Successful Fossil Hunt-Patience Is A Fossil Hunting Tool

This past Sunday,7/20/14, I spent a few hours hunting fossils. We recently had some heavy rain and some road cuts in Hinds county that had been exposed by heavy equipment yielded some nice shells, fish vertebrae and a sharks tooth! Nothing special in the fossil collecting world for sure, but exciting for me none the less. These are from the Vicksburg group and Chickasawhay limestone formations. The scallop shells are pretty delicate so I was quite happy to find them in pristine condition, even after the heavy equipment went through. I will definitely be checking this area once again after periodic heavy rains. These were laying right on the surface, no digging was needed. By using the online tools I have presented in earlier posts, I knew this area would have fossils and I took an opportunity to capitalize on the area after it had been exposed. Driving by this area often I just knew there were fossils to be had and was biding my time, and being patient, which is hard to do, and it presented itself. Patience is another tool to find fossils, and for me it is one of the hardest for me to use.

Finding Fossils Resources

As promised, here is the start of a list of resources and how to use them and what they can do for you in your search for fossils. The first resource is this database, though some what out dated, it's a great start, Click Here This resource is for the USA, Canada & Mexico. Google Maps is the main mapping tool I use and it has some good features that I will show you as well that can be of great aid in your search for fossils, Click Here. Eventually you will want/need Topo Maps and here is another great free resource, Click Here. Once there, click Maps, Imagery and Publications in the upper left corner. Then click the link, Download free topo maps. These are the 3 main online resources I use and can be of great benefit. The first resource,Fossilsites.com is a vast collection from many sources, some old, but reliable. One thing to remember, in the Notes Section, place/location names may be outdated and a little sleuthing to try to pinpoint the location may be needed. Here is a set to add to Google Earth, some very nice overlays. Click Here Remember, these are for Google Earth, which you will need to download, not Google Maps. Using Google Earth or Google Maps can help you find out crops, abandoned or working quarries to aid in your search. Finding creeks and rivers too is much easier. Google maps/Earth are pretty up to date and can give you a good look at what to expect in an area if it has the Street View option. Not every location has this option but when it does it can show foliage, obstacles, good vehicle parking places, steepness, etc etc.

Fossil Hunting

Took two days of vacation time during the week to take a trip to north Mississippi and spend two full days of fossil hunting two different locations. It was quite hot but it was still very enjoyable. First stop was 20 Mile Creek to wade up and down the relatively low creek waters and sift for sharks teeth. I have made my self a sifter from 2X4's and 1/4" screen, as I have found this to be the optimum screen size to get anything big enough worth getting. The real real small stuff that falls through that screen just does not interest me. I will include instructions in another post for my screen build in case some one wants a general guide. The banks at this particular location are steep, but there are at least 3 trails that make it a little easier to get to the creek. The beast time is after a good torrential rain, as new objects are washed into the creek. They tend to get caught around rocks and sand bars, and in this particular location, large concretions. I use a long handle shovel to dig around these rocks and concretions where teeth tend to get caught , settle and buried. A shovel full or two of sand/gravel into the sifter, and shake away until all sand and dirt is gone. Whats left behind is what you will sort through. Fossil sharks teeth tend, for the most part, to be black, and can blend in well with other debris and gravel, so take your time and look. It gets easier to spot them as you do this more and more, and you can develope an "eye" for them. That's all there is to it. You will get wet and dirty. But there is nothing like finding that first one, after that, you will pretty much be hooked.

Finding Fossils

Finding Fossils In Mississippi or anywhere takes a little bit of research and patience and will help avoid frustration. Even in a region plentiful with fossils, it can take some work to lay eyes and hands on them. The internet is by far the biggest source for research, as well as your local library. Find out the geologic history of your region to start your hunt for fossils in Mississippi. This will aid in your learning where to look as well as what type of fossils you should expect to find. Another great source is talking to family, friends and other relatives of locations that have had fossils found there. Local farmers are also a good resource to talk to. This information can help find hot spots to help narrow your search. Take careful notes and get as much detail about locations as possible. Please remember all land is owned by some one, be it Private, Business or Government, please abide by all Local, State & Federal Laws. Always get permission to search and remove fossils on a property, get it in writing if possible. In the next installment, I will go more in depth on how to pinpoint fossil locations.

Mississippi Fossils-My First Finds

    The first one I have to post is a fossil sharks tooth found in north Mississippi, from the Cretaceous Period. This is from a Goblin Shark or Scapanorhynchus Texanus and is closely related to the modern Goblin shark.

   The next find was an almost 100% intact Gastropoda found in Hinds County and was chipped out of solid rock. It is the most complete one I could find to date. 

Fossil Collecting

   Mississippi Fossil Collecting blog is here to hopefully help others with finding  information about  finding, collecting and identifying fossils in Mississippi. Information I have found online is sparse and out dated. I am certainly not a professional blogger nor a professional fossil hunter, I am very amateur at both, but hopefully there will be improvement in both aspects as time progresses. Hopefully any information put forth will help others in the state of Mississippi get some current information about our hobby in the Magnolia State.

   The Mississippi State fossil is the Prehistoric Whale Basilosaurus Cetoides and Zygorhiza and the Mississippi State stone has been designated as Petrified Wood. Mississippi was once part of a shallow sea and marine fossils are abundant.