Fossils

[outbackstorm]

In March this year I had a pair of older fossil hunters notice my display of local fossils in my office front window. They came in with much enthusiasm and asked all sorts of questions about the specimens that I had. They were looking for access to find their own so I put them onto a couple of spots that I knew. They came back in the next day to show me what they had found. They hadn't found any petrified wood so I gave them some pieces that I had multiples of.

I was in the office earlier this week and the same people popped in. They were doing another trip and they brought me a box of goodies to thank me for the petrified wood I had given them.

Just thought I would share with you what they gave me, unfortunately I don't have locations for all the specimens but still I was wrapped as I never thought I would run into them again!

And this last one is a Dicroidium species

 

[jack]

i like the leptophloem fossils from barraba, they look like reptile skin and are easily found in the river

 

[outbackstorm]

Thanks Jack, in my geology excursions at Uni we unearthed a large section of clubmoss bark in a creek bank near Lake Keepit, Gunnedah, unfortunately it was in very fragile shale and there is no way of getting it out intact or preserving it for other viewers, the cattle and the elements would have destroyed it by now.

 

[jack]

most of it shatters or flakes away, but i have some good bits around 100mm across. there are trilobites in the river at barraba too, but i never found one.

 

[outbackstorm]

That a good bit you have at 100mm across! The bit I saw in the creek bed would have been 60cm long and about 30cm across, really amazing but never could have moved it!
The people that collected these were telling me about the trilobites there, they have found them! Lucky buggers!

 

[SteveNT]

Nice one, just goes to show, what you give is what you get!

Here's a link to some fossils I put up last year.

Dinosaurs from Darwin

 

[outbackstorm]

Thanks Steve, I was really touched when they came back with a box of stuff they had collected just for me. I never thought I would see them again.

That is a great thread you have there too. Very interesting. It amazes me the sort of stuff that is out there and it is mind boggling to try to comprehend the periods of time we are talking. I do a lot of talks with kids for work. When I am doing the fossil one, I always ask them to guess how old it is before I tell them, I chuckle when they say 2000 years old lol, they can't get their head around the banded iron formation from the Kimberly at 3.6 billion!

 

[longqi]

Used to catch crayfish in Chatham Is east of NZ
Would walk the beaches and pick up megaladon teeth
Mornington penisular has mako teeth in clay deposits too near the heads
New Caledonia has loads of megs but in poor condition

 

[BhpomgGtpfmd]

Can you get fossil fish?

 

[jack]

fossil fish can be found in a few spots. it would be easier to purchase a wyoming green river specimen.

 

[BhpomgGtpfmd]

I have heaps of those but I want the Aussie ones.

 

[Shotta]

That is pretty cool cooly cool
thanks for sharing fossils are neat post some more piccies

 

[jack]

the clearest complete aussie fish are from talbragar, but the site is smashed to pieces from years of collecting and controlled by NPWS now.

 

[BhpomgGtpfmd]

Yeah I have one with the woolami? Pine leaves in it, like a mud pool in looks with about 6 fish. That's what I wanted more of. Have some from china and am getting a fossil reptile soon too, to add to the collection. And shrimp from Lebanon....

 

[outbackstorm]

The Talbragar Fossil Fish Beds are only just up the road from my place. I too have heard that they are under the control of NPWS though I have two local blokes that have offered to take me there (I have not taken them up on the offer yet, just to look of course), they both tell me that it is totally unfenced and cows just walk through it. I will have to investigate further and report back. Will try to post some more leaf fossils tomorrow.

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

fossils are rad,when i mention that there interesting i get told i am being a nerd

 

[SteveNT]

Fossils are brilliant windows into the past, without them we would have no idea of all the incredible creatures here before us.

Not much beats finding a speccy fossil. (ask my missus )

 

[outbackstorm]

As promised, a few more fossils from the office.

Glossopteris fossils:

Another leaf fossil: (I will have to check ID when I get home, need a reference book that is not in the office)

Fish fossil:

Fragments of clubmoss bark from near Lake Keepit, Gunnedah:

Also from that same area I found this Tertiary/Quaternary concretion, I initially thought the flat piece on the left was Megafauna Bone but this still remains unconfirmed. The parts on the right do contain worm burrows: (its a pretty crappy photo, will try to get a better one, am just using my iphone so they upload quicker)

and a piece of petrified wood:

 

[SteveNT]

Noice!
What is the blue colour on the fish fossil?

The one 2 below it does look like bone material but I have found mineralisation that looks like it too.

Re the Glossopteris fossils, in the early 70s I did some fossil hunting for the SA Museum and they sent me to "Vegetable Creek" up near the Flinders Ranges (SA). It is shifting sand dune country and pot luck as to wether the fossil site was exposed. We were lucky and several hundred square meters of fossilised plant material was exposed. Got a lot of excellent specimens most of which went to the museum and I have no idea where my personal specimens have gone after multiple moves.

 

[jack]

The Talbragar Fossil Fish Beds are only just up the road from my place. I too have heard that they are under the control of NPWS though I have two local blokes that have offered to take me there (I have not taken them up on the offer yet, just to look of course), they both tell me that it is totally unfenced and cows just walk through it. I will have to investigate further and report back. Will try to post some more leaf fossils tomorrow.

cows do utilise the area, as do palaeos, in fact a few chinese professors will be there in about a week looking for insect fossils.