Our Meetings

Guests are always welcome to the meetings if you would like see what we're all about. Meetings start at 7:00 pm and usually take place the first Saturday of the month, unless there is a holiday, then it's on the second Saturday of the month. Located at the USF Behavioral Science Room #103.

After the speaker finishes we have a short break. Then we draw for door prizes and some raffle items as well. We finish with any final announcements.

Upcoming Meetings and Guest Speakers (2024-2025 season):
NOTE: All meetings are the first Saturday of the month at 7:00 pm unless otherwise clearly noted.

Sept. 7 - Dr. Bob Sinibaldi
Prehistoric Fishing Technologies

If you’ve been around TBFC for more than a minute, you already know Dr. Bob. If you’re new to our group, Dr. Bob Sinibaldi routinely makes at least one presentation at a monthly meeting per season. He shows up to TBFC meetings each month with a presentation in his pocket, just in case our scheduled speaker doesn’t show up. Dr. Bob MC’s every auction we hold and is a past president of TBFC, a current Director, and author of four books on paleontology. Because of his status as a “doctor” and his obsession with paleontology he’s not even a paleontologist as most folks assume. In another world Dr. Bob did God’s work in his career teaching severely injured and sometimes terminally ill children.

Dr. Bob specialized in Exceptional Child Education teaching special needs children how to play. He made it possible for severely handicapped and ill/injured children to get outside and be able to participate in the activities and games most children take for granted. Dr. Bob has authored many papers and articles on Adaptive Education and invented numerous pieces of equipment and gear that allowed special needs children to have simple moments of enjoyment on the playground. He was also selected as National Teacher of the Year in his field.

Dr. Bob has proven himself as an authority in many areas of the prehistoric and at the September 7 meeting will make and explain comparisons of the Archaic Gulf Coast fishing practices to those of the historic Pacific Northwest and the Walmart Fisherman. The presentation will take an in-depth look at the similarities of all three fishing cultures. Although separated by over a thousand years temporaneously, and over 3,000 miles geographically, there are many consistent features between these three cultures that continue to crop up. So often what today's fishermen believe are new fishing techniques have existed for thousands of years through various cultures. While the Archaic Gulf Coast cultures disappeared over a thousand years ago and left only a spotty archaeological record, the indigenous population on the Pacific Northwest coast survived through early historic times leaving a fairly complete archaeological record. The Walmart fisherman still lives next door to you.

Oct. 5 - Mitchell Riegler, University of Florida
Snakes from the South and Alligators from the North: 19 Million Years of Florida's Fossil Reptiles

Mitchell Reigler has been interested in paleontology from a very young age. He attended the University of Texas at Austin with one goal in mind: to become a professor in paleontology. While in Austin, Mitchell developed an interest in the reptile fossil record almost immediately, leading him to pursue a Masters’ degree at Virginia Tech. Mitchell’s interests expanded while in Virginia to include systematic paleo, isotopic geochemistry, and paleoecology. His project on lizard response to the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum has led him to his current institution, the University of Florida, to pursue a PhD. At UF, Mitchell has worked on projects looking at fossil porcupines, fossil alligators, and as always, fossil lizards.

There are several new species to be discussed, and Mitchell would love people to bring anything they have that might be related to his presentation! He will be discussing a few “Wanted” fossils that the museum desires and is hoping somebody might have already collected and needed specimens that can be studied. So, if you have any Florida reptile fossils you would like to show off, or share with the Florida Museum of Natural History, bring them along.

Nov. 2 - Annual Auction

TBFC Scholarship Auction

Dec. 7 - No Meeting

No Meeting

Jan. 4 - Dr. Gregory Shanos
A Guide to Collecting Meteorites

If you’ve never met Dr. Greg Shanos, I can tell you he is one of the most quiet and reserved personalities you could come across. But, just say the word comet, shooting star, or meteorite and his enthusiasm and passion for the subject bursts like a jack in the box on the last wind.

Dr. Greg’s presentation is entitled: A Guide to Collecting Meteorites. Dr. Greg is a pharmacist by profession and fossil a nd meteorite collector by passion. His interest in astronomy and meteorites was sparked when Halley’s comet graced our skies back in 1986. Since then, Greg has written over 35 review articles in Meteorite and Meteorite-Times magazines regarding organic molecules in meteorites. If you think you have an odd-looking rock feel free to bring it in to see if it may possibly be a meteorite.

