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I found these in the Huachuca Mountains of Arizona. Most are very small, about 1 cm each or less. A couple of them might be almost 2 cm across. Can anyone tell me what these fossils might be?

Hope this isn’t inappropriate for this forum. For everyone who was following my excavations, Dr Klein presented his findings. Dr Lucas is coming back later this year to pick up a few more tons of my tracks.

Hello, wondering if this is a fossilized sea sponge or coral? It is large and quite heavy. Found in the Coconino forest past Payson and Strawberry.

Hello, apologies for opening a new thread. Are these just neat looking rocks or possible fossils? I could not tell.

Hello, Over the years I have found several fossilized shells on the Mogollon Rim in Arizona. I was wondering if these can be identified?

My 8yr old found this neat fossil and we could use some help with identification. He found it on the Bell Rock climb hike of Sedona Arizona. The fossil is slightly concave/curved. It's 4 cm long and about 2cm wide with some tapering. You can see three distinct tips on one end and is flat on the other. You all came through the last time so any leads would be immensely appreciated. My son is just dying to find out what it is he found.

Everyone I've encountered on this site has been very helpful, so thank you. However, I'm in need of more help. For the last year I've been collecting real fossils in the field and selling some to pay for more exotic rocks. In a recent post I found that my Solnhofen shrimp is, if not totally, mostly fake. Now I'm quite suspicious of my entire purchased collection and was hoping you could help me identify fakes. The first two pictures are apparently Priscacara, Green River Formation, Eocene; the next two supposedly Asteroidea, Morocco, Ordovician; the last three supposedly Triassic, Arizona petrified wood--this came from the same group that sold me the fake shrimp. All help is appreciated.

Hello all, I feel like I've hit the jackpot finding this forum. I have quite a few pieces needing identified. I am so excited to be here. Please stay tuned as I have read the suggestions on how to photograph specimens, so I will be working on those pics over the next few days. Thank you for having me. I can't wait to learn from each of you.

I found lots of petrified wood in the lower part of the Miocene Chalk Canyon Formation north of Phoenix. The layer is mostly sandy and pumaceous. Does anyone know what the siliceous 1mm long elongated spheres are or how they formed? Could they be fecal pellets, fungi or other fossils. I have seen similar structures associated with California Miocene palm wood. @paleoflor Penny is 19 mm across.

Been searching my upper level recently- Shinarump Formation, late Triassic. Finding some decent bone pieces. Most likely amphibian, particularly Metoposaurus.

Found this North of Black Canyon City. There were numerous other fragments that were being exposed by erosion.

Tuataras May Have Originated as Early as 190 Million Years Ago Enrico de Lazaro, SciNews, March 4, 2022 The open access paper is: Simões, T.R., Kinney-Broderick, G. and Pierce, S.E., 2022. An exceptionally preserved Sphenodon-like sphenodontian reveals deep time conservation of the tuatara skeleton and ontogeny. Communications biology, 5(1), pp.1-19. Yours, Paul H.

Trying to Add IDs to our YT video and this one is not on the "ID Key" at the paleo site. I will include the ID Key for identification purposes, thanks in advance! GPS Coords: 34°19'21.3"N 111°06'26.2"W

On the back side of a plate I received recently containing Chirotherium barthii or Isochirotherium sp. prints from the Holbrook Member of the Moenkopi Formation, Snowflake Arizona, I found what might be plant material. I’m not sure if they can be identified as anything with these photos but I plan to take closer more detailed photos once I’m back home. Personally to me (which could just be my mind playing tricks on me) they seem to be stems of some sort. Before I conclude this post though I’d like to apologize for my past actions, since I’ve joined the forum in 2019 I’ve annoyed many and have caused more than one problem, acting like a child asking same questions over and over again, posting stuff I shouldn’t be, and losing something I should’ve never even had, I’m sorry for that and I hope I can start fresh.

Found near Canelo, AZ. The grey stone feels brittle, lightweight, and gritty. And there's tons of it around. I'm not sure if this is a fossil or not. Just thought it looked real curious. What do you guys think?

The two sides of a single small chunk of limestone show two very different fossils. One side may be a Receptaculites, and the other I don't recognize. The rock was found on the surface in an area of mixed cobble, formerly an ancient riverbed, so the origin is uncertain. Most of the old limestones in the area are Devonian or Carboniferous. The stone's about 4 cm long. The area it was found was also inhabited by the Sinagua people, who abandoned the site about 700 years ago. They could have transported the stone from somewhere or traded for it? Any ideas what these fossils are?

