Visitor
Cretaceous
08-04-vl-leisa-fossil_8039
Various items found, including cochina, shark teeth, ray teeth, pottery, echinoid
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous period occurred about 65-145 million years ago, and is the most recent part of the Mesozoic era. The Upper/Late Cretaceous period consists of the Tuscaloosa group and the Selma group. Most fossils are found in the Eutaw Formation, Mooreville Chalk/ Arcola Limestone Member, Demopolis Chalk, the Ripley Formation, and Prairie Bluff Chalk. In appearance, most of the "dirt" in these formations is white to light gray chalk, fairly soft and easy to remove unless it has been compressed.
In Alabama, the Cretaceous makes a swath from upper-middle west Alabama, across to Montgomery, then on to the Auburn area. About 80 million years ago mosasaurs were swimming in the oceans, and eating pretty much whatever they desired, including ammonites, sharks, and giant sea turtles. Today, Alabama is known for extensive fossil remains found in the chalk beds of southern Alabama, and washed out of the chalk into numerous creekbeds.
Era/Period/Epoch:
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 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!
March 11, 2007 - Cretaceous Fossils, Greene Co, AL
The March field trip was graced with perfect weather for playing in a creek. The morning started out pleasantly cool but was shorts and T-shirt weather by the time we got to the site.
We met at a rest area then caravaned to Greene County where we met our host who guided us to his property. We parked most of our vehicles then piled into several pickups and SUV's for the last 2 miles to the site. The site was a beautiful 80 acre parcel of high land on the Sipsey River which was underlain by late cretaceous sediment. A nice creek ran through the property and emptied into the Sipsey. The owner took us from the parking area to his camp which sits on a bluff high above the river. As we hiked to the collecting site, we observed turkey scratch marks, early blooming wild flowers, listened to woodpeckers and other birds and and then down a razor back ridge to the creek that was to be our collecting area for most of the day... a creek filled with sand and gravel bars and unknown treasures. We soon got our feet wet and split up into wandering singles and groups of hunters, assuming the bent-over position familiar to every fossil hunter. Sharks teeth were being found within moments of stepping in the creek.
Many varieties of sharks teeth were found including Otodus, Squalicorax and Ptychodus. Besides shark teeth the group found Oyster, petrified wood, fish vertebra, a mosasaur vertebra and other items of interest.
We had an "early leavers" group and an "it isn't dark yet" group; both groups stopped to enjoy dinner and continue the fossil discussions, fill their bellies, and wind down before the long drive home.
--Leisa Whitlow, Contributor
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(Photos courtest Jan Novak and Vicki Lais)
Most of the gang!
The long hike down the hill to the creek.
Are you sure we're supposed to go here, Aunt Mel?
The creek was quite low, and shark teeth were immediately found.
Start 'um early, and they love fossils for life! (Or maybe it's just the rock throwing . . .)
The easy way to hunt fossils . . .
Mosasaur vertebra.
A perfect outing for our future paleontologist!
What did you find, young lady? A nice collection of shark teeth, ptychodus teeth, petrified wood, coral, and pretty pebbles.
Quite a few oyster shells were found.
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Appears to be a tiny crocodile scute.
Nicely preserved worm tube.
More shark teeth.
Not sure what this is, any ideas?
Another unidentified fossil.
Tiny fish vertebra.
Decisions, decisions.. . . Do we want to collect in those gullies over there, or head out for supper? How about both?
August 19-20, 2006 - Cretaceous Fossils, Lowndes Co, AL
Once again BPS was out in the boonies with the ATV’s! Greg even brought his own ride this trip. Go, Greg! Gorgeous weather, good turn-out. Sandy Ebersole, a new BPS member from the Geological Survey of Alabama, was interested in examining the formation to determine if it is part of the same Ripley Formation she is studying at Coon Creek in Tennessee. Sandy and Jun Ebersole both gave us a short overview of the formations and geology of the area before we started collecting, which left us with an excellent perspective on where we were going.
We explored several small creeks in the area for the first time, where we found a number of crabs and other items, including clams, in nodules. Sandy found an outcrop in the first creek where she gathered numerous samples for her research.
The main creek yielded great samples for all: more crabs and clams, and unknown items in concretions. Sandy located another interesting outcropping and took more samples of microfossils. Michelle found some nice ammonite pieces, including one piece showing beautiful suture marks.
