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Hello Everyone, I have been a rock/fossil-hound since I was very young. I just recently started back actively hunting minerals and fossils. I ran across this forum and I am really excited to learn some new stuff here. Thanks!

I had the opportunity to collect in the Red Mountain Formation recently, and considering the seeming lack of accessible sites in the area (RIP Tibb's Bridge) I thought it'd be good to show some of my finds here and say there is some stuff out there. At first I thought the site was in the Mississippian Lavender or Floyd Shales, which was my initial reason for venturing out to it as I didn't have the opportunity to collect in marine Mississippian units closer to home. I can say now with almost 100% certainty it's actually within the Red Mountain Formation, an early Silurian unit that is also a prominent ridge former in northwestern Georgia. This is based on the trilobites I found. I am more familiar with the Rose Hill Formation of central Appalachia, which bears some similarities with the Red Mountain. Not only do the two begin with "R" (and consist of two words XD), but more importantly both represent roughly similar stratigraphic sections and depositional environments. This was something I instantly noticed at this site, as some of the fossils, their mode of preservation, and the rock lithology is strikingly similar to the Rose Hill further north. Both the Red Mountain and the Rose Hill consist primarily of clastic units, particularly iron-rich sandstones and silty-shales. They are both dominated by shelly invertebrate fauna, and contain many of the same genera. There are some differences, however, namely that the Rose Hill contains a much more diverse fauna, is more abundantly fossiliferous, has many ostracodes and some tentaculitids (which the Red Mountain lacked), and contains more limestone and calcareous layers, whereas the Red Mountain appears to be mostly coarser-grained clastics. Likewise the Red Mountain Formation has more abundant crinoid remains, is a ridge-forming unit, and does not appear to have a Rochester Shale equivalent, at least from what I've seen, which is interesting. Of course these are just some quick observations I noted from a couple of outcrops, so take all of that with a heavy grain of salt. I know the Red Mountain does contain limestone and calcareous shale layers in more complete sections at Birmingham, and the exposure I went to was obviously not complete. Elsewhere the Red Mountain has produced a more varied and abundant fauna, and conversely the Rose Hill is largely devoid of fossils in many sections. Anyways, here's what everyone's been waiting for: Calymene sp. (?) I've seen a couple of threads about the Red Mountain Formation in Georgia, but none mentioned trilobites from it. According to the Georgia Department of Mines, Mining, and Geology, the Red Mountain has a a few species of trilobites. This is a plate containing a pygidium and part of the lower thorax of an individual, and a possible fragmentary glabella/cephalon. These are likely molt fragments. This was also my very first find of the day, so a great way to start it off XD. There are probably more specimens at the site, as the exposure was actually fairly large (for what I've seen in this state) and exposed a decent section of the interbedded shales and siltstones, but it was very overgrown and I couldn't reach it. This was laying on the soil. I'm going to go on a limb and say Anoplotheca hemispherica ? A plate with a couple of brachiopod shells on it. The Red Mountain's shale layers are said to be more fossiliferous than the sandstones, which is what I found to be the case at this site. Even then fossils weren't that common in even the most fossiliferous layers. A well worn plate containing abundant crinoid columnals and brachiopod fragments. I'm going to go out on a limb again and say the larger shell fragment is a Dalmanella (?) sp. , but that is a guess. A plate with a Dalmanella (??) sp. and crinoid fragments. The report I'm basing this off of is old, so a lot of these names probably no longer apply. Lots of crinoid pieces in this rock. All in all fairly successful. Any day you find a trilobite (even fragmentary) is a good day in my opinion XD For those of you interested, the site is near Summerville, near an evidently popular swimming location. The fossils actually came from several different "exposures", albeit all within close proximity to one another. If you want to visit I would highly recommend going in winter, when the plants will all be dead and the snakes/spiders down to a minimum. Thankfully I didn't come across any snakes, but I did find an alarmingly large piece of shed skin.

May be a bit of an odd question, but I was wondering what horizons or layers are the most fossiliferous in the Conasauga Formation. I've heard about the Tibbs Bridge site (RIP), but that site exposed a calcareous, light-colored shale from the upper part of the Conasauga. From what I read online it seems that most of the trilobite beds are located in the upper shale layers of the formation, but I was wondering if anyone else knew if the other parts of the formation had anything?

When splitting some extra matrix from the Tibbs Bridge Road exposure of the Middle Cambrian Conasauga Formation I came across this trilobite cephalon imprint. It does not seem to match any of the common trilobites found at the site and I could not find a similar example in the various trip reports other members have posted about past visits to the site. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

These are some unidentified mollusk fossils I collected among the dredge spoils along the Savannah River in Savannah, Georgia a couple years back. Because of the mixed nature of the dredge sediments exact aging isn't possible but they represent Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene sediments. Most of the stuff from this site has been identified and @MikeR's resources have been a great help for some other ones but I'd like some help on these. # 1, 2, and 3. Some Muricid? I'm not really sure where to start to try and narrow it down. #4 #5 Crepidula sp.?

This tooth has popped up on my radar. It is an interesting looking tooth, especially for coming out of Georgia. Anyone seen similar teeth from that area??

More than a dozen quakes in 30 days: What’s going on in the Southern Appalachians? By Tanasia Kenney, The Telegraph, January 11, 2021 M 2.4 - 9 km SW of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, USGS Yours, Paul H.

