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Please help me identify this find. All by itself in farmers field. Had xrd analysis done. Results were text book mudstone composition. Cut off piece with diamond saw. Water was black and it smelled swampy. Trace fossils can be seen.

From Ohio but I grew up fossil hunting in creeks near Friendship And Dillsboro Indiana. Lots of brachiopods, broken crinoids, horn coral, etc. easy to find. Been to Caesars Creek spillway and road cuts in Ohio seeking trilobites. My minor in college was geology, major biology education. Dream job was drilling for oil. Took glaciology from arctic explorer Dr Carlson. Taught earth science a couple of years in Florida. Married a Military man and traveled world. Fell in love with active volcanos. Have been to top of Etna in Sicily,visited Vesuvius and Pompeii, etc. Iceland , and Hawaii. Flew between erupting Mauna Loa and Kilauea, melted shoe soles on Kilauea lava flows, hiked Haleakala. Collected a few fossils in Florida, sharks teeth. Enjoy geology in general.

A whirlwind week... I was visiting my daughter for father's day weekend. On Thursday, the Museum of Natural History, Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam black wall. Lots of excitement and I was truly wasted by the time we got back to Union Station. There is so much to see... hours does not make a dent.... Everyone would take different photos... I took these in the initial Galleries... Lamarck's Carinaria... New fauna... This is a model, many exhibits are the real thing.... Looking to the ceilings...A Right Whale and a Basilosaurus Lots of Crinoids.... I had thought that @minnbuckeye had captured a few of these, but maybe not.... On _ward and up ward , more galleries to visit Although really small in size, I was impressed by an impression on the rock.. This Smilodon fatalis also got my attention, How about the "sheath" over each claw.... Does any TFF member have one of those ? Between Galleries, you see some transitional modern items.. There are complete floors dedicated to modern mammals... Never got there... but what do we have here? And once again, on to other floors , other galleries.... x A Stingray from Lebanon, capturing an image from the Cretaceous. A Flightless Bird.. I guess related to Titanis walleri, another revelation for me Marine Mammal Definitely large tusks and then Unitatherium.... look at those sabers.... Fantastic time.. learned lots of new things just walking around, taking photos.. If you love fossils, definitely a bucket list item.. I figure I saw about 4% of the exhibits available... and in the last transition space.....60 foot model I'll share one other experience.. I visited the Baltimore Aquarium and stopped by Faidley's seafood market and purchased Chesapeake Bay Oysters for $2 each.. I love seafood, and my daughter , Crystal, has excellent culinary skills... Mackerel, Cod, Salmon, Shrimp, Crawfish, Abalone, but the absolute best were the Oysters Rockerfeller... Raw, Drago, Rockereller Bon appetit....Crystal saved the shells of both oyster and abalone

Last week my friends and I stopped by Mineral Wells in Texas to do some fossil hunting and it was really fun! However, I'm not familiar with this type of fauna and I was wondering if anybody could help ID them for me. I think I got a decent representation of what is available at the site but there's definitely other fauna there that I didn't spot. The first group are bryozoans and they have this really cool texture on them. How easy is it to identify them to genus or species level? The second one on the first row was also really interesting. It's flatter but I'm not sure if that's the preservation and not what it looked like in life. The first one on the second row was really interesting as a bryozoan colony seemed to wrap around a crinoid stem! The second group are crinoids! I hadn't realized they were so diverse, although they were the most common fossil I encountered by far. This is the cross section of the first row. This is the cross section of the fourth row. The third one has a really neat pattern on it on the outside. And finally, the fifth row has a crinoid base(?) and what might be a small crinoid impression? Not entirely sure. The third group are shells. The variety of shapes was really cool. This first row are flat and rounded. Are these clams? These first two on the second row are extremely flat but have these knobs on the shell. These first two on the third row are very simple with a general slope. The last two on the second row have a really neat shape. They're concave on the inside as well. And the last two on the third row kinda remind me of little hats haha I also managed to find some snails(?). This first one was particularly tiny This larger one is unfortunately crushed. And these last two shells are super thin. The first one is a scallop(?) and one of my favorites shells I recovered because its complete with both halves! This next one is what I think is a nautiloid shell. Sort of reminds me of ones like baculites. Onto other inverts, I found a spine from an echinoderm. Sea urchin? And I was pretty excited to find two pieces of trilobites! I only found the hind parts but one of my friends found a head which was cool. Now to unknowns. This first one reminded me of a hybodont tooth but I wonder if its a crinoid piece. There's some texture on it that looks like the ones on the stem fragments. This second looks like a bryozoan but I wanted to make sure. These third ones have some really interesting shapes and texture and I have no idea what they are. This fourth one is a long fossil with a groove. There's a texture inside the groove but again, not sure what it is.

