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I recently decided to try a new (for me) method of preparation which involves dissolving away bone in hydrochloric acid. This method was used on the specimens published in various papers on the Hunter Siltstone, an important Devonian fish locality in NSW. Fossils are dissolved in hydrochloric acid, leaving an impression of the bone which is then cast in latex and/or resin. This method is used because the rocks tend to split right through the bone itself, so you miss a lot of the features present on the exterior. After a cast of the specimen is made, it can be coated in black ink and photographed with a coating of ammonium chloride so all the details are clearer. Here is the specimen I decided to try - a partial acanthodian jaw. This is what it looked like as split, just a cross section of the bone. The first step is dissolving away the bone in hydrochloric acid. I don't have any photos of this step but I just used a store bought bottle I had laying around, not watered down or anything. I think it took 2-3 days for all of the bone to dissolve away on this specimen. Keep in mind hydrochloric is nasty stuff, definitely best to wear gloves, avoid splashing it and use it in a well ventilated space! After leaving the rock to soak in water for a few days after the acid bath, I was ready to make a latex cast of the impression. The first coat of latex should be super thin to ensure as much detail as possible is captured. After the second or third thin layer, I started to apply thicker layers. The latex I used ended up being from 1999, it was only bought a few years ago so mustn't be in very high demand! Here is a photo of the latex cast and the finished specimen. In the second photo I applied a coating of indian ink for good contrast when I eventually applied ammonium chloride for photography. This was my first time using ammonium chloride so it took a lot of attempts before I was happy with my results. I'm still a bit unsatisfied, not sure if it's because of the ammonium chloride itself or if it's just showing up imperfections in the cast more. This ended up being an ischnacanthid acanthodian jaw, either Grenfellacanthus or something new. Have linked the Grenfellacanthus paper here for those interested: LINK
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- acanthodian
- australia
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Any suggestions on this tiny bone? I found it while dissolving chunks of matrix from the lower Cretaceous Mackunda Formation collected in western Queensland, Australia. The matrix is rich in shells, crustaceans, fish and shark teeth but terrestrial species are known from the formation. It doesn't look like any of the fish bones I've seen from here so am considering bird? They've been found in the neighbouring Toolebuc Formation by @Mike from North Queensland so it seems possible! Thanks for any input:)
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From the album: My Echinoid Collection
Clypeaster gipplandicus Bairnsdale Limestone Middle Miocene (16-11 Ma) Nowa Nowa, Victoria, Australia Acquired from a collector during a local trade show, September 2023 This specimen has some nice plate division, but most of the apical disc is missing. This specimen is almost twice the size of my first specimen of this species. -
Hi all, I recently found this on the beach, on the eastern side of Australia. I am wondering if it is some kind of marine tooth fossil. Any help appreciated.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66446925
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Is that opalised rock is an opalised Plesiosaur remains? the rare opal patterns is just incredible. IMG_0811.mov IMG_0812.mov IMG_0812.mov IMG_0812.mov
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Hello ! I got this fossil from my friend. It's from the Australian Museum. What species does this fossil belong to? I hope everyone be careful of abnormal weather. Thanks.
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Yesterday we had a day in the Southern Highlands region of NSW, Australia looking for Triassic fish fossils but had time to check out a nearby site we were told about. The Cenozoic plant fossils from this area have been known for decades, although no work has been done on them yet so I'm not sure how old they are. Our fossil insect friend has been interested in this site for a while and he tracked down a property with a great deposit of the material, here we spent an hour or so and found some great specimens! I look forward to revisiting the site and collecting more. These specimens will be given to the Australian Museum collection so they can be worked on (hopefully) one day. I'm still photographing the rest of the specimens we collected but here are three for now. The first is this weevil(?) elytron: A tiny conifer cone: A complete beetle(?), I prepared what I could but I'm not game to go any further without magnifying equipment. More to come!
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The attached microscopic images are from a boulder opal from Australia, so more than 100 million years old. The fossils are very small, maybe a few millimeters in length. Could any of them be a flower? If no, what they are ?
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Can anyone help me identify this fossil? Possibly from Dinmore, Queensland Australia. Front and back photos. Thanks!
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Unidentified as yet
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Is this the first one ever photographed an opal fungus?
Vopros posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Here is another “forest floor” opal and this one has an opalised fungus, I believe. Here is a video of it and I attached some microscopic stills. What do you think? Is this one a fungus?
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it is from Lightning Ridge, Australia.
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Hi everyone! I found these formations when walking along the banks of the Murrumbidgee river near Wee Jasper in New South Wales, and was chatting with a friend of mine about what they might be. They're circular, and we saw them mostly on two large rock shelves at the waterline, where it looked like the rock around them had eroded preferentially. Some of them were filled with what appeared to be quartz, and I was wondering if they might be trace fossils or e.g. rudist shells? That said, I believe the rocks around here are Devonian so the latter seems unlikely. Thanks in advance for any input !
