It had been three weeks since the last fossil hunt with my hunting buddies. This hunt was scheduled for last week and had to be postponed because of wet terrain. On this day it turned out to be a gorgeous one with sunshine, blue skies and a breeze. The temperature was low with little humidity which made it an almost perfect day to hunt! It was a long drive solo through the countryside to our destination but worth the scenery... I just love the countryside of life. Talking bout out in the middle of nowhere, this site amongst millions of acres of farmland.
We had the group talk and all head toward the site on foot. It was a long walk through a cow pasture with tall grasses, and traipsing through it worked up aromas you can only smell in the country. When we got to the chalk gullies that were shrouded by a clump of old cedar trees, there it was before your eyes. A surreal moonscape with trees scattered about, or a beach scene with dunes from a distance.
Upon arrival, I take my first step into the gully and what do I find! A partial fish jaw with teeth from what is called a Saurodon? Everyone who attended was still making their way into the gully, so I had to mark the position of the fossil until the head Paleontologist could get a look at it. He saw it, picked it up, and it was in two pieces but can be put together if glued properly. He said I could take it with me and I was surprised! Evidently the museum had many of these in their collection, and now it's in mine. I was told that this site was last visited before Covid-19 Pandemic, that makes it about 2-years and ripe for the picking because there was enough time for rain to cause a lot of erosion exposing fossils everywhere and that site didn't disappoint! Everyone who attended found fossils!
I had a productive day to say the least. On this site I found more vertebrae fossils than I ever have at any chalk gully! Here are a few small Mosasaur vertebrae pictured above, and below in situ.
Here on site, rains do a good job of exposing the fossils making them found easily. It is always my goal when I'm in a chalk gully is hunt the washouts. That is where most of these fossils are gathered, and are at your fingertips.
In this picture is Fish and Shark Vertebrae. Unfortunately these were scattered about in the washes usually one and not all. In the group of pictures below, this is how they were found in each setting.
I will try and take a stab and identify them? Pic#1: Enchodus, Pic#2&3: Shark, Pic#4: Fish? These fossils were fun to find and glad to add those to my collection!
What is hunting in chalk gullies and not finding a shark tooth as well as fish teeth? I did find my share and glad to come out of there with some to add to the collection. I just love the color of these because they are a far different color from the ones coming out of a creek. Those are usually black in color because of the absorption of the tannins from the creek. On the other hand, these teeth found in the gully are bleached by the sun and the color is definitely lighter in color. They are just a pleasant color overall. Below are the those teeth found in situ.
Pic#1: Scapanorynchnus (Goblin Shark), Pic#2: Cretalamna (very worn and weathered), Pic#3: Sawfish Rostral Tooth, Pic#4: Enchodus Fang
Pictured above is and Enchodus Palatine Jaw fragments. I usually find one side and not the other. Both of these are from the same skull and found several inches apart.
I found the fang several feet from these and decided to put the tooth where it would be, but this one isn't long enough but gives you and idea of what it looked like? Had the teeth been intact they would've measured approximately 2-3 inches! That's a big fish!
Lastly, I found several fossilized bone pieces that belonged to some marine animal? More than likely a Mosasaur, Turtle or Fish. Only an expert would know. They are welcomed additions to my collection either way.
Last but not least is the utter beauty of the site, it's just not that dull gray chalk and the scattering of trees on site. It's the presence of wildlife, flowers, and insects of all sorts of varieties present too! Here are a few pictures of what I saw and experienced other than finding fossils.
What treasure these chalk gullies hold. Never in my wildest dreams would I ever see and be experiencing one until I joined a wonderful group of people who share the same love of history, discovery, nature and hunting fossils!
The funniest thing while on site are there a multitude of track ways present from Coyotes, Bobcats, Raccoons, Possums, Squirrels, Rabbits, and all sorts of birds, especially turkeys. Here is a picture of turkey tracks that I swear look like a dinosaur theropod tracks! Turkey's are obviously descendants of dinosaurs, but you couldn't help to imagine that a raptor was running around on the site! What a great and productive day. I look forward to the next visit sometime down the road.
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