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Every Palaeontological Item On Display at the Australian Museum (that I know of, as of 2023)
Yoda replied to Psittacosaur9's topic in A Trip to the Museum
@Psittacosaur9 Some interesting stuff there. I have a keen interest in Australian fossil plants, so nice to see -
Did you eat the strange plants and fungi, or did the deer eat them?🤣
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Every Palaeontological Item On Display at the Australian Museum (that I know of, as of 2023)
Psittacosaur9 posted a topic in A Trip to the Museum
Hello everyone and hope you're all having a wonderful day. Recently, I had the brilliant opportunity to volunteer at the Australian Museum in Sydney. It has definitely been a highlight of this year for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! While I was there, I spent a lot of time exploring the museum, and eventually saw and took photographs of every palaeontological item on display I am aware of, and would like to show them all to you now as an early Christmas present. I do know @Notidanodon did get to share some photographs of the museum a while ago. If you're wondering why the opalised shells Notidanodon shared are not in this topic, they are no longer on display as far as I know. I did also get to see some fossil specimens behind-the-scenes, but I did not get to take pictures of them, so these are only the fossils and replicas on public display I do have a lot of photos of other things as well, particularly the Rameses travelling exhibition, as well as labels of the palaeontology items, so if you want anything in particular, please PM me. I also have a lot of similar photographs of the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum in Bathurst, and will probably post those next year. This will be a long topic, and I doubt I'll finish it all today, but here goes: Dinosaur Gallery Entrance Replica skeleton of Jobaria tiguidensis and Afrovenator abakensis, originally discovered by Paul Sereno. You'll see that a lot of Sereno's skeletons are on display in this gallery, as he was involved with its creation. The Jobaria mount from behind; note the upper floor of displays no longer accesible which the sauropod's head reaches up into. From talking with the other volunteers I'm pretty sure this upper floor used to be part of the 'More than Dinosaurs' gallery which the current Dinosaurs gallery replaced, but I cannot find any images of the older gallery to confirm this besides a close-up of a Stegosaurus (which is still in the museum). Mesozoic Plants Pretty nicely, there is a decent amount of space in the gallery dedicated to non-dinosaurs. While I would have preferred a simple 'Fossil Gallery' with a variety of extinct organisms on display, this is still a good compromise. Photograph showing how the plants section, labelled 'A Changing World', is presented. Each of the large windows is into a cabinet displaying the real fossil plants, and are accompanied by a reconstruction of terrestrial life at the time at a child's eyeline, so they can get a better idea of how life on land looked in each period. You can look into them through the small rectangles below the large windows. They all appear in '3D'. The orange circles cover up areas where children can smell what certain plants would have been like (the Triassic one is of a conifer, and the Cretaceous one is of a flowering plant). Australian Triassic plants. Top left is Rissikia media, bottom left is Dicroidium zuberi and right is Cladophelbis australis. Here is the reconstruction of the Triassic. Australian Jurassic Plants. Left is Agathis jurassica, right is Osmundacaulis sp. Here is the accompanying Jurassic reconstruction. Early Cretaceous Australian plants. Ginkgoites australis at left and Phullopteroides dentata at right. Fun fact; this is where I first learned that seed ferns survived into the Cretaceous, as most dinosaur books simply seem to forget about them after the Triassic period. I guess you can also see my hand here. That's one of the annoying things about all of these items being behind glass; it's difficult to take nice photos of them without getting yourself into them. Still, it's better than the alternative, as you'll see later... Here is the Early Cretaceous reconstruction. Weird how there is a stegosaur, when stegosaurs easily reached their peak diversity and abundance in the Jurassic. Only one plant is in the Late Cretaceous cabinet, and ironically it is unidentified. The final reconstruction, which is of the Late Cretaceous. Interesting how this is the only one to not have a Theropod or Sauropodomorph. Non-Dinosaur Mesozoic Animals Opposite to the plant display, there is a section dedicated to the animals the dinosaurs shared their world with. Interestingly, this section starts out with an Eoraptor lunensis cast, to highlight certain features unique to dinosaurs, such as their hollow hip sockets. You can see parts of the herbivores and carnivores sections in the background. Over my many trips, I often seem to gravitate to this specimen, as besides the Jobaria, Giganotosaurus and Archaeopteryx it is easily the one I have the most photos of on my phone (obviously more than two, don't want to clutter the page). Properly starting off our journey on non-dinosaurs is a display of terrestrial animals. All fossils are real except stated otherwise: Skull of an unidentified Dicynodont found in Zambia. Cast of Rhamphorynchus muensteri from Solnhofen in Bavaria, Germany. Parotosaurus wadei skull from Brookvale, NSW, Australia. Clarotitan andersoni from Brookvale, NSW, Australia. There is another specimen in a different gallery which I took a better picture of. Cleitholepis granulata from Somersby, NSW, Australia. Cavernericthys talbragerensis from Tralbragar, NSW, Australia. It is overlaid on a leaf. You'll notice some other fossils from Tralbragar in the Jurassic plants cabinet, as well as in another gallery. Left is a nymph of Promimara cephalota, found in Koonwarra, Victoria, Australia, and right is an unidentified cockroach from Brookvale, NSW, Australia. Aeschnogomphus sp. from Solnhofen in Bavaria, Germany. This specimen was special, but very annoying to get a photograph of. Cast of lower jaw of Teinolophis trusleri, a monotreme mammal found in Inverloch, Victoria, Australia. According to the label it is the oldest known mammal in Australia, even older than Steropodon. I'm going to start a new post now so that I don't run out of space. -
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Well, I have some rare specimens - rare for the formation and based on my limited collecting in that formations. But its all about gastropods, bivalves and some plants. But, hey, lets resurrect that one: What is it? I still don´t know, and its a one of a kind thing still today: Franz Bernhard
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Unfortunately I see many, many searches in my future. I have to id hundreds of fossil plants in my collection for a project.