Found on Arizona mesa top. What’s curious is the shell like structure that I have not seen in the many geodes I’ve found around here. See 3rd and 4th pics for best outer shell view. Any thoughts from the community? Thanks

Hello everyone, A while back I was gifted this fairly large piece of pet wood from Arizona. I don't really know what I can do with it as I don't have any equipment to polish or cut rocks like this. I was wondering if any TFF members have such equipment, and if they did how much it would cost to either polish this piece at one or both ends or alternatively, slab it and polish some of the slabs. I don't know if it would be worth the time or money to do so, I am just trying to see what I can do with a piece like this. Thank you very much for any help, Misha

I’m hoping to ID two fossils. The first fossil was found in the Boone Formation of Northwest Arkansas. My first thought is ammonite, but the spiral is much looser than what I’m seeing online. The second fossil was found 10-50 miles south of the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It was a while ago, can’t remember exactly where I was. Both are about an inch across. Thanks for your help!

Hi All, so I had heard about fossilized coral located in the Western Arizona desert near the Colorado River. So we went out there and did some rock prospecting ourselves. The location is La Paz, County south of Parker, Arizona. Namely, the terminal moraine-like hills about 10 miles south-east of Parker, Arizona beyond the Colorado River Indian Reservation. We found a ton of very interesting sponge or coral-like rocks on top of these hills. So this is consistent with a few other reports online about this. First, let me describe this location as it’s somewhat fascinating if you pay special attention. Parker is located next to the Colorado River south of Lake Havasu, Arizona. As you travel southeast of Parker on Highway 95, you will begin to gently gain 100-150 ft in elevation as the Highway climbs through a gentle alluvial fan formation for about 4-8 miles. Then you will begin to see some very odd elongated, east-west sand hills maybe 50-100 ft tall. You won’t think anything of them until you look at an aerial photograph and realize they seem like giant terminal moraines. They’re extremely consistent in shape and placement, like giant wave ripples. We sampled several of these terminal moraine hills. Per geological maps, these moraine hills are composed of an unconformity of top Bullhead Alluvium coating over the below Bouse deposit mounds. You can clearly see this from a few, open cross-sections of these hills, where most of the hill is composed of a sandy material then very oddly layered with a top layer of dense rocks (1/2 inch up to 6 inch size rocks). Now that’s kind of odd. A series of sandy hills composed with a coating of heavy and dense deposits on top? And more interesting is the model where the present day Colorado River may have been formed when a series of lakes formed, filled up, breached and flooded to create subsequent downstream lakes. At this location an ancient Lake Blythe would have formed from presumably a catastrophic flood from a breach of an upper ancient Lake Havasu or ancient Lake Mohave. Think about it, that would probably explain these odd terminal moraine hills with a unconformity of large gravel rocks on top! Wow. It’s anyone’s guess but it sure does seem plausible. So we sampled these hills for several days. Their top gravels are composed of a variety of rocks. But what’s odd is that many sponge or coral like rocks seem to exist in this top layer of Bullhead Alluvium. These have the same appearance as those described downstream in Yuma on this forum. Also, when we were in Lake Havasu City, we found the exact same sponge and coral like rocks there, too. So at least from Yuma to Lake Havasu City and maybe much further beyond. One must wonder where they originated. The Grand Canyon, other canyons, ancient flat areas around the present day Colorado River? But they seem to be very present in presumably flood gravels. There appear to be some different types. Some are coated and show massive eroded pits and areas exposing their mostly gray cores. By coated, the entire specimen is surrounded by a coating(s), so I don’t believe it’s a piece of a eroded deposit layer from a nearby cliff from a flood, etc. Many have elongated shapes, wide on one end and narrow on the other end. Others are gray core matter only, some showing a bit of coating or not, and their cores show very curious patterns that look very sponge or coral like in nature. Their internal patterns seem biological in nature and marine like and can be seen within some of the partially-eroded coated pieces. We also found some gravel rocks with small crinoid fossils and a few specimens that looked like large coral heads. All of these specimens are highly weathered, consistent if they were part of a massive flood deposit. It’s very cool stuff. It’s everywhere in these Bullhead Alluvium flood gravels. It’s so prevalent, I’ve got to wonder if anything specifically has ever been written about it? Granted it was only a few years ago that evidence was uncovered that may indicate that the lower Colorado River area was once an inland sea estuary during the Miocene to Pliocene, before final formation of the modern day Colorado River presumably from a series of breaches. So it begs to wonder what other treasures this area may hold. I attached pictures of some of the sponge and coral like specimens. Size scale shown is in inches. Comments welcome. Cheers, DJ

