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BPS members listening to lecture on mining operations in the area.
Visitor
Alabama
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Stigmaria, the root system of a lycopod such as Lepidodendron or Sigillaria.
August 25, 2007 - Pennsylvanian Fossils, Tuscaloosa Co, AL
A trip to a non-working mine site to explore spoil piles for invertebrate fossils was on the menu for BPS's August field trip. The mining company, headquartered in Tuscaloosa county generously offered us the opportunity to explore at this site. A long, hot day on a moonscape was nevertheless a great trip, yielding some beautiful specimens.
We met with the mining engineer who gave us a quick overview of the mining operations, then let us go onto the piles to do our hunting. We hunted until the heat got to us and it was time to seek air-conditioning.
After cooling off at a Mexican restaurant, we ended the day at the Museum of Natural History at Tuscaloosa with a visit to their superb collections.
(photos courtesy Chris and Vicki Lais)
July 21, 2007 - Cretaceous Fossils, Greene Co, AL
A very large group of 31 people showed up for the July BPS trip to Greene county. Thanks to James Lamb, our trip leader this time, we visited some Cretaceous sites that we have not visited for at least 10 years, so we were all pretty excited. The first site was a chalk gully which has produced nice mosasaur bones in years past. James Lamb gave a short training session on how to collect in chalk gullies, how to walk around in them (slowly and gently), how to collect (when you find something, look up-hill to see if there are more), and other collecting tips. There are numerous pieces of what looks like rubble scattered throughout a gully - each piece of "rubble" is actually part of a fossil, though most of them are unrecognizable without close examination, sometimes under a microscope. James Lamb checked some areas where fossils had been found in the past, and discovered another bone, which was flagged so that it could be retrieved on the way out. Bob found a bone which turned out to be part of a turtle. Also, we found a wide variety of other fossils, including another mosasaur vertebra, a couple of mosasaur teeth, Tylosaurus flipper bone, several shark teeth, including a large one found by Sylvie. Ammonite pieces, worm tubes, burrows, a tiny fish tooth, a fish vertebra, and oyster shells were also found. One member asked James to go check some bones she had flagged; he discovered they were bones of a recent rabbit, and as he was approaching her to return the flag, he asked "Are you keeping that mosasaur vertebra there by your foot?" Well . . . She would've had she seen it first! Many fossils are light colored and blend in well with the environment. It takes time to adjust ones eyes to be able to spot them. We also discovered some fresher fish bones, leading to the conclusion that the birds who regularly raid the catfish farms have been using the gulley as their dining hall. Though we were hot and dripping wet, we were willing to stay longer, wondering what was in the next gully, and the next, and . . .
After rounding up the gang (which is a minor miracle in itself!), we hiked back to our vehicles for lunches, then headed for the creek. Finally, time to get wet and cool off! Out with the sieves, from collander baskets to "real" geology sorters, to home made wood-sided screens. At least a dozen ptychodus teeth turned up - Claire may be the "winner" on these, she had found 6 at last count. Every screen we searched had several shark teeth, and other fossils were also found, including a large fish vertebra, gastropod steinkerns (internal molds), worm tubes, and one very nice arrowhead. We left relatively early (hey, some of us would have stayed til dark if we could have!), and many of us stopped by a famous BBQ joint to continue the fun and fossil discussion.
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(photos courtesy Bob Stewart, Steve Corvin and Vicki Lais)
James Lamb gives a refresher talk on rules about collecting at museum sites, BPS ethics, and landowner restrictions.
Typical Greene County, Alabama chalk gully.
James Lamb explaining gully collection techniques.
Even the younger members had fun.
Flipper bone of a Tylosaurus found by James Lamb.
Many "pieces" are scattered throughtout the gully, and according to James Lamb, they are all fossils.
Small piece of turtle shell found by Bob.
Some typical fossils found in chalk gullies - one finds hundreds of worm tubes, and only a few shark teeth.
Shark teeth are "normal" to find in gullies, but Sylvie found one whose size is truly spectacular for these gullies!
Large ammonite section found by Vicki.
Mosasaur vertebra found by James Lamb (right beside Vicki's foot, darn it!)
Fish vertebra.
Nice mosasaur tooth.
Another piece of ammonite.
