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Hello All! I've been a collector of trace fossils for over 15 years. I got started when I passed by a high wall near where I lived back in the day. One day I decide to stop and check out the debris at the base of the wall. At the time I was focused on plant fossils thinking this wall contained them. The first several minutes I didn't see any signs of plant fossils until I came across my first arthropod trace fossil ever. (above) It had the appearance of a Christmas tree and didn't know what it was until I posted it on the internet. A Paleontologist out of Canada told me it was a resting trace of a Xiphosuran. So for the next 15 years I've collected many, many more and then some and now Ichnologist are taking notice of the postings on FB. It's been quite sometime I've been able to take pictures of those finds and now starting this big project. Still got quite a ways to go and hopefully I can get er' done before the new year? Pictured are several samples from this site. As long as I'm able I will continue collecting because the site's future is in question as to where it will exist at all in several years? Conostichnus and burrow Diplichnites and call the second picture a figure 8 trace? Burrows Combo of Diplichnites and Resting Trace. Tonganoxichnus (hopping trace) and Selenicnhites (feeding trace) No idea what these are? I believe they call the first picture a Kouphichnium and the other have no idea? The first picture I call a horseshoe shaped resting trace and the second could quite be the impression of the thorax of a track maker? This one is called a Warvichnium trace fossil Nereites biserialis Resting trace and no idea what the trace at the top is?

Hello All! I got to visit an active surface coal mine recently in my area and it didn't disappoint! Everywhere I walked there were plant and marine fossils to collect...I was having the time of my life! My usual goal when I visit sites like this is find fern fossils because it's my favorite plant fossil but that day wasn't as productive as other days. I did come away with a really nice slab of Lyginopteris ferns that I had to be extremely careful with because it later turned to into a fragile slab of stone. I later stabilized it and hopefully it will hold. My next favorite plant fossil is the Calamite, I think I found more this day than I've found the past several years of hunting! I scored a humongous Calamite stem cast measuring 7 inches wide! The largest in my collection at the time was 4.5 inches wide. Other finds include Lepidodendron leaf scars, Sigillaria impressions, 3D Stigmaria and Trigoncarpus. I had a good day considering and look forward to going back there soon! 13" wide slab of Lyginopteris fern fronds Lepidopholios too large to carry out but a picture will do. If it could be removed it would of made a really nice wall piece. 7" wide Calamite stem cast and a large palm size Calamite stem cast. 3D Stigmaria cast...there were a lot of stone on site that was so fragile that it fell to pieces when picked up. This Stigmaria was partially sticking out and when I kicked the stone that it was encased in the stone fell apart and this cast falls out...yeah this is the kind of fossil excavation I like. The pic on the right is a Sigillaria bark impression too large to carry out. Stigmaria impression too large to carry out. Love the rootlets that are sticking out of this one. Really nice Calamite impression with stems sticking out from it. I rarely find terrestrial and marine together on the same stone but here is a Calamite impression with a Bivalve to the side of it. The other picture is leaf scars from a Lepidodendron. Trigoncarpus...seed impression. Cyperite leaves I believe from a Sigillaria? Bivalve. Bivalves.

Hello Y'all. Got to go visit some spoil piles recently and they didn't disappoint with the exception those piles had been there for a long time. The surface fossils had been exposed to the elements and it showed with erosion and wearing of the impressions. Some of the surface slabs when picked up just shattered to pieces. There were fossils underneath the surface and if I found a slab with a partial sticking out I just dug the thing out and started splitting and found some nicely preserved species of ferns: Lyginopteris, Mariopteris, and Nueropteris, Calamite, unknown fossil and Sphenophyllums. It turned out to be a very productive day adding many more ferns to the collection! Some really nicely detailed 3D Calamite impressions were found. All of the above pics are element worn Lyginopteris ferns. These Lyginopteris were exquisitely detailed! Mariopteris and Nueropteris. Nueropteris hash plate and Sphenophyllum...on some of the Lyginopteris plates u can see these scattered about them. Mystery fossil? It could be a Trigoncarpus since there were Lyginopteris scattered about?

I got to go fossil hunting on Saturday for Carboniferous/Pennsylvanian fossils. When we got to the site we were greeted with frost covering everything! Some of the stone was frozen in the piles and we had to wait for a thaw before removing any that looked interesting. The first picture shows some of the frost crystals present on some of the stone. The first 4 hours on site I didn't find what I was looking for...fern fossils and a possible trackway? As we were wrapping up to leave I came across this slab of shale partially buried with a fern frond visible on the surface. Being the fern collector I dug the stone out to split thinking the entire 3' x 2' stone contained fern fossils. As I began to split not only did I find ferns but these Tetrapod Tracks! The stone didn't split evenly like most do, and this one was aggravating an example in in the 3rd picture where two different set of tracks can be seen on two different layers! The tracks and trackways were split as shown into many pieces instead of a continuous track across the slab. These are a few my favorites including other fossils found in that one slab, not including the partial Nautiloid in the last picture. I was told these tracks and trackways belong to the Cincosaurus cobbi and Nanopus reidiae? Love the first picture, if you see at the bottom there is a Alethopteris pinnue impression overlapping one of the tracks. Also the detailed pos/neg print of the Whittlseya...I did get my ferns as well as the tracks and other fossils to boot!

