Search the Community

Just wanted to give my fellow fossil hunters a heads up. Was at Green Mill Run the other day and looks like new residents have called it home — snapping turtles. Saw two of them and of course they blend well into the creek. Could've lost my finger when I picked up something almost front of it . Any way, beautiful creatures, but very careful as they can be hard to spot in the water

Hi all, it's been a long time since I posted here. I'm thinking about going to Greens Mill Run (Greenville, NC) next weekend. Would the water levels be about right or might it not be a good idea?

Hey everyone, I'll be in Wilmington, North Carolina for a wedding next week and I'm super excited to check out GMR for the first time. I expect the water will be frigid, to say the least. Does anyone in the area know how high the water level is now? I know a guy who may have hip waders or boots I could borrow, but it would be a huge bummer if we got there and I found out the water level was too high for either of those. They're too bulky to pack in carry-on luggage, so bringing my own pair isn't an option. On that note, if anyone knows of a place nearby (Greenville or Wilmington) where I could potentially rent chest waders, that would be amazing- I looked around online, to no avail.

Hello. I came across this fossil recently while at GMR in Greenville, North Carolina. I was hoping someone would be able to tell me what it came from & what part. My friend I went with thought it was some sort of jawbone piece. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi again. I have another one for you. I think I could tell if it wasn't broken! Found in green mill run. It is 1.5 inches or 3.8 cm. There is a definite ridge on one side. I tried to get a good picture of its location, the cavity seems slightly oval. Thank you again! I really appreciate you all teaching and helping me!

Had a pretty productive afternoon on Sunday. No large teeth but tons of small ones and lots of bone. One partial shark vert! Some...seeds? That I'm not sure on. Along with one other thing that I'm not sure on.

Another find this weekend, actually Rick found it but let me bring it home, want to confirm that it's a petrosal and also what species based on my research I believe it to be. Found: Greensmill Run, Greenville NC among a huge array of items (whale bone including several tempanic bulla, shark teeth (great white, tiger,crow, Giant White Shark etc) and two Enchodus teeth etc. Believed to be a Petrosal from Balaenoptera Sursiplana? I thought (from one specific article/image reference below) that is was possibly Plesiobalaenoptera but it noted they are only found in Italy and the long flat part seemed much thicker than the reference image, but the rest seemed better matched than from the other species noted above?

Hi all. I found this in green mill run in Greenville NC. I don't know what it is but since it has the same enamel look of a tooth I kept it. I hope there is enough of it there for someone to have an idea of what it is! In inches it is about 1.25 and centimeters 3.175. Thank you very much!!

Hi all. I am sure this is an easy one for you but I would like to be sure, since my guess is only a guess! I apologize that the only measuring tape I had was in inches, but i believe it is just under 35 mm. Found in the green mill run. Near the tar river in Greenville NC USA Thank you!

Good evening everyone, I recently did some fossil hunting in the Green Mill Run river in Greenville, NC. The water was pretty low - ankle/shin deep most of the time. I'm pretty new to fossil identification so figured you guys could help me out. Location: Green Mill Run, NC Date: July 2020 Excavation process: Shovel to river bed The first looks like a jaw with teeth indentations. It's about 1.9" (50mm) with brownish coloration. Additional photos below.

Found this tooth today. It is the best fossil I have ever found!! I am ecstatic about it. I found it just laying under a pipe in GMR in Greenville, NC. Approaching 3"

Found this at GMR and have no clue what if anything it is. Seems like more than just a stone but maybe that’s it. Anyone have any guesses?

Curious to find ID for this piece found this month in Green Mill Run creek

So I took a trip to GMR in Greenville, NC. Green springs park is currently closed and by the looks of it, i guess for a while. The entire creek took a beating with down trees that lay across the creek in many places. South of green springs park is still very deep, maybe 6 or 7 feet. I did manage to find access about 1/4 of a mile north of the park. This area was anywhere from ankle high to thigh deep, and I'm 6'3". I stumbled onto some pretty awesome finds as well as whale bone central, bulla's, baby intact meg teeth. For regular visitors of the creek, its going to look alot different. And from what i came across today, i plan on revisiting the spot next week. Water wasnt very cold either. Just wanted to spread the word.

