Fun at the Run....
First, I need to give a special thanks to Daryl for his assistance in identifying / verifying my finds at the Green Mill Run (GMR). This is my first trip posting.
I moved to High Point, North Carolina over a year ago in addition to taking up this hobby (fossil collection) again. My five year old daughter was interested in my small crinoid, shell (brachipods / gastropod) and rock collection from my youth. Her curiosity re-sparked my interest and while Googling North Carolina Fossils I came across Daryl’s website.
http://www.ecphora.net/mgs/gmr.htm
I was in the GMR region (work related) last January, February and this August. So I decided to swing by and give this screening thing a try by the 10th Street tunnel area before driving back home (followed Daryl’s picture tour of the creek on his website). I discovered this can be a very addictive hobby. Just one more shovel load / slot machine pull. Once the back / bank is depleted, it’s time to go.
Half the fun is finding the fossils and the other is identification. Found one “rock” that I almost threw back in the creek. Looked at it more closely and decided it might be worth keeping. This was later identified by Daryl as an epiphysis (most likely a porpoise). He further informed me this fossil is commonly referred as a “cookie” due to its size, shape and color.
The following photos are compilations of the three trips. Belemnites were actually the first fossils I found. One was deformed and I almost discarded it because it didn’t look like that “normal” specimens shown throughout the BRF website (glad I kept it). I believe the GMR belemnites are the coolest…..very awesome orange patina.
Found a ton of belemnites, pycodont teeth, one saw fish tooth (Ischyriza mira), various Crow Shark (Squalicorax pristidontis), an upper and lower Great White (Carcharodon carcharias), various sting ray teeth, a fish skull, a mososaur tooth (Mosasaurus conodon), various bone material, two dermal chutes, a claw core (not for sure), and enough unidentified teeth to keep me busy researching for a while. I gave my daughter the “frags” for her “collection” which she graciously accepted.
I am still in the process of learning how to identify the various shark teeth and fossils in general. Any help on species identification / fossil verification on the epiphysis, sting ray teeth, dermal chutes, claw core and the fish skull will be appreciated.
I’m located about 3½ hours away from GMR. Anyone in the area who would like to make the trek, please shoot me an e-mail. I would love some fossil hunting camaraderie. Does anyone know any other public fossils sites closer / within that driving range?
Have a fruitful and safe hunt….
Thanks again Daryl…
brachiomyback