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Showing results for tags 'Cretaceous'.
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As I've continued my research and cataloguing of the prehistoric diversity of Giant Dromaeosaurs and other Eumaniraptora from the Cretaceous period, I found something rather fascinating regarding Cedar Mountain Formation Dromaeosaurids I would like you guys thoughts on. It's potentially either a new species of Utahraptor or an entirely new Utahraptor sized Dromaeosaurid from the Ruby Ranch Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation (121.4-100.5 Million Years ago) in what is now Utah. Image: A Reconstruction Image of an adult Utahraptor's height compared to the average height of an adult Human by Paleo Artist FredtheDinosaurman, April 2019, this version of the created and posted 2023. Image Credit 1: https://www.instagram.com/extinctanimalsfacts/p/C0nsCj1vvqn/ Image Credit 2: https://www.deviantart.com/fredthedinosaurman/art/Oxford-Utahraptor-795349027 (I'm still adding to the list and here is the link if you would like to check it out): Here are the following Sources: Lockley, M. G., White, D., Kirkland, J., & Santucci, V. (2004). Dinosaur Tracks from the Cedar Mountain Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Arches National Park, Utah. Ichnos, 11(3–4), 285–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940490428742 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10420940490428742 Tweet, J., Lucas, S., G., Sullivan, R., M., & Santucci, V. (2018). AN INVENTORY OF NON-AVIAN DINOSAURS FROM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AREAS. Fossil Record 6. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 79. 703-730. http://npshistory.com/publications/paleontology/nmmnhs-79-703.pdf Lockley, M., G., Gierlinski, G., Dubicka, Z., Breithaupt, B., H., & Matthews N., A., (2014). A new dinosaur tracksite in the Cedar Mountain Formation (Cretaceous) of eastern Utah: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin 62, this volume. https://juraparkbaltow.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Lockley-Gierlinski-Dubicka-Breithaupt-and-Matthews-2014.pdf Lockley, M., & Gierlinski, G., & Houck, K., & Lim, J. D., & Kim, K. S., & Kim, D. Y., & Kim, T. K., & Kang, S. H., & Foster, R., & Li, R., & Chesser, C., & Gay, R., & Dubicka, Z., & Cart, K., & Wright, C.. (2014). New excavations at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Track site (Cedar Mountain Formation, Lower Cretaceous) of Eastern Utah. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 62. 287-300. https://juraparkbaltow.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Lockley-Gierlinski-Dubicka-Breithaupt-and-Matthews-2014.pdf Xing, L., et al. (2024) Deinonychosaur trackways in southeastern China record a possible giant troodontid. iScience. 109598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.109598 https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(24)00820-4
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Ages of fossils from the Ouled Abdoun Basin
Othniel C. Marsh posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
I have recently been trying to work out the exact ages of my fossils from the Ouled Abdoun Basin, but it is proving somewhat difficult, particularly with regards to sharks and crocodilians. I have been unable to find any comprehensive resources on the matter, and any relevant resources or other guidance on this front would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance Othniel -
Could someone please help me identify this small (~6 cm long, 2 cm diameter) cylindrical fragment, embedded in a surrounding rock matrix? It's certainly Cretaceous and marine, having been found in South Central TX. I was thinking baculite, belemnite, or maybe a crinoid. Thanks!
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What is this wee tiny little thing? Measures just under 2 cm. Was found in a late Cretaceous stratum, in a transition area between the Pecan Gap Chalk and Austin Chalk of South Central Texas, USA. I'm leaning toward a fossilized echinoid of some sort. Maybe a fibularia specimen? Thanks for any help.
