Search the Community

Hello everyone, Im Jp. New to the forum but super excited to have found it. Was already able to ID some unknowns from other post, confirm some hunches, and this fossil ID section might be the coolest part of it all! Below are some pieces from the collection that I’m either unknown on or need better opinions on than my couple of books on Florida’s fossils give. Please let me know if you know anything about them. Everything was found in the Peace River in Florida. Mixed medium size to fine size gravel. Location in the river system can be surface layer of the bottom up to 3’ down into the riverbed and gravel bars. All species come from the same general area as I only really hunt the north and north central river. I’m new to the layout system here but hopefully I can get these in order. First are these teeth. As long as they aren’t human I’m excited! : 1.) 2.) Next this jawbone is a mystery. The tunnel on the bottom matched a couple large rodent type species in my book but I couldn’t tell. 3.) What do we think these are?? I thought dolphin at first for the upper one but it’s kinda different. 4.) The curved one looks kinda like a unkempt dogs toenail?? Switching gears to these bones… 5.) The white one looks like the upper part of a Dugong rib but also kinda dolphin??? Kinda figured those grooves were for capillaries or nerves?? 6.) The darker second bone? Is interesting because it appears to still have the periosteum on it. Or it’s wood or coprolite, and I treasure poop. : ) 7.) This seems like an old massive gators tooth but it’s got way more character than my other gators teeth. So I’ve wondered if it’s different. (The peace river starts on Lake Hancock with more 10- 13’ gators than you can possibly imagine. Around Arcadia and Nacotee they get thick and huge again. So both sides of where folks hunt the river. I can’t imagine how many have traveled the peace to change locations over their massive lifespan) 8. ) These have puzzled me. Why is this napping type stone 2’ under the peace river bed? 9.) Why has this rock been shaped and grooved like a plumb Bob or a weight? 10.) Is this a bird point or can I just stop wondering? 11.) Under the See..Under the sea… so I actually thought these were stingrays inner barbs but I learned on this forum that those spines are dorsal and pectoral fish fin internals. 12.) The tiny crab claw tooth (also 2’ under the river bed) and 13.) coral are complete mysteries. 14.) Black thing? 15.) Let me start by saying if these are Geodes, I really hope the rest are still there. I collected a bucket worth in a spot but set them down to do something different and forgot to pick them up before I left. Literally last hunt of this year for me and the water in that spot is easy 6-8’ deep right now. 16.) I’ve located fish scale plates in my books but nothing exactly like this?? 17.) What kind of sharks teeth are these? I find various versions of both types and a decent amount. Lastly, if you lost your keychain, I found it. Guessing it went missing somewhere mid 70’s. (Also found deep under the bottom) Thanks for looking into these! Thanks for knowing stuff I don’t and please let me know how to do better with posting future find questions. Here’s my box with the stuff I’ve kept. My better half has pretty strict rules on bringing new stuff in. Can’t have repeats, which is fair enough. Thanks!! Jp

i have collected a lot of old bones. some are modern moose and others are mammoth and older mineralized bone. what is the best way to clean them? what tools should I get to use? can anyone recommend a good book on general information and cleaning fossils and bones for a middle school age child? (13) thanks

Only two weeks ago, when i was out rock hunting on the south western coast of Norway, I found two rocks with fossils inside them. In Norway, fossils are only found in Oslo, Trondheim and on the northern part of Norway. The only fossils found in the west are in Ritlandskratere, an ancient meteor crater, four hours away from where i found mine. The fossils are some brachiopods and clams, a trilobite tail, a belemnite fragment and a belemnite phragmocone. There could maybe be some new species or sub species. I am waiting for the response of the Natural History Museum in Oslo. I will update on the response I get.

Hello Everyone, It feels like Deja Vu .. but it is that time of year again .. again. Wait, have I posted this already. A photo dump, of the few photos I snapped, of some of my more interesting finds. The Crowne Plaza had some enourmous mineral specimens and some fantastic fossils on offer this year. Though most were way outside of my budget. But photos are FREE ! The cutest fake fossil ? Yes ... and I almost bought one. I kick myself still for not pulling the trigger. Selfies with minerals anyone ?? .. yes please. Children for scale. I like it and I'm sticking with it, because I'm a rebel. Who needs a proper scale anyway. 1 FINN Height Unit (well, you can't see his feet) My daughter found her favorite, but alas we could not roll this one home. Moroccan tooth. Most likely Auriculatus. Fantastic price for such a nice tooth. They are normally quite beaten up. My other Moroccan finds. I love these for stocking stuffers The dealer I frequent from South Carolina. They are black water divers and have the best cetacean teeth and other bits and pieces. Great for school visits etc ... this stuff is sold by the pound. A sloth tooth partial. Mastadon (or Gomphothere ? .. probably a Gomph tooth) Tooth Cusp Extinct Billfish Vertebra Cheers, Brett