Small mosasaur vertebra found by Leisa as we were leaving the gullies "Everybody just stepped right over it or passed it by without noticing".
After lunch we headed to the creek to screen for teeth and whatever else we might find.
One of the many ptychodus teeth found in the creek.
Typical finds after washing the sand/mud from the gravel - notice the shark teeth and the piece of bone.
Another load of "pay dirt" - fish vertebra, shark teeth, ptychodus tooth.
Closer shot of the fish vertebra.
Nice internal mold of a gastropod.
A laid back group, keeping cool, having fun. There were various groupings of people all along the creek - some went upstream, some went downstream. James Lamb is collecting material to be used in an upcoming exhibit at McWane Science Center.
How many shark teeth can you see in this picture?
Sample of teeth found by Bob.
Wesley found a very nice point.
Headed home after a wonderfully pleasant day of collecting!
June 23, 2007 - Eocene Fossils, Covington Co, AL
The weather was unbearably hot for this June BPS trip to a river in Covington County. Maybe it was the heat, but we had a smaller than normal turnout. The water at this Eocene age site was extremely low, and our usual collecting-holes were sometimes totally flushed clean, and sometimes filled with silt. Very odd. However, we still found some nice specimens and quite a bit of petrified wood, including what appears to be a seed pod. The group scattered along the riverbank and settled down in their chosen collecting spots, making life a little hard on the photographer, but we still got some nice pictures.
Unlike previous years, we were the only collectors that day. It appeared that some "cleanup" work had been done along the riverbank, because it was smooth and un-marred by the holes and trenches dug by commercial collectors in previous years. The landowner asked that we DO NOT DIG at this site, and hopefully, the word has gotten around (BPS never dug here, anyhow). Screening is ok, but NOT digging holes in the banks. Since a number of our members have been appalled in the past at what appeared to be irresponsible digging by people who didn't even know they needed permission to collect here, this was welcome news.
We found ray teeth, shark teeth, sting-ray spines, brachiopods, drumfish mouth plates, and some mystery pieces. Stay tuned! The river was a wonderful place to cool off on such a hot day, so BPSer's took full advantage. Several members camped out overnight (thanks for the A/C, Leisa!), and broke out the canoes the next day in hopes of spotting some more collecting areas. We found some shark and ray teeth, a live turtle badly wanting out of the hole it had fallen into, and had a very pleasant trip UP the river, but did not find the treasure hole we were seeking. So, obviously, we have to go hunting again, right guys?
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(Photos courtesy Claire Smith and Vicki Lais)
The group picture, hey, what can I say? We were late, hot, and hungry!
Very low water level today.
Members hunting for the best collecting spots - the river is quite shallow here.
Jan found several pieces of petrified/ permineralized wood, and what appears to be a nice seed pod.
Jan heading downstream, surveying areas that are normally covered with water.
Sample of the fossils found at this site.
Drumfish mouth plate.
The river is low enough to expose this small waterfall, where, rumor has it, Claire and Becky engaged in a water battle.
Good view of the seed found by Jan.
Wood found by Jan.
That evening at camp, we spread out our finds for the day.
May 19, 2007 - Cretaceous Fossils, Montgomery Co, AL
Another hot day found the troops begging for a "water field trip" so we could cool off. We had mixed feelings about what we saw when we got there and found that drought conditions had virtually dried up the creek-bed. On the other hand, a good deal more fossils were exposed. This is our favorite spot for collecting echinoids and viewing too-fragile-to-collect ammonites. A few ammonites were retrieved, echinoids, cretaceous wood, worm tubes and a few shark teeth and numerous shells were found, and Becky found a turtle bone. With the exposure of the creek-bed, we could see near-perfect circular holes in the rock where the last bits of the ammonite fossils had washed away over time. In spite of the heat, we all found some nice fossils (or drooled over other people's fossils!), and had a chance to get a good look at the underlying rock formations. Our finds made all participants feel the day was truly worth it, including the largest shark tooth that this group has seen at this site, two very large shark vertebra, an unusual looking pycnodont fish tooth, and what might be a plesiosaur bone. Then off for some dinner at a wonderful BBQ restaurant where all expressed delight with the trip and made our plans for future visits.
