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My brother sent me this rather nice book on fossils today for my birthday. Its not new but it is cool, and very heavy!

After some careful thought and many references to suggestions from TFF members, I decided that my first fossil site would be Bayfront Park aka Brownie’s Beach in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. I packed up my newly bought expedition gear, sifter and all, and headed out. It was a little over an hour’s drive, which is not bad at all if you ask me. It was the day after Black Friday, so I had thought maybe everyone would just want to stay at home. But given it was a weekend, and families were in town for Thanksgiving and looking for something fun to do, my timing ended up not being ideal. When I showed up, the place was pretty busy, but I started collecting right away. There were quite a few other collectors, and in talking to them I learned that small teeth were a common find here, and in very large quantities. I actually didn’t find anything for a while, due to a number of things. The conditions were mediocre, considering how crowded it was and how the beach was riddled with those pesky autumn leaves that make combing the tide lines a real pain. Also, I was able to be at the park during low tide, but I would hardly call it that, as the water barely retreated at all. Must’ve just been the wind direction. But regardless of the imperfect circumstances, I was able to get a nice handful of small fossilized shark chompers and ray plates. My largest tooth, although still small, was actually the first one I found! A decent Physogaleus contortus I believe. Unlike the other teeth, I didn’t even have to sift for that one. Just found it chilling among some pebbles on the sand bank near the entrance of the park. The second I saw it I went “Ooh! That’s a tiger” and gladly picked up my first ever fossil. It will always hold a special place in my heart, even if it’s not the best find. Aside from my tiger, I found a bunch of Lemons, some real nice baby Sand Tigers, and I think some small Dusky. Again, I'm new so please correct my identifications. I also got my hands on some ray plates, and (although I had no idea what it was when I picked it up) a dolphin/porpoise tooth! I’m not quite sure what the black object next to it is, but I believe it to be something like a snail shell. If anyone has any clue what it is, let me know! Overall, I’d say I had a good first fossil hunting trip at a really beautiful site and I got to meet some nice people who share my passion. I got some cool finds and I can’t wait to hunt some more. I won’t let the small teeth scare me away from Brownie’s; I definitely plan on returning in better conditions to get some bigger, better finds. I actually plan on going in the winter, not too long from now! Hope you enjoy the trip report. Hoppe fossil hunting!

So I have been looking at some T.Rex and Nano rex teeth for sale and I came to the conclusion that they are extremely over priced some 1 inch rex teeth sell for over 400$. Why are they so expensive?

Did you watch the "documovie" Dinosaur 13? What do you think of it? Was it slanted to an unacceptable level? What is the part of the truth that is not portrayed in the movie? Why were interviewed just two (or one?) witnesses on the part of the federal government in all the movie? What was really wrong with the activity of the BHI? I would like to know more about that story, about the wrongs of each of the parts interested in the trial. From the movie it seems that the federal government was the evil and the BHI was the good guy: is it a fair reconstruction of the reality or was it the other way around? I am about to read the book of the story, Rex Appeal, because I want to know more about it, I want answers. Probably is not the best choice I could have done, as the book was written by Larson himself and Kristin Donnan, two victims of those events. The fact is, probably buying that book was the only choice, as there are no other books, to my knowledge. Was Pete Larson really doing some illegal trading of fossils as people say? I mean, he seems a good guy, I have read comments by some of you that say so. And his passion is snarge clear: I can see it from his eyes, he is in love with his job. I cannot understand how is possible to convict someone like him of illegal trade of fossils, as he seems well aware of the importance of science and of dinosaurs on education. I know I am in a huge community and probably some of you have more information about that infamous story. That's why I am writing. Thank you guys!