The water level in a close by river has been the lowest I've seen in years... we're definitely experiencing a climate shift here in Central Texas. Even with some recent rains, the river is not regaining its normal levels. While that is indeed a sad state of affairs, it has made for some good fossil hunting....sooooo....Silver lining? I have found 6 little tiny outcrops of the blue grey mud that I recognize as Del Rio Formation, a great surprise when this area is typically Georgetown Formation and Glen Rose Formation. So of course, I dug up ALL OF IT that I could. I've been back three times and I think I got it all! Kinda sad that I got it all though. It has provided some great hours of Micro hunting! I finally bought myself a little camp shovel! It has proved invaluable! These little patches have yielded some amazing fossil. They are chock full of the cormatulid crinoid Roveocrinus signatus. These are all around 3 mm or 3/16 inch They are very varied: My other favorite thing to find are the myriad of crab claws, and occasionally was lucky to find both digits together. All of these are around 1/8 inch Another favorite is of course....starfish! While I have yet to find the actual central body of the brittlestar Ophiuria sp. , I have found LOTS of bits of legs and individual parts. Not much ammonite stuff, but I did find something quite special - this little fragment of Anisoceras sp. And this little unidentified ammonite. I did find one whorl of the heteromorph ammonite Mariella (which are common in other Del Rio outcrops) but it was not well enough preserved to merit adding. Also a couple of not very well preserved shark teeth- probably Leptostyrax And of course, lots of tiny gastropods! Probably a Fusus sp. Gyrodes biangulata Nerinea volana Cerithium texana Unknown Gastro probably a Turritella of some sort and not a fossil, but a nice little Pyrite rose

