Search the Community

At least 415 individual shark teeth; although many are very small and / or broken. None are pristine; but they are fossils, and all were found in a few hours, by little ol' me. I hunted until I was worn out, from walking and bending over to pick them up. A few tiny pieces of ray plates, too.

My first ever trip to this location. I gave it a go for a few hours today, and I managed to find a few fossils. Nothing here that will blow people away; but I was "very thankful" that I was able to find fossils, without having any local knowledge. It was a learning experience. The location Information, is in the attached photographs.

Hello all, I have some teeth that have accumulated from some past trips that I haven't been able to find an ID for. I appreciate any input people might have. First, there is this fish tooth from the Moodys Branch Formation (Eocene) of Mississippi. As difficult as bony fish teeth are I thought I'd see if anyone could ID this one since it is quite a nice tooth. Closest thing I've found is Eutrichiurides but it isn't as compressed as figured plates. Attempting to show the double carinae. The following teeth are from the Byram Formation (Oligocene, Rupelian) of Mississippi. I figured Carcharias on this one.

Anyone know what kind? It is roughly 1.2 inches

These are from the Pleistocene of Mississippi

As y'all know, I love photographing my fossils almost as much as I love finding them. So of course, I have to do a Year in Review of my best fossil finds! I seem to be averaging about 150 best finds a year....not too shabby methinks! Hope y'all all had a great fossiliferous 2022 and that 2023 is EVEN BETTER

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)

Dug into this park on Tuesday for a few hours. I really have no experience with Mesozoic strata, aside from Coon Creek of Tennesse. The water was inconsistent in it's depth due to a local beaver dam causing higher than normal water levels. Material here consists of unconsolidated clays, gravel and sand. Here are two large bivalves I recovered from the upper beds containing clams. I believe these are Exogyra costata which are common at this location. This tooth belongs to Scapanorhynchus texanus in which the teeth are referred to as belonging to goblin sharks. This is untrue, as this taxa is distantly related to modern goblins but I believe they are within the same family? This is a pair of small bivalves, species possibly being miniscule Gryphaeostrea vomer? A single Agerostrea mesenterica. Finally pictured below, an unknown, based on corrected advice it is a worn Pycnodonte. This trip was long, but the report ended up being brief due to the difficulty I had getting into the productive zones at this site. In which happened to be straight down, through the toughest clay I have ever seen. I did however end up meeting one of the park volunteers named Doug, who was more than helpful, he frequents the area and is very friendly.

I tried to identify this species, but failed.

Celebrating National Fossil Day: Name that dinosaur contest, virtual exhibit open at MSU, Aspen Harris, Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi. Yorus, Paul H.

Not as clean looking as a skeleton only, but still pretty good I thought.

Found in southern Mississippi, USA near a creekbed in the late 1950's-early 60's. Looking for any information on age and confirmation that it IS a gar scale fossil arrowhead. Just under 5 cm/2 inch in length.

Hi all, very excited to join the forum! I'm chiming in from west Feliciana parish, Louisiana and I'm very close to the Mississippi River. It's low now, and I love to walk the low water banks and see what has turned up. This go round I found a partial tooth, and I'm thinking it is fossilized, maybe Pleistocene? I'm hoping someone can help... Pecarry is the most likely candidate to me thus far. It's about the size of a thumbnail fyi

I was digging in Prentiss county Mississippi at the Frankstown location, and pulled this out of the creek bed. Does anyone know what it is? IMG_4148.MOV

Hey! Wanted some outside input on what these teeth could be- the first four photos are my attempts at identifying them but more opinions would be greatly appreciated, as I'm still learning. Especially for the splotchy off-white tooth. All of these were found in 2016 in the W. M. Browning Cretaceous Fossil Park. Many thanks!

Today I was on a trip in Mississippi and found these suspicious looking objects, the area has generally more mountainous rocks, but these stuck out to me. The first one might be limestone, the second I think is either a rock or a bone, and same with the third, I do not have the one I believe is limestone anymore, but I was just curious if it was limestone.

