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I had the opportunity to visit another Silurian site in the northern Georgia/southern Tennessee area. This is now the third such site I've visited, but the first in the Rockwood Formation as opposed to the Red Mountain Formation. As far as I can tell there's very little different between the two lithologically and paleontologically, with the Rockwood and Red Mountain occupying pretty much the same stratigraphic position. The difference seems to be that the TGS prefers to use the term "Rockwood" to describe it's Niagaran Silurian system and the GGS and AGS prefer the term "Red Mountain", mostly because the unit is more differentiable in Tennessee whereas in southern NW Georgia and Alabama it is less differentiable. However, the GGS does use the term Rockwood in some of it's reports, and there are some lithological differences between the more southerly and easterly exposures and the more northerly and westerly ones (most notably in the thickness of the hematite beds), so I'm going with Rockwood Formation for these specimens. I had some difficulty in telling the age of the rocks at first. The geologic map I was using wasn't very accurate, and had both the Rockwood Formation and some upper Ordovician units within close proximity to each other. As you'll see with some of the fossils, there are some forms more associated with the Ordovician, such as Isotelus and Vinlandostrophia (Platystrophia), but at the same time I couldn't help but notice there were some similar characteristics between this fauna and the Rose Hill Formation, such as the calymenid molt fragments, and prevalence of Leptaena, which I did not find in the nearby upper Ordovician rocks (not to say it doesn't occur in the Ordovician, just that I didn't find it). Combined with the presence of Eospirifer and the thin beds of iron-rich sandstone and ferruginous limestone, this site is most likely in the Silurian Rockwood Formation. However, in my opinion, it appears to host an earlier, transitionary fauna than the Rose Hill. The collecting itself was pretty easy. The weather was nice, the site not too hard to explore, and the fossils easily extracted from the rock. Most of the exposure was unfossiliferous, however every now and then I'd come across a little part where there'd be a densely packed assemblage, with some loose specimens scattered about. The shale and thin limestone were the most fossiliferous. The first up are some of the brachiopods. A couple of different species it looks like, both tentatively of the genus Dalmanella sp. The report I'm basing this on is pretty old so that name probably no longer applies, however. These are pretty good examples of the more Ordovician forms present at this site. Although Vinlandostrophia (Platystrophia) sp. does occur in the Silurian as late as the Waldron Shale, it is definitely more common in the Ordovician, where V. ponderosa forms veritable coquinas in the upper Leipers Formation. It's a bit hard to see in the bottom one, but it does have a sulcus, unlike most of the Dalmanella sp. present. A few Leptaena sp. Although it is known from the upper Ordovician, I have not found it in the Ordovician rocks nearby and have found several in the Silurian Rose Hill Formation. It is interesting to note that there are such similarities between the two early Silurian fauna across such distances. One characteristic I quickly noticed was that a lot of the specimens in this area occur as loose shells, whereas in Maryland and Pennsylvania they're often internal molds wedged in rock. It makes for easier collecting, and more photogenic fossils! I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is Dalmanella elegantula(?) Pretty good preservation on this one, but I'm not quite sure about it's ID. Maybe some kind of Chonetes (?) sp. Eospirifer sp. with crystalline preservation.

Found this in the shipping channel between SC and GA. Looks like a fossil of some sort to me, but I am not an expert. Hoping someone can tell me if this is something of importance or just a really interesting shaped rock. Any input is appreciated!

