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This is a large rock formation I found in forested area near my cabin in Perry County Indiana about 15 miles from the Ohio River. It has what seems like steel plates on the surface of some of the rock formation, which measures about 10 feet by 7 feet and about 3 to 4 feet high. There is a white-ish crystalized substance on the surface of some of the plates which seems very hard, not lichen-like or easily scratched off the surface. It seemed unusual to me, so I cleaned it off and dug it out a bit to reveal more of the surface. Hoping someone might have an idea what this is. I am a new member and very inexperienced in fossil and geology identification. Thanks for any input.

I'm looking to visit a few road cuts in Indiana this month, including St. Leon and a few around Bloomington. I've read differing accounts here about the legality of collecting on roadcuts in Indiana. Would anyone be able to clear it up?

Presumably, having been tumbled along the robustness of the Knob Creek's quartz bearing country rock of the Hoosier National Forest in the Bartlettsville (North Lawrence Co.) IN area, the tip of the Crown (Calyx) of this large Crinoid appears to have been sheered off at some point to give the observer a view (in crossection) of the inside of calyx which reveals absolutely nothing but Silica replacement of all internal parts. This sample is of the Harrodsburg Formation in the Sanders Group, Lower Middle Mississippian Time.

I found both of these bones within a foot of each other poking out of the surface of a creek beside my house (I live in North West Indiana). They both seem to pass the burn test and tap test, although this is my first time finding potentially ancient bone, so I'm not certain that they are fossilized. Could anyone more experienced confirm that these are fossilized? Or recommend any other tests?

I found this in southern Indiana. It is from the Ordovician period (Dillsboro formation). I initially grabbed this for the mollusk located in the bottom right corner (it is a mollusk, right?), but am more curious about the thing jutting out of the left. Is this just a concretion? Any help would be appreciated.

I took a trip to Southern Indiana to do some fossil hunting (they are an elusive creature). I am now just cleaning some of them up and saw this one and it piqued my curiosity. It is from the Ordovician period (Dillsboro formation). Can anyone help me out? Sorry for the use of a quarter, it was all I had. Thank you.

Hello everyone! I am back to ask for opinions again on an unusual find in north eastern indiana. It has a few different things going on and i will do my best to take decent pictures for you to see. First let me say the rock in its entirety is around 3 inch (76 mm) in length. 1 inch (25 mm) tall and 2.5 inches (63 mm) wide. The "teeth" are roughly 1/4 inch wide.

I found this yesterday in the Wabash river in northeast Indiana. Its about 2.5" x3" Sort of resembles a mammoth tooth but it may just be my imagination. Thanks in advance, -Troy

After taking @caldigger's advice I went back to this gravel dump in Indianapolis. I found a few more pieces of Horn Coral, but this guy was a mystery. I'm hoping its part of a trilobite and not coprolite. Thanks in advance!

I found this in some gravel they had poured to backfill a slope near the white river. My amateur guess is horn coral but I was hoping for a more educated opinion. Thanks Front side back side

Hi all! Now that I'm finally getting around to organizing my fossils into cabinets, I'm looking to get a bit more information on some of them. As I'm currently finishing up the Ordovician shelves of my cabinets, I was hoping to get some help with identifying brachiopods from the St. Leon roadcut in Indiana that I acquired through winning some past auctions benefiting the forum. Photo #1: Mainly strophomenids, I think - does anyone have a more precise ID? Photo #2: Dalmanellids perhaps? Any specific IDs out there? Photo #3: These are really tiny and adorable More to come...

Howdy all! I found this and was hoping to put a name to it. This was found in a drainage ditch in South bend Indiana and is glacial till. Thank you for all you do!

I took my family across the river to Clarksville Indiana today to visit The Falls of the Ohio State Park. It was very hot with a high in the 90s, but we had a good time walking the Devonian fossil beds and visiting the Interpretive Center . The river was down enough to get onto the upper limestone beds, but the lower beds were still underwater. They are typically exposed during the months of September and October and occasionally in the summer when there is little rain (not this year!). The river is at 20 ft right now. The lower beds become dry around the 13.5 ft mark. Their official website has a page that monitors the river levels and tells you when certain areas and strata are exposed. I suggest checking that out before making the trip to visit the park. https://www.fallsoftheohio.org/current-ohio-river-conditions/ The Interpretive Center houses the main indoor exhibit, gift shop, a river viewing room, and bird/wildlife viewing room, along with friendly staff. The main exhibit has fossils and interactive areas for the kids. Not only are there fossil on display, but also sections regarding the Native Americans that lived in the area, the current wildlife, and information regarding the Lewis and Clark expedition. A piece of fossilized wood just outside of the center on the backside by the parking lot. It is roughly 4 feet in length and 2 feet wide. When you walk into the main foyer of the Interpretive Center this boulder is on display. It is about a meter across and half as thick. I don't want to spoil the trip for everyone so I'm just going to post some pictures of a few of my favorite pieces. I thought this was interesting. It's labeled as orange chert, which I assume it is, but it also has a horn coral right in the middle of it. A sampling of the fauna found in the fossil record here. There was also a small exhibit on mammoths as evidence of a few have been found in the surrounding area. Presumably crossing the Falls to get to the salt licks in Kentucky. This was a comparison of a mammoth and mastadon tooth. The interior exhibit is nice, but for me the best part of the Falls of the Ohio is outside. Its the fossil beds that you can walk on and explore. I've been here a few times and find something new each time I come. Remember folks, it's against the law to collect here. Leave the fossils alone for others to enjoy! No matter how tempting... . If you just have to collect something, the park usually has a couple of dump truck loads of material near the back of the parking lot that they allow you to search through. Seriously. Here are some of the fossils that me and the family found while walking around the fossil beds. A word of caution, if you want to get to certain areas there is some climbing that you must do. A lot of the strata has fissures or large boulders that must be climbed, or walked around to move farther down the coast. This is on the fossil beds themselves. You can stay higher on the slope and circumvent a lot of the really strenuous stuff, but the fossils are not as good the higher up you go. Here are a some of the more impressive horn coral that I found. They actually call these larger ones "tusk coral" because the are so large. I'm not certain what these coral are, but Siphonophrentis and Cystiphylloides are common here. I know a hand isn't the best for scale, but it's all I had at the time. lol From the tip of my index finger to where my thumb connects is just over 5 inches. Some mainly brachiopod hash plates. A large favosites. Crinoids Lace Bryozoan This was my favorite find. A large colonial coral. It is over a meter in diameter. What is commonly called a Pipe Organ Coral. Eridophyllum I think that is all for now. It was a great day of discovery and fun with the family. If you are in the area and have a couple of extra hours, I highly recommend you stop by and check out the sights for yourself. You won't be disappointed. Just remember to check the river water levels and be ready for a little exercise!

