GMS Field Trip August 2021

GMS Field Trip
Hosted by the Knoxville Gem and Mineral Society
Graptolites in Tennessee
Saturday, August 28, 2021

The August field trip was supposed to have two parts: a behind the scenes tour of the Gray Fossil Site plus a trip to collect graptolites with the Knoxville Gem and Mineral Society. The delta variant of the coronavirus was on the rise in the Gray, TN area and that part of the trip was partly indoors, so we and our host decided it would be better to save that trip for another day. However, the Knoxville club trip was completely outdoors, so Daniel Miller led a group of KGMS and GMS members to a site where they split some shale and were rewarded with some exquisite graptolite fossils!

Though they look like plants, graptolites were colonial animals that lived together in interconnected tubes. Graptolite fossils resemble pencil marks, so their name comes from the Greek graptos meaning “written” plus the Greek lithos meaning “rock”. Some graptolites lived on the bottom of the ocean and others were free-floating. All of them were filter feeders. They are found from the Middle Cambrian through the Lower Carboniferous and are often used as index fossils to help determine the age of rocks. The graptolites found on this trip are probably from the Middle Ordovician.

Many thanks to Daniel Miller for arranging and leading this trip! He said he saw some of the best graptolites he has ever seen from that location. Also, thanks to Daniel as well as new member Hong (first field trip with GMS!), for sending pictures of some fantastic specimens for this report.

Lori Carter
On behalf of Charles Carter, Field Trip Chair
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