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Poking around a local creek, found a beautiful meg with some root decay (such a shame) and what looks like a fossilized cat turd or peanut ... any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello fellow paleontology buffs! I have recently returned from a trip to the Venice area where I did some surface/ beach sifting for fossils. I need to get out and dive there next time. I would love to have some help identifying fossils that are tripping me up. I recognize that there are a LOT of them. Sorry!!! I organized them on to a PDF because there were a lot to look at, but please let me know if it does not open up and I will upload them as images instead. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

Between 2020-23, two collectors who scuba dive for fossils throughout Florida and Georgia have recovered 5 chesapecten (including two paired valves) with morphological characteristics that signal a Miocene age. These characteristics include an acute byssal notch and a byssal fasciole that is strongly differentiated from the shell’s auricle in terms of sculpture and elevation. The largest of the adult shells also displays an active ctenolium. Additionally, one of the paired specimens displays significant gapes between valves when matched (the other pair was preserved as found by glue according to the collector and cannot be matched). These aforementioned traits are also emblatic of Miocene age for Chesapecten. These shells were recovered from the following areas in Georgia and Florida: Savannah River, Effingham County, Georgia (Collector 1) Specimen 1 (W = 108.0 mm) R valve L valve R valve - close up of byssal notch and fasciole (most of fasciole has been degraded) R valve - close up of ornamentation L valve - close up of ornamentation Profile Close up of matrix, gray sand Savannah River, Effingham County, Georgia (Collector 1) Specimen 2 (W = 101.6 mm) R valve R valve - interior R valve - close up of byssal notch and fasciole L valve - note barnacles are modern species, not fossilized L valve - interior L valve - close up of ornamentation on auricle Side profile of pair, showing gapes Front profile of pair, showing gapes Cumberland Island, Camden County Georgia (Collector 2) Specimen 3 (W = 114.3 mm) R valve, note encrustation is recent not fossilized R valve interior, thick shell apparent Close up of byssal notch and fasciole Close up of ctenolium, although modern encrustation makes it difficult to see what is going on in the ctenolium Close up of ornamentation St Mary’s River, Nassau County, Florida (Collector 2) Specimen 4 (W = 117.5 mm) R Valve R valve interior, active ctenolium and thick shell apparent Byssal notch and fasciole Close up of original sediment, note the olive and gray coloration Profile Suwanee River, Hamilton County, Florida (Collector 2) Specimen 5 (W = 69.9 mm) R valve, subadult specimen R valve interior, shell is thick for a subadult Unfortunately, stratigraphic data were not collected for these shells. However, among the Miocene strata from Coastal Georgia and NE Florida currently described in the literature, the Ebenezer Formation of Weems and Edwards (2001), of Upper Miocene (Tortonian age), appears to be the most suitable match based on the age of the Ebenezer and the characteristics of the shells found. The shells collected resemble Chesapecten middlesexensis of the Upper Miocene of Virginia and North Carolina. The Ebenezer was originally defined by Huddleston (1988) as a member of the Coosawhatchie Formation (Middle Miocene). Weems and Edwards later elevated it to formational rank based on differences in lithological and dinoflagellate composition compared to the rest of the Coosawhatchie. The Ebenezer formation consists of gray to olive-gray, fine- to medium-grained micaceous sand and stretches from South Carolina to NE Florida. Five mappable members are apparent and separable by distinct unconformities. The lower four members correspond to dinoflagellate zone DN 8, while the uppermost member corresponds to DN 9. Revision of the Ebenezer to Formational Rank from Weems and Edwards (2001) According to the dinoflagellate zonation of de Verteuil and Norris (1996), DN 8-9 aligns with the Little Cove Point Member (DN 8) and the Windmill Point Member (DN 9) of the St Mary’s Formation of Maryland and Virginia. Alignment of the Ebenezer to St Mary's Formation of MD and VA from Weems, Self-Trail and Edwards (2004) All specimens display similar characteristics which include an acute byssal notch, differentiated byssal fasciole, slightly inflated right valve, and a hinge size in adult specimens that is relatively small for adult chesapecten with the exception of Chesapecten covepointensis (DN 8 St Mary’s Formation) and in some cases Chesapecten santamaria (DN 9 St Mary’s Formation). Also, these shells could possibly be divided into two distinct variants although issues with preservation which appears to be somewhat better outside the Savannah River region may exaggerate these differences. Nevertheless, the Chesapecten collected outside of the Savannah River Region exhibit stronger, more raised ribs and have thicker, heavier shells compared to the specimens collected within the Savannah River region whose shells are thinner and ribs are lower and less pronounced. This is especially true of Specimen 1. Possibly that these variants originate from different members of the Ebenezer Formation. According to Weems and Edwards, “outside of the Savannah region, beds no older than dinoflagellate zone DN 9 occur”. This suggests that the shells collected outside of the Savannah River Region likely belong to Bed 5 of the Ebenezer Formation. Figure 3 of Weems and Edwards (2001) [shown below] suggests that someone scuba diving for fossils in the Savannah River is likely to collect in Bed 4. Therefore, it is possible that the Chesapecten specimens recovered from the Savannah River belong to Bed 4 of the Ebenezer Formation. This stratigraphic information aligns with the observed morphological differences among the specimens and tentatively supports the significance of these variations. Needless to say, more specimens are needed to confirm. Lateral Gradation of the Ebenezer from Georgia to Florida - Fig. 3 from Weems and Edwards (2001) Ward (1992) has remarked that the period between Chesapecten santamaria (DN 9) and Chesapecten middlesexensis (DN 10) represents a considerable loss of the fossil record in the stratigraphic succession of chesapecten. These Chesapecten, which bear a strong overall resemblance to Chesapecten middlesexensis while displaying traits of preceding species (smaller hinge, more differentiated byssal fasicole), could help bridge this apparent gap. Notably, no other Chesapecten in this age range outside of Maryland and Virginia have been reported in the literature. Personal Remarks The equivalency of these shells to the St Mary’s Formation, not the Eastover formation is surprising to me given the strong resemblance to C. middlesexensis. If anyone knows of any findings correlating DN 8-9 to the Eastover, or of the Ebenezer to DN 10 please let me know. Also, if anyone has any additional samples of similar shells from similar sites, even in SC please let me know. Thank you! References de Verteuil, L., and Norris, G., 1996, Miocene dinoflagellate stratigraphy and systematics of Maryland and Virginia: Micropaleontology, vol. 42 (Supplement), 172 p. Huddlestun, P.F., 1988, A revision of the lithostratigraphic units of the coastal plain of Georgia; the Miocene through the Holocene: Georgia Geologic Survey Bulletin, no. 104, 162 p. Ward, L.W, 1992, Molluscan biostratigraphy of the Miocene, Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain of North America, VMNH Memoirs, no 2, 152p. Weems, R.E, Edwards, L.E., 2001, Geology of Oligocene, Miocene, and younger deposits in the Coastal Area of Georgia: U.S. Geological Survey, no 131, 129 p. Weems, R.E, Self-Trail J., Edwards, L.E., 2004, Supergroup stratigraphy of the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains (Middle? Jurassic through Holocene, eastern North America): Southeastern Geology, volume 42, p 191-216

