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Hello everyone, I am traveling from Wyoming to south Florida in the Ft. Myers area. I am really interested in visiting one of the quarries where I can collect fossil marine seashells. I know about Ruck’s pit but looking for something else. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for old abandoned pits in the Ft. Myers area. Thank you thank you in advance!

On a trip to St. Pete's I found some nice agate and a few fossil pieces like this. Any comments would be greatly appreciated

My fossil buddy and I went out this last Saturday, decided not to kayak because it was too windy, so we avoided the Peace or Caloosahatchie rivers and instead headed north to one of our favorite walk in spots to screen for sharks teeth. I was anticipating the water would be warmer than the air, ( 44 degrees) and I was right. It was actually nice to walk the mile into the site in cool air for a change...no bugs, beatiful sunshine and several blooming wild trees. The river was at just the right height. I could show you all the nice shark's teeth I found, but I had decided to give them to a young man at my church who wears a shark's tooth necklace. I have him a nice little box, with an accompanying sheet drawing of each type of fossil and a name so he could learn to identify them....sand, bull, hemipristis, tiger, and even a nice by small megaladon tooth, a couple pieces of ivory, part of a horse tooth, a barracuda tooth, and beatiful gator tooth, a nice 2 inch section of deer antler with its base, a puffer fish plate, several turtle pieces....a lot. However there were two i kept for myself. The vertebrae pictured, that was so perfect I thought it might be recent, but the flame test didn't reveal even a little hint of smell, and the nice shell with evidence of a predator...I can image something smashing into this living busycon, stabbing it, and then ripping the mollusk out of its shell to eat...racoon do you think? Strong teeth. At any rate it was great to be out again. BTW, I am going to post the vertebrae in ids cause I have no idea what it is. It is an inch across....in my excitement to photograph it because it is so perfect, I neglected to add a ruler....sorruy.

This shell was found a few years ago in a pile at Bradenton Beach to be used for paving the parking lot. There were postings on TFF about this. I have wondered about the interesting structure covering part of a muscle scar. There are numerous items of interest on this shell half. Not sure if all will be visible in the following pictures. Above the opposite muscle scar, There are 10 rounded slight raised white deposits that are solid and not layered. But at the inside edge of that scar is the beginning of a layer that also has 4 more rounded slightly raised white deposits. Across the bottom 1/2 inch width of the shell are elongated raised white bumps that are aligned with vertical striations on the outside of the shell and on the inside align with the raised "teeth" on the shell's lip. (Sorry I do not remember or know the right term) At the center of the inside of the shell is a single corralite. Below the unidentified structure near the edge are 2 rounded black raised forms that have very small opening. possibly these are bryozoans? The outside of the shell has are what I believe are bristle worm borings above the unidentified structure. Nearby is a small partch of bryozoa. The corralite and 2 dark rounded bryozoans? occurred post mortem. Not sure when the growth of the unidentified structure occurred. Likely post mortem since it partially obscures the valve scar. I wonded initially if it was an unusually loose formation of a blister pearl? The 10 raised white objects above the opposite muscle scar and the elongated vertical bumps, I assume occurred while the animal was alive. Appreciate all thoughts and comments on this interesting fossil. Thanks

HI all! I am excited to get to go back to Venice Florida tomorrow for a whole week. I was wondering if there was a good fossil guide who could take me out hunting - something a little more advanced than just "beach finds". However, I'm not into scuba or snorkling. (not that I don't enjoy that, just not right now). Any suggestions? Thanks!!

No, not Sacha from Disney's Peter and the Wolf, no, not Sacha from Casablanca..... @Sacha So we went hunting yesterday meeting up with a couple of other fossil seekers in a location that has been very, very good to me in the last decade, but has taken a lot of hunting pressure and is not what it once was... However I can always hope to catch lightening in a bottle... or in my case, a fossil in the sieve. Nice day, a little cool, but 3 of us had wet suits on and I was comfortable. There was a younger guy from Minnesota, who was hunting in his bathing suit!!! I used to be young once!! I was hunting maybe 15-20 feet from Sacha and we carried on an ongoing banter, what we were finding, previous hunting successes, other likely locations and most important what was the other guy finding. One topic we discussed was how many of the numerous unknown bones you find, do you keep.. Sacha tends to toss and I keep almost everything to be tossed, if necessary , at some later date!!! I was finding mostly small shark teeth, but some were in good shape and big enough to encourage me to keep on hunting that hole I was digging. Sacha stayed at the same spot the whole day, whereas I stayed in one spot for 90 minutes, wandered around digging potholes for 90 minutes and eventually returned to my original hole , digging deeper and deeper, maybe because it was easier to carry on the conversation.. So here are my finds. What you see at the bottom are small shark teeth. Broken to the left worth $10 a pound that I donate to a fossil friend and relatively whole on the right ( young relatives, fossil club raffles and auctions, schools, kids organizations, etc. ) I have been doing this for 12 years. There is no lack of requests for teeth.. Average complete teeth go for $25 a pound. Consider what 30-40 pounds is worth. I try to be net zero on shark teeth by every year end. What is left under the white? Some more complete and/or interesting bones, broken or small bits that came into my screen. Fossilized wood, sea urchin spines, barracuda teeth, even one broken Meg, some upper Hemipristis, sting ray teeth, deer tine, small camel premolar, broken root dolphin tooth, sawfish rostral teeth, mammoth bits, dolphin bulla, calcified clam, etc .. normal stuff for the Peace River. I have some items I though worth their own photo: Closeup of the dolphin tooth, may be a ray barb fragment... the back sweeping teeth I did not recall seeing previously, and the reason for this post. Sacha asked what shark had the upward tip teeth with a rear nutrient groove. For that matter, why do some sharks have outward pointing tips? Finally, with whatever space I have left , I will flash up some of the bones. I may/may not add some to a fossil ID. Enjoy!!! Bone#2