There is a hill in south central Mississippi that is apparently constructed entirely of fossilized shells and "rocks" (bones) like this one. Can anyone help me learn more about this particular speciman? I have a good number of the shells also. Thanks! DCook

Back in April of last year I started a new job based in Texas. I had planned to work remotely until we returned to the office and then make a road trip down to Texas that would involve making several fossil pit stops along the way. When the time came for my move to Texas, my road trip unfortunately coincided with Hurricane Ida and I had to sadly scrap all of my plans and simply hightail it through the Gulf Coast to avoid the storm. Fortunately though I was given off from work the week between Christmas and New Years and I was even more determined to not let my research go to waste. The delay in my road trip also had the added bonus of time- I ended up visiting several sites that I had not known about during my move to Texas. Funnily, while I did not have to dodge hurricanes on this trip, I did have to dodge two tornado warnings. I guess extreme weather is just something you have to deal with when you fossil collect along the Gulf Coast. The road trip ended up being ten days of late nights and early mornings. I found a ton of really interesting fossils, which consequently meant that I have only now been able to finish cleaning, prepping, and identifying all of my finds. The road trip involved a number of firsts for me- it was the first time I have ever done a several day fossil road trip without my dad; I found a number of fossils that I had not found before; and I made my first ever donation to a museum. I would not have had it any other way! I can't wait to do it again soon! Day One I had a long drive into Mississippi in front of me so I had hoped to get an early start to the day. Fortunately or unfortunately that did not happen. I was to met a property owner early the next morning so my plan was to just get as close to tomorrow's site as possible. I could not pass up the opportunity though to do a little fossil collecting along the way. I had read about some old Oligocene sites that I thought could be worth checking out just to say that I had been there. Sadly one of the sites was simply too overgrown to be collected and at the other I was only able to find some incredibly fragile Pecten byramensis scallop shells. First find of the trip! Day Two Early the next day I drove another hour to a stream exposure of the Upper Eocene Moodys Branch Formation. In the time that had passed from my planned trip in September to my trip in December the site had changed ownership, but the old owner was kind enough to pass along the new owners' contact information. With a little convincing the new owners granted me permission to visit. I was excited! I had been warned about the fragility of the Periarchus lyelli sand dollars at the site but with the right tools and the right mindset I was ready to get into the creek and do some exploring. I had thought that my visit would last only a few hours, but, after walking the section of creek several times looking for the sand dollar bed and making several trips to my car to bring in more tools and carry everything out, before I knew it was already the late afternoon. While the turn of events meant that I could not visit some of the other sites I had planned for the day, it did mean I had the opportunity to meet both of the owners. I showed them what I had found and they asked if I would send them one of the sand dollars, which I was happy to do. With an invitation to come back whenever I wanted and some holiday wishes, I hit the road to my planned stop for the night. Not much to see when first found, but when they are properly prepped... Far more abundant than the sand dollars where the wealth of shells, corals, bryozoans, and other tiny fossils. I ended up washing and screening some excess matrix I collected. I was astonished by what I found, including tons of tiny shells, fish otoliths, fish teeth, crab claws, bryozoans, juvenile sand dollars, shark teeth, etc. Calyptraphorus stamineus Cirsotrema nassulum Venericardia apodensata Glycymeris idonea Eburneopecten scintillatus Nucula spheniopsis Balanophyllia irrorata Flabellum cuneiforme Endopachys maclurii Platytrochus goldfussi Crab Claws Arm Plates of Comatulid Crinoid Himerometra louisianensis Sea Star Ossicles Juvenile Periarchus lyelli Negaprion gibbesi Fish Vertebra Paralbula marylandica Ariosoma nonsector Preophidion meyeri Sciaena aff. Sciaena pseudoradians Jefitchia claybornensis Orthopristis americana Day Three With a quick change of plans in light of the expected weather later in the week I drove through Mississippi into Northern Alabama to hunt the Mississippian Bangor Limestone. When I had told a friend that I was planning a road trip through Alabama he had recommended several sites in the Bangor Limestone worth checking out. He recommended going in the winter time though since one of the sites was only exposed when the lake is drained. With six sites on my