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Hi All, I have just joined the forum. My kids and I have been fossil hunting for years, and have had some luck in various places. Most of the fossils we find are teeth, but there are some that are not easily identifiable by my uneducated eye! Some LOOK like fossils, but likely aren't. Some are definitely fossils, but I have no idea what they are!! I'm hoping to share some of our finds and also maybe get some insight on some of the items that we are curious about. Cheers!

Hey friends, Hope you're all well. I recently went to New York for the first time and throughly enjoyed what the city had to offer, however one of the stand out days was definitely a trip to the American Museum of Natural History. I won't bombard you with thousands of picture but I will post a few of my favourites Also a question, annoyingly I was on limited time and wasn't able to make the last slot of the "Meet T-Rex: The Ultimate Predator", has anybody done the tour and is it worth doing? I was gutted I missed it and would like to hear what others thought of it. I'm sure most of you know the I.Ds but i'll list a few of them just incase. So here's a few pics from my journey This specimen is AMNH 5027 and it was excavated in 1908 by Barnum Brown in Montana. Interestingly enough this specimen also provided the first complete skull of Tyrannosaurus rex. Not an alien, a pano that went a little wrong, it's hard to fit these guys in.

Hey everyone! I am about to be on a business trip for the next week so I made sure to try out a new location this past weekend. I went fossil hunting on Saturday and Sunday. Both days! I doubt I’ll get to do a double header like that for a while. Once summer hits I’ll have to figure out a way to fit in all these outdoor activities lol. I went to DSR to play for a little on Saturday morning. I only had until 11:30am to hunt, I had to help wedding planning with the fiancé. I only stayed at DSR for a little and gave myself enough time to go to Briggs rd for a first time hunt. Ive never been to Briggs rd but I’ve seen some trips posted by Dave @Darktooth and the location was very close to DSR. It was a site I was told to visit if I wanted to find Eldredgeops. Greenops are the more common trilobite at DSR and Eldredgeops is the more common trilobite at Briggs rd. I must say...very interesting site. Not very “pretty” as far as roadside quarries go, but she’s a beauty I tell ya haha. I’ll follow with pictures of Saturday’s DSR and Briggs rd finds after the text. I took my nephew out fossil hunting on Sunday cause he’s been pretty aware of my activities lately lol. I took him, my sister and brother in law to DSR and Briggs rd on Sunday. I went to the diamond mine last year with my nephew and we didn’t do so hot so I needed him to take home something this time! We sure my nephew Dylan went home with some nice trilobite material. I gave him a nice folded over greenops from DSR and my brother in law found a killer Eldredgeops at Briggs rd. So Dylan was a happy kid with some nice fossils. Ok time to show pictures. Trying to find a way to streamline this process lol. First Saturday’s take homes

At Lake Erie this morning I was walking along the shore and found this rock, which has an imprint of a bivalve shell in it. I was looking through the collections of bivalves on this site and it seems similar to a cockle shell, but I was hoping someone a bit more knowledgeable than I am might help me to correctly identify it. I tried to get the best detail of it that I could, and I also have pictures showing size as well as ones showing other sides of the rock, in case that might help with identification. If you would like additional angles/pictures, just ask. Thank you in advance for any help!

Hi everyone, i have yet another backyard find. Upstate New York. Any ideas? Thanks for the info.

Hi everyone, My sons found these in the back yard. I know they are some kind of clam, but not sure about specifics. They have pretty amazing details on them. Thanks in advance for any info.

I live in upstate New York in a small town called Fabius southeast of Syracuse. My son found this tooth in the woods behind our house in a seasonal stream bed. We are not sure if it is bison tooth or cow tooth or even if it is old ie....did not pass the burn test. Thankyou so much for any info.

I’m not sure what this is but I found it splitting shale that has trilobites and cephalopods and I think it’s devonian age. Hoping the pictures are good enough. It reminds me of a tooth from something I had seen a while ago...