I had the opportunity to collect in the Red Mountain Formation recently, and considering the seeming lack of accessible sites in the area (RIP Tibb's Bridge) I thought it'd be good to show some of my finds here and say there is some stuff out there. At first I thought the site was in the Mississippian Lavender or Floyd Shales, which was my initial reason for venturing out to it as I didn't have the opportunity to collect in marine Mississippian units closer to home. I can say now with almost 100% certainty it's actually within the Red Mountain Formation, an early Silurian unit that is also a prominent ridge former in northwestern Georgia. This is based on the trilobites I found. I am more familiar with the Rose Hill Formation of central Appalachia, which bears some similarities with the Red Mountain. Not only do the two begin with "R" (and consist of two words XD), but more importantly both represent roughly similar stratigraphic sections and depositional environments. This was something I instantly noticed at this site, as some of the fossils, their mode of preservation, and the rock lithology is strikingly similar to the Rose Hill further north. Both the Red Mountain and the Rose Hill consist primarily of clastic units, particularly iron-rich sandstones and silty-shales. They are both dominated by shelly invertebrate fauna, and contain many of the same genera. There are some differences, however, namely that the Rose Hill contains a much more diverse fauna, is more abundantly fossiliferous, has many ostracodes and some tentaculitids (which the Red Mountain lacked), and contains more limestone and calcareous layers, whereas the Red Mountain appears to be mostly coarser-grained clastics. Likewise the Red Mountain Formation has more abundant crinoid remains, is a ridge-forming unit, and does not appear to have a Rochester Shale equivalent, at least from what I've seen, which is interesting. Of course these are just some quick observations I noted from a couple of outcrops, so take all of that with a heavy grain of salt. I know the Red Mountain does contain limestone and calcareous shale layers in more complete sections at Birmingham, and the exposure I went to was obviously not complete. Elsewhere the Red Mountain has produced a more varied and abundant fauna, and conversely the Rose Hill is largely devoid of fossils in many sections. Anyways, here's what everyone's been waiting for: Calymene sp. (?) I've seen a couple of threads about the Red Mountain Formation in Georgia, but none mentioned trilobites from it. According to the Georgia Department of Mines, Mining, and Geology, the Red Mountain has a a few species of trilobites. This is a plate containing a pygidium and part of the lower thorax of an individual, and a possible fragmentary glabella/cephalon. These are likely molt fragments. This was also my very first find of the day, so a great way to start it off XD. There are probably more specimens at the site, as the exposure was actually fairly large (for what I've seen in this state) and exposed a decent section of the interbedded shales and siltstones, but it was very overgrown and I couldn't reach it. This was laying on the soil. I'm going to go on a limb and say Anoplotheca hemispherica ? A plate with a couple of brachiopod shells on it. The Red Mountain's shale layers are said to be more fossiliferous than the sandstones, which is what I found to be the case at this site. Even then fossils weren't that common in even the most fossiliferous layers. A well worn plate containing abundant crinoid columnals and brachiopod fragments. I'm going to go out on a limb again and say the larger shell fragment is a Dalmanella (?) sp. , but that is a guess. A plate with a Dalmanella (??) sp. and crinoid fragments. The report I'm basing this off of is old, so a lot of these names probably no longer apply. Lots of crinoid pieces in this rock. All in all fairly successful. Any day you find a trilobite (even fragmentary) is a good day in my opinion XD For those of you interested, the site is near Summerville, near an evidently popular swimming location. The fossils actually came from several different "exposures", albeit all within close proximity to one another. If you want to visit I would highly recommend going in winter, when the plants will all be dead and the snakes/spiders down to a minimum. Thankfully I didn't come across any snakes, but I did find an alarmingly large piece of shed skin.

May be a bit of an odd question, but I was wondering what horizons or layers are the most fossiliferous in the Conasauga Formation. I've heard about the Tibbs Bridge site (RIP), but that site exposed a calcareous, light-colored shale from the upper part of the Conasauga. From what I read online it seems that most of the trilobite beds are located in the upper shale layers of the formation, but I was wondering if anyone else knew if the other parts of the formation had anything?