For my second ever fossil hunting trip, I figured I'd test out a different site, this time on the Potomac rather than the Bay. I read about many good sites (Purse, Westmoreland, etc.) but the one that seemed most attractive was Stratford Hall Plantation, just down the road from Westmoreland State Park in Montross, VA. Although it was nearly double the length of the drive to Brownie's, I'd say it was well worth it. Instead of venturing off on my own this time, I went with my dad, who wanted to share in the experience of my new hobby. We got on the road early in the morning to get there right as the beach opened. The site itself is fascinating and has a lot of history. It is the birthplace and childhood home of General Robert E. Lee. They offer extensive tours of the house and the grounds, and as much as I'd love to learn about it (and I do plan on doing so some time), this time around I was here for something much, much, older than the Lee family. The drive from the entrance of the plantation to the beach is very bumpy and confusing, but we eventually made it there alive. When we arrived to the beach, we were the only ones there as we had gotten there quite early. It's not a very large beach, and the restricted cliff areas are very clearly marked. We began sifting and combing through the shells and pebbles. After finding a few good sized teeth within my first couple minutes, I knew that this was a good site. My dad and I worked on opposite ends of the beach to cover as much ground as possible, and we both got some great finds. Throughout the day, the beach was near empty, with only a few others showing up the whole time. For the last couple hours we had the whole place to ourselves, and we were able to get some good sifts in before the beach closed at 4:00 p.m. We encountered some interesting wildlife as well, from a dead eel in the water that scared the living daylights out of me while I was wading, to a washed up dead bird (quite large, and looked a bit like a heron with stubby webbed feet). We weren't able to catch a low tide, so we didn't have a whole lot of beach to work with but for two people it was sufficient. It was also quite cold out, and the water was absolutely frigid, but that didn't stop us from having a productive day sifting for treasures! We managed to find quite a few teeth, mostly of decent size too! My finds are to the left, and my dad's are to the right. I should mention that my favorite tooth has to be that of Hemipristis serra, so that was one of my main goals. So you can imagine I was a bit disappointed to walk away without one...or so I thought! I didn't recognize them at first, but when I was identifying my finds later on, I found that the top left row of teeth are lower Hemis (including my biggest one, which is extremely worn down and ugly, but a Hemi nonetheless)! Although I'd much rather have an upper Hemi, these finds were great as well. We both found a good amount of tigers, both contortus and aduncus, some in fantastic condition. I have to say the black tiger on the far left may be my favorite tooth so far; it's nearly perfectly preserved! I also found a bunch of small Dusky and Gray shark teeth, as well as some Lemons. The larger one in the bottom left looked different than the rest, with its strange roots and all, so I had trouble identifying it. Help would be much appreciated. The shell I believe is the Virginia state fossil, Chesapecten jeffersonius. We found hundreds of fragments like this one throughout the day, but unfortunately this was the most complete specimen we found. Then, some more ray teeth, the leftmost being the biggest I've found yet. My dad had some great finds as well, including several baby upper Hemis, making me quite jealous. His best tooth is the top left, beautiful Sand Tiger with some nice cusps that he found on dry sand near the high tide line. He also found a tiny bony fish vert, in the bottom right. Overall, this was a great trip and I'm glad I was able to enjoy it alongside my dad. I think this may be a go-to site, as it seems quite reliable and would likely produce much better in nicer conditions. We got a good six hours of hunting in, taking a break midday during high tide. Stratford is a fantastic site for collecting, although keep in mind that they do charge you for entrance onto the grounds for the day, and the beach does close quite early year round. Looking forward to my next hunt, and I hope you enjoy the report. Hoppe fossil hunting!

Hello, where can I buy dinosaur fossils from the Hell Creek formation for fair prices? I am having trouble finding a website that offers some good dinosaur fossils.

First of all hello to everyone on this amazing forum! I and my girlfriend have recently embarked on a year long intercontinental road trip. We are both very much in love with bones rocks and fossils. So we are collecting what ever amazing treasures north America has to offer. We just got in to Florida last night started in oregon. I just stumbled onto this site last night and hope to be able to learn and share what I find over the past year. Here's to the community and hopefully a secret spot or two ps. someone please help us find a meg before we have to leave Florida.

well before the snow comes I took off work early to do some hunting and found some cool stuff.......but this one little guy could use some help with what it is in the 2ond and third pic.......thanks

I'm curious about assigning ages to various strata. As far as I am aware, much of what we know was derived from the fact that "fossil species change the deeper one goes in a sedimentary layer, with newer fossils above older fossils". It makes a nice story. However, one can take a drive across the USA and find surface deposits from all eras- as noted on any geologic survey. I assume that means there were always surface finding from all previous eras during every geologic eras, and the mixing always continues to occur. I die in Utah and could be buried in Ordovician mud in Millard county, or buried by a Jurassic diplodocus at Dinosaur. The amount of mixing in all areas must be tremendous, not to mention continual upheavals. How many observations does it take to establish clean data? How much wiggle is there? How does one assign error bars to the data?