Hello, I found this forum a few weeks ago while searching for information on fossils. It seems like a very informative and friendly place so I joined today. My name is Paul, I live in Oswego, NY (N/W of Syracuse, NY), I'm 50 years-old and am extremely new to fossils and fossil hunting. My family and I will be making our first fossil hunting trip this Saturday to either Tully, NY or Schoharie, NY (I still haven't decided on the location).

Found this years ago in Western New York creek bed. Any ideas what it is? Thanks for your input!

Hello all! It's almost spring, and that means it's time for @Kane and me to alter the geography of New York state once again! Current plans are to start at Penn Dixie on April 26th, then off to the DSR area on Saturday. Sunday is a mystery still, but we're working on it. As always, anyone is welcome to come out and join in the destruction, er... fossil hunting. Last year was a heck of a thing, lots of good stuff was found, and I think everyone had a pretty good time. @Pagurus, @JamesAndTheFossilPeach , @Fossildude19 , @Malcolmt, @Jeffrey P (I'm sure there are more I'm forgetting off-hand.)

Been taking some pictures of fossil finds the last couple weeks and decided to share. These are from our last couple trips.

The Three Kings Stationary epifaunal suspension feeders Heliophyllum is an extinct genus of corals that existed predominantly in the Devonian. Heliophyllum is of the order Rugosa and can be referred to as horn corals. This is what the internet tells you about this well known and popular fossil coral and that's about it. I'm fortunate to have collecting sites here in NY with excellent examples of this very cool fossil. I thought it would be neat for you to see examples of three types of Heliophyllum that I find. Of course the most common species I find is Heliophyllum halli (Edwards and Haime 1851) the solitary rugose. This is The King of Heliophyllum corals and are common to find here in NY at certain localities. Complete or "fresh" specimens are uncommon. A fresh coral would be one that has just weathered from the formation and is undamaged, unworn/tumbled by a stream. The majority of the Heliophyllum halli corals I find are 1-3 inches long with many being between 3-6 inches and a few over 6 inches in length. I find some with perfectly preserved epibionts that help tell a story of that paleoenvironment Heliophyllum halli lived in. The next King of this story is Heliophyllum confluens (Hall 1876) the colonial rugose coral. This species is much rarer then the solitary Heliophyllum halli. Confluens can form large colonies made up of several individual coralites that form a solid coral head. Each colony is different and many fantastic shapes can be found in this species. The third King is Heliophyllum delicatum (Oliver and Sorauf, 1994) a budding colonial coral. Delicatum is only found in the lower Deep Run Shale Member of the Moscow formation. This is my favorite of the three kings. They are the rarest Heliophyllum to find and complete undamaged colonies are near impossible due to their delicate nature. Unlike Heliophyllum confluens, delicatum coralites do not grow together to form a coral head. Instead each coralite individually grows out of a single main corals calyx. This can happen several times within the same colony forming a bouquet of fossil corals. I am not an expert on corals past or present. These are my observations over years of fossil collecting in New York. I hope this helps in your fossil ID or clears up some confusion when talking about these Kings of horn corals. mikey

Hello my name is Owen I am 14 and I live in upstate NY. I am very interested in fossils and have been since a young age. I thought the forum might be a good place for me to learn more about fossils.

Okay so I found this specimen at the Taughannock Falls in Ithaca New York. I found it at the edge of the gorge which consists of shale, composed of slit and clay that fell onto lime mud and hardened into rock. I've done some research and it appears to be a Brittle star trace fossil formed by their arm grazing the sand floor. Although, these Brittle Star fish traces are known as "Pteridichnites biseriatus" and they have only been discovered so far in upper Devonian shales out in western and eastern Virginia. I'm not an expert but to my knowledge the Ithaca geological formation is Devonian and was slowly covered by sand. Is it possible that the Brittle Star fish once roamed in the ancient sea now known as "Taughannock falls" today? Because a research team is trying to find this specimen and they are wondering if anyone has discovered it. Edit: Im referring to the dotted trackway. check this link out for more information. http://www.wvgs.wvnet.edu/www/news/Pteridichnites.htm

