Shark Tooth Trip to Sherman Creeks
Saturday, July 12
The largest Cretaceous shark teeth in Texas come from the creeks around the Sherman/Denison, Texas area. Since the area’s so heavily collected, we’ve found success in digging/screening for the teeth. You can simply surface collect, rake through the gravel or actually screen – dry or wet – for teeth. We WILL find teeth.
We will be collecting in the equivalent geology as the Midlothian quarries – the Austin/Eagle Ford contact or basically the Turonian/Coniacian boundary of the Upper Cretaceous – so the teeth are the same as there. The only difference is that there is no visible stratigraphic boundary here like is present in the quarries. The Austin Chalk down through the basal Atco formation has been eroded away into these creeks. So, we’ll be collecting ‘float’ material as opposed to in situ fossils. Sometimes you can find secondary deposition (Pleistocene deposits in the walls) containing this ‘contact’ material along with potential Pleistocene mammal material. Arrowheads, too.
Some screens will be provided for use, but if you would like to build your own, please see the DPS website. Look under ‘Links’ for ‘How to Build Screens for Fossil Sieving’.
Hardware stores usually have the materials you will need to build yourself a screen. Of course, you'll need a shovel to load your screens and possibly twine to keep your screen from floating away.
Know that there are multiple hazards on these urban creeks including broken glass, construction materials, snakes, fire ants and stinging insects to name a few.
We'll LEAVE the south side of Casey’s General Store (NEW MEETING PLACE) at Hwy 75 and FM 1417 (just south of Sherman) at 8:30. Please read and complete the Hold Harmless Agreement on the website and bring it with you.
This field trip needs a signup just so we’ll know how many are coming.
Email Roger Farish with your questions or suggestions: rffarish@verizon.net (972-898-2700 on field trip day).
After lunch at nearby Dickies BBQ, we’ve been invited to tour the most extensive local shark tooth and artifact collection in this part of Texas. It was collected before the creeks became so popular and you could collect a handful of nice teeth on an outing. After that we can see about some more collecting (or a nap).
Hold Harmless for July Sherman Creek
The DPS is a group of professional and amateur paleontologists that want to exchange information, interact, and continue their education in paleontology. We meet once a month on the second Wednesday evening of the month at Brookhaven College, Building H.