Since the Ebersole's needed to leave that night, our hosts set up an impromptu trip to a gully for the evening. Sandy and Jun wanted to see if this was part of the Ripley Formation (current thought is - probably not). Jun got a quick lesson on ATV driving and we hit the gully where we found teeth and bits of shells.
The next morning before the mist had burned off, we went to a different gully that had not been explored for several years, but did not yield many finds. After returning to camp, and meeting new arrivals, two groups were formed. One group went back to the creek where the crabs had been found, and another group consisting of Vicki, Michelle and Becky took off on a scouting adventure to explore yet another “new” creek. This turned out to be a great spot with some decent finds of brachiopods, clams, gastropods, exogyra, shark vertebrae, and possible pieces of bone.
Later in the day, diehards Becky and Vicki explored the main creek again, using a different access point and went a little ways up the stream until the creek got too difficult to navigate.
After two days of excellent collecting, all went their way home and look forward to the next field trip.
Edited by Vicki Lais
(Photos courtesy Vicki Lais)
On the way again! Riding to the site is almost as much fun as the collecting itself!
Sandy and Jun provide handouts and short lectures on the geology of the area.
General area where several crab nodules were found.
This outcrop has numerous small bits of shell and other material embedded in it. Sandy took lots of samples for her research.
Richard found a very nice crab.
Leisa decides to sift the fine sand in her search for smaller fossils.
Collecting samples for research.
A dried up creek we explored in the area.
We explored the main creek a good long while.
Nice view of the creek, which is almost dry in some areas due to the lingering drought. Notice the Spanish moss hanging from some of the trees.
Aaron found a nice, large crab.
Closer view of Aaron's large crab nodule.
Richard is digging out a very nice crab.
Another outcrop that Sandy found interesting. Many soil samples were taking from this location.
Greg is assisting in collecting the soil samples.
Becky found this nice crab nodule.
Michelle found part of an ammonite.
More ammonite found by Michelle.
Taking a rest after a long, hot day on the creek.
Jun and Sandy probably had more fun than the rest of us getting to the next collecting location - this was Jun's first opportunity to drive an ATV!
After a bit of a rest, we decided to explore a gully late in the afternoon.
This is how the gully looks when you get closer to the ground - a lot of shell bits and pieces. Can you find the shark tooth in this picture? It takes a while to get one's eye attuned to the coloring and patterns.
Early Sunday morning, we headed to a gully that had not been surveyed in several years. No items of interest were found here, mostly bits of shells and broken nodules, and a lot of caliche.
Closer view of the ground and a nodule.
After the gully trip, one group headed back to the main creek for crabs, and the Three Musketeers, Becky, Vicki, and Michelle, headed off for an adventure to find and scout a new creek.
Becky amongst the fishing poles.
Finally, we made it to the creek, which was littered with shells, primarily exogyra.
Exogyra.
More exogyra pieces. The slightly circular pieces with the dimple in the middle are the other half of the exogyra, though we did not find any articulated specimens.
Exogyra and a couple of gastropods found by Vicki.
Nice bivalve found by Becky.
Michelle and Becky looking for fossils.
Small vertebra found by Vicki.
Bone, but unfortunately, it appears to be recent.
Last creek to be explored.
This rock filled with shells was found at this creek, but not much else, so all headed home.
June 24, 2006 - Cretaceous Fossils, Montgomery and Elmore Co, AL
A relatively small group of BPS members went to a creek in Montgomery County for today's trip - could it be some people were scared off by the thoughts of 95 degree weather in the sweltering sun? To get an idea of our weather, go to your bathroom, turn the shower on the hottest it will go, close the door so steam can build up, turn off the A/C, then take your laptop in there and view our trip photos - you will have a good idea of our day! Leisa brought her canoe, and she and Claire floated/pushed/dragged it upstream and then back down. This late Cretaceous site once again yielded numerous echinoids and ammonites, though most of the ammonites could only be "collected" via photos, due to their fragile composition. We also found huge quantities of shells, a few shark teeth, a couple of mosasaur vertebra, two large vertebra, possibly shark, and pyritized coprolites.