Hi All, any thoughts on these specimens? Location is Roberts Mesa in Gila County, Arizona. (east of Payson) The red coral-like stems were found loosely on the ground very near the red trunk and gray matrix pieces. So I’m making some assumptions that the two are related as they were found maybe within 100 meters of one another. And the red stems above looked similar to the red trunks below of course. My first thoughts are some sort of coral but could they be a sponge instead? I’m assuming all are Naco Formation? Comments welcome. Photo size reference is in inches. cheers, DJ

Hi, I’ve probably frequented here for 10 years or so and finally decided to join! Anyways glad to join the group. I will be posting some coral fossil images later today for your review. cheers, DJ

Even though I fancy myself as a self-collector of fossils, I have always been interested and attended shows as they are excellent learning/networking venues. For the past few years, I have been attending the Quartzsite shows. The first times I attended, I was pretty lost since they are actually a series of shows, some overlapping, some not, at different venues. Very confusing. That's part of the charm though since there is much to like about these shows: they occur at a time of the year (winter) when nothing else is happening in much of the country, you can find excellent bargains, they are pretty relaxed due to the extended schedule of shows and they are mostly outdoors which has turned out to be a huge bonus in the age of COVID. My experience is that there are 3 shows for fossil enthusiasts worth mentioning: 1. Desert Gardens This is an RV Park turned into a rock, gem and mineral show typically from January 1 to February 28. Vendors occupy RV parking sized spots, which are larger than your typical venue's vending areas. The show hours are typical business hours seven days a week for 2 months. It is all outdoors and due to its long schedule, can be visited in addition to the other shows. The parking and atmosphere of this show tends to be a bit more relaxed than the others as well. The feel is more wholesale type business, but every vendor I've encountered will also gladly do business with the general public. The common refrain is, "I'll sell the whole table or individual specimens, just tell me what you're interested in and we'll make a deal." I estimate the number of vendors around 50-100. The reason for the wide number is that thanks to the long hours and period, some vendors may not be there or open when you come. Some may not even be fully set up if you go early in the year. 2. Tyson Wells Another RV Park just east of Desert Gardens on Kuehn Street. This is a 10 day show during the first couple of weeks of January, this year from January 7-16. The format of Tyson Wells is the first show is for Gems and Minerals. After that show is a "Sell-a-rama" flea market type show, followed by an Arts and Crafts show. What I saw was quite a few vendors setting up shop for all 3 shows, selling a variety of goods not related to rocks/gems/minerals/fossils. I attended the Gem and Mineral show in 2022, and rock/gem/mineral/fossil dealers were actually a minority, scattered here and there but mostly concentrated towards the eastern end of the show (the northwest corner of Kuehn and Central). If parking and traffic is a concern, you can try going early or late to beat the crowds. In talking to some vendors, it seems that many rock/gem/mineral/fossil vendors will set up show here, then decamp for Tucson afterwards. I estimated the number of dealers in the low double digits, but still worth checking out since you can have first look at their selection before Tucson. 3. Quartzsite Improvement Association (QIA) Pow Wow This is typically a weekend show, extending from Wednesday to Sunday during one of the last weeks of January, in 2022 from January 19-23. Vendors typically occupy no more than a handful of tables, with some inside the building but most outdoors. The vendors are what you would typically expect at your local rock/gem/mineral/fossil show, just much bigger and more than you find in your normal local gem/mineral club shows (~100 vendors). While you're in Arizona, the FLAGG show (one of the first weekends in January) is the biggest show in the Phoenix area. Again, a weekend show, the format is a tailgate show, vendors occupy parking spaces outdoors with typically a handful of tables, although some vendors (i.e. the FLAGG Foundation) occupy dozens of tables. The size of the show is comparable to the QIA show, but there is a far larger contingent of local gem/mineral/fossil clubs at FLAGG than QIA due to their focus on education and outreach. By the way, if you have children, this is a good show to attend as many exhibitors/vendors have gifts or activities for children. Following the January shows, you would then move onto the Tucson shows in February. In conclusion, if you had 2 months to spare and the means, you can attend a world-class show every day for 2 months in Arizona(!!). For the rest of us, that kind of lifestyle will always be the dream while we save our pennies.