If you're looking for Alabama fossils, this is the place to come!
Exciting field trips, educational programs on paleontology and geology, and interesting people to meet! No prior knowledge required, just a desire to learn and a love of fossils and the outdoors. Professionals and novices of all ages are welcome.
BPS is a little different from most rock/ fossil/ mineral groups. Our original purpose was to serve as volunteer field labor for the Red Mountain Museum, research needs, assisting museums and professional paleontologists, and personal collecting. Since our founding in 1984, our group continues to be focused on these goals.
Fossils from every geologic era can be found in Alabama, and the variety far exceeds other states. In most parts of the state, fossil shells and other ocean life, including brachiopods, gastropods and bivalves can be found. The Cretaceous band that stretches east to west across the state contains numerous vertebrate fossils, including mosasaur bones, shark teeth and vertebra, dinosaurs, bones of the extinct fish enchodus, turtle, crocodilian remains, and tiny bird bones. In the north, there are numerous outcrops of horned and rugosa coral, bryozoans, blastoids, archimedes, and trilobites. The coal fields in the upper part of the state feature amphibian trackways, lycopods, calamites, and tree ferns. The southern part of the state contains numerous fossil shells, a wide variety of teeth (shark, sting ray, mammoth, crocodile), echinoids, and remains of our state whale, Basilosaurus.
Browse around in our photo albums highlighting BPS fossil digs and other events, live vicariously via our field trip reports (or better yet, come on the field trip yourself!), and come visit with us at the Hoover Public Library on the first Monday of each month to join in the fun, find out about upcoming outings, and learn more about geology and paleontology.