Several people decided to call it a day after getting too hot for comfort. After a refreshing afternoon lunch in an air conditioned restaurant, the die-hards brains began coming up with another potential collecting site in Elmore county. Since we have a canoe, lets go look for petrified wood. Now understand, we had one canoe, one paddle, 3 life jackets and 4 people to go on this escapade. After a quick stop at the local discount store for an additional paddle and PDF, we scouted access points. The put-in we decided on was steep. Really steep. Really really steep. But we finally got it down the several hundred feet to the water, only to find a boat wasn't necessary, the water was low, the shore was easily walkable, and petrified wood was everywhere. So we collected it (ask Jan how much his pack weighed!), took some pictures of a tree that was about 4 feet in diameter, and noticed it was getting darker. And windy. And there was thunder. And lightning. And lots of cold rain (boy, did it feel good!) And we had the canoe at the bottom of a huge hill. But Leisa, resourceful as ever, had a plan; just hook the boat to her van, and pull it out.
(photos courtesy Vicki Lais)
May 6-7, 2006 - Cretaceous Fossils, Lowndes Co, AL
This May found the troops encamped in Lowndes County for a whole weekend of fossils and good company. Tents, camping vans, pop-up trailers all turned out for the great weekend of food, hunting and sleeping out thanks to the generosity of the hunting camp. Our hosts supplied rides out to gullies and a creek on their property via ATV’s and trailers. Even Sylvie made the bumpy ride out to the creek, although some of us did do a quick, quiet poll as to who knew how to deliver a baby or how long it would take to make it to the nearest medical facility, JUST IN CASE she hit one bump too many! We had a great crowd, and some excellent specimens of fossil crabs, shells, ammonites and various teeth were found. After a long day of collecting, we gathered around a roaring fire for a low country shrimp boil and good conversation. Everyone seemed to be demonstrating that everything does taste better outside! Michael and Sylvie had left early, Sylvie declaring that she was now ready to go home and have a baby!
Even the rainstorm that burst on us Sunday morning didn’t dampen spirits. Sleeping with the rain pounding down while you are warm, dry and cozy is one of life’s lovelier experiences! The early risers gathered under one of the many “porch” shelters in the camp and revved up the little propane stoves to make breakfasts of pancakes, cereal, coffee, tea...all the comforts of home, but more fun. Finally, all but the most dedicated decided to call it a day and head home. Nancy left a few of her belongings behind, so Vicki and Martha decided to return them via Selma, wait out the storm and do a little more looking around before heading back.
It was great to see so many of us, old and new members AND guests, turning out for all or most of the weekend. THANK you to our hosts for making us feel so welcome and providing all the facilities. Also thanks to our hosts, and to Shannon and Jim for providing vehicles and trailers, and to Vicki and everybody who helped organize the weekend and the shrimp boil!
This month we were collecting in the Ripley Formation, Cretaceous Period, Maastrichtian Age. According to information published by George Martin, Soil Data Quality Specialist with the USDA, most (if not all) of the crabs found on the trip are Avitelmessus grapsoideus Rathbun, or “Muffin Crabs.” These crabs have been documented from the Ripley Formation in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Along with crabs, members also found numerous teeth, including mosasaur, sawfish, swordfish, and various types of shark teeth. Also found were numerous shells and pieces of ammonite.
--Edited by Vicki Lais
(Photos courtesy Jan Novak and Vicki Lais)
A long drive by ATV, then a short hike to the gully.
The gully where we began the day.
Greg has just given instructions on "how to collect in a gully", so everyone is being very cautious and searching carefully.
This is a rather small gully, with very little chance of getting lost here. Gullies in the Ripley are very unusual.
Sometimes it was easier and more productive to just sit in one spot and let one's eyes get accustomed to the patterns.
The gully is littered with numerous pieces of broken shell, nodules and sometimes fish and shark teeth.
Loni's grand-daughter has found a sawfish tooth.
Lea has found the bottom part of a bivalve, possibly exogyra.
Shannon has found a new use for our logo patch - his son John's backpack.
Melanie has found . . . something . . . .
Tooth from a late Cretaceous swordfish, probably Protosphyraena.
Sylvie has found part of a crab leg.
Small fragment of ammonite showing the tell-tale intricately patterned suture marks, which distinguish it from a nautiloid.
Mosasaur tooth.
A variety of shark teeth, and the long upper left one is a swordfish tooth.
After a really hot morning, we returned to camp for lunch and a group picture. Uhh.... where's Claire, did we leave her??
Members spread out to search the creek bottom and banks. Some go upstream, some go downstream.
Nice crab. Note the dark gray clay. It is quite slippery in the creek and along the shore.
Some nice crabs.
An odd round item found by Vicki.
A closer look at the "round thing".
Rychard has found a nice deer skull, recent, not a fossil.
Back in camp, the food fun starts! Members and guests enjoyed a fine low country shrimp boil, with head chef Greg Mestler. Numerous members contributed to its preparation and its disappearing act!
THIS JUST IN ! ! SYLVIE AND MICHAL ARE THE PROUD PARENTS OF ELI MRUG ! Born May 23, 2006.
April 1, 2006 - Cretaceous Fossils, Russell Co, AL
On a gray, overcast day that began with morning drizzle in Birmingham, and an unscheduled side trip to Georgia (don't ask), several BPS members participated in a paleontological salvage operation in Russell county, Alabama. When the sun came out full force later in the day, it made us appreciate the cloud cover!
This Cretaceous site is slated to become a subdivision in the near future, so a dig to excavate and conserve material from the best layers was organized and coordinated by Patrick Sean Bingham, a grad student at Auburn University. Patrick's thesis topic is “Stratigraphic and Paleoenvironmental Context of the Ingersoll shale, an Upper Cretaceous Conservation Lagerstätte, Eutaw Formation, Eastern Alabama”. Another grad student from Auburn University, Terry Knight, was also working on his thesis, “Exceptionally Preserved Soft-Bodied Fossils of the Ingersoll shale, an Upper Cretaceous Konservat-Lagerstätte in the Eutaw Formation of East-central Alabama".
Many well known professionals from around the country volunteered their time and expertise to assist on the dig, including Dr. David Grimaldi and Collections Manager Carl Mehling from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Dr. Grimaldi was especially interested in the nice specimens of amber found at the site. Others who provided assistance and knowledge were Dr. Chuck Savrda and Dr. Ron Lewis, both from Auburn University, Dr. Bill Bevil from the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta, Ga, and Dr. Bill Frazier, Dr. David Schwimmer and Dr. Dent Williams, all from Columbus State University, Columbus, GA.
It was a real treat to work with these professionals and others who participated in the dig, and everyone got “down and dirty”, quite literally, as various plant leaf and stem impressions, some actual leaves, fish scale impressions, and even pieces of amber were unearthed!
(Editors note: Research on this site is described in the June 2008 issue of Palaios Journal, and some excellent photos are shown on the cover.)
(Photos courtesy Vicki Lais)
An overview of the dig location. Several feet of overburden was removed with a small bulldozer prior to the manual digging with picks and shovels.
Patrick Bingham explaining the geology of the site to Dr. Henry Barwood.
Overview of the site. Material was placed in the large tubs and taken back to the university for research. Note the orange spikes on the far right - the site was gridded, and one layer was designated "the middle", so some of the material is "above" or "below" that layer.
Numerous Cretaceous leaf impressions were found at the site.
BPS members observe the dig operation and look through the discard pile for samples to collect. Later in the day, we were allowed to help load tubs and Greg assisted with the excavation.
Terry Knight is keeping a log of the geologic layers as they are removed.
Dr. John Interlandi with the pick and Dr. David Grimaldi examining leaf specimens.
Dr. Bill Frazier (far right) observing the dig operation.
Humm . . . . did we miss any?? Better check those rocks carefully! Left to right - Vicki Lais, Bill Montante in back, Carl Mehling in black in front, Dr. Chuck Savrda, Dr. Bill Frazier, Terry Knight, Amanda Savrda.
Amanda Savrda, Dr. Chuck Savrda, Michael Brocato, and Leisa Whitlow observing the diggers.
Dr. David Grimaldi getting an up close look.
Beautifully preserved fossil, one can see scales using a magnifying glass.
A well preserved mussel impression, including the foot.
This fossil leaf was quite long, more was exposed as the overburden was removed.
Dr. John Interlandi is applying a fixative to a fossil leaf to help preserve it. This clay material is damp when excavated, but the hot sun dries it out quickly. When it dries, the exposed surfaces crack and curl up like dried mud, destroying any fossil that might be there.
Large exposure of matted leaf material.
Another plant fossil.
Several leaves.
This is an extension of the long stem/leaf shown several pictures above.
Dr. Grimaldi (author of Amber: Window to the Past) was specifically hunting amber, and he was not disappointed, as several pieces were found. Many of the amber pieces contained inclusions of small insects.
Seeds found at the site.
Most of the previous photos capture impressions of ancient fossils - where the fossil used to be, and now there is only an image pressed into the clay. This photo shows an actual leaf which was preserved in the soft clay, note the curled up edge of the leaf.