When splitting some extra matrix from the Tibbs Bridge Road exposure of the Middle Cambrian Conasauga Formation I came across this trilobite cephalon imprint. It does not seem to match any of the common trilobites found at the site and I could not find a similar example in the various trip reports other members have posted about past visits to the site. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Both my brother and I celebrated graduations this year - my brother graduated from college and I graduated from law school. In celebration of our graduations, we decided to take a 13-day road trip to see some of the United States after I had taken the bar exam but before I began work. Our journey ultimately took us through Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Dayton and Pittsburgh, before returning home. Our days were jam-packed, with us often not arriving at a hotel until 9/10pm, but along the way we did find some time to make a few quick stops to collect some fossils in Georgia and Texas. My brother is not a collector, but I was really excited to try to find some examples of the infamous Georgia trilobites, Texas echinoids and Texas ammonites. I want to thank @BobWill, @smt126, @facehugger, and @JamieLynn for answering my innumerable questions about Texas fossils. We ultimately did not have enough time to check out all of the places you suggested, but I will certainly store the knowledge for my next trip - hopefully in cooler weather. Our first stop was at Tibbs Bridge in Chatsworth, GA. Having heard the rumors about the potential illegality of the site I was a little worried when we arrived. We could not initially find parking and when we pulled off, we picked the wrong spot. The homeowner we parked near came out yelling at us about collecting beneath the bridge and threatening to call the police. Having driven all the way from New Jersey I was not yet ready to give up on the trip. We decided to pick another spot to park and given that my brother doesn't collect, he waited in the car in case something happened. We could not stay at the site for longer than 90 minutes, so I tried to find as much as I could. As a funny aside, I was soon joined by another group of collectors from Georgia, one of whom had recently spent time in my hometown in New Jersey. Small world! I was hoping to find some better preserved trilobites, but I had to ultimately settle with some nice impressions and a couple of smaller fragments of exoskeleton. I did find one large trilobite that still had all of its exoskeleton, but it was fractured and I could not put it back together even at home. I was able to keep the impression of the trilobite though. All of what I found were Aphelaspis brachyphasis. And the large trilobite whose exoskeleton was simply too damaged to repair

This tooth has popped up on my radar. It is an interesting looking tooth, especially for coming out of Georgia. Anyone seen similar teeth from that area??

These are some unidentified mollusk fossils I collected among the dredge spoils along the Savannah River in Savannah, Georgia a couple years back. Because of the mixed nature of the dredge sediments exact aging isn't possible but they represent Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene sediments. Most of the stuff from this site has been identified and @MikeR's resources have been a great help for some other ones but I'd like some help on these. # 1, 2, and 3. Some Muricid? I'm not really sure where to start to try and narrow it down. #4 #5 Crepidula sp.?

More than a dozen quakes in 30 days: What’s going on in the Southern Appalachians? By Tanasia Kenney, The Telegraph, January 11, 2021 M 2.4 - 9 km SW of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, USGS Yours, Paul H.

Greetings everyone, First I'd like to collectively thank everyone for a wonderful resource in TFF. I have been a long time lurker and a long time amateur paleontologist but until now have never considered being active in the forum (a mistake!). As I expand my collection and experience I have decided to try and change that and allot time to participation. I look forward to discussing our mutual time-consuming hobby with everyone. I have primarily collected fossils in North Dakota (where I grew up) but have moved around for Fisheries research and thus have spent significant time collecting in Georgia, Illinois, and surrounding states. I also used to travel a lot when I was younger and thus have collected fossils from multiple locations across the US. I'm equally happy collecting and studying invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants although I don't currently have a setup for microfossils (next on the list?). Best regards, Tom

I did not think that I was going to have time to hunt Georgia Cambrian trilobites – Aphelaspis brachyphasis from the Conasauga Formation, but I did find a couple hours to collect. So this morning I left at 7 AM and drove one and a half hours to Murray County, Georgia to collect at a small exposure on the Consssuga River. It was a cold morning, 31°, even by my Chicago standards for October. The purpose for this visit visit was to gather some matrix for winter work. If you have a chance to visit this site, besides being abundant , many of your finds will have multiple trilobites on the mudstone. Below are a couple pics of the area, as well as some of the trilobites that I found.

My ten-year-old and I moved to this property in middle Georgia about two years ago and started finding all kind of arrowheads and native American things. Now I'm starting to think I'm losing my mind because there are so many other things being revealed as the rain washes away my hill.

Found near the Savannah River, I was thinking it looks like it could be a rib or shin bone. Does anybody have any idea what it could be?

