The above-pictured fossil sand dollar is the probably the first "good fossil" that I collected on a Georgia Southern Geology field trip in late-1972 or early-1973. The locality - at the time - was known as the Medusa Cement Co. quarry, a few miles southeast of Perry, Georgia on U.S. Hwy 341. To the best of my current knowledge, it now operates as the CEMEX quarry. I intended to visit there on another field trip in early 2016 (I think), however heavy rains in the area discouraged visitors that lacked a good 4x4 vehicle (including tthe person with whom I was supposed to carpool with.
The host formation is the Late Eocene Tivola Limestone, described by some as a "bryozoan hash".
The slightly darker portions of the sand dollar surface were naturally exposed by weathering and erosion and the remaining matix was friable enough that I was able to carefully clean it by way of a toothbrush, a soft paintbrush, and careful fingernail scrapings. I didn't want to risk damage by attempting a complete matrix removal. So, it is probably 90% as it was when I found it.
[References will be posted later.]
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