Marine Fossils Southern Half of Alabama

[JennL]

Hello! I am a professor teaching at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab this summer. I teach the Marine Mammal Bio Class. I have an extra day available next week to take the students on a field trip. I know that Alabama has a hot bed of marine fossils. I would love to take the students fossil hunting where we might find marine mammals.

NOTE: I know the chances would be very low to make such a find, and if we did find anything, we would leave it and contact other scientists to reveal the location. But I wanted to ask if anyone could suggest the following: 

 

1. I know many houses used to use Basilosaurus vertebrae as cornerstones. Are there any examples of this still available to see in the bottom half of the state? We are willing to take them as far north as say Selma, Montgomery, Pratville? Maybe slightly more north.  I must drive them from the coast (Dauphin Island). 

 

2. Are there any museums with fossils of marine mammals in the bottom half of the state? Montgomery? Mobile? 

 

3. Can anyone suggest a site where I could take the students to hunt that is available to the public? Where it could be a long shot to find something marine mammal related, but also more likely to find shark teeth or mollusks? 

 

Thank you for letting me ask these questions. 

 

Jennifer