list I knew that I would have to be efficient with my time. While I could have easily stayed longer at some of the sites, an hour and a half to two hours turned out to be just enough time for each site. While I had heard that the Alabama Paleontological Society had been to two of the sites only the week prior, some recent rain had helped refresh things and there were plenty of fossils to be collected. I was thrilled to find some Mississippian blastoids and crinoids. Some in-situ photos of the blastoids Pentremites pyriformis Pentremites godoni Zeacrinites wortheni Pterotocrinus depressus Onychocrinus pulaskiensis Phanocrinus bellulus While I had added several Bangor Limestone sites to my list in hopes of finding Mississippian crinoids and blastoids, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of Mississippian trilobites Kaskia chesterensis I also found. Crinoid Cup and Trilobite Tails A visit to the Bangor Limestone would not be complete without adding some Archimedes bryozoan to the collection. I found this plate with one large piece on it. At the end of the day, as the sun was setting, I made a very quick stop at an exposure of the Hartselle Sandstone. Using whatever light I could use, I contrasted the loose rocks with the sun and added a few Mississippian ichnofossils to my collection. Olivellites implexus Lockeia cordata Lockeia siliquaria Day Four The same friend who recommended I visit several Bangor Limestone sites also recommended I visit a couple of Monteagle Limestone sites while I was in the area. While my first two full days of collecting had brought riches, including beautiful sand dollars, blastoids, and crinoids, today was the first unproductive day. Having driven quite a distance to get here and having spent by then several full days out in the field, I was ok to take a bit of a break. With a gray sky and a light drizzle, I stopped at four sites, with only one of the sites being fruitful for a quick stop. Although my friend promised crinoids and blastoids, I only found a few loose brachiopods, crinoid stems, and bryozoans, and a single crinoid plate. Schellwienella sp. Punctospirifer kentuckiensis Punctospirifer transversa Inflatia inflata Petrocrania chesterensis Hederella chesterensis Agassizocrinus conicus Seeking to not waste the day and with still many hours in the day left, I decided to make the most of things and visit the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. When you drive into Huntsville on the highway you can see two massive model rockets standing up in the horizon- it is really a sight to see. As I learned from the museum, while Houston has Mission Control and Cape Canaveral has the rocket launch pad, it is Huntsville that builds and tests rockets. I am really glad I got the chance to visit. Full Size Models of Saturn I and Saturn V Rockets Prototype of Saturn V Rocket Used To Test Lifting Mechanism Before Sending Apollo Astronauts To The Moon Apollo 16 Command Module Day Five Today marked the first of several days I would be focusing on the Upper Cretaceous Period. Having grown up collecting in the Upper Cretaceous of New Jersey, the Upper Cretaceous has always had a special place in my collection and I was excited to see what the Gulf Coast could offer. Ralph Johnson, the curator of the MAPS Collection, had asked me to collect a few representative samples for him to compare against the ones from the Atlantic Coastal Plain in the MAPS Collection, so I had added reason to fit a few stops in. My first stop was a stream exposure of the Eutaw Formation, Tombigbee Sand Member. I had heard rumors and got confirmation from the President of APS that the owners of the property can be a little careless in their target practice, so I made sure to fit in a stop to the site in the early morning on a weekday and to wear an orange vest while there. Prepared for the worst but hoping for the best, I was happy to hear nothing while I collected. After grabbing a few echinoids and finally speaking on the phone with the owner of a property I had hoped to visit later that day, I made my way to my next stop. Hardouinia bassleri Trigonia sp. Inoceramus sp. Exogyra upatoiensis Flemingostrea cretacea Ostrea sp. My second stop was a roadside exposure of the Prairie Bluff Chalk. I was really fortunate to get permission to visit when I did because the site abounded in phosphatic molds of bivalves, gastropods, and ammonites. The ground was literally covered with fossils. I was excited to see many fossils that I recognized from my collecting in New Jersey. Discoscaphites conradi Trachyscaphites alabamensis Eubaculites carinatus Baculites lomaensis Baculites sp. C Dunnicrinus mississippiensis Ossicles Turritella tippana Turritella encrinoides Longoconcha sp. Anchura noakensis Napulus sp. Bellifusus sp. Ellipsoscapha mortoni Graphidula sp. Eoacteon sp. Gyrodes spillmani Gyrodes petrosus Anisomyon sp. Crassatella vadosa Cucullaea capax with Cliona microtuberum boring sponge trace Solyma sp. Veniella conradi Scabrotrigonia thoracica Granocardium lowei Cyprimeria alta Spondylus sp.