Hello fossil hunters! Found some interesting fossils from the late Cretaceous in Europe. In the south of the Netherlands (Limburg), Cretaceous sediments occur. At and around the ‘Schneeberg’ (border between Vaals and Germany), the Kalksteen van Vijlen (Vijlen chalk), Orsbach Kreide (Orsbach chalk) and Kunrader Kalksteen (Kunrader chalk) or Vetschauer Kalksteen are present. Fossils from these sediments consist of belemnites (Belemnitella junior (Nowak, 1913), Belemnella (Pachybelemnella) sumensis (Jeletzky, 1949) and/or Belemnella (Pachybelemnella) cimbrica (Birkelund, 1957), some intermediate forms are described as Belemnella ex gr. sumensis/cimbrica, sea urchins (Echinocorys sp. including Echinocorys gr. conoidea (Goldfuss, 1829) and Cardiaster granulosus (Goldfuss, 1829), oysters (Pycnodonte vesicularis (Lamarck, 1806), shark teeth (for example Carcharias sp., Cretalamna lata (Agassiz, 1843), Squalicorax pristodontus (Agassiz, 1843) and Pseudocorax affinis (Münster in Agassiz, 1843) and other fossils. Many fossils are from the Vijlen Chalk (early Early to early Late Maastrichtian). Fossils from the Vijlen 0-3 and Vijlen 4-6 (Vijlen chalk) are approximately between 70.6 and 69.3 million years old. The basis of interval 0 of the Vijlen Member could be dated at 70.6 Ma. Lithology and bioclast contents for intervals 5 (upper part) and 6 of the Vijlen Member at Mamelis (Mamelis 62D-78) have indicated an age of 69.7-69.3 Ma. According to recent research the base of the Vijlen Member is dated at 70.4 Ma and the fossils from Vaals and nearby places could be between 70.4 (the base of the Vijlen Member) and 69.7 or 69.5 million years old (Lixhe 1 Hz. and mid-Lixe 1). Including the latest part of the late Late Maastrichtian, Cretaceous fossils from Limburg and its capital Maastricht (where workers and fossil hunters found Mosasaurus hoffmannii (Mantell, 1829) are between 70.4 and 66.02 million years old. Above: photo with Cretaceous fossils from Limburg (Vaals). These fossils are the remains of animals that lived in the shallow sea that covered Europe between 70 and 66 million years ago. A comparable American site is Big Brook Park in Marlboro New Jersey where these kind of marine fossils are also found (belemnites, oysters, shark teeth and other Cretaceous material). The six belemnites are possibly Belemnitella sp. (Belemnitella junior (Nowak, 1913), the white oyster is Pycnodonte vesicularis (Lamarck, 1806) plus one fragment, the black object is a 'Steinkern' from the sea urchin Echinocorys sp. (possibly Echinocorys gr. conoidea (Goldfuss, 1829) and the seven teeth are shark teeth (mixed species, I think a few Carcharias sp. The bigger one I don't know. I do not think it is a Paleohypotodus bronni (Agassiz, 1843) because the crown is not really twisted. Internet https://www.somniosus.be/Homepage_set.htm Literature Birkelund, T. (1957). Upper Cretaceous belemnites from Denmark. Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Biologiske Skrifter, 9, 1–69, Copenhagen. Christensen, W.K. (1995). Belemnitella from the Upper Campanian and Lower Maastrichtian chalks of Norfolk, England. Special Papers in Palaeontology, 51, 1-84. London. Felder, P.J. & Bless, M.J.M. (1994). The Vijlen Chalk (early Early to early Late Maastrichtian) in its type area around Vijlen and Mamelis (southern Limburg, The Netherlands). Annales de la Société géologique de Belgique 116: 61–85. Felder, W.M. & Bosch, P.W. (2000). Geologie van Nederland, deel 5. Krijt van Zuid-Limburg. NITG TNO, Delft/ Utrecht: 192 pp. Gallagher, W. 1997. When Dinosaurs Roamed New Jersey. Rutgers University Press. Jagt, J.W.M. (2005). Stratigraphic ranges of mosasaurs in Belgium and the Netherlands (Late Cretaceous) and cephalopod-based correlations with North America. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences. 84. 10.1017/S0016774600021065. Jagt, J.W.M. (2012). Belemnitellid coleoids (Mollusca, Cephalopoda) from the type Maastrichtian, the Netherlands and Belgium. Scripta Geologica. Special Issue, 08, 93–112. Jagt, J.W.M, & Jagt-Yazykova, E.A. (2012). Stratigraphy of the type Maastrichtian – a synthesis. Scripta Geologica. Special Issue, 08, 5–32. Keutgen, N., Jagt, J.W., Felder, P., & Jagt-Yazykova, E. (2010). Stratigraphy of the upper Vijlen Member (Gulpen Formation; Maastrichtian) in northeast Belgium, the southeast Netherlands and the Aachen area (Germany), with special reference to belemnitellid cephalopods. Geologie En Mijnbouw, 89, 109-136. Jeletzky, J.A. (1949). Über den taxonomischen Wert einiger morphologischer Elemente des Rostrums der belemnitellenartigen Formen (Familie Belemnitellidae Pavlow, 1913), sowie über die Gattung Belemnella (Nowak, 1913,subg.) Jeletzky, 1941, ihre Phylogenie und einige Vertreter.Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie, B9, 257–287. Keutgen, N. (2011). The belemnite zonation of the uppermost Cretaceous in the Maastricht-AachenLiège, Brabant-Méhaigne and Mons areas (Belgium, southeast Netherlands). In: Jagt, J.W.M., Jagt-Jagt. Belemnitellid coleoids from the type Maastrichtian. Scripta Geol., Spec. Issue 8 (2012). Keutgen, N. (2018). A bioclast-based astronomical timescale for the Maastrichtian in the type area (southeast Netherlands, northeast Belgium) and stratigraphic implications: The legacy of P.J. Felder. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences, 97(4), 229-260. doi:10.1017/njg.2018.15 Nestler, H. (2002). Die Fossilien der Rügener Schreibkreide (4. überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage). Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei Bd. 486., Hohenwarsleben (Westarp Wissenschaften-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH). Schulz, M.G. (1979). Morphometrisch-variationsstatistische Untersuchungen zur Phylogenie der Belemniten-Gattung Belemnella im Untermaastricht NW-Europas. Geologisches Jahrbuch, A47, 3–157. Van der Ham, R. & van Birgelen, M. (1992). Zeeëgels uit het Maastrichtien van de Schneeberg en omgeving (Aken, Duitsland). Natuurhistorisch Maandblad, 81(8/9), 139–153. Vellekoop, J. & Kaskes, P. & Sinnesael, M. & Huygh, J. & Déhais, T. & Jagt, J. & Speijer, R. & Claeys, P. (2022). A new age model and chemostratigraphic framework for the Maastrichtian type area (southeastern Netherlands, northeastern Belgium). Newsletters on Stratigraphy. 55. 10.1127/nos/2022/0703.