Hey everyone, A friend of mine won an estate auction where he received a lot of antiques for resale. Knowing I had an interest in fossils, he let me have this. According to him, the estate was located in Florida. This is by far not my area of expertise but I’d love any insight so that I may conduct further research! Any help is appreciated! Thanks, Sid

Pulled this 6 inch square bone out of clay, shell, mud, sand, and a little gravel. It has retained many of the fine details and blood vessels. Initially I saw the horizontal bands and thought mammoth teeth plates, but not to be. So, large , broken bone I am pretty positive is lower jaw. I the 1st photo, I seem to see a Mandibular Symphysis groove moving directly left from the tip of my thumb. I am thinking Mastodon, but also wonder if Bison or Giant Sloth is a possibility. I hope that some other hunters have seen the kinds of parallel grooves present in the 2nd photo. Could these be huge blood vessels?? All comments and suggestions appreciated. Jack

This fossil shell was found on Marco Island beach (Naples, Florida). Any help identifying what it is would be greatly appreciated.

I remember picking this up being with the MS Gem & Mineral Club in MS Central part years ago. I thought how interesting white on outside, red inside, could it be just a rock or an egg? I know you all will help me put this ? to rest. Thanks, Deb

When I get home after a hunt, I sort and spread out my good finds, to take photos and then have another pile of fragments and broken bones. I have gone back to that 2nd group to highlight some I am unsure of the ID. The location I was hunting produces mostly late Miocene fossils. Here are a couple .. 1st a broken bone. A friend hunting with me said Deer metatarsal. I am not sure after finding this deer metatarsal from North Florida on the internet, which has a clear groove down the center: and the bone I found which is flat in that section. Could be wear or different type of deer or different mammal. 2nd, a strange tooth fragment ??? While I would love to have an ID, that might be a bridge too far. I settle for anyone who has insight on the nature of the material on the left of this last photo. Is that enamel, tusk ? For example this is very different from fragmented teeth from horse or alligator, or whale... Thanks for all comments & suggestions. Jack

This is another find that has me stumped from my last trip to Venice Beach, FL. It’s two twisted strands, approximately 1” long.

After a recent trip to Venice Beach, FL this little guy has me stumped. Any ideas?

I can not recall seeing this bone previously. It is very light. I am not (yet) after the animal, I need to figure what type of bone is this. The bone is 32 mm in length, 19 mm height. I keep getting the feeling that I should know what this is....

I found this vertebra in Bartow county Florida along with some other mammal Pleistocene fossils. It was found in close proximity to some deer antler pieces and Mastodon incisor pieces. I found an almost identical vertebra online that said that it was a giant ground sloth vertebrae. The piece is heavily mineralized. Any opinions on this vertebra would be greatly appreciated. It has a diameter of 2 1/2 inches and a width of 1 1/2 inches.

Hello I live in Orlando, Florida and have been trying to find good spots for a while. Just a problem is I would prefer a thin creek or river and I haven’t been able to find one yet. Any tips or locations? Sorry if I chose the wrong place to submit this I just recently found this website.

I have been hunting in the Peace River so long that anything I can not identify must be unusual. Small molars are difficult. Maybe @Harry Pristis has seen this before. It is 7 mm long and 5 mm wide. I also said Canine.... a little broken but it has character !!! 2 inches in length All comments, guesses, and identifications appreciated.. Jack

Made a quick trip to the peace river today near Bartow today. Nothing too crazy but did find two things that I need some help on. My best guess on the first one is dolphin / whale tooth, but I haven't found many of them and the crown is kind of weird... maybe broken and then smoothed over by the river? The second is a very small fossil. I have found very similar ones before but never bothered to get them ID'd. My best guess is some kind of small mammal tooth. It is so small that I couldn't get a great picture with my iphone. The ends of the fossil (not pictured) are zig zagged, carrying on the patter from the sides (kind of like horse teeth). Definitely not ray dental plate like I originally thought. Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you.