I’m not a person to try and show off or one up a person. I only want to learn and better myself without stepping on toes and enjoy what I do. I thank everyone for having positive comments and helping me on my previous posts. Here’s some of the finds that I’m pretty proud of and looking for opinions and what people think.

Hello, I am asking the community members who live in or near Alsace, if they know any good trilobite fossil sites because me and a few friends have been planing to do a fossil trip and we want to know whether there are some fossil grounds worth visiting near or in Alsace. best regards, indominus rex

One of these I believe is a mosasaur vertebrae, but the other could just be a rock. It seems to have a few markings that seemed more biological than geological to me.

I used to have a rockshop with my ex-husband, who did lapidary and had a major in geology. His collections are fascinating but currently gathering dust in his ancient workshop. So, I have always had an interest in rocks and fossils and such. My collection is tiny and most of this I have no clue (and too much imagination) about what it actually is. I have a few items that I am curious about as to their true identity. One I am pretty sure is just plain mud or some sort of concretion. The minerals, well, I am guessing something like calcite. I think I have a palm heart as well but, hey, I very well could be wrong! Then there are two fossils I am sure you folks can give a name to for me. Thanks very much for your time and help! First is probably nothing more than some interestingly patterned mud. Then there are two pics of maybe some kind of fossil shell. Next is...??? I'm usually wrong, but maybe a type of coral? The top reminds me of a slab of petrified palm, with the monocot structure but the layering is more like individual tubes. Then there's the possible palm heart. It is heart shaped and please don't laugh my husband painted it red. The top of the heart shape is indented (concave?) and pardon my imagination, would be where the palm tree grew from the palm heart. Or maybe it's just a heart shaped rock but there were many of these where I found it. Lastly, there are two crystalline (minerals) and one goes from clear to yellowish to orange and red. The other one looks grey but is a bit golden honey colored under a bright light. The growth reminds me of petrified wood and the crystals are more long and slender. All but the heart rock were found on my property near Castroville TX.

Found in a small stream in south east BC Canada. About 2km west of continental divide. It's very heavy for its size. The filaments have segments on many of them and have and organic appearance. Location would suggest Devonian or Permian I'm guessing. It's hard to know with fast flowing creek finds this high in the Rocky Mountains. Any info or ideas be appreciated. Cheers.

Hi everyone, I am new to the site. I've been fossil hunting since I was a kid. My Dad was a H.S. Chemistry teacher who loved all things science. He was also an avid spelunker and loved taking me along. Thanks to him I am a plythora of useless knowledge...which I actually found a degree in at THE University of Oklahoma,(Bachelor of Liberal Studies..minor Sociology). I am a Fiber Optic Engineer by trade..go figure..but it takes me out into the field where I find some great fossils. The ones attached are from Lake Hugo in SE Oklahoma- Kiamichi area. Just wanted some input on identification. Thank you, Kimi

Hello, Im David, Im new to the site and hobby, Im not too good yet navigating the site, but Im working on it so please bear with me. I found this in north western new mexico, I think this is half of a dinosauer egg, If so, what known species inhabited the area? What might it be? Id appreciate any input or knowledge, Can Anyone Help? Thank You

Found it in Oligocene strata in Mississippi. Bay Springs, MS

Hi everyone, I'm new to this site, and the Morristown NJ area. I have a lot of interest in rocks and minerals as well, and usually go out to find them since I have no idea where to look for fossils locally. I'm big into biology too; when I saw the coelacanth that was found in North Bergen on this forum, it really got me interested. http://fossilsofnj.com/index_files/coelacanth.htm

Hello! I am David Ruckser, from Johnstown, Pennsylvania - An area with both plant and marine fossils. I retired a bit early; I have been retired for a year now! And I am busier than ever! I have many hobbies and collecting interests - In the late 1960s I was very interested in fossils. That interest has been rekindled! I hope to venture out in the spring again to hunt - I've made two forays into the field so far, and found some magnificent fossils - Sadly, they were on rock weighing well over a ton. In Springtime I will do much better! Some fossils I have found, or my sister in North Carolina has found and sent to me... I have bought fossils from commercial sites. One high school friend has a HUGE fossil business a few miles away - They were regulars at the big Tuscon show and Tokyo show. I will search a bit for fossils on my next Taiwan trip - I do think there are fossils there, will have to check. I hope to interact with new folks and share information!

