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Hello all, As a new member, I am immediately impressed by the breadth of knowledge and willingness to share of so many people on the forum. I wonder how some of you came to this passion and this skill set in your life. For me, it is relatively new (overlooking some kidhood fossil encounters), and it grew out of my reading interests. In retirement I have turned to topics such as early earth history, paleontology, geology and genetics. One writer I found very engaging was Richard Fortey. His books Life, and Earth, an Intimate History and Trilobites: Eyewitness to History were very engaging. I had never heard of a trilobite until then. I decided I wanted a trilobite myself and found one at a coin show in Florida. It is Phacops and has been cleaned so the eyes are dramatically clear. But buying a fossil does not have the same impact of finding one yourself. And I wanted to find my own trilobite. After some hunting, I found that Utah is a good place to search and visited the often reported on U-Dig site outside of Delta. It was a cold windy day at the end of May, with sleet. It was wonderful. Wet and cold, braking shale, with a very patient wife reading her kindle in a wind rocked SUV in their parking area. I found my first trilobite, the common elrarhia kingi. And I was hooked. There is a thrill in the finding and a challenge in understanding what you’ve found. I enjoy both aspects of this, and appreciate the help I’m getting on the Forum with the latter. I am looking forward to at least two fossiling trips this year, one the Ordovician deposits in Kentucky and a return to Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. And undoubtedly I’ll be asking for help in understanding what I’ve found. A thanks to all on the forum so willing to help us novices. Happy New Year and good fossiling to all. Tom

As a new fossil hunter I am thrilled to have found what the Florida Museum of Natural History has determined to be "an important scientific discovery". After notifying the Museum of the find they have asked that the specimen be donated in accordance with Florida law. I am happy to do so. The specimen will be added to state's fossil collection for preservation and research. Specimen specifics: Common/Scientific name - Parietobalaena (Kelloggithere) baleen whale ear bone Geological formation/age - Miocene Region where found - Hardee County, Florida USA Museum/Univ. receiving fossil - Florida Museum of Natural History

Hi i'm Lawrence, i'm new to this whole thing, I love all kinds of science, i found my first find off a beach in West Cork Ireland, it could have been washed up by the sea or fell off a 20 odd foot cliff by the beach, from my research i think it's a mollusk like the Protobalanus spinicoronatus but without the spikes BUT could be well wrong i'm not an expert. but would love peoples opinions on what it is and how old it is. so far i've really enjoyed looking at it and trying to work out what it is definitely going to keep this as a hobby! thanks for reading!