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Field Collecting
September 2009 Dinosaur Collecting
Our Fall 2009 collecting trip into the Hell Creek Formation was a great success for us as we add bone specimens to our collection for our eventual reconstruction of the late Cretaceous duckbilled dinosaur Edmontosaurus. Hand, arm, and foot bones, along with some juvenile pelvis bones were some of the finds this year. Rooted duckbilled teeth, along with some dromaeosaur and other carnivore teeth were found.
A radius (lower arm bone) dug on the last day showed a severe pathology (abnormality) in the form of a large bump.
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| Metatarsal (Foot Bone) & Radius with Pathology | Humerus (Upper Arm Bone) | Rib | Ischium (Pelvis) | Metacarpal (Hand Bone) |
September
2008 Field Collecting in
The Hell Creek of South Dakota
Another exciting trip into the
Hell Creek Formation in the Badlands of South Dakota brought
many new finds to add to our growing collection of late
Cretaceous fossils. Our September 2008 trip was our
13th year of collecting at this site. As always, it was filled with many surprises.
New bones were unearthed to add to our
future skeletal reconstruction of the dinosaur Edmontosaurus.
This year's
additions to our duckbilled dinosaur skeleton include many
beautiful bones. Among these were eight vertebra , 3 metatarsals
(foot bones), a foot and a hand ungual (hoof), 2 carpals (hand
bones), a clavical (breast bone), an astragalus, various skull parts and more. Many of these bones
belong to the Cretaceous dinosaur Edmontosaurus annectens that
lived at the end of the era of dinosaurs over 65 million years
ago. This giant of the Cretaceous period could grow to a length
of 44 feet and weigh several tons. It lived in large herds and
was probably a major source of food
for
the tyrannosaurus rex.
Cretaceous pinecones and leaves were some of the associated
flora recovered, and even some beautifully handcrafted points
and arrowheads created by skilled early Native American
craftsmen were found.
Of
course these artifacts were created 65 million years after
dinosaurs became extinct.
Still to be identified fossils, along with other flora and fauna always add to the excitement of the trip and help us put together a glimpse of life during the Cretaceous. Included in this years finds were crocodile, champsosaur and thescalosaur bones, a complete dromaeosaur toe bone, a troodon and another carnivore "D " tooth, a new type of plant seed, and various yet to be determined microfossils. A beautiful unidentified leaf from the site in rock that may have weathered from the Paleocene was a great bonus to this years finds.
August 2007 North Carolina Trip
I experienced first hand the extreme heat and drought situation
the south has been
experiencing while collecting in North Carolina. The quarry
temperature registered 112 degrees F., making
collecting
a challenge. We collected marine fossils from Miocene quarries,
as well as
Pleistocene and Cretaceous shark's teeth from Greenville.
Miocene echinoids, along with Cretaceous mollusks and sharks
teeth were collected near Wilmington. The large complete
megalodon teeth eluded me this trip, but the other fossils were
plentiful. A return visit to
the beautiful North Carolina Fossil Museum in Aurora is always a
treat. Strolling through their collection reminds me of the
fossils that "got away" from me.