Be sure to renew your Fossil Permits! Never Dig into the River banks! Collection of Artifacts is Illegal on Florida state owned land!

President's Message

2024-2025 Season

Crunch Time!

This is crunch time and we’re all running around like dinosaurs with our heads cut off (get it?). In the next 90 days TBFC has a lot to prepare for and a lot of hard work too. FossilFest 2025 is just weeks away. Before the close of the 2024-25 season we’ll squeeze in a few more TBFC meetings, a bunch of field trips, and throw in a big season ending dinner in June. Are you ready TBFC!?

Will there be a Peace River Adventure in 2025?

Folks keep asking, but I just don’t know. I haven’t even had the chance yet to talk with the folks down south to see if the venues were damaged during the hurricanes. I will post here soon if you need to “save the date”.

Rare Irvingtonian Site Discovered
University of Florida Article

Two years ago, TBFC members Joe Branin and Dr. Bob Sinibaldi discovered a rare and scientifically important fossil site while SCUBA diving in north Florida. Over the past two years they have worked closely with the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) to unravel the mystery behind the extraordinary and unusual fossils found at their site. It’s big news in the paleo community and national news outlets like Science Daily, Popular Science, and Discovery BBC, are reporting on the discovery. There is a complete article about the discovery in this issue of the Fossil Chronicles, so I won’t go into the detail here. I do want to take the time to acknowledge both Joe and Dr. Bob for their special discovery and for their dedication to amateur paleontology.

For most of us in the club, finding a nice fossil specimen is just another addition to our personal collections and displays. We all enjoy hunting for fossil specimens and learning about what we find. When you are lucky enough to find something so rare that it has significant scientific value, let alone a site containing hundreds of scientifically valuable fossils, some folks might find it hard to do the right thing. Many of the specimens Joe and Dr. Bob found are the finds of a lifetime that would make their personal collections truly extraordinary. Some fossil hunters may consider the overall monetary value of finding hundreds of exceptional specimens (although I know most of you would never sell a cool fossil you found). I can tell you from experience that when the collection manager from the FLMNH shows up to your fossil room to pack up the absolute best fossils you’ve ever found, it really stings.

There was never a doubt in mind that Joe and Dr. Bob wouldn’t alert the FLMNH and never a doubt in mind that both men wouldn’t hand over to the museum all the scientifically significant fossils from their site. Nonetheless, I still want to say how proud I am of them for the great job they continue to do with their site and that they are excellent examples of what makes the Florida Fossil Permit system work for all of us. Congratulations to you both.

Read the Chronicles each month (Members Only), check the calendar here on the TBFC website, and follow us on Facebook. Also, please be very cautious while venturing out into the rivers and creeks. There’s nothing in those rivers worth dying for.


FossilFest 2025: FossilFest 2025 runs March 15 - 16 (set up on March 14). The show is big, one of the biggest amateur run shows in the country. It takes a lot of great vendors and a lot of great volunteers to operate FossilFest!




What is FossilFest? Find more information here!

The next few months are going to be busy TBFC! I look forward to seeing all of you at the March meeting and working with you at FossilFest.

Good Hunting,

Missed a meeting or just want to watch it again? You can view our past meeting recordings or live streams in the playlist below (Also found in the About section):