Hi all! This is my first time posting here, so hoping to have one of you help with ID on a fossil I found in a spoil spot on the Savannah River. These are dredged spots used to deepen the Savannah River for large cargo ships. After doing some digging here on the fossil forum I stumbled on a whale teeth diagram that seem pretty similar to what I’ve found. Thanks all for your help in advance.

Hi everyone, For a long time, I've wanted to find a Megalodon tooth. I'm from Toronto, where they don't exist. However, I have a trip to the South coming up, where I understand there are some prime locations. It's a trip primarily for business, but I'll have one full day to spend on my Megalodon hunt. I would therefore ideally want to pick a single site. I did my research and my understanding now is that some of the beaches near Charleston, SC are prime. It would be helpful to get some first-hand accounts from you guys, though. The blue area is where I'm already planning to go. Suggestions for Megalodon sites in that range are preferable. The purple area is where I can extend my trip if the sites therein are meant to be particularly fruitful. I would appreciate any suggestions on the most promising Megalodon-hunting areas in this region. The only real barrier is that I won't have access to a boat, so anything offshore isn't doable. Thank you, Bellamy

I'm trying to determine how long it takes for something like this to happen to a tortoise egg. Years, decades, hundreds of years? I found this Gopher Tortoise egg in the South Georgia/North Florida area. It is about the size of a ping pong ball, heavy and solid. It had been washed up in the rain and was found in soil that consists of a lot of sand, peat and clay. The egg appears "fossilized" or "petrified" for lack of a better term. The shell is firm and porcelain-like with a lot of scratches. I candled the egg to show where the air sack appears to remain after staining itself into place and confirms it was an infertile egg. I can share a video link I have of the egg if it would be helpful and allowed.

Hi all! Nice to meet you. I am hoping to experience fossil hunting in Georgia! I would love local spots. Feel free to post or PM me any tips! What is your favorite fossil in Georgia?

Hello all! This is my first post in the forum besides the introduction. I’m open to any and all interpretations on this piece. Did I just find a fish head in my backyard? There are tons of fossils (marine and palm) pouring out of the hills on my property. I’m so close to Chattanooga (10 minutes away), I imagine we would share similar geology but I’m unsure and try not to make assumptions. Yay for the scientific method! Found on the surface at the base of a shallow ravine among lots of fossil palm wood, shale outcroppings, and some volcanic(?) glass. Northern Walker co, Georgia, USA. Pictures are as follows... 1) “Right” side 2) “Left” side 3) “Top” 4) “Bottom” with “mouth” facing left 5) “Back” side with “top” at the top of photo 6) “Underside” with “mouth” at bottom left of photo 7) The location behind my driveway that keeps vomiting out fishy bits and petrified wood!

What’s heavy, smooth and rounded on one side and with wavy channels on the other? I have no idea either, but I dug it out of the hill behind my house. Found among fossil palm wood, fishy bits, and shale. Partially exposed in dirt on the side of a hill. I found another smaller, broken piece with the same cross section profile and the two dissimilar surfaces on either side. North Georgia, Walker county, USA. 10 minutes south of Chattanooga. Nice view of Lookout Mountain too for all you Civil War buffs.

Thought this was a horse frag but after looking at other photos believe it may be a beaver molar??

Can anyone identify this vert for me? I’m guessing some type of whale, but that’s as much as I can even guess. It was found in Black Beard creek in Liberty county, Georgia

It was that time of the month again, when I just had to scratch that fossil hunting itch. After the relative disappointment the other week in Floyd County, I decided to go ahead and pay another visit to my all-time favourite site in Chatsworth. When we got there this morning, it was obvious that the Conasauga river had greatly receded since the last time we saw it. In fact, it was the lowest it's been for more than a year (back in Feb. 2018). River on my last visit (Feb. this year): The river today: And a view from river bank: With how low the river was, I had a greater range of movement than I've had for more than a year's worth of visits to the place as a result. This also meant I had a lot more places to find Trilobites! And the Aphelaspis specimens I found were definitely worth the trip! To be continued

I am trying to identify a tooth I found today in central Ga. the tooth is 3 inches long.

Please provide your expertise. I think this is petrified wood.