I about to apply for a fossil permit and I understand all aspects except submitting vertebrae fossil? What are the steps and when would I submit these fossils? Also what do I fill out to submit them? Thanks!

I am new to this forum so I apologize if this post is incorrect in anyway. We found some new bones we are unfamiliar with in the Peace River in Arcadia, Florida we’d like some input on. The first bone has a weight of 1,028 grams and the second bone has a weight of 203 grams to give a complete picture of their sizes. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for looking!

Hi! I recently found a lot of various items in Peace River in Florida. There are a few of them that I wanted to find help with, so I attached them below and numbered each of them so the pictures would be less confusing. I wasn’t sure if this would be easier than creating separate threads, but if it would be better to split them up I can do so. The first specimen is the main item I would like help identifying. I believe it’s a body of vertebrae but I was hoping to find out what animal it could be from. If there are too many in one, I am content in receiving the identification for the first item alone. All measurements are in centimeters but inches is on the bottom of the ruler. I’m very new to all of this so your help and kindness is greatly appreciated!

Can someone ID this as maybe a whale tooth or pig tusk? Found in Bowling Green, FL

Hi all, I found this as a child on a vacation years ago, not entirely sure where it came from but I grew up in Atlanta and most of our vacations were in Florida or along the east coast, this was found most likely in Florida or along the Georgia Barrier Islands, but it could be from as far north as Hilton Head Beach in South Carolina. Anyone have any idea if this is a fossil coral, or just a regular piece of coral that is well-weathered? What species might this be? Thanks all.