I finally bought myself a Eurypterid. I've been looking for years and i didn't want to spend more than $200. I knew i could find a deal eventually, i just needed a little patience, education, a good eye and a bit of luck. I took a gamble on this piece for only $99. From the provided pictures i saw from the "auction site" i saw i could clean up the tail and head for sure and a left arm was possibly there. Sold. A week later i decided to prep it a bit today on Christmas while my son was with his Mother. I uncovered the full tail, then complete left arm......then complete right arm!.........then walking appendages!!!! Holy complete Eurypterid for only $99!!! Lol Now here's why this is posted in the 'questions & answers' subforum. Should i dig into the left side of the head to possibly uncover the other walking appendages??? Being as complete as this is i am assuming they're there. But I'm not sure if digging into this would be worth it.... What do you guys think? Bought as is After prep Walking appendages To fossil hunt it takes a good eye, education and lots of luck. The same goes for buying fossils as well.

Interesting story. https://riverheadlocal.com/2018/12/14/local-teacher-finds-likely-fossilized-shark-tooth-on-baiting-hollow-beach/

Bastedo, J.C., 2006. The Penn Dixie Site - A Classic And Unique Paleontological & Outdoor Education Center. Guidebook for Field Trips, New York State Geological Association 78th Annual Meeting October 6-8, 2006, Field trip B4 (78), p.396. The above guidebook to the Penn Dixie Site is found in the 2006 Guidebook for the New York Geological Association at: http://www.nysga-online.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2006_bookmarked.pdf http://www.nysga-online.net/guidebooks/1925-1955/ http://www.nysga-online.net/guidebooks/ A revised version of this guidebook is: Bastedo, J.C., 2013. The Penn Dixie Paleontological and Outdoor Education Center: An Internationally Renown Multidisciplinary Educational, Cultural, Recreational and Tourist Attraction. Guidebook for Field Trips, New York State Geological Association 85th Annual Meeting 20 – 22 September 2013, Field trip. pp. 54-67. http://www.nysga-online.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2013.pdf http://www.nysga-online.net/guidebooks/1925-1955/ http://www.nysga-online.net/guidebooks/ Yours, Paul H.

I love collecting Devonian corals. No two are exactly alike and some like this specimen are much rarer then the most collectible fossil (complete trilobites from any period) from New York. Confluens is a highly sought after coral species. Only found in a very limited area. I find one colony for every 500 solitary Heliophyllum halli and only one colony in ten is complete like this specimen. That's why this piece had to be prepped. Well preserved epibionts can be seen in great detail thanks to the meticulous prep job. Heliophyllum halli confluens (Hall, 1877) Middle Devonian colonial rugose coral 88mm x 71mm x 60mm. Found 9/12/2018 in Livingston County, New York. Found - Mikeymig, Prep - Malcolm T. BEFORE AND AFTER PREP PICTURES