Hello All! I got out in the beautiful weather to fossil hunt yesterday. The temps started off in the 30's, quite chilly and eventually rose to the high 50's by noon. I've been to this site known for its fossilized trackways but never had any luck finding any but was always satisfied with the fern fossils that came out of there! Today was a lil' different...when I set foot onto the site I see this 4-foot boulder that was calling my name. I started splitting it, splitting came with such ease and the first two layers didn't yield anything but on the third I got this, both positive and negative slabs (second pic). It has a combination of Stiaria, Tonganoxichnus trackways (arthropod) and a Tetrapod trackway (Nanopus reidiae?) Finally! I couldn't contain my excitement! After I calmed down I began to look for fern fossils...I sat to take a breather, it was taxing to maneuver between the berms. I see this stone (first pic) that looked splittable, grabbed it and the rest is history! The first picture is Nanopus reidiae, Manus and Peds trackway. Definitely the find of the day! Patience does pay off and I was guessing I was done for the day! It was good to meet both fossilDAWG and aplomado on site, Fossil Forum members where I can put faces with the user names, hope they were able to find good stuff!

Hello All, been doing a lot of fossil hunting during the Covid shutdown. Finding lots of fossils and running out of room to store them. My trace fossil road cut continues to give and give and here are a few finds from that site. Most are Arthropod resting traces, a few Diplichnites, a 3D burrow and some showing some type of locomotion.

Hello all! Love hunting Carboniferous fossils since there is so much of it in my area. I got the chance to go hunting right after Thanksgiving to a local mine spoil piles and it didn't disappoint! Right off the bat the first spoil pile I encountered contained slabs of bivalves and gastropods. Never seen both on the same slab, the Gastropods were a first for Carboniferous fossils? One person I know pointed out they were Ammonites??? Found huge slabs of shale containing fern fossils...I was like a kid in a candy store amongst those piles of rocks! I was able to bring a few slabs of those home...at least the ones I could carry and place into my vehicle. It was a great day, my vehicle was so full of fossils I could no longer place any other in it and hope to visit the same location in the future? Found these three in a spoil pile...too large to carry out so a picture had to do. The leaf scars on the Lepidodendron are the largest I have ever seen measuring at least 2.5" in length. Stigmaria and what appears a Sigillaria trunk impression. Lyginopteris ferns with some Mariopteris ferns mixed in. These are the largest slabs I could take home! Really nice detailed bivalves. Gastropods. Lepidodendron branch. Sigillaria bark impression. Fern Rachis mixed in with bivalves and gastropods. Lyginopteris and Mariopteris fern frond with branch, notice the briars protruding from the branch. This looks like Stigmaria nodes but could be another version of Sigillaria?

Hello Y'all, back in June 2020 I got the opportunity to visit the trackway site in my state that I visited in May. Still no luck finding any reptile or amphibian trackways but as always I come away with some really nice fern fossil specimens. While looking for Brachiopods on the site I came upon this 3"x4" slab of shale sitting upright and partially buried in the soil in the first picture. I see pieces Mariopteris ferns on it and started splitting till I could split no more! This is the end result.

Hello all! I went fossil hunting back in May 2020 and posted a picture of a box of fern fossils in a previous thread. Here are the closeup shots. The site where I found the fern fossils is known for its fossilized trackways of arthropods, reptiles and amphibians as well as marine and terrestrial fossils that lived in Alabama 300 million years ago. As I was wrapping up to leave the site I stumbled upon a 3 x 4 foot shale slab that someone had split previously looking for trackway fossils and discarded it. I see these fern fronds in the first picture protruding from that slab. I sat my butt down and split that slab of shale to see what treasures it would hold until there was nothing else to split. The end result is all these pictures of ferns. Being the fern fossil collector, it was my gain and someone else loss. Most of the fossils are Mariopteris with an Eusphenopteris thrown in.

