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Went on a short trip to the amazing Mazon Creek Lagerstätten. I have been amazed by the Carboniferous for past decades of my life, reading research on it for the occasionally illuminating paleoclimate, stratigraphy, and evolutionary history of this very interesting period in the earth's climate for plant fossils. Which isn't to say I am not a newbie - I am a newbie, in most respects. It's interesting to think that the seeds that were growing at the time germinated in very high oxygen environments, at least the atmosphere contained 10% more oxygen than it does today (by percentage). Having more oxygen in the atmosphere, probably lowered the ignition criterion for material that was burning in the forests, where it burned hotter and with more ferocity in the tropical doldrums of the Carboniferous. Since there are many beautiful cycads growing in tropical environments, and they also have some memory-association for me with more warm and hospitable atmospheres in the southeast, like Florida, where I have visited... where palm trees grow (which came later in the evolution of plants than cycads, but are interesting nonetheless), it is natural to make the leap to seed ferns, and to have some curiosity about them. One of the seed ferns that grew in this area 300 million years ago were the Medullosan seed ferns. These produced large seeds that can be collected as petrified and nicely preserved in the Lagerstätten of Mazon Creek. Sometimes, roots are visible in the prehistoric 3-dimensional negatives of this lost world. A pollen tube can sometimes be seen. Lepidodrendron was the predominant plant tissue throughout the carboniferous producing the large areas of coal that were used in the 18th and 19th century from Illinois, and up until present in the coal forests of the east (like in what is now the state of Pennsylvania). These plants not only produced a large amount of foliage, including the large photosynthetic bark tissue which leaves the characteristic paricnos scars in reddened coal balls, but the plant tissue known as Lepidophyllum, produced large quantities of remains in the coal strata as well. I've collected some pictures of fossils I recently collected in a spoil heap of the Mazon Creek strata. The first 4 are pictures of a petrified medullosan seed fern seed, with the nucellus still tracing some of its natural egg-yolk color (or so it seems) in the preserved tissue interior to the exoderm of the seed. Followed by 2 pictures of Pleasantview sandstone, with trace remains of carbonized plant remains, likely from the depositional forces of large fires carrying these grains out to sea. Followed by 2 pictures of Lepidodendron tissue in a coal ball, with paricnos scars visible, a picture of lepidophyllum tissue in a coal ball. Followed by 2 pictures of petrified wood, from a Sigillaria bark. The last 2 pictures are a more traditional Mazon Creek fossil, found in a concretion. This is likely of a seed fern seed, but this fossil shows some signs of root tissue, and development of a stem (not pictured).

Visited Wyoming a few weeks ago (not for fossils). I did however get to hunt some sandstone layer in between Alcova and Casper. These seemed to be bedding planes with primarily shells (bivalves, etc). I found after getting home this mystery fossil in one of the chunks I brought back. My first thought was possibly a root to a tooth, but I know basically nothing on WY geology/stratigraphy. So, what sandstone layer/formation was this, and what is this fossil? Thank you so much for the help y’all. I’m like a fish out of water with stuff outside my home range.

Area with extensive sandstone, but no clear signs of fish, shells etc. Wondering if these examples of two different material formations may be of organic origin?

There are some basic explanations and tests that will help people get started in fossil hunting and there are some real experts who should be writing this instead of me but i will start and others can correct or add to this as needed. A burn test is a check of how recent the fossil is. A modern bone placed in a flame will burn and smell bad while fossil bone will not burn or scorch or smell like burning hair, limestone sea shells will bubbles dissolve in dilute hcl but bone will not. This will definitely separate many bone imposters from bone. a comment on sandstone sand stone as implied by the name is made up of tiny grains visible by eye or with a 10 x jewlers loop. Fossils can make an impression in sand sandstone and fossil imprints can form sandstone casts but a fossil bone is not going to be made up of sandstone

Against the advice of several experienced members, I'm back again with more supposed limestone and sandstone and wood..I'm hoping that maybe one of these is something more than a "natural coincidence.."again I have zero education in this stuff..I have around 2000 of these "natural coincidences.."these items lack the rings that wood has..these items have visible mesh..these items don't crumble please contact me if you know more about this stuff than I do..