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You would have to find the description of the plants listed. I see some Google searches in your future.
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Supposed fossil plant from Colombia actually a juvenile sea turtle
DD1991 posted a topic in Fossil News
A couple of fossils from the Early Cretaceous of Colombia originally classified as plants have been reidentified as juvenile sea turtle fossils: Fossil plant or turtle? (palaeo-electronica.org) Turns out a 100-million-year-old plant fossil was really a baby turtle (cosmosmagazine.com) Fossil first identified as plant is actually a baby turtle | Popular Science (popsci.com) The initial assignment of Sphenophyllum colombianum to Sphenophyllum by Huertas (2003) was perplexing because Sphenophyllum is known only from the late Devonian to Permian, but the reclassification of S. colombianum as a marine turtle removes the sole chronologically extraneous record of Sphenophyllum. Huertas, G. 2003. Flora Fósil de Villa de Leyva y sus alrededores. Camargo Editores, Chía, Colombia.- 2 replies
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According to Brown 1962 posted above: The Fort Union plants occur in the "clinkered shale".
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These fish fragments were from a boulder found on Rt6 near Laceyville, PA, the eastern edge of Bradford co. This is the western edge of the bluestone deposits and the easternmost Catskill formation fish. Clearly sarcopterygian, but because so degraded unidentifiable. These kinds of reduced sediments are no friend of bone preservation. On the other hand, plants seem to preserve very well under reduced conditions. So needless to say, vertebrates are unlikely but the plants represent the earliest in terrestrial evolution so that is pretty cool.
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So my son and I have been looking almost exclusively for signs of vertebrate life in Pennsylvania and almost exclusively and obviously in road cuts. My goal this year is to expand a little. I would like to visit Gilboa, site of the earliest known forest! That part of eastern NY state was the shoreline of an inland sea in the Appalachian basin during the middle Devonian. Many field trips are described here of fossils from that inland sea but almost exclusively invertebrate. I know in the past fossils have been found but I'm wondering if anything recent? I would assume if someone has a site they probably don't want to share specifics but just looking for what if anything people have found?
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Not at all (and sorry about that... couldn't resist ). I was just agreeing on the various 'laws' 'guaranteeing' that most/all rare/exceptional fossils at a site will resemble some excessively common type, in full or in part. Per the 'Kansas rules', inoceramid fragments, along with encrusting Pseudoperna congesta, resemble fish teeth, jaws, vertebrae, spines... you name it. It is really draining to find so many false-positives while scampering through the chalk badlands on a sweltering day. I imagine the same could be the case with plants fragments 'posing' as various soft-bodied critters at Mazon Creek
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- pennsylvanian
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Request for identification of Oligocene fruit or seed from Aude (France)
aldo66 posted a topic in Fossil ID
Hello, I am counting on your knowledge because I cannot identify this fruit or seed found in the oligocene (site quite close to Armissan - Aude) in the company of many plants. Size 33mm Thanks in advance -
Poorly preserved plants usually have more of a 3D prexence than this specimen and don't usually appear as merely a color difference in the matrix. However, note my repeated use of the word "usually".
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Noted. It is odd... I can usually distinguish plant and animal material in a general sense when I see it, but I am at a loss with this one. It doesn't look like the reconstruction of Archisymplectes, as the 'shafts' are too straight like they were rigid in life, but do plants look like this when they're poorly preserved? It looks more like a soft-bodied thing, but I have no idea really. (It does look more substantial than the ghostly acorn worm above.)