During a recent trip back to W.M Browning Cretaceous Fossil Park in Northern Mississippi (Demopolis Formation, Late Campanian) I collected another mosasaur tooth. While incomplete the condition is still very nice. I am aware of the difficulties in identifying isolated mosasaur teeth but have been attempting it nevertheless. If nothing else I've learned more along the way. Two questions for this tooth. The first is the general question if anyone has an idea about the identification. The second pertains to what qualifies as serrations on mosasaur teeth. There are "crenulations" present on this tooth as I would call them but do these qualify as serrations? Among the mosasaurs reported from the Demopolis (Clidastes propython, Halisaurus sp., Mosasaurus conodon, Mosasaurus cf. missouriensis, Platecarpus cf. somenensis, Plioplatecarpus sp., and Tylosaurus sp.) serrations are a characteristic that reportedly separates the majority of them. However, the lack of all facets on the tooth is somewhat unusual in conjunction with the serrations. Am I exaggerating these crenulations as serrations? I posted this tooth once before but thought I'd post it again since it it is from the same site as the new one. I have some reason to believe it may be Mosasaurus missouriensis based on the general shape, number of facets, and cross section, but I've also had difficulty finding reference material for M. missouriensis. Any thoughts? Does anyone have reference photos or material for M. missouriensis?

Found what we think is a horse tooth not long ago and then just recently found this one. Needing help in identifying, maybe cow?

I have been too busy to get out fossil hunting when I want but there are a few recent times I've been able to get out. I wanted to try and post a small trip report about them. On October 31 I had the opportunity to visit the W.M. Browning Cretaceous Fossil Park in Prentiss County, Mississippi. Most people from the area are probably familiar with this old site but I'm a new resident to this part of the South so I wanted to give it a try. It's Late Campanian Demopolis Formation. It was a little cold and rainy but warm enough for someone used to North Dakota. Apparently these large concretions erode out of a higher formation. First tooth I found wasn't even in the creek but on the bank where I set my sieves. A good sign. A little tributary carving through the bedrock made for relaxing sounds. A little mosasaur tooth. Washing and drying the teeth back home. "Junk" teeth I set aside to use for biology outreach programs. S Some more pics of the mosasaur tooth. A nice Hybodus cephalic clasper. A chunk of cartilage and some verts. A blunted Ischyrizha rostral spine. Keeper fossils. A couple Baculites asper pieces and some Cadulus sp. didn't get in close pictures. I'm always a sucker for lightning and cool color variations in teeth. Serratolamna serrata teeth were the second most common. Squalicorax kaupi Squalicorax pristodontus Hybodus sp. and Pseudohypolophus. Most were missing tips but the Enchodus were a good average size. Xiphactinus teeth were just tips. Some bigger Scapanorhynchys were also present. Baculites asper and Cadulus sp. Anomia argentia The small Gryphaeostrea vomer. Exogyra ponderosa and Pycnodonte convexa (not pictured) were also a common find. Aside from the common material there were some nice rarer specimens and stuff new to my collection. Overall it was a very good trip.

From the Pleistocene of Mississippi. It’s definitely a Canine and I’d say Carnivore. I sent the pictures to someone I trust who is very knowledgeable and they said Catamount/Puma. Just looking to see some more input on it, and to let everyone else enjoy it.

I've been quite busy lately but I managed to get out on October 30 and drove up to check out the W.M. Browning Cretaceous Fossil Park in northern Mississippi. Despite the high water levels I did pretty well and also found this small mosasaur tooth. I'm aware of the difficulty of identifying isolated mosasaur teeth but figured I'd post it anyway in case anyone experienced with mosasaurs or this area can narrow it down even to subfamily. Plioplatecarpinae? This comes from the Demopolis Formation which is late Campanian. CM scale