My grandson who plans on being a marine biologist is fascinated by the marine fossils that can be found in Texas. 30 years ago, on a staff development trip to McDonald Observatory. While we were there, they took us on a trip to collect fossils. It was a road cutout so it was legal to collect the minor fossils. I remember that the mostly we found fossils imprinted in the shale. They were simple fossils but even for we teachers, it was so much fun to use our rock hammers, split open a piece of shale and find a treasure. My grandchildren would love this so much. Unfortunately, all I remember is that it was somewhere in the Fort Davis, Texas area. Is there anyone that could tell me where I could find this place? Thank you

I am figuring this “Fossil ID thing”! Please let me know if these pictures are clear enough/large enough. I see so much in this obsidian,.... but I don’t know what they are! So, is there obsidian in these fossils, or are there fossils in this obsidian?

Hello all, Can anyone recommend a paper, book, or website that can help me learn how to identify the formations in Texas (especially central Texas [i.e., San Antonio northeastward to Georgetown])? I am realizing more and more the utility of formation info for fossil identification as well as the scientific value such information adds to an individual's personal collection. Thank you kindly in advance for your help

I purchased these in person. The tooth was represented as being a Bison Tooth, found in the Kansas River. The vertebra was represented as being a Whale Vertebra, and i forgot to ask for the location? I thought that at the very least, it was some type of Cetacean Vertebra?

