Free Georgia Fossils
For
Georgia's Science Teachers
For
Georgia's Science Teachers
Round Two;
The Giant Oyster,
Crassostrea gigantissima
I have five free specimens
available to Georgia's Science teachers.
Georgia's Most Historic Fossil
Sorry;
Supply Currently Exhausted
The idea is simple;
Free, properly identified fossils to
Georgia's Science Teachers.
Free, properly identified fossils to
Georgia's Science Teachers.
Crassostrea gigantissima
Collected 10/Sept/2016
By Thomas Thurman & Hank Josey
Griffins Landing Formation
Late Eocene Epoch, approximately 34 million years old.
These specimens was collected along the Savannah River; just south of Griffins Landing and Yuchi Wildlife Management Area.
Below is a slide show of the five; they comprise 4 individual articulated specimens and a single mass of several individuals.
Multiple images of each are included.
One per teacher.
I cannot accept request for specific specimens.
The mass of several individuals will go to the first teacher responding.
Instructions for requesting a specimen are at the bottom of this page.
Crassostrea gigantissima
Collected 10/Sept/2016
By Thomas Thurman & Hank Josey
Griffins Landing Formation
Late Eocene Epoch, approximately 34 million years old.
These specimens was collected along the Savannah River; just south of Griffins Landing and Yuchi Wildlife Management Area.
Below is a slide show of the five; they comprise 4 individual articulated specimens and a single mass of several individuals.
Multiple images of each are included.
One per teacher.
I cannot accept request for specific specimens.
The mass of several individuals will go to the first teacher responding.
Instructions for requesting a specimen are at the bottom of this page.
Crassostrea gigantissima is extinct.
The genus Crassostrea still exist, some of its modern members are an important food source (see Crassostrea gigas). As a member of the order Ostreoida it is a true oyster. Pearl oysters are not true oysters. The genus tends to live in the inter-tidal zone (also known as the littoral zone) which means they’re exposed during low tide living at the coastline. They do well in waters with a low nutrient supply.
The genus Crassostrea still exist, some of its modern members are an important food source (see Crassostrea gigas). As a member of the order Ostreoida it is a true oyster. Pearl oysters are not true oysters. The genus tends to live in the inter-tidal zone (also known as the littoral zone) which means they’re exposed during low tide living at the coastline. They do well in waters with a low nutrient supply.
Georgia’s Most Historic Fossil
Near the Waynesboro, Georgia Post Office stands the Shell Bluff Historical Marker.
The inscription reads;
Shell Bluff on the Savannah River (15 miles northeast) has been famous since Indian days because of its outcrops of fossil shells including those of giant oysters. These lived in the Eocene sea that covered this part of Georgia some 50 million years ago. Shell Bluff has been visited and described by many famous travelers and geologists including Bartram in 1791, Vanuxem in 1828, Conrad in 1834, and Sir Charles Lyell in 1842.
The fossils they were after were Crassostrea gigantissima; formerly known as Ostrea Georgianna before the species was reassigned.
Correction to the historical marker;
The stated age of 50 million years ago is incorrect and reflects the level of understand when these markers were conceived.
The stated age of 50 million years ago is incorrect and reflects the level of understand when these markers were conceived.
John & William Bartram visited the site in September of 1765. The historical marker is dated 1791 to reflect the publication of William Bartram’s book on his travels. Bartram described these fossils as a “curious phenomenon”.
- The Batrams collected these oysters before a science of paleontology was established.
- In his 1778 work Epochs of Nature Georges Buffon (The Father of Natural History) established paleontology as a valid science by relating fossils to Earth distant past. His actual theory was wrong, but it triggered research into paleo climates.
- So Georgia’s documented history into fossil collecting predates both paleontology & natural history as sciences.
Lardner Vanuxem was an American geologist who became the chair of chemistry and mineralogy in Columbia College in South Carolina. From 1827 to 1828, he studied the geological features of the states of New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia, under the auspices of the state of New York. At the time of his death in 1848 Professor Vanuxem's private collection of mineral and geological specimens was considered "the largest, best arranged, and most valuable private collection in the country."
Timothy Abbott Conrad; investigated American paleontology and natural history, devoting himself to the study of the shells of the Tertiary and Cretaceous formations, and to existing species of mollusks. He contributed many articles to the American Journal of Science and the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy of Science catalogue of the Royal Society of England. He explored and reported on much of Georgia’s geology & paleontology.
Sir Charles Lyell; the Father of Modern Geology, friend, mentor and advisor to Charles Darwin. Author of Principles in Geology (first published in 1830) which Darwin studied during his HMS Beagle journey. Darwin & Lyell met upon Darwin’s return to England. Lyell visited the USA twice and travelled Georgia in 1842. He spent three days along the Savannah River collecting and studying the beds of these oysters.
Instructions for Requesting a Specimen:
Sorry; Georgia Science Teachers Only, Please.
One per school please
These are intended for classroom use!
Simply email Thomas Thurman @ GeorgiasFossils@aol.com.
I need;
Your name
What grade level you teach
The name of your school
A street address (UPS will not deliver to a POBox.)
City & Zip Code. (I will only ship to Georgia schools)
I will reply with a two page explanation sheet.
If you're on Facebook, look up;
GeorgiasFossils.com
Georgia's Fossil Group
Thomas Thurman