An ecosystem on my desk

Microfossils are the means by which we can most fully appreciate the diversity of a past ecosystem. From salamanders to Tyrannosaurus, an ancient river captured and preserved dozens of species that lived in Montana 66 million years ago, at the terminus of the time of dinosaurs. In this small collection alone, I count at least 27 species of dinosaur, lizard, crocodile, fish, shark, salamander, turtle, mammal, and mollusk.