Hello Members, Greg from Western Washington. I am new to The Fossil Forum. Started collecting rocks a couple of years ago when I was beach combing looking for colorful rocks to tumble and display. My interests became focused when I continued to come across examples of bones and coprolite creating the urge to pursue the next best fossil find. Many questions linger for an inexperienced amateur. 1 - Why has only one Dino from the Jurassic Period been found in Washington State ? 2 - Are fossils found with all their original pigmentation intact ? 3 - Does meat fossilize ? Does Succulents plants fossilize? 4 - Washington law states that any Vertebrate fossils found belongs to the state and is unlawful to keep? Maybe I read or interpreted this wrong. Makes you not want to post photos of any finds. In two years, I have found examples of all which I have questioned. I believe Dinos did exist in Western WA as I have found fossil both pre and post Jurassic.

I am going to Scotsdale in a couple weeks any suggestions where to hunt?

Anyone willing to give any general locations to find agatized coral on the Withlacooche River? Not asking for exact locations just more so how to approach the river in general. I'm in Tampa FL I know about Honeymoon Island and Ballast Point. Also willing to learn about how to approach Ballast Point. I went out a few days ago at low tide and had no luck on the shore. Do people kayak it and get in the water to find coral mostly?

Just wanted to share some small pieces I found. Nothing amazing but being I'm so green to finding agatized coral i think its neat...

Just wanted to share my fossil collection with you guys. Nothing to crazy mostly common stuff, but it's all from a years worth of digging. Everything you see here taught me a lot about identifying fossils. After that year I kinda stopped digging due to personal life reasons and I started new hobbies. That was 10 years and unfortunately I never got back into it till a few weeks ago I started hunting agatized coral and caught the bug again to want to hunt. I'll be posting as I find new stuff. Thanks you!

I took another first time fossil hunter out to look for shark teeth, today. It was quite hot. There were 3 of us looking today, and we had a good time. We made sure the new fossil hunter, left with shark teeth. My haul for the outing: The new fossil hunter's haul for the outing:

Holidays in Charente Maritime France 2023.The Pointe du Chay with my friend Alexandre, (a real local expert!) to guide me first hunt in the pointe du Chay.

Location: Southern Nevada, USA ■weight is noticeably heavy for its size ■Very porus; sticks to tongue.

Hey TFF Members! Last Tuesday after work I was experiencing fossil withdrawals and needed to get my fossil fix! I didn't have a ton of time, but I took my camera to the creek and set out to find some fossils! I ended up finding some pretty incredible stuff. I documented some of what happens before getting to the creek as well. Hope you all enjoy it!

Hi! Recently entering the fossil world with a megalodon tooth and a rex tooth, and I continue to go down the rabbit hole! Stumbled upon this forum and decided to join to see what else I could learn! Cheers!

Just Curious what powder everyone uses for air abrasive work on fossil ammonites, I heard aluminium oxide is pretty bad for your health and is highly flammable and can explode or some thing, just curious if there's a safer powder to use than that.

I have been getting increasingly less active here and with fossils in general. A year ago I left the Gateway Science Museum to return to the Chico Creek Nature Center. I worked there as a naturalist and science educator a decade ago. I loved that job and it was a huge part of my life. It was so cool that I can say I trained an owl. Literally speaking lol I worked with very closely with a Western Screech Owl. It was awesome. I heard the CCNC was looking for a Director of Animal Care. I jumped at the opportunity to return. Working with wildlife is my true life passion along with my kiddos. I’ve spent the last year helping bring native species back to the center. We currently house more than 30 different species of critters and I’m insanely busy but so happy. Meanwhile, my kids are rocking life in the adult world. My daughter, who is only 20, is graduating from CSUC with two BA’s in the spring. Political Science and Criminology. She’ll be deciding between law school or grad school. Carter, who is 21, is steadily progressing toward his degree. He is going to be an evolutionary biologist and will study reptiles most likely. Both kids are volunteering at the center too. So basically we are all super busy, super happy and doing well. The super busy part is where the fossils come in. We simply don’t have time for fossil education work. It’s just not happening anytime soon and it’s not happening in the future. Knowing that we just can’t do the education work any longer, my kids had the talk with me. They do not see the fossils as any sort of heirloom or inheritance. If something unexpected happens to me, it’d be something unpleasant for them to deal with. We have an extremely open and honest relationship so I respect what they are saying. I get it. My dad left us various messes to clean up when he died and I don’t want to do that to my kids. It’s not an easy decision to me because I’ve enjoyed this immensely. I love sharks and I’ve really liked collecting fossils but it’s time to let it go. We educated a lot of people and oh boy did we give away a bunch of fossils. Close to 3,000 bags of shark teeth !! In the coming months, there will be some posts on TFF and some will be fossils being auctioned to support TFF and get some fossils to people who’ve supported us. There will also most definitely be some giveaways !! Im likely to hang on to Cow Shark, Squaliformes and some micro stuff for awhile but everything else is going to go. I am eternally grateful to all the folks here who’ve helped us over the years and been so supportive. It’s because of you that we were able to spread some fossil love and it’s because of you that we’ll be ending our fossil collecting days by giving back to say thank you !!!!!