This is a beach find from Ponte Vedra, I’m pretty sure it’s a jawbone but all teeth are missing. Both marine and terrestrial fossils are found here. What kind of animal does it belong to?

Hi all! I am planning on taking my 3rd fossil collecting trip to Florida next week. I had an amazing time in previous trips and am planning one that will be a bit longer! I plan on collecting in Gainesville at Hogtown Creek (my first time) and the Peace River, where I will be kayaking and camping a good stretch of it over the course of 2 or 3 days. I have my own gear and kayak, but will reach out to canoe outpost for their services in the drop off up river. It is 5 degrees in Chicago today and i am excitedly spending my week over-planning the trip. I have a few questions I’d love some feedback on from this who are more familiar with the area. For 2-3 days where would you recommend to launch the kayak at on the Peace River? And are camp spots easy to find along the way? I’ve floated between the Gardner and Brownsville boat ramps before, but looking to extend that type of trip, i really enjoyed it. What other areas should I look to collect around Gainesville? Are there any other rivers I should look into? My timeline is flexible I’ve read a bit into the Suwannee River, is that worth a stop? And any advice on prospecting or collecting there? Also, where is your top-secret spot where I can find the mammoth teeth and 5’’+ megs? (Feel free to pm this info ) If anyone is interested in joining me (tentatively Jan 25-29), I would love to connect and collect together! Below are pics where I camped at a couple years back (Brownsville) and some of my finds in the area.

My wife and I found these yesterday and I need some assistance ID'ing them. These were all found near Zolfo Springs Florida, Peace River, Bone Valley formation. 1) is a tiny vertebra 2) is an oddball that I cannot decide if it is a chunk of tooth enamel/dentin, or a partial claw or tooth of some kind. 3) is a partial jaw with a tooth in it. 4) is an oddball that I cannot decide if it is an antler tine or a tooth of some sort. 5) is a partial vertebra with a pattern on one end than might be diagnostic (or not). First up, the tiny vert :

