Limestone fossils near Huntsville, AL

[Ramona 41]

This is my first post in the Fossil ID section - I am SO excited to find this resource!  A have found a few very helpful folks in other places, but this group is a huge wealth of information!  A bit of background - we moved into a house just outside of the city limits of Huntsville, AL, a couple of months ago.  After finding a couple of fossils laying around in the yard, I decided to investigate the wooded area at the back of our property a bit more.  Whoa!!!  There is a creek bed on the property and the closer you walk to the creek the more rocks you have to walk over.  Every single rock I picked up had some kind of fossil in it.  The sides of the creek have rocks embedded in them, too.  It seems like someone may have looked around a bit in the past (found a small pile of rocks) but many (MANY) of these rocks are in their natural state.  Most of them, in fact.  It seems overwhelming to me, but I have been delving into understanding the treasures I am finding.  I don't understand all of the classification systems, but I found a place online that seems to indicate that we are in the Mississipian Age?  The rocks which have been identified so far are all limestone, so I am assuming this one is limestone as well.  The soil is VERY red (someone called it ochre red?) and some of it always remains on the rocks after I clean them.  The fossils that have been identified so far are fenestella, bryzoan, crinoid.  And I think the word fossiliferous was also used? I am a photographer by trade and macro photography is my FAVORITE, so I will post plenty of photos.  This particular rock is a very small one compared to most of them.  It is also harder than the other ones I have worked with - less "crumbly".  The first couple of photos are of the top and the bottom of the rock, to get a general idea of the size and shape of it.  The rest of the images are close ups of various areas.   

 

Any and all input is appreciated!  Is it common to find an area like this where rocks such as this one are very abundant?  From what I can tell these are all common fossils, but a great springboard for learning!  Hints on how to clean and store the rocks appreciated, too, since there are so very many of them?  

 

Thanks!! 
Ramona  

[Ramona 41]

Bottom of the rock:

[Ramona 41]

[Ramona 41]

[Ramona 41]

[Ramona 41]

[FranzBernhard 2,496]

Welcome to TFF from Austria!

I can not help with your particular specimen, but how nice is it to have fossils along a creek in your backyard! Congratulations!
Franz Bernhard

[Fossildude19 14,834]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

Looks like a bunch of fenestrate bryozoans, and maybe some shell pieces. 

[Tidgy's Dad 15,196]

Hello, Ramona, and a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco. 

I see lots of quite nice fenestellid 'little windows' bryozoans. 

[Ramona 41]

16 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Welcome to the Forum.

 

Looks like a bunch of fenestrate bryozoans, and maybe some shell pieces. 

Thanks!!  That is what I have heard regarding the other rocks, too, so I am starting to understand more of what I am seeing!

[Ramona 41]

14 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Hello, Ramona, and a very warm welcome to TFF from Morocco. 

I see lots of quite nice fenestellid 'little windows' bryozoans. 

Thank you!! Consistency helps me learn!  And this is certainly consistent with what I am hearing regarding other rocks I found!

[Ramona 41]

21 minutes ago, FranzBernhard said:

Welcome to TFF from Austria!

I can not help with your particular specimen, but how nice is it to have fossils along a creek in your backyard! Congratulations!
Franz Bernhard

Yes it is!!  It certainly added to the property value in my mind!  ;-)  

[FossilDAWG 5,849]

The Huntsville AL area is well know for its Mississippian fossils.  You have a piece of chert (common in some of the local formations) with fenestrate bryozoans, as others have noted already.

 

Don

[facehugger 223]

If you want more knowledge about the area surrounding your land, I suggest searching for a geological map of your state. Then make comparisons with Google Maps / Earth to nail down exact formations. 

[Ramona 41]

5 hours ago, FossilDAWG said:

The Huntsville AL area is well know for its Mississippian fossils.  You have a piece of chert (common in some of the local formations) with fenestrate bryozoans, as others have noted already.

 

Don

Thanks!  I thought this rock was different from the limestone ones - and I have read where chert can be found in limestone, so I actually wondered if that was what it is.  Thanks for letting me know for sure!  

[Ramona 41]

5 hours ago, facehugger said:

If you want more knowledge about the area surrounding your land, I suggest searching for a geological map of your state. Then make comparisons with Google Maps / Earth to nail down exact formations. 

Thanks!  I have been doing that some, but struggling a bit to work my way through the mapping systems...  I have still learned a lot from them, though!