If you are planning to go to Summerville, SC for your first time, and have been hoping to find Shark Teeth, please read this. My Advice: · I advise only going if you know someone with known locations, or otherwise plan to hire a company or a guide (I do not have someone to recommend). Finding teeth on your own is quite difficult. My hunt: I got lucky this time on a 3-day trip. After having visited Summerville years before with my son to great success, we went through over 25 spots (August 2023) with only two teeth found. We were discouraged. Luckily, we found one location that netted us the teeth shown as a last-minute discovery at the end of day 2. We returned on day 3 after morning rain. Our goal was to find a Megalodon tooth (even broken) of 3" or more, which we were successful!! If it wasn’t for that one spot, the trip would have been disastrous. Unfortunately, the spot that we found will soon have a structure over it so I cannot say this opportunity exists for the future. What didn’t work on my trip? · My known, secret spots didn’t have shark teeth this time. · I had researched fossil formation areas, inland tides, and elevation maps; yet the locations we visited didn’t have shark teeth. We found the right layers, but not teeth (even with low creek flows). What has changed in Summerville? I believe: · Inability to use tools is impactful (there is a law against it). · I believe the hurricane years ago exposed quite a bit of fossils, but since then the volume of fossils are not being exposed quickly. I should have realized there have been a lack of YouTube postings over the past few years. If you go to the Beach without a guide/company: · Going during the day, even at low tide, has too many tourists looking for fossils. We made this mistake. · Go first thing in the morning for better odds. · Go after a storm. · Find a location away from tourists. We are pleased with the results in the images below. I hope this information is useful. Thank you

I found a few different rocks and I'm curious what I have here.. one is a cluster of shell and even has like whole ones inside the rock.. and the other I believe is a ammolite.. I was in southeastern saskatchewan at a rock Pitt where I dig into the ground with a loader and I found these rocks!

Hi, my family stumbled across these (and hundreds of others like them) along a creek bank. Would love and appreciate some help identifying them.

Although I've been a member of this forum for a while, I have never introduced myself properly. My name is Martin and I come from the East of the Netherlands. In recent years my interest in paleontology has grown. I have been keeping, breeding and studying amphibians for 15 years. Reptiles that have a partly aquatic lifestyle are also included in my collection. I mainly focus on European and Asian newt families. The development of these animals is fascinating as they go through a metamorphosis during their lifetime. The adaptability of these animals is also admirable and that is where my interest in paleontology arose. I wanted to further investigate how primitive amphibians and reptiles lived, evolved and how they related to modern living families. That is why I started collecting fossils a few years ago and gathering as much information as possible about this. The combination of keeping live animals and studying fossil species gives me great satisfaction. My fossil collection focuses on amphibians from all over the world. As far as reptiles are concerned, I have focused on European species as much as possible, although I also only have aquatic reptile fossils from Morocco, Niger and the United States. I will give a small look at my living and fossil collection. Some of my own amphibians, which I photographed, to give you an idea: Laotriton laoensis (origin Ban Le, Laos) Cynops ensicauda popei (origin Nanjo, South Okinawa Japan) Cynops pyrrhogaster (origin Mie prefecture Japan) Some of my amphibian and reptile fossils: Mastodonsaurus (top Muschelkalk from Würzburg Germany) Scleocephalus haeuseri and Apateon sp. (Perm, Rotliegendes, Odernheim Germany) Cricosaurus (top Jura (Malm)) from Painten Germany)