Greetings everyone, First I'd like to collectively thank everyone for a wonderful resource in TFF. I have been a long time lurker and a long time amateur paleontologist but until now have never considered being active in the forum (a mistake!). As I expand my collection and experience I have decided to try and change that and allot time to participation. I look forward to discussing our mutual time-consuming hobby with everyone. I have primarily collected fossils in North Dakota (where I grew up) but have moved around for Fisheries research and thus have spent significant time collecting in Georgia, Illinois, and surrounding states. I also used to travel a lot when I was younger and thus have collected fossils from multiple locations across the US. I'm equally happy collecting and studying invertebrates, vertebrates, and plants although I don't currently have a setup for microfossils (next on the list?). Best regards, Tom

My ten-year-old and I moved to this property in middle Georgia about two years ago and started finding all kind of arrowheads and native American things. Now I'm starting to think I'm losing my mind because there are so many other things being revealed as the rain washes away my hill.

Found near the Savannah River, I was thinking it looks like it could be a rib or shin bone. Does anybody have any idea what it could be?

Hi all! This is my first time posting here, so hoping to have one of you help with ID on a fossil I found in a spoil spot on the Savannah River. These are dredged spots used to deepen the Savannah River for large cargo ships. After doing some digging here on the fossil forum I stumbled on a whale teeth diagram that seem pretty similar to what I’ve found. Thanks all for your help in advance.

I'm trying to determine how long it takes for something like this to happen to a tortoise egg. Years, decades, hundreds of years? I found this Gopher Tortoise egg in the South Georgia/North Florida area. It is about the size of a ping pong ball, heavy and solid. It had been washed up in the rain and was found in soil that consists of a lot of sand, peat and clay. The egg appears "fossilized" or "petrified" for lack of a better term. The shell is firm and porcelain-like with a lot of scratches. I candled the egg to show where the air sack appears to remain after staining itself into place and confirms it was an infertile egg. I can share a video link I have of the egg if it would be helpful and allowed.

Hi all! Nice to meet you. I am hoping to experience fossil hunting in Georgia! I would love local spots. Feel free to post or PM me any tips! What is your favorite fossil in Georgia?

What’s heavy, smooth and rounded on one side and with wavy channels on the other? I have no idea either, but I dug it out of the hill behind my house. Found among fossil palm wood, fishy bits, and shale. Partially exposed in dirt on the side of a hill. I found another smaller, broken piece with the same cross section profile and the two dissimilar surfaces on either side. North Georgia, Walker county, USA. 10 minutes south of Chattanooga. Nice view of Lookout Mountain too for all you Civil War buffs.

Hello all! This is my first post in the forum besides the introduction. I’m open to any and all interpretations on this piece. Did I just find a fish head in my backyard? There are tons of fossils (marine and palm) pouring out of the hills on my property. I’m so close to Chattanooga (10 minutes away), I imagine we would share similar geology but I’m unsure and try not to make assumptions. Yay for the scientific method! Found on the surface at the base of a shallow ravine among lots of fossil palm wood, shale outcroppings, and some volcanic(?) glass. Northern Walker co, Georgia, USA. Pictures are as follows... 1) “Right” side 2) “Left” side 3) “Top” 4) “Bottom” with “mouth” facing left 5) “Back” side with “top” at the top of photo 6) “Underside” with “mouth” at bottom left of photo 7) The location behind my driveway that keeps vomiting out fishy bits and petrified wood!

Hi everyone, For a long time, I've wanted to find a Megalodon tooth. I'm from Toronto, where they don't exist. However, I have a trip to the South coming up, where I understand there are some prime locations. It's a trip primarily for business, but I'll have one full day to spend on my Megalodon hunt. I would therefore ideally want to pick a single site. I did my research and my understanding now is that some of the beaches near Charleston, SC are prime. It would be helpful to get some first-hand accounts from you guys, though. The blue area is where I'm already planning to go. Suggestions for Megalodon sites in that range are preferable. The purple area is where I can extend my trip if the sites therein are meant to be particularly fruitful. I would appreciate any suggestions on the most promising Megalodon-hunting areas in this region. The only real barrier is that I won't have access to a boat, so anything offshore isn't doable. Thank you, Bellamy

Thought this was a horse frag but after looking at other photos believe it may be a beaver molar??

Can anyone identify this vert for me? I’m guessing some type of whale, but that’s as much as I can even guess. It was found in Black Beard creek in Liberty county, Georgia

I am trying to identify a tooth I found today in central Ga. the tooth is 3 inches long.

Please provide your expertise. I think this is petrified wood.

Hello everyone. I live in Savannah, Georgia, originally from West Virginia. I joined because I have a specimen that I’ve been trying to identify for years and I hope to learn more about fossils in general. Thank you for welcoming a very curious non-scientist.

Hey TFF Members! It's been a while since I posted, and I see I have messages I need to reply to as well. I will get back to them ASAP. I have just been ridiculously busy and it's hard to keep up with everything. I just went up to Georgia to hunt for Agatized Coral Geodes! Cris got a saw and we were able to cut what we found in the video as well. I had a great time and we found some really great specimens that looked amazing cut up. Check it out when you get a chance!

Found this diving coastal georgia. Not sure what it is. 3.5" in length. 1/2" in diameter. Found in same location as whale verts, horse teeth, meg teeth, and great whites. Any help is appreciated.

Hello everybody, how’s everybody doing? I am planning on flying out to the lovely state of Georgia in December and I would like to know what my options are regarding fossil hunting/ mineral collecting. I plan on flying into Atlanta, then driving to Macon. A day or two will be spent fishing on the Coast most likely around Savannah so I’ll try shark tooth hunting for sure. Nothing has been permanently decided as of yet except fishing. Now I know there is shark teeth on the Coast as I already mentioned but I know there’s maybe trilobites somewhere and that there’s certain places with garnet sand. I also know that the water level in the rivers out there get higher in the winter if I remember correctly. Will that stop me from being able to hunt for teeth and/or trilobites? It would be most appreciated if anybody could PM me with some rough locations or formations for me to research. Also any tips on beach collecting would be great as I haven’t tried it yet. Thanks!