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(Pictures courtesy Claire Smith and Vicki Lais)
April 19, 2007 - Dr. Gingerich Lecture in Tuscaloosa, AL
A few BPS members drove over to Tuscaloosa, AL to hear a lecture on fossil whales. We arrived early, and decided to "fossil hunt" at the Geological Survey of Alabama building. The steps and bannisters are of limestone, and are nicely weathered out to show beautiful fossils.
The speaker was Dr. Philip Gingerich, Professor of Geological Sciences, and Director of the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan. His lecture was titled "Fossils and the Origin of Whales". The lecture was very educational and entertaining, with numerous slides of Dr. Gingerich's field trips to Egypt, Afganistan, and other locations over the years. His most recent research on fossil whales was discussed in the lecture. After the lecture, we had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Gingerich and the other paleontologists/ geologists in attendance.
There is an article on Dr. Gingerich's whale research in EARTH magazine titled "How amphibious whales returned to the sea".
Click the thumbnail to see the full size photo. They are large so it may take a while to download each one.
(Photos courtesy Vicki Lais, with special thanks to George Phillips for his assistance!)
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April 21, 2007 - Cretaceous and Tertiary Fossils, Butler Co, AL
The April field trip took us to Butler County where a creek has cut through early Tertiary and late Cretaceous sediments. Once again as with last months field trip to Green County we had some of the best spring weather Alabama can offer, with the temperature reaching a pleasant 76 degrees.
Everyone met at a central location, and a brief introduction to the geology of the area was given before driving about 12 more miles to the entrance to the site. While past trips to this location have found the entrance roads to be very slick from rain, this years access was dry and easy. The entire caravan was able to drive to the limestone hilltop parking area.
The fossil hunting started the moment you exited your car with small gastropods and segments of large ammonites being found on the cleared hill top. The trail down to the creek provided more ammonites.
The creek was beautiful with white quartz sand beaches at many of the bends. Shark teeth, ray teeth, fossil bone, ammonite pieces and nautiloids were found in the gravel bars, along with numerous non-fossilized bones and teeth from various mammals. Some of the more interesting finds were various human artifacts rather than fossils. Indian potshards, some with incised decorations, a couple of projectile points and an Indian pipe, probably of European origin, were found.
The end of the day found the diehard fossil hunters resting at the beach where the trail intersected the creek. The Novaks organized a fire on the beach to roast small sausages, while others brought snacks to contribute, and the Stewarts returned to the parking area to set up camp for the night and fix their dinner.
By dark, everyone headed home, leaving Pam and Bob to enjoy a pleasant night at the site with owls hooting and Whip-poor-wills calling. At daybreak turkeys could be heard at the tree line adjacent to the camp area. After a couple of hours of walking the creek on Sunday morning the Stewarts packed up and reluctantly left the site, letting it return to nature.
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(Photos courtesy Jan Novak, Bob Stewart, Becky Guthrie, and Vicki Lais)
Vice President Greg gives an overview of the geology of the site and collecting rules.
A lot of excited people showed up for the field trip - fossils can even be found on the limestone earth in the foreground.
If you look carefully, you can spot tiny round gastropods, each approximately 3/8 inch across.
Hiking down to the creek from the parking area (and of course, looking for fossils along the way!)
The creek was higher this year than normal, but there were still numerous gravel bars.
A recent storm had washed up a huge pile of brush and trees, and left behind rocky rubble and mud rather than the white sand we normally find.
Nice nautiloid found by David.
Ray tooth and shark tooth.
Unknown item, can anyone identify? Looks kind of like a tooth. . . .but . . . .
Nice turritella in coquina.
Lea's mom was visiting from the Czech Republic, and decided to join us for the fun!
Shells in matrix.
Probably a pottery handle.
Worm tracks in the sand. Fossil worm tracks much like these are found in shale in north Alabama.
Numerous clayballs were found in the creek. This one shows bits and pieces of plant debris. The finder did not examine it closely to determine whether these were fossil leaves or recent, however, based on the geology of the area, they could easily be cretaceous fossil remains.
While Bob & Pam set their tent up . . .
The others built a fire and enjoyed the evening.
The campfire has about died out as some of the diehard fossil hounds hang out wringing that last little bit of enjoyment from the day!