Anyone collect/hunt fossils?

reply to post by Raist


Very good. I like to see people who are not afraid to sweat for their line of work. Is it a hobby or do you work as an actual paleontologist? Just curious, you don't have to answer if you don't want.

reply to post by SHolmes


This is purely hobby. I do factory work to make money and this to relax. I get to be out in nature and enjoy life in a very simple form. I cannot express the joy I feel from witnessing nature in this way.

I would never think of selling my fossils, though I did put together a starter fossil kit for my son's kindergarten class last year. Some of those were donated by other collectors across the country, some I bought, and others I found myself. I am simply out to find some cool fossils and learn something. There are people who make it into a business I guess but that would ruin the joy I get from it for me.

I have named my car Fossil 1. I explain it like this. The Ghost Busters had Ecto 1, NASA had Apollo 1, and the president has Air Force 1. My license plates are FSSL 1. I chose the car specifically for my hobby even though it is my daily driven car. It is a 2004 Subaru Outback. Plenty of room for my gear to stay in the back and still take it to the store to get food, plus AWD to get me through the terrain I chose to take it through.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


I wish that I could have fun like you do.

reply to post by SHolmes


Anyone can do it really. I am not smarter than the average person by any means, nor am I really any richer. You just go out and look for rocks that have some sort of pattern to them. The cost of tools can be fairly cheap depending on how much you want to do. Starting off though I just used a masons hammer I picked up at the hardware store (still use it actually). You can pick up a Dremel engraver to do some prep for around $20 there also.

I cannot afford a really nice air abrasion cabinet so I am building my own (it is a min sandblaster to do detailed prep work). A good place to go for ideas on equipment and places to look can be found on The Fossil Forum.
www.thefossilforum.com...

They are more than willing to help newbies there. You might get lucky and find someone near you to help you as well. That is how I have managed to learn as much as I have. I picked up with some local people and have followed their teaching.

On occasion my son or wife join me. Mostly on the times where it is less walking or danger involved. I guess I should mention that at times you have dangers of falling, rock falls, and such. If you are not careful you could fall into a river and drown or get hit by a train. Also some adventures take you to areas out of the way that might have people doing things that they would kill to protect such as fields of product or mobile meth labs, for these reasons I carry a pistol. It might not save my life but it does give me a fighting chance if I need it.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


Thanks! I will look into it. thanks for the help. When I was a little kid, I loved Dinosaurs and anything else paleontologically related.

reply to post by SHolmes


No problem. My over all costs at the start where less than $100 total for hammer, chisels, safety glasses, and the Dremel. Of course now I have spent more, but to get started does not cost much at all. The best part is you get exercise, education, and you get to spend time in nature as well as meet new and interesting people.

Raist

I have a few fossils I've collected over the years.
Most are packed away from the last time we moved.
But here is one that I kept out of the packing boxes.

I think it's from a shale deposit from a West Virginia coal mine. I found it out of context, in a load of material that was dumped to be used as filler. I saw a bunch of flat stones in the pile, so I started picking through them, just in case. And I found this!


I wet it down a little to bring out the darker parts that made up the actual fossil. The full image is twice life-sized.

reply to post by spacedoubt


Wow what a beauty. Have you tried to figure out what it is?

I assume it if a small part of a fern tree myself. But since I do not get to collect plant stuff myself that is just a guess at best.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


I really don't know. It reminds me of conifer needles. I wish I knew where in West Virginia it originated.
That might help with identification.
I should spend some time figuring that out, rather than just admiring it.

reply to post by spacedoubt


You could try posting it on www.thefossilforum.com... in the ID section. There are people on there that do that stuff for a living and might be able to help you get a general idea of where it came from and what it might be. They are really helpful at IDing that sort of thing there.


I would certainly be admiring it though a lot.

Now that you mention it, it does sort of remind me of a Norfolk Island Pine. Though I doubt that is what it is

Raist

reply to post by Raist


I was on that site last night! I haven't posted it there yet. But I feel a little guilty having it for about 8 years without ever identifying it. So far, I am leaning towards a "lepidodendron" of some kind.
Here is a photo from a google search "carboniferous plants"



It's similar, I don't have an example of the end branch. But some were called Scale trees, and the branch portion of mine looks a little scaly. And the leave do look a bit like needles on this one too. Maybe I'll finally have a name for it..Thanks to you creating this thread.


This one is another look, species?
Lepidodendron lycopodioides



maybe?

reply to post by spacedoubt


Yeah fern tree and scale tree are other names used like horn coral is often used for rogusa coral.

You make a good point with your guess it does look very close. I know there are a few on there that really know their plants, one of which has some awesome examples of the tree.

Do not feel guilty about the length of time you have had it, plenty come with fossils they have had for many years. I had several from my childhood that got IDed last year there.


Raist

I collect brachiopod, bivalve and coral fossils, mostly because they are fairly abundant here in our limestone karst. Whenever a new road is being smashed into the rock, I try to be there to look for goodies before they are ground into dust. Some of the brachiopods are larger than my fist, and are fairly well detailed. I spend a fair amount of time, picking and cleaning them -- for no reason discernible to anyone around me.

Perhaps someday I'll make a grand display case that nobody will look at. The local museum is NOT interested. The museum is ONLY for human relics.

reply to post by argentus


Wow, brachiopods the size of a hand. That would be awesome. I would love to see some of them. I have a few brachiopods that need to be prepped, but they are no where near that size. My biggest will likely be closer to 40mm at the widest point. I do have some bigger coral pieces though.

Raist

reply to post by Raist


I LOVE dinosaurs and fossil hunting! Ever since I was a little girl, my dad would take my sister and I out to Drumheller, into the badlands, and we would spend the afternoon rummaging around in the rocks.
We mostly find shells, coral, petrified wood, and chucks of broken bone.
The coolest things I'v ever found was a joint, like the end of an elbow or knee *I have no idea from what!* a bit bigger then my fist, and a tooth. the tooth was smaller then my pinky finger, black and had serrated edges. Not a shark tooth, but a small land carnivore.. I wish I had pics. The tooth was lost years ago. My dad and I still talk about it.

over twenty years later, I still like to take a few of my friends out there with me.

I love fossils so much I have an ammonite tattooed on my right foot, and the sedimentary layers around my ankle.

reply to post by SalientSkivvy


I wish I could find some of that stuff.

Most of the stuff you find in this area are shells and such also but occasionally you find a trilobite as well.

Raist