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another odd cowshark from Rapp creek in the woods
Danielb replied to Rowboater's topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Some public spots you can go to pay are florissant fossil quarry you can find many fossils like leaves, plants, bugs, and even fish. You can also find a lot baculites and ammonites down in Pueblo Colorado. And if you go to central Colorado you can even find Ordovician age trilobites. There are also many good museums for dinosaur fossils in the area.- 9 replies
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ID of first plant impressions Coleraine Formation
Fossildude19 replied to Irongiant97's topic in Fossil ID
Not sure there is much there to identify - I see a lot of impressions, some look like leaves, some look like stems. They look like plants, but that is all I can really say. I think an actual paleobotanist familiar with the time period, may be required here.- 8 replies
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Plant fossils are rather scarce in the Maryland area, especially ones of the quality you are likely seeking. Much of southern Maryland consists of Atlantic coastal plain sediments, which, by and large, are no younger than the Aptian/Albian and primarily originated from marine environments. From my understanding, other than the lignite that can be found in some of the marine sediments, the only plant-bearing units in the coastal plain are the Patuxent and Patapsco formations. Some quick searches on Google Scholar will reveal that these formations have the potential to yield well-preserved Cretaceous flora, but finding these exposures, particularly ones bearing well-preserved specimens, is no easy task. I am not very well versed in the fossiliferous formations of central Maryland, though I do know that portions of the Triassic Newark Supergroup extend through part of the region. Plant remains are known from these areas of the Newark (I can't comment on preservation) but they will not be easy to find. Your best bet for finding plants (particularly ferns) will be to visit the coal measures of West Virginia, westernmost Maryland, or Pennsylvania. Many ferns among other plant fossils can be found in the Pennsylvanian exposures of these states. Good luck on your search!
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Hint: Coal consists of the remains of ancient plants. Find coal = Find plants. That's pretty much all you need to know.
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There’s very very little Carboniferous ground in Maryland, so finding plants in your state, while not impossible, is gonna be challenging. If you’re determined to find them in Maryland travel to the west panhandle of the state above WV (Look up “Carboniferous ground in Maryland” and find the paleoportal result) However for a bit longer drive you can expand your results a ton. Pennsylvania has an immense amount of Coal beds with ferns, if you want to find a coal spot in PA, the wandering woodsman on YouTube shows off a few spots. He doesn’t outright give you the address, but he might as well.
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Let me start this off with I’m not looking for anyone’s hotspots or honey holes. I’d like to get out to hopefully find some fossil fern plants. Are there any parks in central to southern Maryland that have the possibility to produce any results in that general area. I know that studying and finding unique areas are part of the hobby, but I’m kind of crunched for time. My girlfriend loves the outdoors and hiking through the woods to look at all the variety of plant life that it offers. She thinks that my fossil collecting is cool and interesting, but she just isn’t into the fossils that come from animals. I’d like to find her some fossils that she would enjoy for a Christmas present. It would be greatly appreciated if there’s anyone that point me to a place where I can find her the perfect gift. I’m even going to throw in a pretty please and drop to my knees to throw in a little begging.
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Unknown fossil fern from Natural History of Cal Poly Humboldt
paleoflor replied to Melinda B's topic in Fossil ID
This is definitely some species of Alethopteris... How did you arrive at Sphenopteris artemisiaefolioides Crépin 1881, if I may ask? Not a common name and not a typical "first guess" from people. This species was introduced by Francois Crépin in the second volume of Mourlon’s (1880-1881) “Géologie de la Belgique”. Unfortunately, I do not know of any PDFs, but I added a photo of p. 60 below: Note Crépin introduced the name Sphenopteris artemisiaefolioides for specimens figured previously by Boulay (1876), characterising it as a "synonym of S. artemisiaefolia, Boulay non Sternberg” (even though Boulay (1876) assigned the specimens to "Eremopteris artemisiaefolia Schimper"). This is all the text, there are no further written descriptions provided by Crépin. It is worth noting that Plate 1, Figure 6 of Boulay (1876) actually consists of two specimens, with the figure caption describing specimens “a gauche” and “a droite” of the label. The PDF of Boulay (1876) can be consulted HERE and these are the relevant parts of Plate 1 and its caption: Unfortunately, the images I could find are not of the best quality. It is also interesting to note that later workers (e.g., Gothan, 1929) consider the two specimens of Boulay (1876, Plate 1, Figure 6) to represent two distinct plants. Gothan (1929) considers only the specimen on the right representative for S. artemisaefolioides. Note Crépin (1881) further refers to Plate 19, Figure 1 of Sauveur (1848). A PDF of this work can be downloaded HERE and the relevant Figure 1 of Plate 19 is reproduced below: This drawing is more clear and also quite comparable with most other specimens featured in the literature. Zeiller (1886), for example, published drawings of two specimens from the coal basin of Valenciennes. Herewith a copy of Plate 14, Figures 2 and 3: Gothan (1929) shows a photo of a specimen from the Piesberg quarry in Germany on Plate 3, Figure 4:- 10 replies