Had some help with the ID on these. Apparently they are fossilized Ghost Shrimp burrows. Probably Eocene period based on the Matilija Formation Sandston but possibly Miocene. Also some Turritella shells too. Specifically in the Rattlesnake Canyon tributary of Matilija Canyon in the Los Padres Mountains of Southern California. TTT

Hi everyone. Had an unscheduled look at a location today that I was driving by, due to the small tide window for access being perfect. Unfortunately I had none of my gear on me due to being on another mission. I did however have a screwdriver in the car that measures 26cm's (just over 10 inches) that I used for a make shift scale. I didn't take the rock with me as it weighs approximately 50kg's (110lbs). I am unsure if it is plant or bone, or something else, which will derermine whether or not I go back to collect it. The area is late Miocene, approximately 9 million years, mostly deepwater sandstone.

Hello, can anyone help to ID what this is, we don’t tend to find anything except plant remains or bivalves in the sandstone here. image was a 3d scan but then screen shot so no other app was needed to view

Collected this piece around Offerton, Manchester, UK. Site is known for yielding fossil plants from Upper Carboniferous, Silesian Westphalian, Langsettian, Pennines coal measures formation (318.0 - 319.0 Ma) age in Siltstones. Collected sigillaria, cyperties, and Neuropteris specimens. Picked this chunk of rock while cleaning hands at a stream right adjacent to the site and found this strange rock. Look like infilled by fine sandstone grains in cross section. Grooved and bumps slightly visible, mostly due to heavy erosion from the stream itself. I have looked up some specimens of stigmaria root fragments and shows slight resemblance. Would it be something else? Would be great to know. Thanks.

So this is my newest find on property I have been working since May 2023. I am at this property several hours, several days per week. I believe this is a sandstone possibly mixed with green clay that is found on the property. You can see the indentations on the rock. * Rock ID app has agreed that this is a fossil.

Hello all, I am an amateur scientist from Southwestern Indiana and came across this interesting sandstone boulder while hiking an old surface mine area near me. I first thought it was man made but it has too many layers and definitely sandstone. Any one know more about this type of pattern? Thanks for any help.

Hi This is ripplemarks or trace? Best wishes Daniel Found: Western Poland,Babimost

Dug this out of estuary mud (fully buried about 8ft out from high tide line) in NW Washington. I’m a newbie, been scouring galleries trying to get some ideas, may just be a fascinating mix of rock but the dark stripe portions strike me as bone or shell. Weighs about 3-4lbs.

I found this heavy triangular piece of what appears to be a bryozoa colony ,but at different angles and lighting I find it to show several other possibilities. This was retrieved from a receding river bed amongst many more corals and lingulla plates I also gathered. If anyone has an input or correction to my guess ,I greatly appreciate it.

I was doing some landscape work today and found these hoof like impressions in a few pieces of flagstone. I believe it to be sandstone. And I know for sure it’s from Oklahoma, U.S.A. Any thoughts?

I've been chipping away at this cobble when I have spare time, and slowly exposing this fossil. I found the stone itself in western Illinois, relatively near the rivers. The matrix is shockingly tough, I can only rarely make a difference with any sort of precision, unpowered hand tool. Each grain of sand is firmly in place and does not want to leave. The exposed matrix was originally reddish to brownish, though newly exposed faces of chips broken off lack the red-brown color (the reddish color is entirely lost in the photos). Presumably the stone is Mississippian or Devonian. Other fossils in this rock are all flakey white brachiopod material ranging from 0.5 cm to 4 cm across at the widest points. I have tested some matrix scraps against vinegar, which dissolved the stone around the sand grains, but left the sand grains untouched. I've decided to hold off on any more matrix removal until I know what I should expect to find in the matrix. I found a second one of these, but it chipped off and lost it in my prep area outside. When it comes to the horses & zebras adage I always put more consideration into the zebras than I should, which is why I'm hoping this is some part of a vertebrate but more likely an oddly colored crinoid bit. We just don't have much vertebrate material where I'm at. The photos with circular borders are taken through a stereoscope at 15x magnification. The others have some level of digital zoom applied, but have a scale nearby (mm, cm). I apologize for any focus issues, this new phone has a finicky camera.