Hey all I was able to go out to Greenville, NC for a quick hunt this fine morning. Heres the haul Everything 2 exogyra and a oyster? That exogyra is absolutley MASSIVE some non-shark teeth Huge and reaaaallly old sperm whale tooth root. First whale tooth fish tilly bone Fish tooth. Could someone ID? Mosasaur tooth. My first mosasaur tooth too Belemnites Shark teeth Some good ones Great whites My first meg that still has serrations Nice big crow shark Two nice Hastilis tiger shark teeth are very rare in that layer Whale bone Ear bone Was a very good day, this was a result of only around 3 hours

First time at GMR, didn't find the whale tooth or vertebrae that I wanted to find, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! Was away from my vehicle for four hours. Was not prepared for all of the glass though! Curious if anyone can identify anything in the last two pictures. The small piece isn't supposed to be in that. I'm not sure if the black thing is anything, I just thought it had an unusual pattern.

Hey, all I went to GMR in Greenville yesterday. First I'll tell you yesterday was a perfect day for fossil hunting, there were lots of people there. (15+) I know I have seen at least one trip report from yesterday, so I'll keep this short and let the pictures talk. When you look at the haul, it doesn't look great, but when you consider that I only dug for 45 minutes it's pretty great. I got 2 megs, 2 great whites, 5 crows, and some others. VERY nice HUGE lower great white. I got another really nice posterior great white. The bigger one is 2.5 inches, the smaller one I didn't measure, but it's about 1 inch I would think. Look at the color on that one in the top right! The two megs Nice posterior Great white the messed up spot Hydration marks

[WARNING: A lengthy read, but hopefully enjoyable] Last summer Chuck @megaholic invited me to go out with his fossil friends to dive the Meg Ledges offshore from Carolina Beach, NC. We could not make it that year as we were several time zones and about 2700 miles to the west in Cascade, ID to see the total solar eclipse as it streaked across the US on August 21, 2017. (It was well worth the cost and effort to see this impressive astronomical event. This year Chuck tried again and I was happy to be able to take him up on his offer to join his group for some meg tooth dives. Initially, I started checking for airports nearby and started hunting for inexpensive airfares. Chuck quickly pointed out that it really isn’t that far of a drive from South Florida and that he usually covers the distance in one long day of driving. The idea of driving up to North Carolina sparked the concept of an epic roadtrip with several stops along the way bookending the diving portion in the middle. The six potential diving days of the charter were fixed at the last couple of days of July and the first few of August and so with that anchoring the middle of the trip, I was able to build out from that time to lay out a fun itinerary with lots of stops along the way. I’m pretty good at composing lengthy journeys and had fun mapping this one out. My wife Tammy has been planning her retirement for some time and though her employer was successful in tempting her back for longer than she had planned on working for them, she was finally at a good stopping point with her project wrapping up. She actually based her last work day before retirement on my finalized schedule. She had her farewell lunch and said her goodbyes and was back reasonably early on a Wednesday and we had the car packed up and were heading out just after the morning rush hour died down on the following Thursday. Our first port of call on this roadtrip was north-central Florida. I had a number of specimens that I wanted to drop off in person to the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) in Gainesville. Along the way I had made plans to visit the first of many TFF members on this trip. Harry @Harry Pristis is a great authority on the types of items we pull from the rivers and creeks here in Florida and anybody who has read any forum topics about these items has undoubtedly noticed Harry’s excellent photographs of his enviable fossil specimens which are invaluable in confirming IDs. Harry also has a wonderful collection of old bottles and that is also a bit of a side passion of mine (I like hunting for all sorts of things). Harry and his wife invited us in when we arrived and we were able to indulge in one of my other favorite hobbies—talking about things which interest me. After some wonderful conversation we got a chance to marvel at some of the spectacular fossils (and other items) in Harry’s display room. The walls were covered with all sorts of interesting bottles that drew my attention equally as much as the fossils we were soon to see. Harry (as you would expect) has his items very well ordered and cataloged so it is much more like visiting a museum than a personal collection (a concept that would be repeated throughout this trip). Harry stores his fossils in custom made cabinets with shallow drawers based on the type of cabinets that shell collectors like to use. The tops are inset with nice areas to highlight some pretty things under glass. Harry has collected for many years and as such has built up a terrific assortment of enviable fossils. It was quite a treat that could easily be summed-up as “like a kid in a candy store”. There were just too many wonderful things to see it was too easy to forget I was holding a camera. I asked Harry select a couple of his favorite items for a couple of example photos. He selected an odontocete mandible (Goniodelphis cf. G. hudsoni) from the Pliocene which was recovered from the phosphate mines (when it was still possible to access them). The other stunning piece was a rhino tooth from Teloceras cf. T. hicksi (also from the mines). Truly special items to be able to see up close and personal.