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Opalised wood the last one the wood is opalised on the top and inside replaced with agate
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A few opalised wood . Opal formation replacement of woods , and opalised wood replaced by Gypsum opalised and petrified wood
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1.6-billion-year-old steroids may be traces of earliest complex life
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
1.6-billion-year-old steroids may be traces of earliest complex life. Primitive steroids found in ancient Australian rocks may have been made by the earliest complex cells before they evolved into animals, plants, fungi and algae By Alice Klein, New Scientist, June 7, 2023 The paywalled paper is:: Brocks, J.J., Nettersheim, B.J., Adam, P. et al., 2003. Lost world of complex life and the late rise of the eukaryotic crown. Nature Barney Creek Formation: Kunzmann, M., and Blaikie, T.N., 2019. The ca 1640 Ma Barney Creek Formation in the McArthur Basin: Targeting diagenetic mineralisation and depocentre shift. In: Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES) 2019 Proceedings. Northern Territory Geological Survey, 7680. Yours, Paul H.-
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Could it be a bone? it is from Lightning Ridge, Australia. it is 30.000 x 20.000 x 6.000mm
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Lower Cretaceous Pterosaur from Dinosaur Cove, Victoria, Australia
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
107-million-year-old fossil pterosaur bones found at Dinosaur Cove oldest ever discovered in Australia Anna Salleh, ABC Science, May 31, 2023 These magnificent 107-million-year-old pterosaur bones are the oldest ever found in Australia The Conversation, May 30, 2023 The open access paper is: Adele H. Pentland, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Thomas H. Rich, Samantha L. Rigby & Stephen F. Poropat (2023) Oldest pterosaur remains from Australia: evidence from the Lower Cretaceous (lower Albian) Eumeralla Formation of Victoria, Historical Biology, DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2023.2201827 https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2201827 Yours, Paul h.-
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Yesterday I got home from a two week trip to Richmond, QLD where we collected from lots of different Early Cretaceous localities. I still have so much to go through and prep, photograph, etc. but here are a few things that I thought were worth photographing. A jewel beetle(?) from the Allaru Formation east of Richmond. I'm told this is the first Albian insect from Australia and the first from the Eromanga Basin, but there do seem to be a couple of other insects known from here (a dragonfly wing from the Toolebuc Formation and a scorpionfly wing). It was a really unexpected find since this site is known for things like bivalves, ammonites, belemnites, fish and marine reptiles. When viewing the rock it's in from the side it appears to be in between layers of Inoceramus. Will take some better photos with scale at some point but the specimen is about 15mm long. A plate of brittle stars from a property south of Richmond (Mackunda Formatiom) A really pretty shark tooth from the same location as the brittle stars. This is the only specimen I've seen from here with so many cusps. A small section of articulated ichthyosaur (Platypterygius australis) paddle bones from the Allaru Formation east of Richmond. Another from the same site as the previous specimen, a fish skull (Pachyrhizodus?). The other side of this specimen is still encased in limestone so I hope it will prep out well, this side is quite weathered. Will post some more tomorrow!
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The lady from our local rockhound club that gave me the Arthrophycus piece recently... has given me the rest of her fossils. She is getting on in years and has decided to start passing stuff on, and anyway she is more of a lapidary person I think. This is partly a showoff post and partly a request for more information for the ones that I am lacking detailed info on. She was not able to give me the full info on every piece. I was able to fill in some gaps myself but not all. I don't know if I should post the pertinent ones in the ID section. but if anyone can fill in where details are lacking I'd appreciate it. Most of them come from Canada and the US, but also England, and one from Australia, and they span from Ordovician to Recent. I'll post closer pics of individual pieces below, but here are some overall shots - the collection fits into 3 flats: Paleozoic and Cenozoic:
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Hey there just wondering if anyone can help ID this skull found in Australia NSW on the beach
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Hi all, I recently found this at a local beach and am unsure what it is or how to ID it. Any help or guesses greatly appreciated
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Hey everyone! A few weekends ago I did my second-ever fossil hunting trip at the well known site of Beaumaris Bay in Melbourne. I was hoping to find a shark tooth, and we did bump into a fellow hunter who had found a couple perfect specimens, but they remained elusive - a good reason to go back! We also saw a fair number of families fossil hunting, and it was nice to see lots of people getting into the hobby at such a lovely environment! I myself found too many echinoids to keep [2], specifically specimens of the heart urchin Lovenia woodsii (not to be confused with its cousin, Lovenia forbesii, which is nearly identical to my untrained eye). I saved a few nice specimens, as well as what I hope is a piece of marine mammal bone [3], and some rock with a bit of an unusual pattern in it ([4+5] - I'm suspicious as to whether it's a fossil or not, so I'd love an opinion!) Overall it was a lovely trip, and I'm having a great time getting into this hobby!
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