[WARNING: As is my custom, this trip report is exceedingly long, verbosely worded, and copiously illustrated with photos.] (It may be a good idea to find a comfy chair and grab a drink and some popcorn.) Since Tammy's retirement earlier this year, we've been busier than ever. We finally made it to Iceland this summer and saw dozens (if not literally hundreds) of waterfalls in that geologically interesting country. While talking about waterfalls ("fossar" in Icelandic), Tammy had realized that I had somehow not yet seen Niagara Falls. Tammy did not do a lot of vacation traveling when she was younger but had visited Niagara several times in her youth. She decided it was high time I experienced the power of Niagara. It could have been a simple trip--a flight up to Buffalo, a day out on a boat getting drenched at the base of the falls, and home again with little more than a long weekend invested. Somehow though, I have a remarkable knack for constructing enormously detailed travel itineraries--and this trip was no exception. Our anniversary month is October and so with the prospect of some multi-chromatic autumn foliar displays we decided that we'd plan a roadtrip that included Niagara Falls as its underlying motivation. It didn't take me long to realize that there are a lot of great TFF members up in the New York and Ontario area. Additionally, some members from the Virginia/Maryland area suggested meeting up during our last roadtrip through the Carolinas but that trip was already lengthy and involved. Perhaps, I could combine visits with a number of TFF members along the way and do a roadtrip down the Eastern Seaboard? As I started contacting prospective members to get the idea kickstarted, the starting point of our trip changed and we tacked on several extra days to the start of our trip. My brother and his wife had just bought a new house in the north side of Chicago. He decided that since all of the family holidays (Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) were already claimed by other family members that he would start the tradition of Oktoberfest at their house--first Saturday of October. The itinerary for our trip was still in its early stages so we were easily able to incorporate a trip up to Chicago and link it to the start of our roadtrip. We considered flying from Chicago to Buffalo and picking the rental car there but the cheaper airfares were (not surprisingly) at rather inconvenient times (who wants to check into a hotel in the wee hours of the morning?) but an alternative soon presented itself. Since one of the places we'd hoped to visit along the way was the Devonian Hungry Hollow site in Arkona, ON, we'd have to backtrack west if we started in Buffalo but it would be conveniently along the route if we simply picked up the rental car in Chicago and started the roadtrip from there. This also allowed us the opportunity of visiting the small town of La Porte, Indiana where Tammy lived at one time. Things were falling into place. Of course, that is not to imply that my roadtrips are in any way quickly improvised--I think I spend as much time planning them as I do driving them. Starting the trip in Chicago allowed us both to visit family and work our way through all of our favorite food groups (authentic Chinese, Indian, Middle-eastern, and deep-dish pizza ) before gorging ourselves on lots of tasty German food and Oktoberfest-themed adult beverages at my brother's new place. Finally, we were ready to start rolling some miles (and kilometers) onto our trip odometer and we picked up the rental car and got underway. We planned on making London, ON for our first night and since it turns out it is only a mere 6 or so hours driving from Chicago, we had a bit of time to drive through La Port. It had been nearly 40 years since Tammy lived there and (as expected) much of the area was barely recognizable and not much as she'd remembered it. There were a few landmarks still in place and it didn't take us long to find the house her parents owned in town. The main floor was the Chinese restaurant they owned and the second floor above is where they lived. It's always interesting indulging some nostalgia and visiting places from the past. After a bit of driving around town we picked up the highway and in time crossed the border into Canada at Port Huron. We got to bed late that night but we had one of the longer driving days behind us already. On the road again--and a stop at a childhood home in La Porte.

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for the late reply in posting this, but I was busy on the weekend with a course I'm taking, so it took me a few days to get my act together. On Friday, October 12th, 2018, a bunch of TFF members met up at Penn Dixie Fossil Park in Hamburg, New York in order to do some group fossil-hunting for mid-Devonian trilobites and other critters. The members in the pictures that follow are Malcolm @Malcolmt (he's wearing the beige bucket hat), Greg @Greg.Wood (he's in the striped shirt), Ken @digit (he's in the red jacket), Ken's wife Tammy (she's in the blue jacket), my daughter Viola (she's the only child in the group, so she's easy to spot!), Kane @Kane (he's in the black shirt), Kane's partner Deb (she's in the black jacket), and Mike @ischua (he's in the blue touque and green jacket). Diane @Mediospirifer and her husband were there, but I didn't get any pictures with them - so sorry! - perhaps Ken got a few photos... I encourage the others members of the group to add pictures to this thread if they have any, especially pictures of the finds - thanks! Monica The group hard at work: Malcolm using one of his toys to clear off some dust and debris: Greg doing some heavy lifting: Malcolm splitting some rock: continued...

Been having some heavy wind and storms. Found this on the shore of Lake Ontario in Henderson Harbor, NY. From what I have researched online and previous posts, thinking this is Spyroceras? Decent size too. Very happy with this and found it in a couple pieces so had to glue back together. Can anyone confirm or help to to ID? Rock is mostly Shale and Limestone. Area Ordovician in age from what I have been told.