Chuck Ferrara
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Attending NE/NC GSA pittsburgh. sitting in on a glacier session and and an oil shale session.
Very interesting!
Everyone’s presentations went smoothly. Glad to be representing SFFS!
Hello Bruce @bmacfadden –
Leaving tomorrow, heading to Aurora to volunteer. Can’t wait to get back into Belgrade to look for any fossils – but especially mammal material!
See you soon!
Bruce @bmacfadden –
I forgot you were going up to visit the Smithsonian to look at the fossils from Belgrade. Yes, I’m still interested – the fame hasn’t gone to my head! Can’t wait to get back there to look, but it seems not a lot to go by from your post. We’ll just keep looking.
Hi Bruce,
I hope Aldo did well – he is one of our scholarship recipients. That is great news about the peccary! When I found my Equus horse tooth in 2007 was when I acquired Lauck Ward’s paper describing the geology of the Belgrade area (it helped me to better understand the geology). As per our conversation about understanding where and how some small amount of mammal fossils got into a marine environment, you explained this is not unusual – that fossils get moved over time and displaced. Too bad we can’t find a larger amount than the few specimens; that would really help. Can’t wait to get back there – I will see you in Dallas and we can talk some more. Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Bruce @bmacfadden –
There are discrepancies in the geology and descriptions in the documents I have in my library that I have found. The most consistent is Geological Survey Bulletin 1457-f (1978) by Lauck W. Ward, “Stratigraphic revision of the Middle Eocene, Oligocene, and Lower Miocene – Atlantic Coastal Plain of North Carolina.” Check this out – and I’ll bring a copy to Dallas. It is consistent with what we have been finding (check out page 10).
Here’s a link to the PDF: report
Chuck
Victor @vperez
I think that’s a great idea! I was just up there in Gainesville on Sept 19 and Roger Portell was showing me how they are making room for new cabinets (I was asking all kinds of questions). The only specimens to be kept there will be identified or cataloged; the others that have not been will be kept at another location and they will bring a little at a time to work on. So, I think a “what happens after you donate a specimen” and go through the process step-by-step is a great start. Another could be the process of prepping a specimen which is heavily scaled. Then micro-fossils. And show how to label a specimen since not everyone does it the same. There is a lot of info on those labels explaining the process of labeling. You must be helping Roger make room for new cabinets and got the idea… haha. Count me in when you ID shark teeth. I would definitely love to do more behind the scenes and help out!
Bruce @bmacfadden –
I feel that the Equus horse tooth and Victor’s (@vperez) peccary astragalus came from a Pliocene layer — the Duplin formation, and possibly the Belgrade formation (late Miocene). Due to the close proximity to the Neuse River and the Atlantic coast, this area was under water. If the sea level fell low enough during the Miocene, this may have been a saltwater marsh which would not be a conducive environment for many mammals to live in. This will be a tough rock to crack as the geology suggests that this area was underwater. I will ask members who have collected in the past – that’s why I always go to that hill on the left when we drive in and look at those old wall edges to see if anything is coming out of the new exposure in the upper layers. I like my verts as well as shark teeth. Lee (@lcone) definitely will have some members to ask too – we’ll just keep working at it!
-ChuckPeccary… there’s usually a ridge on the right side – it’s been broken away. You can see the marrow and smooth surface on the rest. Deer bone does not have the ridge, so I’m going with peccary. That’s my story, I’m sticking to it!
That is a fantastic find! I’m leaning toward peccary; it’s not deer – it would be more uniform in shape. I would love a pic of the other side too. It would be great if we could find a pocket of mammal specimens… have to keep looking…
Hello Eleanor and Bruce,
As you know, I have collected at Belgrade for 12 plus years – always around the fossil festival time, sometimes twice in one week, spending the whole day there! I’ll ask “when do you want us out?” and the guide says you can stay as long as you want, so we end up spending from 9 to 3 collecting. The Equus horse tooth is the only HINT of vertebrate fossil I have ever seen, I know they are very rare!!! I will check all rikers which I have dated for each fossil adventure with what was collected. Now, that being said, I do have many shark teeth from Belgrade that I have collected that Ronny and Victor my be interested in.
-Chuck Ferrara, SFFS Southwest Florida Fossil Society