My wife Tina and I hit the Peace River yesterday for some fossil-hunting. The weather was mild with the temps hanging around the mid-70’s for most of the day. The forecast had called for a partly-cloudy day, but the sun was rarely seen. It was mostly overcast, so the sun wasn’t going to help us much with water visibility. One thing the forecast had mentioned was gusty winds coming out of the north. We both made note of that, but didn’t expect it to be an issue. We were wrong. More on that later. We made good time on the way out. We left the house just prior to 7am, and we managed to beat the majority of the morning rush-hour traffic out of Tampa. If you don’t leave before 7am, you run of the risk of getting caught in the death-grip of Tampa/Brandon traffic. Trust me, stay away from I-275 and I-4 during rush-hour. You can easily lose an extra 45-60 minutes of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic trying to go the first 20 miles out of the Tampa/Brandon metro area. We arrived at the ramp shortly before 9am and began unloading the tandem kayak and our gear. While we were getting our yak ready, a Canoe Outpost bus pulls up and dumps off it’s load of 8 canoes and a gaggle of surburbanites. They proceeded to monopolize the entire ramp, leaving no room for anyone else to launch. Poor ramp etiquette for sure, but surely it wouldn’t take them long to get out of the way, right? Well, these folks looked like they were packing for a 10-week overseas safari. I had never seen so much junk loaded into canoes for an overnight or weekend camping trip. These folks just kept unloading more and more boxes, containers, coolers, and bags from the bus, that it started becoming comical. Those canoes looked so overloaded that I doubted they would float and they left little room for the paddlers. There was literally almost no room to sit in these canoes. Time ticked away and they made no sign that they were aware that at least two other boats were waiting on them to launch. “We didn’t make good time on the way out here to sit and waste it all at the ramp while clueless people piddle around with their excess of gear.” - is what we thought to ourselves. Finally, we decided to carry the yak across the ramp and down the hill-slope and just launch from the muddy bank. We were already a 1/2 mile down the river before the first of the canoes started to launch. So, after putting the crowd of rookie canoeists in our rearview mirror, we started the paddle to the search area. The wind was at our backs and the river was running harder than we had anticipated. I had hunch our work would be cut out for us on the paddle back upstream. The paddle downstream was nice. We saw a lot of birds of every possible type, but only a single small gator and no turtles. I guess the cool overcast day was not good for reptiles looking to soak up the sun. We made it to the search spot about 45 minutes later and unloaded our gear. This particular spot has been good to us in the past, but the last couple of trips made it apparent that this spot is hunted out and cleaned out. The haul from each trip was becoming a game of diminishing returns. On this trip, we decided to hunt the snarge out of this site one more time before crossing it off the list for the remainder of the season. My hunch was right. We didn’t make any major finds on this trip, but we did find a lot of interesting small stuff – some of which I will need help identifying. The spot is still productive, but it’s 90% tiny teeth, turtle scutes, and other very common pieces. The amount of highlight specimens coming out of this spot has definitely decreased and I think it’s time for this spot to “recharge” until next season. The highlights from the sifter this time included : a small but very complete fossil vert, a piece of tiny fossil jaw with a tooth in it, another vert, an unknown odd tooth, and some geological oddities including a nice piece of botryoidal chalcedony. Tina found a turtle leg bone, some nice (but small) teeth, and some oddballs that will need a closer look. The pieces are drying now and I will post some better photos later after they dry. All in all, we spent about 4 hours searching at the site. This includes a thorough walk-around to look for low-hanging fruit and obvious surface finds. Then the digging began. The last flood season had exposed a gravel bar in a new place that wasn’t there in previous years. In this season alone, we have spent a combined 30-ish hours searching this one spot. This represents hundreds of full sifters worth of gravel that has been searched. I sampled the entire length of the deposit working from one end to the other. The gravel layer is relatively thin – less than 12 inches in most places. Digging much deeper rarely yields anything other than fine sand, organic muck, and clay that is not very fossiliferous. So, we mostly worked the exposed surface layer, although I did dig numerous sample pits that were substantially deeper – all of those yielded nothing of note. We always fill our holes and re-distribute spoil gravel in a natural pattern. If you come across one of our search sites, you will never know anyone was there, except perhaps for the total lack of trash in comparison to the rest of the river. Well, this time around, one of the first things I noticed was fresh shovel marks in the bank near the gravel bar. There were no obvious spoil piles, but there were definite signs of someone digging the banks well above the water line. This tells me that “my spot” is no longer off the beaten path. Other hunters have also noticed the new gravel bar – and some of these hunters are illegally digging the banks and being obvious about it. Having said all of this, I now feel comfortable giving a bone to the reader – this spot is just downstream from the town of Zolfo Springs. Feel free to go look for it. It’s a healthy paddle downstream and you’ll have your work cut out for you on the paddle back upstream against the current. But feel free to go look. You might get lucky and find something I missed. I likely won’t be returning to this particular spot this season unless it’s for a group hunt. This is probably still a good spot for a beginner hunt, but I personally feel like I have tapped out this spot for the year. Plus, this specific spot has never been a good source of megalodons, so I don’t feel too bad about leaving a few hints about the location. While I am not just interested in megs, I’ve always been disappointed with the lack of them in this general vicinity. You will find everything except megalodons around there. And it’s not just me, the handful of other people I have brought to this specific area have never found any megs either. Weirdly, there are lots of small teeth from other shark species, but no megalodons – not even fragments. About mid-afternoon we decided to head back to the ramp. The wind was really whipping up and gusting strongly. When the wind picked up the water would get choppy and really start to run hard. The wind was coming out of the north and blowing directly in our faces while going back upstream against the current. The USGS Zolfo gauge said the discharge flow rate was approx. 321 cfs. Usually, that is not a difficult paddle for your average able-bodied or slightly-aged-bodied (like myself) person. But, trying to paddle it with a 16-20mph gusting headwind in your face is a different matter entirely. We had to take several extra breaks on the side of the river to catch our breath and wait for lulls in the wind. When the wind would calm down, we would set out again and paddle a couple hundred yards before pulling over and waiting again. We finally made it back to the ramp a little later than usual and we were both tired as heck – I’d use a more choice word to describe it, but I want to keep this family friendly. My arms, shoulders, and back were shot. My neck and shoulders are still sore as I type this – the old grey mare, she aint what she used to be. LOL. My next trip out will be to revisit some old honey holes that are in remote areas that are difficult to reach and will require an overnight trip. These spots near public ramps are just too hunted out and I am curious about what some of my old spots look like now. Some of my favorite honey holes have not been visited since about 2017. I am confident that few (if any) other people hunt those same stretches, so I am keen to see what Mother Nature has “recharged” for me at those spots. Those spots are next on this list for this season.

Hi all! I'm making a sudden and quick trip to Gainesville FL and will have about a day to do some fossil hunting. I have heard about the hogtown and possum creeks and will likely visit those no matter what. But I was wondering if anyone had any advice for other places to check out. I can travel a little bit out of town but won't have access to a kayak so would need to get somewhere on foot. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks and I'll post my finds after the trip!