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It was horribly hot and I found that I decided that I could spend a few hours on my day off in the water. Literally in the water. Rather than walk the local cliffs or paddle out to a spot I tend to favor, I decided today would be the day I tested out some newly acquired snorkeling gear and see if my luck would improve. Yea...No. We have had storms. We have had cliff fall. But today, all the patience, tools, and honey-hole visits couldn't muster much more than a few smaller teeth, a single small vertebrae, and bone fragments. And snorkeling is fun, but it doesn't do much good in our very murky Bay water. So I'll have to be satisfied with being in the water and splashing around to beat the heat for a couple of hours, the small cowshark fossil I found and the knowledge that maybe its time to start looking for a new hunting ground for the rest of the summer.

Hi All, We went out Matoaka Cottages on Jan. 2 to do some walking and hunting. Nice day, 40 F, no breeze. We were ~1.5 miles north of the beach access (Choptank Formation, St. Leonard Member) and my son spotted a nice 2.5" long Ecphora partially exposed in the matrix (missing only apical whorl). We were able to gently remove it and I've been slowly removing the matrix under running water with some small tools. Only one portion of the shell nearest the aperture (fractured by compression in matrix?) has fallen off, but that should be easily reparable. Question: Is there an inexpensive way to dissolve clay inside without damaging the shell? Should I even bother? Thanks! Mike

I visited Brownie Beach yesterday morning at sunrise, and was able to expand my findings from my first trip last May. There are several good resources online about the fossils typically found in the Calvert formation at this location, so I've done my best to try to identify my fossils, however there are a few I haven't been able to ID. Feel free to correct any misidentifications or add any IDs that you may know. 1)2)3)4)5) 1) Epiphysis - Juvenile porpoise vertebra 2) Kentriodon sp. - Porpoise thoracic vertebra 3) Assorted marine mammal 4) Eurhinodelphis bossi - Long-snouted dolphin tooth 5) Physogaleus contortus - Tiger shark 6)7)8)9)10) 6) Hemipristis serra - Snaggletooth shark 7) Carcharias sp. - Sand tiger shark 8) Sphyrna zygaena - Hammerhead shark 9) Carcharias sp. - Sand tiger shark or Isurus desori - Shortfin mako shark ? 10) Megalodon fragment ? 11)12)13)14)15) 11) Completely hollow Isurus desori - Shortfin mako shark ? 12) Ray tail spine? 13) Astrhelia palmata - Coral 14) Melosia staminea - Astarte clam with bore hole 15) Dentalium attenuatum - Tusk shell 16)17)18)19)20) 16) Chesapecten nefrens - Scallop 17) Turritella sp. - Gastropod ? 18) Turritella sp. - Gastropod (slightly different)? 19) Balanus sp. - Barnacle 20) Glycymeris parilis - Bittersweet clam 21)22)23)24) 21) Pycnodonte percrassa - Bivalve mollusk ? 22) Unknown bivalve mollusk ? 23) Unknown gastropod in matrix ? 24) Unknown gastropod in matrix ? Also, I found a bone in the water, which seems pretty dense, but I'm not sure whether it is just a modern bone or a land mammal fossil. Any ideas?

Hi all, I have been a long time visitor to this site, finally signed up to introduce myself. I am from Calvert County, Maryland (born & raised). I've had such good luck finding fossils in this area. I've found trilobites and many fossilized shells in my backyard creek. And, of course, a variety of shark teeth on Brownie's Beach, North Beach and Calvert Cliffs. I'm currently working on an iPhone app that will help identify shark teeth. Hoping to release it this month! If anyone is interested, the site is: http://www.sharkteethapp.com