Florida is well known for its beautiful beaches, amazing Everglades and the occasional alligator…. What is less known (except for us fossil hunters!) is the abundance of fossils from the last 64 million years – from the Oligocene through the Pleistocene. Different parts of the state yield a variety of marine and land environment fossils. One of the most famous is the Peace River. There you find Miocene to Pleistocene era fossils. The Bone Valley Formation dates from the Middle Miocene through the Late Pliocene and is famous for it’s VERY colorful fossils. Most of the Peace River is phosphatic fossil replacement, so black fossils abound, but these are wonderfully colorful, with blues and yellows and oranges in every variation.
The Micro Matrix that I have been getting is from PaleoCris. He always throws in a few extra “big” fossils too! But it’s the micro matrix that I love! So many shark teeth, fish teeth and the occasional surprise Ray tooth plus lots of other goodies. Here are some of my favorites!
I have to start with this gloriously blue Galeocerdo contortus. It is truly one of my favorite fossil shark teeth I’ve ever found. It’s only about 1/4 inch big!
Next favorite is this amazingly patterned Ginglymostoma lehneri.
This little one is only 1/8 inch.
A few more little shark teeth above: Left Carcharhinus plumbeus Middle Carcharhinus obscurus and Right Unknown
Here are a few more Ginglymostoma lehneri or Nurse Shark Teeth.
Another of my favorite things to find is these unusual little ray teeth! These are Rhynchobatus sp. and they have a lot of variation in shape and color.
A selection of other Ray Teeth
A very common little find are Crab Claws. They are not often well preserved, but here are a few of the better ones.
Fish Teeth are also very common in the Micro Matrix. This is an interesting mouthplate of a Wrasse fish called Labrodon sp.
Some more of the various Fish Teeth
There are many more interesting fossils to be found in the Micro Matrix, like corals, gastropods, ray spines and vertebra.
I hope you enjoyed these beautiful fossils as much as I do! Their colors and patterns are some of the prettiest fossils I’ve ever come across. And if you want to see more micro fossils, check out my other blog posts! Keep your nose to the ground and happy fossil hunting! And check out my little website for more fossil fun! www.fossil-quest.com
Fossil-Quest! 