brachiopods

November 27, 2020 - Pennsylvanian, Jefferson County, Al

On Friday, November 27, 2020, seven BPS members and guests went to a working strip mine in Jefferson County to collect fossils from the Pottsville formation of the Pennsylvanian period. The fossils collected today originated in a warm, steamy, oxygen-rich environment and grew to towering heights. Some of the fossils found are pith casts, formed when sediments filled the hollow center of a stem and later hardened/mineralized into rock. Other fossils are imprints and show beautiful details of fern-like foliage.

Some of the identified fossils found today include calamites, Lepidodendron, Stigmaria, Neuropteris, seed and cone fossils, brachiopods, gastropods and other inorganic remains (rain drops, fossilized waves and ripples). In one area, several cordaites with characteristic, strap-like leaves were spotted and photographed. Several huge stumps were identified but were either too high in the debris wall or way too heavy to get into a car today.

The weather was ideal for quarry collecting today. Early sun knocked the chill out of the air but clouds soon thickened which kept the temperature very pleasant. Participants observed social distancing but still managed to keep up with the fossils that were being found. All things considered, it seemed a very successful day.

February 2, 2019 - Mississippian, Franklin County, Al.

Saturday, Feb. 2, 2019 was an absolutely PERFECT day for a field trip! There were 14 BPS members and guests who got together to spend a much-needed day in the great outdoors looking for fossils. The general area was a lakeshore in Franklin County (lower Bangor limestone formation) and our leaders selected 3 sites from which to collect. The first site, a public boat launch, was fairly void of fossils (except for a nice shark tooth in limestone matrix) but we had heard that the area had been over-collected recently so it was not unexpected. Even with slim fossil findings, the beautiful very spring-like weather had everyone enjoying the hunt.

It was decided to relocate to the site we collected last year so we all packed up and headed over. Thanks to expert navigation by Bob, we made it to the next site quickly and without a hitch – good job, Bob!! And this site proved to be as productive as it was last year. The shore consists of fossil slabs and loose fossils that had washed out of the matrix. Copious crinoid components, bryozoan components, horn corals, bivalves, brachiopods, and blastoids were all found while at this site. A non-fossil but interesting find was a pharyngeal dental plate from a freshwater drum fish. It was very pleasant to sit in the warm sun, with the fresh breeze, sifting and searching the washed-out fossils along the shoreline.

Some called it a great day after this but the remainder of the group ventured on to a road cut several miles away. Still in the Mississippian strata, we found a few blastoids, a brachiopods and even a couple of trilobites or, rather, the infamous “trilo-butts”. One specimen was very nice, being in pristine shape as if newly exposed. By this time, the sun was beginning to set so the remainder of the group wrapped up the hunt and bid the fossil hunt good day. There’s a great Mexican restaurant on Hwy 157 that is convenient to the interstate so the last of the Mohicans stopped there for good food and conversation before heading the rest of the way home. What a great day!

April 26, 2014 - St. Clair County, AL

Another trip back to the January location. Several members were psyched up about wanting to find another of the very large crinoid heads. Alas, while we found nice brachiopods and crinoid stems, no more heads were found.

January 26, 2013 - Central Alabama

This trip we had quite a few friendly faces show up to enjoy the beautiful day, the scenery and of course help find fossils. Some of the items we found included; brachiopods, crinoid stems, trilobite parts, worm burrows and some interesting rocks that could not be identified. Wish we had more time to explore this site, as its treasures were well hidden.

April 11, 2009 - Mississippian Fossils, Morgan Co, AL, Part 2

Part 1 - Trip Report
Part 2 - Trip Photos (this page)

This Mississippian limestone quarry yielded a variety of fossils, including crinoids, blastoids, a very ancient shark tooth by the name Petalodus, archimedes, bryozoans, brachiopods, Rugosa and other corals, and even part of a trilobite.

(Photos courtesy Ron Beerman, Becky Guthrie, and Vicki Lais)