Tiny to Tyrant in Hell Creek

July 1, 2009 Day 8 of Fossil Dig

Today, found about 20 of us in the field prospecting for fossils. Though that really is a lot of people to be collecting at one time, the area we were working in is very large and has opportunities for microsite work and long walks with eyes peeled for larger fossils. In addition, there is an excellent plant fossil site that has revealed 100 new plant species. A professor from Colorado has been collecting there and writing about the discoveries.

I started this morning on the large microsite which has historically been an excellent source of all kinds of small treasures. Today was no different, except the rarer of said treasures escaped me once again. I must admit I am a little frustrated. Perhaps the first two trips here I experienced beginner's luck, since this year has found me at the end of the day with lots of Gar scales and one or two items of note. Still working and wishing for that OMG fantasy fossil.

I found two toe bones, one very long crocodile tooth, lots of fish verts and assorted other vertebrae, ray teeth, Triceratops teeth, and don't pass out....Gar scales! Other collectors, veterans, and novices (both categories include children) and guides found very rare mammal teeth, mammal jaw with teeth, Nanotyrannosaur rex tooth, therapod claws, a perfect Pachyacephalus tooth with root, Ricardostesia tooth, Thescelesaur claw, and more. My mind reels just listing all of the amazing finds. As always I am excited for everyone. It just doesn't seem right not to be thrilled for others' good fortune.

I staggered my way back up the steep slope reluctantly for lunch. I am aware that I am only in the field two more days and I am desperate to find my treasure. Perhaps someone should send in an intervention team. Just kidding. After a shower and dinner, when I have time to wash my fossil finds of the day, I appreciate each one for its unique qualities. Always happy to be here.

Lunch was hurried because I had extended my time on the site. The Evans family invited me to join them for the afternoon session. We drove down the hill from the microsite to park closer to the valley they wanted to explore. They have had good luck in this area in previous years and wanted to look there again.

We parked and grabbed our back packs and made sure we had plenty of water. The afternoons tend to heat up and you want to be well hydrated. Clouds began to build up over the course of the afternoon, so in the end we had a very pleasant experience. Jennifer and Jim (mom and dad) tried to locate sites where they had found nice large fossil bone.

I scanned the ground for fossil spills and eventually found myself near an anthill with what looked like a bone sort of stuck in the soil adjacent to it. My Swiss Army knife was too small for the job so I remove my larger knife, which is actually the bayonet of an AK47.(copy made in China) I worked around the bone and carefully lifted it out. It is about the size of a large Navel orange. Not great quality but certainly recognizable as bone. I poked around for more of it, or at least some bone of the same animal, and indeed I found some. Unfortunately, as I have experienced earlier this week, the quality was so poor that after a brief consult with Ryan, I decided to abandon the job of digging out what would no doubt be very inferior quality bone that would be almost impossible to reassemble. More disappointment.

Meanwhile, Alex, who had accompanied Ryan to my site, looked at the anthill and said there were teeth on it. Now, I don't normally look at anthills when the ants are active, but there was just enough cloud cover to keep those pesky red ants inside their home. Alex generously allowed me to collect with him, and though I had set out to find larger fossils in this valley, there I was bent over the anthill looking for tiny fossils...again!

Alex was very successful and found not only a dozen or more Champsosaur teeth (look like candy corn), but also a therapod tooth, and the tiniest toe bone I have ever seen. He was so happy. He collected 18 teeth in about 45 minutes! I did alright myself. I found 10 teeth which I believe are all Champsosaur with maybe a couple of Bowfin fish teeth. No time tonight for help with identification. It took quite a while to clean, sort and organize all the tiny fossils, and then it got too late to check in with Ryan or Rob.

Alex and I left the anthill since the ants were out and about and not too pleased with our hovering over their abode. I would stick my little knife on the surface of the hill to pick up a tooth and an ant would rush over and climb up the knife. (We were very careful not to disturb the hill or its occupants.) That was a good time to leave. Alex walked off to join Ryan and I climbed down to find Jennifer, Jim and Pat (Jennifer's mom). Their boys were off climbing hills and looking in other areas.

Jennifer thought she found one of her previous sites where she had taken out a rib (I think). There was some spill in the area so I helped her gather it. We continued to work that low ridge and keep our eyes open for any signs of spill or bones. We split up after some time and then I rejoined them when they invited me over to gather some interesting spill. It was actually coming from two different sources and all four of us were having a fine time picking up the "kibbles and bits".

Jennifer did the right thing and climbed up the little dried mud hill to locate the source of the spill (to determine if there was a source would be more accurate). She let out multiple screams, waved her arms, and looked like she was hyperventilating. Knowing she had hit the jackpot, I scrambled up that hill and gazed down to see, sticking out of the light beige dried mud, at a 90 degree angle, a very thick and long, blue, white and dark colored tooth. OMG it was a Tyrannosaur rex tooth! And it was gorgeous. I'm surprised she didn't just faint on the spot. She will never forget the moment she saw that incredible fossil.

She cleared away some of the dried mud and when she went as far as she could, Jim called Rob on the radio to ask for some assistance. It was thrilling for them and I felt like they needed to enjoy the process of extracting it together. I climbed down the hill and continued to look for fossils. I found one spill on the opposite side of the hill where Jennifer was standing. I found what appears to be a very weathered therapod bone and most likely T. rex (honeycomb interior), but I will have Ryan take a look at it tomorrow. It is just the end of a small bone. In that same spill I found a small fragment of hadrasaur jaw. The spill included other small fragments which I collected.

We returned to the morning's microsite to pick up one of the Evans boys, and Gab, their cousin.
This is his first year collecting and he is finding great fossils and having a wonderful time. He is starting college in the fall so he is happy to spend time with the students who were out collecting with the group today. He hopes to go to the fish site tomorrow. The rest of the family wants to continue their lucky streak and stay in the field.

Once again, I reflect on the beauty of this area and the impossibly wonderful treasures that lie hidden within the mud and sand that makes up Hell Creek. You just never know when you will literally stumble across a Tyrannosaur rex toe bone (as one of the college students did yesterday). I guess that is part of the magic of this strange and wild landscape. Though we are living in the high tech age of the early 21st Century, we are thrilled by the wonder of discovering fossils of creatures who dominated the landscape 65 million years ago. Holding their fossil remains allows us to visualize them and their environment. We are so lucky to be here and share this experience.

Congratulations to all the prospectors on their extraordinary discoveries!

Cheers.