I found this tooth in the peace river it seems to just be the Crown since the majority of the root is broken off. Wondering if anyone knows what it is. Looks like some type of cetacean tooth, but im hoping for mammal. If anyone needs additional photos please just ask. Thanks

Shown below is the tooth of a camelid, from the Miocene of the Bone Valley Member in Florida. It was sold as that of a Procamelus, but the Florida Museum page on the Palmetto Fauna doesn't list Procamelus as being present in it. The only camelids listed are Pleiolama, Hemiauchenia and Megatylopus. I personally believe the tooth to be from Hemiauchenia, but I have my doubts, particularly given the fact that I can't find much literature on the dentition of Pleiolama or Megatylopus for comparison online. The tooth also has an unusual ridge, as can be seen on the left in the first photo, which is a feature that doesn't appear to be present in the many Hemiauchenia specimens I can see, unless the ridge is a fragment of the most posterior projection of an M3. It is my understanding that @Harry Pristis is something of an expert on Floridian mammals. What do you make of the tooth? The tooth measures 2cm long (1.8cm if one disregards the projection of matrix on the right side of the tooth) and 2.4cm tall. Thanks in advance for any proposed ID's Othniel

A Fossil A Day....keeps the blues away! Or something like that... I started an Instragram account (jamielynnfossilquest) and am posting a fossil a day, so I figured I should do that on here, to REAL fossil enthusiasts! I'm a few days behind, so I will start out with a few more than one a day but then it will settle down to One Fossil (but I will admit, I'll probably miss a few days, but I'll double up or whatever.) I'll start with Texas Pennsylvanian era, but will branch out to other locations and time periods, so expect a little of everything! So enjoy A Fossil A Day! Texas Pennsylvanian Fossils: Nautiloid Agathiceras ciscoense Brachiopod Neochonetes acanthophorus Trilobite Ditomopyge sp. Gastropod Straparollus sp. Bivalve Astartella vera Cephalopod Brachycycloceras sp, Brachiopod Cleiothyridina orbicularis

We found this skull in the Peace River in south central FL. Can anyone help to ID? Many of the people I was with who are FL natives, and frequent fossil hunters, seemed to believe it is alligator. But I’m not convinced. It doesn’t resemble any of the crocodilia species. It lacks all teeth (and tooth cavities) and the overall shape is completely different. Based on the fused vertebrae at the base of the skull and the dental formation, I would have suggested either a bird or, more likely, of a marine species? On a not so serious note, I also would have been more inclined to believe it was of Jar Jar Binx. 😅

I found these two teeth in a creek near the peace river pretty close to eachother. Not really sure what they are was hoping someone could ID them. They are listed as find 1 and 2 respectively.