Would you be able to ID this for me. It was found in South Bend Indiana so chances are it isn't from around here but dropped off by a glacier a few years back. Also, I wet it down so the features can be better seen. Any ideas? Thank you.

This morning I got up early so I could hit the St. Leon, Indiana road cut before I did my 5 hour drive home. Like all of the other areas that I visited these past couple days, I was the only one collecting. I thought yesterday was hot, but today I spent 5 1/2 hours in 93 degree heat. I only hit a small portion of the roadcut and only on one side. This location is one of my favorite to collect and I could spend 1 week there and not check out the whole area. Unlike the other locations from this week that are mostly made up of bryozoan, this place is mainly made up of different species of brachiopds. I like to take the road less traveled at this location and that means going vertical on the scree to move up to the different levels. Doing this is very sketchy and you have to watch your footing as you can loose three feet of progress with a misstep. If you have not had a chance to visit this location and if you like Ordovician fossils or just fossils in general, this is a bucket list must. Here are some pictures of the area- Fossils are found on all levels of this terraced roadcut, I found a lot of great looking brachiopods that were on the larger site for this location. The farther up that you go, I ran into some really cool small brachiopods, I do not know what species they are, but they are very nice. Hash plates are also all over this site and I you want a glimpse of past life in a plate, you will have your pick. Here are some pictures of the different brachiopods along with some nice hash plates. During this visit I found 1 or 2 of my best Rafinesquina that I have ever found, there are some so so ones also. In my experience, it is not very often that I find real nice ones. I believe that this is an Eochonetes- Here are some of the little ones that I found on the Trilobite layer- if someone knows what species they are, please let me know. I have never found one of these at this location and I am looking for an ID on this one also- it is almost complete. I am thinking it might be Vinlandostrophia. I found several nice brachs that I believe are Rhynchotrema dentatum. Here are pics of other species and Hash Plates- More Brachs on next Post

I tried to post this last night, but my phone was not cooperating. Yesterday was a hot day and I spent about 9 hours outside collecting and going through a lot of water. I first stop and my first location on Monday located in Wilder, Kentucky. This site is very productive and I wanted to stop back and check out another portion of it. Here is a picture of the location- Here are some of my finds- Cryptolithus tessellatus- Flexicalymene meeki- Flexi / Crypto and Isotelus Parts- Graptolites: Geniculogratus typicalis

After a little research I think this is coprolite. Rock on one side and something that resembles poop on the other side. See next post for reverse side. Size is 1 1/4 inch by 3/4 inch by 1/4 inch

I know nothing about fossils. I found some things in my garden and trying to determine if they are fossil or rock

This is roughly 2 1/2 inch in length. At its widest point 1 1/2 in and a 1/4 in thick. Any help identifying it would be much appreciated

Please help identify the fossil below. It was found in glacial till/drift in South Bend, Indiana. Approximately 8cm across and 4cm wide. Please note the hangnails in the third picture. I've never had a manicure but I am now debating. Thank you for your help and understanding.

This was found in South Bend Indiana in a storm water ditch. This was probably dropped off by a friendly glacier from up north. It is 6 cm long and 4 cm wide at the top and 3 cm at the bottom.

I was wondering if someone could help me identify this fossil found over the weekend. It was found in South Bend Indiana. Because it was found in Northern Indiana, the fossil isn't from around here and was probably deposited by a glacier from somewhere up north. It is approximately 12 cm at its longest point and about 4 cm wide. Thank you for your help!

This is a fossil I found on the bank of a creek in southern Indiana. I’ve long suspected it to be a small turtle shell due to the pattern on the top side. In addition, there are many nicely preserved patterns on the sides of and underneath the outer shell. I think this could be tissue or something that was fossilized with the creature. I’m no expert, so I’d love to know from the community

I have seen slabs of this kind of stone where I collect my fossils. Yesterday, I found a piece with a leaf impression and was wondering if this is an "old" rock and if the leaf impression is a fossil. (I do ask around and search online, but I get stuck often. Thx)