Feb. 1 - Donald Brunning
Fossil Hunter's TV Show

Due to unforeseen circumstance Dr. Richard Hulbert had to cancel as TBFC’s speaker for the February meeting. We are thankful that Donald Brunning from the television show FOSSIL HUNTERS has graciously arranged to step in for the February 1 meeting. FOSSIL HUNTERS follows the adventures of seven amateur paleontologists and friends as they search for prehistoric clues to our past. Donald Brunning made significant prehistoric discoveries in the 90s on the Wekiva River. Donald and his friend collect the remains of several animals including the remains of mastodon. His interest in fossil collecting led him to create the documentary style television show FOSSIL HUNTERS which airs on several PBS channels in Florida. Donald and some of his cast will be on hand to talk about his life of fossil collecting, showing off some scenes from FOSSIL HUNTERS, and is anxious to see and possibly film some of the finds that members from TBFC have made. Don’t miss the February meeting!

Mar. 1 - Dr. Advait Jukar, Florida Museum of Natural History
Demise of the Mega Beast: a 50,000-Year-Old Mystery

Dr. Advait Jukar was appointed the Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology position which was vacated by the long-standing Dr. Bruce MacFadden in late 2024. Dr. Jukar received his master’s and PhD in Environmental Science and Policy from George Mason University and a Bachelor’s in Biology from Reed College. Before coming to Florida, Dr. Jukar was the Lecturer of Paleontology at the University of Arizona, a Gaylord Donnelly Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale, and a Deep Time Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Jukar’s research focuses on the ecology and evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. Much of his research has centered on the paleoecology and systematics of subtropical and tropical mammals from the Indian Subcontinent, but he has also conducted field work most recently in India, but also in Georgia, New Jersey, and Montana. He also has a soft spot for the fossil record of elephants and their kin, and the history of paleontology.

In addition to his research, Dr. Jukar has helped design museum exhibitions at the Yale Peabody Museum and for the Smithsonian’s Deep Time Fossil Halls. He has also developed public outreach activities on the evolution of elephants, dinosaurs, and whales, has advised the Indian Government on establishing museums, and is actively involved in the world of biodiversity policy.

Dr. Jukar’s presentation, Demise of the Mega Beasts: a 50,000-Year-Old Murder Mystery - 50,000 years ago these prehistoric animals lived everywhere. Today, they’re mostly found in Africa and parts of Asia. Florida was home to bison, glyptodonts, giant ground sloths, saber cats, and mammoths. But why did they disappear suddenly? Did early modern humans hunt large, land-dwelling megafauna to extinction as they migrated to new continents, or is climate change to blame instead? Dr. Jukar will discuss cutting edge research about the megafauna extinction and how paleontologists approach the debate surrounding the causes.

Apr. 5 - Dr. Richard Hulbert, FL Museum of Natural History, University of FL Collections Manager (Retired)/Vertebrate Paleontology Consultant
CSI: Montbrook, Florida Fossil Site Megaherbivores

If there’s a hole in the ground in Florida with scientifically significant fossils to be found, you can bet Dr. Richard Hulbert knows about it. As the Collections Manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History from 2000 to 2022 Dr. Richard oversaw Florida’s vertebrate fossil treasures. Museum officials would say Dr. Richard’s specialty was exploration, curation, organization, and preservation. And they’d be correct. But one of Dr. Richard’s greatest skills that some of you may not know about is his genuine interest in befriending the amateur fossil hunter. He has the ability to convey the importance of scientifically significant fossils to the random guy in a canoe, ranchers and farmers, and all the way up to county governments and the State of Florida. Dr. Richard is one of the most important reasons the Florida Fossil Permit system is as successful as it has been. His true love of Florida’s prehistory doesn’t hurt either.