My wife and I headed down to Greenville this past weekend to hunt greens mill run. We had a fairly slow weekend of hunting. But we were able to find a nice great white, a couple makos, and some very nice crow shark teeth. All in all the hunting was a success, we just enjoyed being back in the creek. Now let me get into why this was the best trip we’ve ever had, by far! Forum member, George Powell, invited us to his home which he has built a 1500 sq. ft addition onto, to display his amazing collection. We arrived at about 3:30, and started the tour of us collection. George took the time to go through his entire collection with us, explaining what things were, the story behind them, and the significance behind each piece. We were completely blown away, not only by his amazing collection, but by the knowledge and experiences he holds and the time he took to share them with us. Five hours later and it was time for us to head back home. We left there with a much better understanding and love for fossil collecting. If you are a collector, (amateur or veteran) I HIGHLY recommend you check out George’s collection if you’re ever in the Greenville area. Again, thank you George for letting us tour your collection and teaching us young bucks a thing or two! Blake and Marita Here are some pics of our finds at gmr this weekend as well as some pictures at George’s.

Hello. Not too long ago I went to Green Mill Run (Greenville, NC) and found this tooth. Now I found my regular shark teeth, and even alligator teeth, but never did I find one of these (pictured). I was hoping someone could identify. It is 1.5" long.Thanks!

I had a good weekend on the river this past Saturday and Sunday. I did some fishing and scouting for new dig spots. I have yet to find my own place where 1. no one else knows/digs that I am networked with 2. that produces decent quality and OK quantity. Saturday evening that was checked off from my fossil hunting bucket list, though. I plugged down the river in my lil 14' jon boat, saw some shells atop a bank that looked familiar to the fossil pecten in edgecomb county and made a quick dash to the shore! I had quite the struggle among the brush and trees between myself and these barely visible shells - but I made it, grabbed a very nice C. madisonius with some little barnacles atop of it. As I'm climbing down I spot something embedded in the rock/hardened clay and got so excited I literally laughed out loud. MEGLADON TOOTH! -This I was not expecting, but welcomed! I pried it out, really neat color and sadly chipped away about a third - but still in good condition and a promising sign as I looked around and also found two beautiful little great whites almost pearly white! Such unique colored teeth for this part of eastern NC as normally my finds, like GMR, are darker grays and blacks and then you have the aurora teeth and hour east that these appeared more like in color but still different. I would love to know the minerals responsible for this coloration here. Anyhow, I returned with my Good digging partner, Rick, Sunday and we found a few more things that were alright. More to explore - more to come I'm sure!

Good evening all. We headed out for Greenville, NC to hunt Green Mill Run this morning. Headed out from NJ (across river from Philadelphia). We stopped off at Conowingo Dam in northern MD to take a few photo. My daughter with her driving permit in hand did a great job driving through Baltimore and D.C. (Proud dad moment!). We bypassed the hotel and jumped right into the creek just before 7pm knowing we were only going to get about an hour to scope out the area. I had only been in the creek once before about two years ago with George Powell. It was a short but awesome day in the water. However this was my daughters first time. Some of you might recall we tried this trip together a couple years ago when we were rained out and I blew the engine in my Explorer while here in Greenville. So far things are going infinitely better! Will post an update after a full day out tomorrow. Native American pottery

I found this in a gravel bed at Greens Mill Run (GMR) Yesterday afternoon. I am thinking it's Bison, but would like confirmation and also assistance with which species and possible age. It's fossilized (tinks like a rock when tapped on a metal shovel) so I want to assume it's not modern but I suppose I cannot rule out the possibility of it being colonial? the range/mix of material at GMR might make this difficult - as I found it with shark teeth and whale bone much like everything else - even horse teeth.