It was a gorgeous hot steamy day in Central Alabama. I spent a few minutes in the sun and after 15 minutes and decided I wanted none of it! The creek ran under a clump of trees with a narrow gravel bar and a tree buried under some it. There I plopped my butt down and started sifting the gravel, this was my first time doing this and my first home built sifter! I found these shark teeth and fish tooth. It was definitely cooler under the trees with the water all around me. As our time there was about to end, the beauty of the area was shattered when three clowns show up with an AR15 shooting into the embankment and over the trees. Needless to say we got out of there quickly! Any identification with the teeth would be appreciated!

Went on a fossil hunt with the Alabama Paleontological Society today and found this nicely preserved Lepidophloios. Both positive and negative plates along with a 3D piece sandwiched in between the layers with striking detail. I had to glue the 3D piece back together and put a protective coating on the fossil because it was fragile. Carboniferous Period, Pottsville Formation, Central Alabama USA.

Hello all it's been awhile, hope everyone is safe! I had been cooped up in my home through most of April 2020 like many Americans with the exception of a few fossil therapy excursions. Last Saturday, I finally got a weekend to go fossil hunting with my local fossil club and of course practicing social distancing as we always do to a local known for its fossilized trackways of arthropods, reptiles and amphibians as well as marine and terrestrial fossils during the Carboniferous Period. As I was wrapping up to leave the site I stumbled upon a 3 x 4 foot shale slab that someone had split previously looking for trackway fossils and discarded it. I see these fern fronds in the first picture protruding from that slab. I sat my butt down on the spot and split that slab of shale to see what treasures it would hold until there was nothing else to split. The end result is all these pictures of ferns. Being the fern fossil collector, it was my gain and someone else loss. Most of the ferns are Mariopteris with a few Eusphenopteris and Nueralethopteris. Moral of the story, if you see a slab with a slight hint of fossils...whack it! You never know what treasures it holds! Carboniferous Period, Pottsville Formation, Central Alabama USA.

Hello Again! With all this time off I have been able to get out an fossil hunt a lot! Recently I posted pictures of some fern finds from a trackways site not far from home. Surprisingly, I have been there on four trips and not one of those times have I been successful finding a trackway of an amphibian, tetrapod or arthropod that this site is known for...I take that back, I did find a arthropod resting trace. Anyhoo, the recent trip was a sucess because of the plant and terrestrial finds I brought home. Here are some of the marine fossils... Pic#1- Hash plate of calcified Brachiopods Pic#2- 3D Brachiopods that detached from plate Pic#3- Tiny Orbiculodea Pic#4- Tiny Bivalve...Mussel Pic#5 and 6- Brachiopods Pic#7- Arborichnus (horseshoe crab) resting trace

Hello, Y'all! Last Saturday was a great and a gorgeous day because it's one of those times I had the day off and took full advantage of it...I had to get out of my home into the great outdoors! The morning was filled with fossil hunting, I will post the story about that later. After lunch it was more fossil hunting but at a new locale. It's great to have friends who aren't fossil hunters that will see a potential site and call you and say, 'hey you need to check out this area there may be fossils there!' After the morning fossil hunt we go check this area out and it didn't disappoint even though I didn't have any of these type fossil in my collection. I have only seen these fossils in pictures found at the premier site I just visited! They were everywhere at the base of the high wall, I couldn't believe it. There was so much ground to cover, we were tired and daylight was about to end the day. We took what we found and headed home keeping in mind this place needs to be explored entirely which we weren't able to do today but on a future return trip! The trace fossils are identified as Arborichnus Repetita, a limulid/horseshoe crab of the Carboniferous Mississippian Period but not sure of the formation? The last picture of a trace is called Kouphichnium.

Howdy Y'all! Third time isn't the charm in my case but I'm grateful that I got to go on a fossil hunt last Saturday morning when I don't get Saturday's off because of work. I went with a group of fossil collectors to our state's premier trace fossil site near my home thinking I'm going to add some trace fossils to my growing collection and practicing 'social distancing'. There definitely was a lot of real estate to cover and we did well keeping distance. Two weeks prior, the state came in and turned over the property with a big dozer coupled with rain made the site easy pickings with new stone. Searched and split to no avail, only feeding traces found although other folks had luck on their side including my hunting buddy Glen. He found a foot print of an Carboniferous Period Attenosaurus...what a cool print! I got back in my mode of finding Carboniferous flora consisting of ferns and other plant material. Ya gotta love those ferns! I came away from the site happy that I found ferns and not so much for the trace fossils. But that was about to change when we visited another site a friend who doesn't hunt fossils told me about. Ya gotta love those friends too! Pic#1- Reclaimed mine spoil piles Pic#2-4- Mariopteris Hash plates and frond Pic#5&6- Alethopteris Pic#7&8- Lepidodendron bark impressions Pic#9- Lepidostobophyllum Pic#10- Lycopodiates Pic#11- Attenosaurus footprint