Between 2015 and 2024 Florida Museum paleontologists and volunteers excavated the skeletal remains of 47 megaherbivores from an area of 525 square meters at the Montbrook fossil site near Ocala in northcentral Florida. Megaherbivores are terrestrial species whose adult mass averages 1000 kg (one metric ton) or more. The Montbrook megaherbivores consist of two kinds of proboscideans (elephant relatives), the gomphothere Rhynchotherium (35 skeletons) and the mastodon Mammut (4 skeletons), and the rhino Teleoceras (8 skeletons). Excavations at the site are continuing, so these numbers will increase. These animals were part of a vibrant ecosystem that existed in north Florida about 6 million years ago. As vertebrate paleontology collections manager at the Florida Museum, Hulbert oversaw the Montbrook excavations from 2015 until his retirement in late 2022. His presentation at the February meeting will focus on the three Montbrook megaherbivores and how Florida Museum paleontologists try to determine which species are present at the site, what was the cause or causes of their deaths and why so many of their skeletons are present in such a relatively small area, slightly larger than a standard basketball court.

If you have any hard to identify Florida fossils, or potential donations you’d like to make to the Florida Museum of Natural History, bring them to the April meeting.

May 3 - Dr. Bob Sinibaldi,
Becoming a Fossil, From Last Breath to Your Shelf

If you’ve been around TBFC for much more than a minute, you al-ready know Dr. Bob Sinibaldi. A longtime member of TBFC, past president, and a current director, Dr. Bob is certainly active in the paleo community. And he’s a big part of what makes TBFC tick. Did I mention he’s the author of four books on paleontology? (Fossil Diving: IN Florida’s Waters or Any Other Waters Containing Prehistoric Treasures, The Handbook of Paleontological Terms, What Your Fossils Can Tell: Vertebrate Morphology, Pathology, and Cultural Modification, and Ice Age Florida: In Story and Art.)

Dr. Bob could “take us to school” with any of the chapters from his book What Your Fossils Can Tell, and that’s just what he is going to do for TBFC’s May 3 meeting. Dr. Bob’s presentation will cover everything that happens to an animal from the last breath it takes on this Earth, then on its way to becoming a fossil, and finally putting that specimen on your display shelf. Many amateurs overlook the field of taphonomy. Dr. Bob’s overview of this subject will help fill in many important details about how fossils from vertebrate fauna are formed. This meeting is not at USF. Meeting will be held at the American Postal Workers Union Hall, 4409 West Alva St., Tampa, FL 33614.

June 7 - End of Season Dinner
$8 per person @6pm American Postal Workers Union @ 4409 W. Alva St. Tampa, FL, 33614

TBFC’s annual, end of the season, informal dinner and get together is coming in June! (With a scholar-ship presentation, fossil auction, and some door prizes thrown in for good measure.) It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a member of TBFC for ten years or ten minutes, everyone’s invited. The dinner is a great opportunity for fossil friends, old and new, to get together for a final evening of fun and fossil tales as we wrap up the 2024-2025 season. And there’s always a bunch of great fossils and “paleo” related items in the auction (if you have anything you’d like to donate, just bring it along to the dinner). This is a great event for the entire family and cheap too.

We’ll cater spaghetti, pizza, wings, salads, dessert and drinks. The cost is just $8 per person which makes for an inexpensive family outing.

TBFC’s End of the Season Dinner will be held at the American Postal Workers Union Hall, 4409 West Alva Street, Tampa Florida 33614 at 6PM on June 7. This is a central location in Tampa, about a mile from Raymond James Stadium.

RSVP is not required, just show up and pay at the door. But… If you do know in advance that you will be attending, please click on the “Going” button on the Facebook event. This will help a lot with knowing how much food to have on hand when everyone arrives. Don’t miss it! This really, really, is the last event of the season!

View Our Past Virtual and In-Person Meetings

COVID-19 had forced us to adapt!
Since in-person meetings were not possible during that time, the club hosted Virtual Live Meetings on our YouTube channel.
Since COVID, we've tried to record in-person meetings and upload them to the site too. Unfortunately not all meetings are able to be recorded but please check the channel for any new content.

Subscribe to the channel to get notifications when we go live or a new video is uploaded!

All our club live streamed or recorded meetings will be saved and can be re-watched anytime! Not all meetings can be recorded for various reasons.
You can view past virtual or recorded meetings in the playlist below: