Tracey L. Williams Fall, 2013

Jurassic Alabama  146 million to 200 million years ago.  Parts of Alabama were under water during at least some of the Jurassic period, including present day Mobile County.  Land in Alabama was hot, salty, and dry kind of like the American southwest.

Jurassic Gulf  The Gulf was probably a toxic brine.  The water was very salty and inhospitable to life.

Were there dinosaurs in what is now Alabama?  Yes, scientists have found fossils that prove that dinosaurs roamed ancient Alabama.  Fossils in Alabama include Paleozic invertebrates, Pennsylvanian plants, Cretaceous mollusks and vertebrates, and a variety of dinosaurs.  There were duck-billed dinosaurs and species from 3 other dinosaur groups.

Dinosaurs of Alabama  Appalciosaurus montgomeriensis “Appalachian Lizard from Montgomery”  Species of small tyrannosaurid dinosaurs  Lived in the Late Cretacious Period million years ago

Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis  Predatory dinosaur  Stood on its hind feet  Held its tail more or less straight out behind it  Had small front limbs  23 feet long and weighed about 1,300 pounds in life  First found by Auburn geologist David King in Montgomery County in July, 1982

Lophorhothon Duck-billed Dinosaurs  Late Cretaceous Period million years ago  Herbivores  feet long  Largely bipedal, but front limbs strong enough for some four- legged walking, standing, and feeding.

Basilosaurus cetoides Official State Fossil of Alabama Lived in shallow sea that covered South Alabama

Basilosaurus cetoides  Large, snake-like sea creature  Lived in the Cenozoic Period, 34 to 35 million years ago  Ancient toothed whale  Predator that fed on other fish

Fossil Plants  Common Alabama plant fossils include treelike lycopods, such as Lepidodendron, which are preserved as trunks, branches, leaves, flowers, and roots; ferns of many kinds; and giant horsetails.  Petrified wood has been found in Alabama.

Alabama is home to many trace fossils, which is what scientists call the preserved remains of marks made by ancient creatures..

Where Can I See Alabama Fossils?  The National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has an excellent and comprehensive collection of Alabama fossils. Within the state, the Anniston Museum of Natural History, the McWane Center in Birmingham, and the Alabama Museum of Natural History in Tuscaloosa have substantial holdings.Anniston Museum of Natural HistoryMcWane CenterBirminghamAlabama Museum of Natural HistoryTuscaloosa

Could I find a fossil?  When you are at the beach, and a piece of seaweed washes ashore, look at it carefully.  Does the seaweed have small pieces of shell attached to it that looks like lace?  If so, you may be looking at bryozoans. They look like tiny, stick-like arms with small holes.  We also find fossils in limestone and shale rocks (crinoids, blastoids, trilobites and gastroids)