Found in Luna County New Mexico. Looking for an identification, hoping it's a footprint.

I found this coral in central Kentucky. Many are mostly free of any matrix. I am planing to put them in small glass display boxes to give as holiday gifts. Should I leave them as-is? Or can I brighten them up somehow, without taking away their character? They have all been found in an old rail road cut. The matrix around the other fossils appears to be mostly sandstone, with some in limestone. I took a few pictures of the loose coral and some still in matrix. All have been found within ~75 yard radius. I haven’t prepared them in anyway, other than sitting in the rain. My plan is to go over them with a toothbrush, then warm soapy water with a brushing. Thanks in advance for any suggestions, thoughts or opinions.

Fossil or accretion? Hiking in New River Gorge National Park, Castle rock trail. Saw this on one of the walls of what I believe to be sandstone. Pretty sure this is an imprint fossil of maybe a seed fern trunk. This maybe the first fossil, if it is a fossil, I've ever identified without some guidance, or knowing I was in a fossil rich environment.

With the only diatom green formation about 4 hours away, I decided to see what I can find the somewhat lose matrix sandstone of the Pittsberg Bluff Formation. The attached image was taken at 100X and captured in a 5 mpx camera. Processed in PS. I've drawn a pentagram around the object of interest at bottom center of image (also the oblect to the right of it looks interesting - maybe?). Is this just a waste of time, or can one find micro fossils in sandstones? thanks.

Recently found this rock on a trip to the Keasey formation near Mist Oregon. There are several crinoid stars visible on the outside of the stone and some segmented sections visible as well. Seems like they run throughout the rock. I found this on the ground by the stream and water erosion did a bit of work on the outside. Really curious and excited about what might be inside but no idea how to start and scared to ruin it. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

I found this stem or branch of a fossil found it in Rockford il on a dried river, do you have any ideas on what it could be?