Fishing for fossils might sound like a strange hobby, but I've discovered that it's the perfect combination of relaxation and excitement. Instead of reeling in fish, I'm reeling in ancient fossils from the Richelieu river. And while I might not have any fish tales to tell, I do have some great stories about my fossil-hunting adventures. It might not be the most conventional hobby, but it's certainly a fun one. And the best part? No fishing license required! The Lorraine Group is known for its abundance of fossils, which provides valuable information about the region's past environments and evolution. The fossils found in the Lorraine Group are mainly marine invertebrates, such as brachiopods, trilobites, bryozoans, crinoids, and gastropods. It is a geologic formation in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is part of the St. Lawrence Platform, which is a large region of sedimentary rocks that underlies much of eastern North America. The erosion of these formations over time creates a variety of rocks with different mineralogical characteristics, which can be found on the beaches in the area. The Lorraine Group is an important source of geological information about the history of the St. Lawrence Platform and the tectonic events that shaped it. These fossils, including crinoid and sowerbyella, offer a glimpse into the rich biodiversity of the area during the Ordovician period, and are estimated to be around 450 million years old. I had spent times meticulously photographing this sowerbyella I had found from the Richelieu river. When I finally found the perfect shot, I snapped the picture with satisfaction. But it wasn't until later, after I had added the picture to The Fossils Forum, that I noticed something small and unexpected in the upper right corner of the image. Upon closer inspection, I realized that two tiny gastropods had photobombed my perfect shot! These little intruders are a fun and quirky addition to the photo, and it gave me a great story to tell. After all, when you're fishing for fossils, you never know what unexpected surprises you might find along the way. I stumbled upon the remains of a previous campfire. As I looked closer, I noticed something white sticking out of the dark ash and debris - it was a coupe of bleached fossils! The colors and patterns of the fossils are truly beautiful, and provide a glimpse into the rich biodiversity of the area during the Ordovician period. I feel fortunate to have found these fossils and to be able to share them with you. I have a funny story to share about the day I took this picture, I was so focused on capturing the perfect shot of a crinoid fossil that I didn't notice the waves getting closer and closer. Suddenly, a wave came splashing on my running shoes, soaking my feet completely! Although it was a bit uncomfortable, I couldn't help but laugh at myself for getting so absorbed in my photography that I didn't even realize I was getting my feet wet. Despite getting my feet wet, I was determined to capture the stunning colors and patterns of these fossils, The diverse composition of the Lorraine Group's formations, with the Nicolet Formation being siliceous and the Pontgravé Formation being carbonate-rich, can explain the variety of rocks found on the beaches in the area. The erosion of these formations over time results in a mix of sediments with different mineralogical characteristics, creating a range of textures and colors in the rocks. These pictures were taken at the beginning of spring, after the winter erosion caused by ice and water waves, which creates a new harvest of fossils that are ready to be collected, with no preparation necessary. I found some really cool fossils! I was crouching down to take pictures of them when I noticed some other people walking by and giving me curious looks. I got a little self-conscious, but I decided to smile and explain to them that I was just taking pictures of the fossils. To my surprise, they seemed interested and even came over to take a closer look with me. We ended up having a nice conversation about the Lorraine Group formation and the abundance of fossils in the area. It was really cool to connect with some strangers over a shared interest, and I'm glad I didn't let my initial self-consciousness stop me from taking a closer look at those fossils! When I take pictures of fossils in bubbling water, it's a really exciting and fun experience. The water creates these amazing patterns and textures around the fossil, making the whole image really dynamic and cool to look at. But it's not always easy! Sometimes the water creates glare or reflections that can be distracting and hard to deal with. And because the water is always moving, it can be tricky to get a good, clear shot of the fossil. Despite the challenges, getting a great photo of a fossil in bubbling water is really rewarding. The water creates a sense of movement and energy around the ancient remains, which makes the photo feel really alive and vibrant. To get the perfect shot, I usually try different camera settings and angles until I find what works best. I'll use a polarizing filter to cut down on glare and improve clarity, and I'll often use a tripod and a slower shutter speed to capture the motion of the water while still keeping the fossil in sharp focus. The fossils that I've discovered are estimated to be around 450 million years old, and have been preserved in amazing detail. It's experiences like these that make me appreciate the beauty and power of nature even more. As someone who combines my passion for photography and fossil collecting, I was delighted to capture the stunning colors and patterns of these fossils. I had been carefully photographing some beautiful crinoid segments that I had found while fishing for fossils in the Richelieu river. I had finally found the perfect angle, when suddenly something appeared in my frame. It was a white feather that had drifted into the shot, obscuring part of my subject. At first, I was frustrated that my perfect shot had been ruined by this unexpected intruder. But then, I took a step back and looked at the composition as a whole. I realized that the feather actually added an interesting element to the photo, creating a sense of movement and adding a touch of whimsy. So instead of deleting the photo or trying to edit out the feather, I decided to keep it in the shot, embracing the unexpected twist that nature had thrown my way. And in the end, the photo was even more appealing and unique because of it. Despite the mishap, I managed to capture some stunning pictures of the fossils, including this sowerbyella, which I'm thrilled to share with you. The abundance of fossils in the Lorraine Group is a testament to the richness of marine life that existed in the region during the Paleozoic era. These fossils have contributed greatly to our understanding of the geological history of eastern North America and continue to be a valuable resource for scientists studying the evolution of life on Earth. To end my day, I couldn't resist capturing theses naturally formed ice sculptures in water , they can be incredibly appealing because they represent a unique and fleeting moment in time. These sculptures are created by the forces of nature, as water and ice interact in complex ways to form stunning and intricate shapes. Each sculpture is completely unique, shaped by the specific conditions of the water and the temperature at the time it was formed. This means that no two sculptures are ever exactly alike, making them a true work of art created by the natural world. Additionally, the way that light interacts with the ice can create a stunning visual effect, with the ice taking on a glittering and iridescent appearance that is truly mesmerizing to behold. Overall, naturally formed ice sculptures in water represent a beautiful and awe-inspiring aspect of the natural world, one that is both visually stunning and endlessly fascinating to explore. For more information about my hunting site, look at my previous post which took place during winter and autumn : The day I went fishing for fossils (part I) (winter) The day I went fishing for fossils (part II) (winter) The day I went fishing for fossils (part III) (autumn) The day I went fishing for fossils (part IV) (spring) Happy Fishing!

In 1995 (long ago...) a friend of mine and me digged at a highway-constructionsite in nw-germany. It was the Highway Nr. 2 between Gelsenkirchen and Gladbeck in famous Ruhrgebiet-Area. The construction site opens at a lenght of 3 km sandy sediments from middle Santonian, Zone of Uintacrinus socialis. We really found a lot..., beach sediments with everything from plants over echinoderms up to vertebrate fossils (some lang-living ones...), and stored it. Till now. Some weeks ago I started to clean, glue, sort..., to write a paper about it. Hope to finish in 2025, lot of work... I go to show piece by piece fossils from this site, might be one a day, might be one a week. depends. Start is a nice Cretalamna appendiculata, approx. 2 cm long, root is a little bit damaged.

Hi all, Hi, my name is Warren but I didn't collect fossils. Ancient coins, artifacts, militaria, yeah I'm a collector at heart but never fossils. I take that back, I used to go with my father as a young boy on his fossil collecting trips with his university students and I still find tags with my name on the collection around his house. Unfortunately, my father passed away last year and left me his whole fossil collection that he said consisted of more than 100,00 pieces. So I guess I am now, a de facto collector of fossils and to be honest, I look forward to learning a lot more about them and understanding better his passion. My father was Merrill W. Foster, professor of geology and paleontology, emeritus. He retired from Bradley University in Peoria,IL in 2016 after 47 years. His publications were referenced in Jack Wittry’s “The Mazon Creek Fossil Fauna”, specifically in regards to Reticulomedusa greenei and Essexella asherae. He also published two papers in the work “Mazon Creek Fossils” edited by Matthew Nitecki. These were “Soft-Bodied Coelenterates in the Pennsylvanian of Illinois” and “A Reappraisal of Tullymonstrum gregarium.” I've attached a few pictures of a few of the hundreds of trays he has...I look forward to asking a million questions to help ID some of these as well as share them with Ya'all.

Hey all, Recently received this pair of crinoids in a trade. I have essentially zero experience with crinoids as my crinoids in my display before this consisted of just a few pieces of stem and a few inch long articulated stem. The information I have is: Crinoids Edwardsville Formation Mississippian Indiana My initial thoughts after searching online are: Macrocrinus mundulus for the tan one, and Lanecrinus depressus for the gray one Apologies for my lack of scientific terms here: I believe this to be Macrocrinus mundulus as there is this extra stalk, the tan coloration, and the thick defined plates. I believe this to be Lanecrinus depressus as it has the more "knotty" appearance, the gray coloration, and the more defined segmented arms. Any crinoid experts able to weigh in here? Does color help in IDing crinoids or is it more shape of plates, arms, and overall body plan that gives us the IDs?

Hello, forgive me if this question has already been answered. I found dozens of crinoids this last fall. They look great when wet, but when they dry they're dull and dirty looking. I've tried soaking them in soapy water and scrubbing with a toothbrush, but nothing spruces them up. I've also tried using vinegar given that the limestone doesn't fizzle, but it destroys the crinoid. Is there anything I can do to brighten or clean these things? The last two pictures are the crinoids when wet and the first is dry. Thanks for the help.

On Monday I went on a little trip to one of my top secret places to fossil hunt on the shores of Lake Michigan. It's a small beach in Northeastern Cook County, Illinois which I've always found lots of Silurian aged fossils. (1) This trip was no different!! https://silurian-reef.fieldmuseum.org/narrative/392 I found a large amount of small but pretty interesting Silurian fossils which demonstrate the diversity of reef supported aquatic life in the Chicago land area 444 to 419 million year ago during the Silurian era! (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20)

Hi everyone. My family and I have dug and collected fossils for many decades in Texas, along with native artifacts and gems and minerals, in creeks, around lakes and on private ranches. A local paleontologist got me interested 4 decades ago and the passion is still there. I’ll be sharing some family fossil finds. Thanks y’all. KJ

