic by Lance)
An excellent crinoid... I am afraid I don't know the finder (pic by Lance)
Sections of a large crinoid found by Andy. There were other sections there also
*****************************************************************************************************
Next Lance led the DPS to sites he shared with the group. This is an area near Possum Kingdom.
I love that name!
Some really nice fossils were found at this site. (pic by Lance) Kids had buckets full of fossils.
*****************************************************************************************************
The last site of the day was outside of Graham where Lance led us; private property that he was able to get permission for the group hunt
That is the north side of the road. The other area where some of us were hunting was on the south.
Crinoid plates and spines, gastropods, and numerous other fossils were found here. (pic by Lance)
This is a rock that had fossils inside. Has been identified as the tabulate coral, Cladochonus texasensis.
More fossils that I found there.
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DPS trip to TXI Quarry
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**************************************************************************************On October 6th, 2007, members of the DPS headed to TXI (quarry), near Midlothian, Texas. We were all in good company. :-) Below are pictures of the largest shark vert that I have ever found. It was really a fun trip.
Some of my other finds there.
Bill Johnson's finds for the day. Lots of great teeth and a nice vert.
Above, Don Everroad's finds for the day.
Some of Lance's finds. (below)
Note the largest vert. I think that is a mosasaur (reptile)
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**************************************************************************************On October 6th, 2007, members of the DPS headed to TXI (quarry), near Midlothian, Texas. We were all in good company. :-) Below are pictures of the largest shark vert that I have ever found. It was really a fun trip.
Some of my other finds there.
Bill Johnson's finds for the day. Lots of great teeth and a nice vert.
Above, Don Everroad's finds for the day.
Some of Lance's finds. (below)
Note the largest vert. I think that is a mosasaur (reptile)
Wilson's Clay Pit (06-09-07)
Wilson's Clay pit is a huge area with the fossils being from the Harpersville Formation and all Permian in age. Located in Coleman County, TX.
Don and Lance heading in the pit ( above ).
Brian checking out a spot.
Spine attachment (crinoid)
Petalodus Shark Teeth (above)
Commomly called "rice fossils"
Some of Lance's finds at the pit (below). First pic is teeth in situ. Teeth found at 11:10.. _:-)
Petalodus Teeth