Most people are familiar with the Conasauga Formation when they think of Georgia's Cambrian record, but the Peach State has a paleontological history dating back several million years before the Conasauga was deposited. Indeed, the oldest fossils in Georgia date back to the early Cambrian, and consist of a diverse form of worms, brachiopods, trilobites, and other creatures such as hyoliths and archaeocyathids. This early Cambrian record is largely divided into three formations, from oldest to youngest the Weisner Formation (part of the Chilhowee Group), the Shady Dolomite, and the Rome Formation. All of these formations, as well as the overlying middle Cambrian rocks of the Conasauga Formation, are well exposed in the Rome and Cartersville areas. Cartersville is a mid-sized town in North Georgia with a rich interconnection between history and geology. Situated near the confluence of three major geological provinces (the Valley and Ridge, the Blue Ridge, and the Piedmont), the Cartersville area was uniquely positioned for the discovery and future development of a variety of mineral resources. Wide scale mining began in the mid-19th century with the establishment of the Etowah Iron Works along the Etowah River. Although the bulk of the works were destroyed by Union forces during the Civil War, mining not only continued in and around Cartersville but actually expanded in the post-war period. Iron was the principal product for a while owing to the region's rich limonite deposits, but by the turn of the century ochre and barite production also became prominent, if not more so. Mining operations peaked by the middle of the 20th century, but some active mines remain in the area, and they continue to be a favorite with mineral and fossil collectors. Thankfully, this past history of mining, combined with the recent construction due to Atlanta's explosive growth, has exposed rocks typically left buried under the thick clay and vegetation of North Georgia. The Shady Dolomite was, and still is, the focus of the brunt of the ochre mining around Cartersville. A carbonate unit, the Shady is easily weathered in North Georgia's humid and rainy climate, dissolving much of the rock and underlaying the ground in a thick, reddish clay. Due to the nature of the weathering, however, distinct beds can sometimes be seen in cuts made into the Shady, as shown in the above photo from a construction site in Cartersville. Another exposure of the red clay residuum made out of weathered material from the Shady Dolomite. Although the carbonates of the Shady are frequently weathered into a thick, red muck, this weathering process typically uncovers a wide variety of rock types that are more resistant to chemical attack, and which would have otherwise been locked into the dolomite. At exposures like the one above, pieces of shale, iron oxides, and chert are common. Alongside the chert are fossils from some of the oldest reef communities in Georgia. This small piece of rock contains fragments of archaeocyathids, ancient sponge-like organisms that once established reefs in the early Cambrian sea. Alongside archaeocyathids, other fossils like trilobites and brachiopods are sometimes found in the Shady, but I didn't find any personally. Aside from iron and ochre, Cartersville was an important center for barite mining around the turn of the century. Most barite mines were located east of town, near the contact between the Valley and Ridge and the Blue Ridge provinces. Although most have been filled in or flooded, one pit that is still left can be seen at Pine Mountain east of town. A few pieces of barite ore line the trail leading up the mountain. A small piece of barite ore from near Cartersville. The walls of a former mining operation near the base of Pine Mountain contrasted with an image of a similar mine when in operation. Leading up the trail at Pine Mountain, one travels across geologic provinces. The valley floor is underlain by rocks of the Shady Dolomite and Rome Formation, part of the Valley and Ridge province, while Pine Mountain itself lies within the Blue Ridge. Climbing up Pine Mountain, you begin to sense that change reflected in the rocks underneath you. The red clay and chert residuum of the Valley and Ridge gives way to brown and white dirt, and the chert and dolomite boulders give way for quartzose sandstones, quartzites, and schists. Along the trail, numerous pieces of quartz sandstone from the Weisner Formation are exposed, and in these boulders you can sometimes catch glimpses of the earliest recorded life in Georgia! The picture here shows a sandstone boulder with a couple of well-worn Skolithos linearis worm burrows. Whereas the Shady Dolomite was deposited in a shallow, tropical sea, the upper Chilhowee Group was deposited in a near-shore environment as indicated by the coarse sediment. That means that 530-550 million years ago, during the early Cambrian, what is now a mountain would have been a warm, sandy beach! And, although they may not seem like much, the humble tubes in the rock illustrate a time when life was not everywhere abundant, and the diverse lifeforms we find at beaches today had yet to appear. Climbing the rocky trail to the summit, one is well-rewarded with a view of the entire Cartersville area, including a view across much of the Piedmont to Kennesaw Mountain beyond, and across much of the Great Valley to the Armuchee Ridges. One can also get a sense of the legacy of intense mining that took place around Cartersville from the many red-colored pits scoured into the nearby hillsides, ghosts of operations past and present. On top of all of that, one can also visualize the impact geology has on the topography of an area. Being the intersection of so many geologic provinces, the Cartersville area is marked by numerous faults, folds, and other complex structural geology that has left pockets of one formation nearly surrounded by pockets of another. This has contributed to the hilly nature around Cartersville, as the comparatively resistant rocks of the Rome Formation and Chilhowee Group forms island-hills in the sea-valleys of the Shady Dolomite. The view from Pine Mountain. The red areas are current and past mines around Emerson, Georgia, just south of Cartersville (which includes the buildings in white). The hills here, which make up part of the Allatoona Mountains, are held up by resistant units like the Chilhowee and Rome while the valleys are underlain by softer carbonates like the Shady. On a clearer day you could make out the Armuchee Ridges lying at the western edge of the Great Valley, a synclinorium of Cambro-Ordovician rocks that stretches from here all of the way to Quebec. I hope you enjoyed the report!