Hi Everyone, Last month I took a trip from New York to Elizabethtown, Kentucky to attend my parents' 70th anniversary. My sister and her husband, two of her adult children, and my parents, both in their 90s have all resettled there. I try to visit them at least once per year, but my parents' 70th wedding anniversary could not be missed. It is a very long trip from the suburbs of New York City to E-Town and a stop along the way was the sensible thing to do, so I spent the night in Harrison, Ohio near the border with Indiana and only 15 minutes from St. Leon, the well known Ordovician roadcut. I've been there twice before. It is a huge outcrop, fossiliferous from top to bottom, with plenty to explore. With even a full day it is impossible to do justice to the site. As it was, I spent a half day. Most of you I'm guessing have been to or seen pictures of the roadcut. Here's a couple anyway:

My husband and I went on a little "tour" of Mississippi on a three part "hunting" trip....for fossils, ancestors and ghosts. Before you get all grammatical, I didn't hunt my ancestors, but I did hunt for their gravesites. I have ancestry 7 generations back in the Natchez area of southern Mississippi and had been there a few times for family reunions while growing up. But it's been at least 35 years since I was last there. So we decided to make a little road trip around the state to visit not only my ancestors, but also a tour of as many Native American mounds as we could fit in the trip - from Vicksburg to Natchez (Emerald Mound and Grand Village) to Clarksdale (Winterville Mounds and the "Crossroads" if you are a blues fan) to Tupelo and back to Texas (via Toltec Mounds in Arkansas.) And of course, my husband did his ghost hunting (we always stay in haunted hotels and B&Bs- we both hunt old dead things....in our own way hahahah) and I did a little bit of Fossil hunting....not as much as I would have liked because THREE of my scouted spots were bunk. Nothing in two spots, just some busted oysters in a third spot. But I did make it to the Browning Fossil Park and while I was not exactly prepared for the very very cold and muddy waters, I did at least bring a hand shovel and a sieve so was able to get myself a half bucket of matrix to bring home to look at at my leisure. AND I found two little crinoids on the Mississippi river because it was historically low and you could walk out quite a ways. So here are some of my fossil finds and some random Mississippi pics for you to enjoy. My VERY BEST FIND: 1. Shark Odontaspis sp. 1/4 inch 2. I think this is a Scyliorhinus sp. but the tip curves WAY up, so I may be wrong on my ID. Size 1/8 inch 3. A few Sawfish Ptychotrygon triangularis 1/8 inch 4. Another Ray Top Row: Brachyrhizodus mcnultii Bottom Row: not sure...maybe fish tooth 5. More Fish Teeth: Top L: Hybodus or Pycnodonte, Top R: Xiphactinus sp Bottom L : Unknown Bottom R: Enchodus sp. 6. Top Row: Unknown...couldn't find any info. If anyone knows, please enlighten! Bottom Row: might be Barnacle Zeugmatolepas sp. ? 7. Top Row: I love these things...I'm guessing they are a worm tube of some kind Bottom Row: Echinoid Spine 8. I think the top row black one is a Crinoid...I thought it was a vertebra at first, but the ring on the outside makes me think crinoid...plus I did find the one little yellow crinoid. SO not a lot of finds, but I am happy with what I ended up with....at least I ended up with something! Here's the crinoid I found on the Mississippi river...it's a nice big one! the mighty Mississippi at sunset in Natchez a turtle at the cemetary our sharecroppers cabin in Clarksdale (The Shack Up Inn is a great place to say, y'all)

I was searching around a local stream when I found some limestone with dozens of crinoid stems. I can't say what the formation is as I think they rolled down a hillside which had foreign limestone blocks to prevent erosion. If they are native, they would be Pennsylvanian Glenshaw Formation. Each of them has stellate lumens and many have a pinkish hue. Can anyone tell me what variety of crinoid and is it possible to discern the period? Thanks.

Part two…looks like stems …Maybe, palm, cycad or fern? I guess another possibility is bone.. ?

Fall promises to be spectacular in many ways. If you dream of colors, you will like the following. I like fossil hunting in the fall, although it's not really hunting, the fossils are underwater so it's more like fishing. Anyway, this is one of my many trips to this place, it's not very far and it allows me to go for a weekend nature walk. This is Ordovician, the site is not as beautiful or rich in fossils as the other sites we see in this forum, but it is rich in brachiopods, crinoids, bryozoans and gastropods. This time, I chose a theme to showcase my special finds of the day. It's autumn in Quebec, we see all the colors! This year the province offers an extraordinary spectacle. Due to favorable conditions, autumn 2022 is marked by an extraordinary color season. This summer the trees have not been under great stress, which is favorable for an autumn with intense colors, the next few weeks should be just as much. Indeed, the season promises to be particularly hot and sufficiently sunny. According to the expert, clear nights will follow these beautiful days, which favors the coloring of the leaves. Enjoy! For more information about my hunting site, look at my previous post which took place during winter: The day I went fishing for fossils (part I) (winter) The day I went fishing for fossils (part II) (winter) This is my little special place were I go fishing for fossils

This is a Carnian aged natural association of Traumatocrinus crinoids, and either Trachyceras, or Neoprotrachyceras Ammonoids from Guanling Guizhou province China.

Hello to the Fossil Forum, I am an independent paleo worker from Ottawa, Ontario who first became involved as a recreational collector at a young age. My father Dimitri was a mining geologist and my mother Polly was an economist who created artworks from gems and rocks. Rock hounding was a favorite family pastime and as children we searched among the rocky breakwaters of the Quebec City shore for quartz crystals which Polly would use in jewelry and collages. On these limestone boulders were also trilobites of Ordovician age that became imprinted on my young mind and fueled an interest in fossils. Later in life with skills and knowledge acquired over the years I began working for museums as a paleo technician. One of these jobs was at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History where I was employed by the Dept. of Vertebrate Paleontology to boost their casting program, mainly reproductions of Dunkleosteus, the giant predatory arthrodire that dominated the Devonian seas. This led to field work, lab preparation and collaboration on research. After returning to Canada I tried to fashion an independent career in paleo that would allow me to support work on the family farm. The most convenient path was to build a fossil preparation lab for contract work that would also make it possible to earn money from selling fossils on the commercial market. I remained committed to the science of paleontology and continued working collaborations with researchers and museums across the world. While deeply gratifying, contributions to science rarely create a living income outside of a museum or university. In this respect, a healthy commercial market for fossils was very helpful, both in supporting myself and subsidizing the research projects through donations o f material and field data. It is no secret that this economic model is marginal at best. In 2013 I made the discovery of rich fossil beds at a Tomlinson quarry near Brechin, Ontario that were significant enough to attract research collaborators and might produce fossils in an abundance that would cover the cost of developing the site as scientific resource. The occurrence consisted of reef communities of marine invertebrates, mainly echinoderms, that established themselves on hardgrounds and were subjected to repeated burial events. Some of these were catastrophic in scale and preserved entire faunas at the moment when disaster struck. I hoped to find collaborators at Canadian universities but was unsuccessful in attracting interest. Instead, I was able to persuade Carlton Brett of the University of Cincinnati to become lead investigator on a project that would involve graduate students as well. Dr. Brett had begun his career in paleontology with some post doc work on the same fauna of the Kirkfield formation. At the time I was a research associate at the Cincinnati Museum and the connection seemed natural. The project lasted some ten years and generated multiple abstracts, a PhD thesis for Tim Paton at UC and a subsequent paper (Paton et al 2019) that described the occurrence. A second paper formally revised the stratigraphic record of the quarries in the Lake Simcoe area. Among the goals of the project was to generate a collection of material that would become part of a Canadian museum collection. Happily, this coincided with a project by the Royal Ontario Museum to build a new invertebrate gallery. The present curator of Invert paleo, Jean Bernard Caron became a valuable collaborator and now the collection cabinets are and exhibit spaces of the ROM are well stocked with important material from this research site. Recently we published a paper (Moysiuk et al 2022) describing a new arthropod, a marellomorph named Tomlinsonus dimitrii (after the quarry company and my father respectively) showing exceptional soft tissue preservation. The specimen itself was collected by Marc Haensel (pictured on my profile page in the background photo) who made important contributions to site work since 2019. In the end it is important to note that the project was very costly to undertake and even the acquisition of a collection of material by the ROM was only made possible by a personal subsidy of my own. There are few ways to make a decent living in the world of paleontology. Competition for jobs is extreme and markets are also very competitive as well as complicated by the specialized nature of fossil collecting. To conclude this introduction I would like to express my gratitude for the support received from academic colleagues and individual collectors. I have not yet visited the ROM to see the specimens I excavated and prepared on display but hope to soon. I would encourage anyone passing through Toronto to stop at the ROM to see the new gallery and marvel at the work of so many individuals brought together to show the fossil heritage of Ontario. Images show representative fossils from the site George E. Kampouris

So, I was supposed to leave for the army and I tore a ligament in my knee. I took time off work and am now able to hobble around the shop. Feeling kinda down I went to alpena on Saturday hoping the rain would let up and what do ya know! It was sunny and cold by 10am. Here is a couple pics of my finds. I'll post more later!

The Paleontological Society of Austin did our annual field trip out to Brownwood Texas. It was a beautiful day for collecting. Super blue sky and temps starting in the 50s and warming to the 80s. This site is so big that I have not even begun to explore all of it so decided to head to a different area than I had previously collected in. Walking toward the back I had my first nice find - a lovely little crinoid calyx, just shining in the dirt! Next find was what I HOPED was a complete Neospirifer, but sadly, the underside was not so good. Still nice though When I got to the back, there is a lovely little pond surround by the cliffs of this old quarry. Found a "non fossil" My first "best" find of the day was this partial Petalodus tooth. So far I have only found partials, but this is the best one so far, at least it has the tip of the tooth! And the texture is just lovely. It's a nice size too, just over one inch: and then I found this little piece. I almost didn't pick it up because it didn't look like much. I thought it might be another chunk of a Petalodus and actually almost left it there. But I then went back and said what the heck, even a partial is good. AND I AM GLAD I DID GO BACK!! Because upon photographing and being able to see better detail....I'm pretty sure it is Deltodus tooth! Another Pennsylvanian shark that I had seen a few picture of but not one in real life. So I am super happy with my "almost got away" story! hahhaha! It is also 1 inch A few more of my favorite finds from the day: Echinoid plate Bryozoan Crinoid Crinoid: And I posted this on my Fossil a Day thread but here it is again. All of these colors of crinoids are found here. That just ever ceases to amaze me! I am already looking forward to my next trip there!

I found these around the Kentucky lake area by Camden Tn.

Hello Everyone In June last year I went on a trip with my parents to the Late Ordovician / Early Silurian-aged Cotton Formation at the Cotton Hill quarry in Forbes. All relevant permission was obtained from the local council prior to attending. I have heard that the Fossil Club of Australia (formerly NSW) do trips here as a group as well, that's probably the easiest way to attend. I planned to post this in August, however due to Covid I didn’t have access to the fossils to take pictures. Also, I only just recently bought some macro equipment to take photos of the fossils which is why my post took so long. Be sure to zoom in on each photo as they are all highly detailed. (open in a new tab) For useful previous expeditions and information by others see: For those unaware, the fauna is dominated by Sinespinaspis markhami, a small odontopleurid trilobite. Unfortunately, I found no specimens with their free cheeks attached, nor did I find any specimens of the rarer Aulacopleura pogsoni or the even rarer Raphiophorus sandfordi. We had two days of digging, and the temperature was a cool 14-15C on both days, but once the sun came out and with long-sleeve shirt and pants on, we definitely started sweating. As soon as we got out of the car, I found a partial trilobite negative lying on the ground. It was 8mm long and looked like it was left behind by another fossicker. Once we realised where the designated fossicking area was (back near the road entrance, and not in front of the parking area) we could start properly searching for fossils. The first ones we found were on the surface on the westernmost boundary. It’s amazing how big the actual site is. Considering how deep the hole in the ground is, there probably would’ve been thousands or millions of fossils unearthed and used in road material over the years. Both the plates seem to be death assemblages, with hundreds of “trilo-bits” on them along with what looks like tiny shells. When I got home, I wanted to split the L-shaped to expose more of the second layer (you can see one set of cold chisel marks) but the matrix must have been unstable as it cracked into five pieces and exploded. It did set free a new trilobite though, which is cool.

Well it has finally opened to the public on December 4rth. "The new Dawn of Life Gallery" at The ROM is perhaps the best gallery on the planet covering the earliest life to the emergence of land dwelling creatures. I was fortunate to have a tiny part in the new gallery having prepared a number of the museums specimens and also having donated and sold them some pieces . Here is a tiny taste of what you can see in the new gallery. It will not disappoint.