We took a spring trip to Florida in March and it started off on the right foot when we turned down the road to our motel and saw this street sign! Hopefully a good omen for things to come. Many sharks teeth were collected from the Gulf of Mexico's surf. The shorebirds, including this Willet, loved following us along, they looking for a snack and us looking for teeth. As much fun sifting shark's teeth in the surf is, my preferred objective was to slip off to Cookie Cutter Creek and collect micro matrix in hopes of finding a few teeth from Isistius brasiliensis, the cookie cutter shark. A picture of the creek show it is recovering from the dredging that took place a few years ago. So hopes of accomplishing my goal ran high. Success was not realized until returning home and processing some matrix. There it was, nestled between the grains of sand! Most of the micro matrix brought home will be given away to those who enjoy the dainty finds within it. Also found in the matrix was this vertebrae from a TINY mammal. Even smaller than the shark tooth. In addition to the creek hunt and beach combing, I did explore some land exposures looking to add new specimens to my large collection of Tamiami gastropods, corals and bivalves. I will burden you with just a few odd ones that I liked. First up is a weathered Strombus with a coral colony and an oyster using it as home. Staying with the same theme, here is a Nassarius overwhelmed by the attachment of barnicles. The next gastropod, Melongena subcoronata also came as a "twofer". When it came to cleaning this shell up, I was surprised that it had an occupant, and it wasn't a hermit crab! And no I did not take the bug home. While collecting fossil shells, I came across this nice Mako tooth, I believe Carcharodon hastalis is correct. It was a pleasant surprise. This year I had the privilege of fossilin with a few friends, one being a forum member, @Shellseeker. I so enjoy hoofing it through the wild Floridian forest to get to out of the way locations. And the selected location paid off! The hunt was once again the highlight of my trip! Plenty of nice fossils were found but unfortunately, I somehow misplaced, or lost as my wife always points out, the best of my finds. If or WHEN they are located, I will add to this trip report. In the mean time, my hunting partners gifted these gems to me. Tapir tooth And finally this prize from Jack. Thanks so much! I mistakenly thought these teeth were silky shark. @Al Dente said "Nice finds. These teeth are Negaprion." The only flaw in this fossil foray was loosing one of our members in the woods as we left for home. Jack, did you ever find him or is he still out there? LOL We did head north for a few days to the Crystal Springs/ Yankeetown area for fossilin and Manatee watching. The /Crystal River, being spring fed stays warm in the winter months and attract Manatees fleeing the cold Gulf of Mexico water. A photo of the Crystal River. And a photo of us snorkeling with Manatee! Echinoids are what the area is known for. The most common is the urchin, Eupatagus. This "double" was my favorite! A much smaller, unidentified urchin. We took a few hours on our return trip to visit Honeymoon Bay in search of geodized coral. Success was had, but a friend is prepping the coral. I will show it off later. It is special. As we trekked south, a stop was made at Norman Love's Confections in Sarasota hoping to top the trip off with a special desert like Jack gave to wifey for Valentines Day (see his post). It is called the "Chocolate Bomb". Five different chocolates and a special "cherry" on top. Jack, you split yours with your wife. I was thinking of my wife and ordered two bombs so she wouldn't have to share with me. After such a scrumptious dessert, I was ready to vegitate and what better way to accomplish this than taking in the evening's sunset. Hope you enjoyed our trip.

(It’s the same thing btw just two different pics)

Was looking for fossils in a creek in Florida, and I found a very strange piece of wood that I initially thought was a bone because it was dense/hard. I then noticed there were markings on it that looked unnatural. I’m guessing it could be something Native American but I also know nothing about Native American artifacts. Could someone help me. Also, could anyone id this leg bone and teeth? I’m guessing they are both mammals but I don’t know how to tell which is which, and I’m doubtful either of them are fossilized.

There are frequently events to help tourists spend money. The Shell Show certainly qualifies. I went this morning. Here are some of the displays that I enjoyed.. Some from Sanibel, Key West, Bahamas, Morocco, Senegal.... This sheller has been traveling... A close_up Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach took a direct hit mid_afternoon from Hurricane Ian. It destroyed 98% of mangroves (Black, White, Red) in the vicinity. So far, only the Red mangroves are starting to recover near the Marriott. I used to collect modern shells, now more of fossil shells and I do not buy shells anymore....

Hi everyone! This is my first post on here and I made an account just to ID this because this has been puzzling me for years. I found this in a vase of seashells that I bought down in Daytona, Florida in 2014. That’s pretty much all I remember about it. Ever since I’ve been wondering what it is. It has a very smooth and polished feel to it, like ceramic. There aren’t any ridges except for a very faint shell imprint near one of the edges, which I included in the photos. I think it is a shell fossil as well but I’d like to know what kind? It just looks pretty weird but cool to me. It’s a little over two inches, as pictured. I hope the photos provided are enough and thank you to anyone who helps out!

Found this bone on the beach in Marco Island Florida need help finding out what it is

Out hunting today, not many finds but a claw core is always exciting, even a small one. Pictures of the find. That last photo dried... I would have Identified this as Dasypus Bellus if only the last two photos did not show a different proximal shape.. Similar size/shape but very different attachment point. Could it be a different Armadillo ?? Working on it tomorrow.

Hi all, we found these at the beach and I cant find anything comparable in my book. Hoping someone with more experience could have a look. I think the little one could possibly be an incisor and i havent a clue about the larger one. I guess if anything its a decent looking rock. The scale bar is 1cm squared. Looking forward to any feedback

Hello! I’m a new member but I have checked the forum many times to identify my fossils and shark teeth. Usually I’m up by Calvert cliffs Maryland but recently I found a nice tooth at Jupiter beach in Florida, if anyone has any ideas on what type it is that would be awesome! Im still new to fossil hunting and identifying!