Early Eocene, Wilcox Group, Bashi Formation (or Bashi Marl Member of the Hatchetigbee Formation) Location AL-23, "Butler Boulders" Near Butler, Choctaw County, Alabama Click on the pictures for a larger image

Close-up of collecting area directly below the boulders The collection is from the Venericardia layer and directly below in the sandy layer

Boulders   Venericardia Layer   Sandy Layer

At this site, the thickness of the fossil collecting area is approximately one meter.  

Top, Boulders - Distinctive pillow-like concretions containing fossils that are difficult to collect.

Middle, Venericardia Layer - Directly below the boulders is a layer of disarticulated Venericardia shells mixed with other fossils.  The top of the Venericardia Layer is cemented into the bottom of the concretions.  Almost all the large fossils are in this layer.  Shark teeth can be found in the Venericardia shells.

Bottom, Sandy Layer - The thickest collecting layer, containing mostly small fossils.  There seems to be little difference between the small fossils found in the Venericardia Layer and the Sandy Layer.

Below the collecting area is a harder layer containing very few fossils.  At the contact there is evidence of burrowing from the Sandy Layer above into the harder layer below.   Fossils from the Sandy Layer are found in the crab burrows, but only a few sharks teeth are found in the harder layer.

Proceed to the pictures of fossils by selecting a group from the list below: