Tristen Klavenga was searching for turtles and snakes while walking with friends on a creek off the Cahaba River in Irondale on Saturday.

It wasn’t a turtle or a tree that was the highlight of Klavenga’s jaunt, however, but a “pretty darn scaly” fossil.

Internet sleuths believe Klavenga uncovered a a prehistoric tree fossil known as a Lepidodendron.

Klavenga, a 27-year-old bartender at Mom’s Basement in Birmingham, spotted the fossil under some downed trees.

“It was partially exposed most likely from the heavy rain this season, but as I spotted it, I knew right away it was a fossil, but I wasn’t sure of what exactly,” he told AL.com on Wednesday night. “I figured it was a prehistoric palm, but after some consideration I decided not to rule out if it were maybe a fish of some sort due to its scaly condition. “

Klavenga turned to Reddit, specifically a subsection of the social media site frequented by fossil fanatics, to ask about his discovery.

“I suspected this was some type of palm at first glance, but after close inspection, it looks pretty darn scaly. Please educate me,” he wrote.

“Lepidodendron or similar. A “scale tree” indeed!” answered the top comment on Klavenga’s post.

The lepidodendron tree first surfaced some 318 million years ago, according to the National Parks Service. The scale trees, now extinct, grew to be 100 feet tall and seven feet wide.

Members of the fossil subreddit delighted in Klavenga’s find.

“This has excellently detailed preservation, a good find to enjoy,” wrote on user.

Another called Kalvenga a “lucky bastard.”

The Birmingham bartender told AL.com that he used to be a park ranger in Turkey Creek, “so I’m used to just looking down and seeing cool stuff.”

“As a kid, critters and fossils were my obsession and as an adult it’s carried over pretty heavily, so I’ve always had a knack for learning [about that] sort of stuff,” he said.