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Hi everyone, I recently moved up to Fernandina Beach this fall. I've been having decent luck finding fossils along spoil piles on islands and beaches. But as an avid diver, I'd like to take it underwater this spring/summer. The only fossil diving I've done so far is out of Venice and some snorkeling in the rivers in Central Florida. I know that the current is ripping through the St. Mary's and St. John's and it is a blackwater dive, but I've heard of people diving them for meg teeth. I've got my boat and all my dive gear here waiting for the water temp to warm up. This is shaping up to be a mild winter so that may not be too long from now. Can anyone give tips on what to look for along the river? Should I be watching my depth finder for drop offs? Any tips for once I'm in the water to find the fossil beds? I don't expect anyone to give up their spots but a little guidance would be greatly appreciated. I know the hunt is half the fun. Also, if anyone is looking for a dive partner, let me know! Happy hunting, Anthony

Did some blackwater diving in the St. Marys river this past weekend. The biggest Meg tooth was a hair under 6” and also found a nice little benedini!

Well it is with bittersweet feeling that I'm leaving Maryland this coming Monday for a new job in Utah. This morning at 4:45 am I hoped into my car and drove to the Cliffs one last time to say goodbye. The tides were exceptionally high and I didn't do as well as last time but still had a good trip and found some stuff. A group of kids on a science trip ran into me at Mataoke cabin beach. Their guide had them gather around me as I had a hand full of Chesapecten nefrens and they were all oooohing and ahhhhing. I accidentally dropped a large tiger tooth that I found a few yards away and quickly picked it up. Their guide exclaimed, "Wow I can't believe you just found that tiger tooth!" The kids (especially the boys) at this point could care less about the large shells and where fixated on the tooth. Then they started looking all around my legs for more teeth. I wasn't about to tell their guide that I had found it a ways back and ruin the thrill of the moment so Injust gave everyone a coy smile and said, "Just keep looking and you're bound to find some good teeth." The truth was that was the first tooth I ever found at Mataoke and I never go their for teeth just for shells. :-) Pictures coming soon! PS - Sorry for the pictures and poor lighting. My canon is packed away and so is my nice measuring board. :-( Here's the loot! I'm not positive if these are all Chesapecten nefrens. I'll have to ID them all later but for now I'll call them C. nefrens. Some of these are matching pairs. Pro-tip: If you can get to Bayfront Park by roughly 5:45 am then the Beach Patrol (teenagers with green shirts) shouldn't be there yet collecting money. This was beneficial as I didn't have to cough up $18. I just found out those over 50 can get in for $10. What gives?! Just because I'm a young man doesn't mean I should be punished for it! Very high tides today. Overcast with high tides. This is going to be fun... and wet... Ecphora popped right out of the matrix. I believe this is from the St. Mary's formation because this was found in some rubble that fell from the very top of the cliffs and I know for a fact that's the St. Mary's layer. Golfball sized Ecphora in the Matrix. Please be complete... And... it's missing the bottom stem... Other than that it looks good. I'll keep it. View of a large baseball sized Ecphora. This one isn't worth extracting as that would take hours with special tools and super glue. What a heart breaker. Someday I'll find one this size that won't be so brittle. Here are a bunch of Hammer and Bonnet Head shark teeth with a few Requiem. There's an Angel shark tooth up top. I find fewer of those than cow shark teeth! Some large ray plates. The one in the middle might be the largest plate I've ever found at Bayfront. A collection of newly acquired Ecphora gardnera and Turritella. I don't usually keep bones but this one has some neat dimensions to it. Small C. nefrens are usually not kept but these have beautiful color to them. Not a bad day for Makos. Three of my best Makos from the trip. Not my best trip but certainly not my worst either.

Hello! Has anyone collected from the Windmill Point Member of the St. Marys Formation in Maryland or Virginia? I've collected the Chesapecten scallops for years and would LOVE to find a Chesapecten santamaria and finally fill that major gap in my collection. C. santamaria is common in these exposures but I don't know of any on public property - are there? Has anyone collected on private property - if so would you mind sharing contact info of the person/organization involved? Thanks so much!