Hello everyone. I began working in my backyard and discovered numerous interesting rocks and shell fossils. As a kid I collected rocks, but as I grew up my interests changed and I ended up an ESL teacher I don't know much about fossils and so I decided to join this forum with the hope of learning more. My house was built in the mid 20's and was previously grazing land near a creek (that at the turn of the century was dug into a man made lake). Please forgive me in advance for my lack of knowledge in this subject area. The photo I attached in something I dug up today. Those curved lines in the center are interesting, but I'm not sure what could have created such an impression. I'm just hoping to learn more and keep my inner child happy. Planting and looking at rocks also affords me the chance to spend more time under the Texas blue sky I love.

I recently ran across this forum and knew I had to join. My interest in fossils started many years ago growing up, although I really didn't know much about them. About 30 years ago, while vacationing in Florida, I started noticing fossils on the beach and decided I needed to learn more about them. Of course that wasn't until after I spotted this really interesting large "rock" in the surf line, half buried in the sand. I dug it out, looked it over, and even though I knew better, I decided it was too heavy to carry on our long beach walk. A few weeks later I was able to identify it as an intact, really good mammoth molar. Still bothers me!! More recently we've been hunting fossils closer to home. I'll probably have a couple ID requests in the near future. I look forward to following the forum. Thanks for having me.

HI all, Both me and my wife have been deeply involved with fossil collection, site mapping, and photography of fossils for many decades now in all of Arizona. We were the field expedition leaders for years at several museums, and have published dozens of professional papers in journals and periodicals on Arizona fossils. We have been to nearly every geologic sedimentary formation in the state, and store a huge number invertebrate and plant fossils from all over Arizona. I wanted to join this group so that we could share our expereinces, and help others that may come to our state in the future. It might be instructive to list some of the more interesting fossils we have found to give you an idea of were our passions lie: - Precambrian: 1.1 By old silicified stromatolites from the Mescal Limestone - Cambrian: Hordes of beautifully preserved trilobites, Hyalithids, eocrinoids, brachs from the Bright Angel shale, Abrigo formations - Ordovician: Red chert silicified orthocone nautiloids from South eastern Az (El Paso fm.) - Devonian: Tremendous amounts of rugose and tabulate corals, Perfectly preserved Bothriolepis arthrodires and plates - Mississippian: We have a huge collection of inverts from the Redwall limestone incl. Trilobites, gastropods, brachs, etc. Lots of complete crinods. - Pennslyvanian: Corals, sponges, tons of molluscs and brachs, lots of sharks teeth, hordes of bryozoans and yes - tiny red chertized trilobites. - Permian Marine: Kaibab formation - Orthocone nautiloids, huge coiled nautiloids, shark fins bones, Anisopege Trilobites, Pectens like you wouldnt beleive. - Permian terrestrial: Supai and Hermit shale - Tons of ichnofossils including mammal like reptile trackways, foot prints, tons of centipede trackways, gigantic calemites fronds and stumps. - Permian Lacustrine: Supai - Shark Coprolites, hordes of carbonized plant fossils! - Triassic: Phytosaur and metopasaur teeth, bones, etc.. Amazing colored and plain petrified wood, lots of fossil plant impressions. - Cretaceous Marine: Huge car tire sized ammonites, oysters hordes of shark teeth and huge complete Pinna casts to die for... - Cretaceous Terrestrial: Of course tons of wood, lots of plant fossils. - Tertiary: Mastadon tusk pieces, huge fossil mastadon trackways (not collected!), travertinized fossils of pine trees, cones, insects, larvae, pine needles, and invert trackways. You can see our fossil web site here: http://www.schursastrophotography.com/fossiladventures.html Thanks for your time, I hope I can contribute to this forum and help others when they come to our State! Chris

Hi everyone, I found the forum while trawling the internet trying to id a fossil I was given as a present. Hoping you guys will be able to help me out Thanks Jac

Hello neighbors. I am an old salt at finding treasure and am just getting my feet wet looking for fossils. Of course my feet are always wet during the cold season, as this is when I am most active in the streams and hills in Tennessee just North of Knoxville. Im always on the lookout for some awesome sites to uncover our history. Thanks for letting me introduce myself and I hope to run into some of you in the field.

Hi guys! I have just discovered this wonderful forum and I decided at once to become part of the community. Hope to find useful information about fossils & paleontology in general! I love paleontology but unfortunately I couldn't study it back at the time. I spend my spare time trying to learn as much as possible about it. Far from being a childish dream, it is still one of my main real passions. Hope to meet new interesting people here!