| Stone City, Texas - Eocene Beach Deposit |
| The "Whiskey Bridge" locality near the town of Stone City, TX is one of Texas' most well-known Eocene fossil localities. |
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Topographic map of the "Whiskey Bridge" locality. |
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Aerial photograph of the locality. |
| Pelecypods ("Clams") |
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Anomia sp. Scale is in mm. |
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Barbatia uxorispalmeri Scale is in mm. |
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Notocorbula texana - (Interior view) Scale is in mm. |
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Notocorbula texana - (Exterior view) Note drill hole on the umbo, most likely the result of predation by one of the many predatory gastropods found here. Scale is in mm. |
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Left valve of Venericardia rotunda - (Exterior view). Scale is in mm |
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Left valve of Venericardia rotunda - (Posterior view). This specimen also has a drill hole, seen just under the umboScale is in mm |
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Left valve of Venericardia rotunda - (Interior view). Scale is in mm. Fossils of this species for sale will be nearly the same size as this one pictured here, and will be cleaned before shipment. |
| Bryozoans ("Moss Animals") |
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Unknown Bryozoan |
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Soon-to-be-identified bryozoan, fairly common, but very fragile. |
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| Cnidaria ("Corals") |
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Balanophyllia desmophylum (Side view). Scale is in mm. Balanophyllia is the larger of the two most commonly found corals at this locality. |
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Balanophyllia desmophylum (Calcial view). Scale is in mm. |
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Multiple Turbinolia phaerta specimens - (Side view) This image shows the average size for this species. Scale is in mm. |
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Turbinolia phaerta - (Side view) I love taphonomy (fossils that tell a story)! This appears to be a Turbinolia growing on a juvenile high-spired gastropod. I would imagine that places for corals to grow in this environment were rare and evolution favored those corals that could attach to pretty much anything. Scale is in mm. |
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A lot of Turbinolia in a jar. |
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Angled calcial view of the Oculinid coral Archohelia limonensis. Thanks go to Charles Moore for the identification! |
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Another view of my Archohelia collection. |
| Gastropods ("Snails") |
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Apertural view of Ancilla staminea. |
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Bottom and apical views of Architectonica scrobiculata. |
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Apertural view of Athleta lisbonensis. |
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Apertural view of a more complete Athleta lisbonensis showing ridges inside the aperture. |
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Side and apertural views of Athleta petrosus. |
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Apertural view of Awateria retifera. |
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Apertural view of the same specimen as above after a thorough brushing with store-bought 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. When using Hydrogen Peroxide to wash fossils, make sure to wear plastic gloves, prolonged exposure will damage your skin . . . and it stings something fierce. |
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Finally, a new gastropod I've never collected, several Trigonostoma panones even though it's itty bitty! |
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Apertural view of Bolis enterogramma. |
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Apertural view of Cochlespiropsis engonata. |
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Apertural view of Conus sauridens. A fairly rare and well-preserved gastropod. |
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Apical view Conus sauridens, same specimen as above. |
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Apertural view of Conus sauridens. Many, but not all, modern Conus gastropods are extremely poisonous to humans. Notice the algal borings on the side of this gastropod. |
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Apical view of Conus sauridens, same specimen as above. If you'll notice this specimen is lighter on the underside, and dark on top. This dark coloration coincides with the algal borings as seen in the previous image. This is most likely an indication of the orientation of this animal to the sea floor. |
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One of the most bio-eroded Conus I've ever collected from this locality! |
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Apertural view of Hesperiturris nodocarinatus. |
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Apertural view of Latirus moorei. |
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Apertural view of Latirus sp. Not an uncommon gastropod, but hard to find with the siphon intact. |
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Apertural view of Michella trabeatoides. |
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Apertural view of a better specimen of Michella trabeatoides. Another easy-to-find, but not complete gastropod. |
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Apical and Apertural views of Neverita limula. |
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Apertural view of Protosurcula gabbi. |
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Apertural view of Pseudoliva vetusta. |
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Cross-section view of a Pseudoliva. |
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Apertural view of a juvenile Terebra sp. |
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Apertural view of Turritella houstonia. |
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Can't quite figure out what genus of gastropod this is, any ideas? |
| Crustacea ("Crabs") |
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Picture coming soon. |
| Vertebrates |
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Sawfish jaw |
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Another sawfish jaw, a little better than the previous one. |
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Skate and ray teeth. |
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An ootolith (fish ear bone). |
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Gar tooth. |
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Various fish teeth. |
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Fish vertebrae. |
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Jar of fish vertebrae. |
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Odantapsis cuspidata shark tooth. |
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Another shark tooth, identification pending. |
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Shark tooth, identification pending. |
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Shark tooth, identification pending. |
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Shark tooth, identification pending. |
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Jar of whole sharks teeth. |
| Scaphopoda |
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Dentalium sp. - This rather common genus is difficult to obtain whole, they are very fragile. |
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Cadulus subcoarcuatus, or barrel shells. These, along with Dentalium stuck narrow-end-up in the sand and filter fed plankton. |
| Misc. |
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Possible fossilized pearl. |
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I'm guessing this is a limpet, what do you think? |
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At first I thought this was a tooth, but when I looked closely, I noticed small holes (arrows) and a ridge. I don't think I've ever seen a tooth like that. What the heck is this fossil?? |
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A wood fragment. This is not surface float, it came from a bulk sample after having cleared surface slump. It's always interesting to find fossil drift wood! |
| References |
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Yancey, T.E. 1995, Depositional Trends in Siliciclastic Deposits of the Stone City Transgressive Systems Tract, Middle Eocene, Texas: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. XLV, p. 581-586. |
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