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Chronicles in the Maastrichtian: Part II
Andúril Flame of the West posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
With the surprisingly warm weather early last week, I could not resist heading out for what is likely to be the last hunt of the season. Although I did not have the greatest luck on my last trip, I decided to hit the new Severn spot once again - and I couldn't be happier that I did! Upon arriving I was greeted by the open expanse of weathered marl, reminiscent of the western badlands despite the bustling city only a few miles away. Chunks of orange ironstone stood out against the dark Severn matrix and abundant Exogyra costata oysters littered the ground. The Exogyra often occur in small clusters, presumably what would have been oyster beds at the bottom of the shallow Cretaceous sea. A couple of poorly preserved Exogyra weathering out of the marl. Although I had collected a nice handful of Exogyra on my adventure at the site, I could not resist slipping another into the rucksack . The single Exogyra costata specimen collected on this trip. Although it is only a partial specimen, the bottom valve had a particularly interesting appearance. I wandered across the weathered slopes, keeping my eye out for my vertebrate quarry. Due to the poorly preserved nature of the fossils found at this site, I had an exceptionally difficult time differentiating fossils from suggestively shaped rocks. After the first hour, I had only collected about one piece that I felt was a fossil. Although the vertebrate remains remained elusive, I chanced upon an unexpected fossil - a nice chunk of lignite. The marl was rather rich in lignite, with carbonized remains of ancient plants appearing rather frequently. However, these tended to be highly fragmentary and would disintegrate at the slightest disturbance. A nice chunk of lignite that popped right out of the matrix. The lignite, indicative of a nearshore environment, hints at the exciting possibility of finding the remains of certain terrestrial Mesozoic reptiles in the Severn marls... After finding the chunk of lignite, the finds slowed once again. The misshapen ironstone concretions were certainly making their best bone impressions! . While investigating a cluster of Exogyra, I happened upon my first vertebrate fossil of the trip. A nice-sized shark tooth of a similar size to that recovered on my last trip. Based on responses to my last post, I am unsure if it would be appropriate to label this tooth as Scapanorhynchus sp. Any insight would be appreciated . Following the discovery of the first shark tooth, my eyes quickly began gravitating to the suddenly abundant fossils that littered the ground. It was not long before I had gathered a small sampling of surface-collected Severn shark teeth. A few more shark teeth found shortly after I happened upon the first. Unfortunately, the teeth are very poorly preserved and some smaller, brittle teeth disintegrated under the slightest pressure. A few of the smaller shark teeth. The poor preservation combined with the weathered condition of these teeth renders them almost unrecognizable. The shark tooth haul of the day. Along with the shark teeth, numerous white bone fragments littered the matrix. Although these initial seemed quite similar to the concretions and pebbles that lay alongside them, I gradually began to develop an eye for bone. Like the shark teeth, the bones were coated in a white, crusty covering and many were extremely fragile from constant weathering. A handful of fish vertebrae and some miscellaneous bone fragments. Some chunkosaurus, possibly from marine turtles or mosasaurs. The largest bone fragment of the day. This is likely too fragmentary to be identified, though I would be curious to see if any members have suggestions. A view from the end of the bone. What I have tentatively identified as a fish jaw section, possibly from a fish similar to Enchodus. Another intriguing bone fragment. After having spent several hours at the site, I was far more successful than I had been on the last trip. With my eyes attuned to the preservation of the fossils, I decided to give the place I had started at another try. I happened upon several bone fragments before my eyes landed on the last thing I expected to see weathering out of the steep slope... ...a large mosasaur vertebra! The processes were missing and it was badly weathered, but it was a season-maker. In my excitement, I forgot to take in-situ pictures, though it seemed to be little more than another concretion before I picked it up. The vertebra is quite busted up from being exposed to the elements, though some consolidation should help preserve it. Owing to its poor preservation, I do not know if an identification would be possible. In case there is a chance of ID, my understanding is that the three main species of mosasaur recognized from the Severn are Halisaurus platyspondylus, Mosasaurus condon, and Mosasaurus maximus. The vertebra seems to bear a resemblance to that of M. maximus, though the condition makes it very difficult to tell. Overcoming the initial excitement of the discovery, I had to wonder how many times I had walked over the vertebra... and what else I may have overlooked. Thanks for stopping by and happy hunting!- 7 replies
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That's a probe. It is mine, a gift from a very good friend. Steve.. who happens to hunt fossils with me. I have gone to a metal working shop who advertises "retail"... showed them this probe, asked them to reproduce it. They charged me $50... Steve worked as a maintenance supervisor in the Phosphate mines, lives in Ft Meade on the Peace River and knows everyone.. He went to a friend who has the skills and traded (I think) vegetables and flowering plants, all of which he grows from seeds for the probe. I tried to pay him, he refused the money.
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Dunno, but the fern is very pretty. Nice to see Late Carboniferous plants from Spain.
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