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From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Dark clouds and thunder mean it's time to pack up the quarry for the day. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Leaflets and plant litter from the dawn redwood. This fossil was recovered on state-owned land under proper permit, and is not a part of my collection. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
These tilted sandstone layers tell the story of an ancient river channel that flowed 66 million years ago. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Fine layers in siltstone, "rhythmites", potentially due to tidal influence from the nearby coast? Cleaving along the dark layers reveals organic planty material. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Ripple marks preserved in channel sandstone. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Leaf from a Ginko tree. They have a unique fan shape with radiating veins. It's remarkable to see as a fossil since it's still around today. This fossil was recovered on state-owned land under proper permit, and is not a part of my collection. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Metasequoia is an ancient tree that was first known as a fossil before a living grove was found in China last century. This fossil was recovered on state-owned land under proper permit, and is not a part of my collection. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
Unknown leaf. This fossil was recovered on state-owned land under proper permit, and is not a part of my collection. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
A leaf from a plane tree. My pick found it before I did, unfortunately. This fossil was recovered on state-owned land under proper permit, and is not a part of my collection. -
From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
If you want T. rex in your Jurassic Park, this is the amber you need. This fossil was recovered on state-owned land under proper permit, and is not a part of my collection.-
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From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations
A seed from an extinct palm tree that grew in the forested, coastal floodplains of northern Laramidia. This fossil was recovered on state-owned land under proper permit, and is not a part of my collection.-
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From the album: Hell Creek Formation Microsite
These large lizards are kin to modern monitors like the Komodo dragon. The possess sharp, finely serrated teeth and long claws good for climbing and digging. They likely preyed on smaller animals like other lizards and mammals, and may have been the bane of parent dinosaurs as some paleontologists have suggested they could raid dinosaur nests. Varanoid “monitor lizard” fossils. A) trunk vertebra, missing a good portion of the process; B) tooth showing basal cross section silhouette and closeup of serrations. -
From the album: Hell Creek Formation Microsite
I found a few holostean-grade scales that haven’t been attributed to more precise taxa, and are referred to as holostean “A” and “B” in the literature. These are not gar and are something else. -
From the album: Hell Creek Formation Microsite
Lonchidion was one of the last of the hybodonts, a lineage of shark-like fishes spanning nearly 300 million years before they went extinct along with the non-avian dinosaurs. Lonchidion had barbed spines on their dorsal fins and a durophagous dentition more suited to grinding than grasping. Like most hybodont teeth, their roots are fragile and their teeth are only rarely found complete. In this deposit they seem to be fairly rare; I’ve thus far only found two. -
can’t work out what this theropod tooth is. anyone got an idea?
pkedinofossils posted a topic in Fossil ID
i’m generally pretty good with identifying dinosaur teeth but i cannot find anything that matches this tooth, it’s roughly 2.5cm long found in kem kem morocco. if anyone can help pin it down to the species that would be great help. thanks
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Prepping a 1412 gram/3.1 lb Outer Whorl Section of a Prionocyclus macombi Ammonite
SPrice posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
After a fair amount of research which paid off quite well for a beginner, I finally began to mesh some of the "bookworm" experience with the "on site blundering around in the desert until I got lucky" experience. The research said - large ammonites in this location. Okay. Many trips later, I suppose 6 inch diameter ammonites are considered Large. Found some, check. Another fossil collector's blog said the same thing so I went there. It just happened to be on the other side of the big ditch I was previously hunting in. Okay, the ditch was 20 plus miles wide with the Morrison Formation filling the ditch all the way to the other side. Turned out this opinion of what equates to a large ammonite was more in line with what I was thinking. 10, 12, 15, 20 inch diameter ammos sure fit the bill to me. When it takes two to carry one to their vehicle...yeah...you have a BIG ammonite. For me even the partials were amazing when just 3 or 4 chambers of an outer whorl were found. Doesn't take much to realize this 3 pound whorl section belonged to 350 to 500 mm diameter squid in a snail shell! Kinda like finding a Meg tooth or raptor claw...one definitely envisions the original owner's size. This is another chemical prep after gluing the loose parts securely. I used muriatic acid and a soft bristled toothbrush with a tub of water to rinse after each pass. This whorl section had been previously dug some years ago, IMO, and left behind. It has a few small lichen patches on the "back" side which I left as is. The largest lichen patch is 1 CM wide which equates to 1 mm a year's growth over 10 years of sunlight exposed rock. More or less. No other connecting parts were nearby when I collected it. I made one pass, rinsed, then a second pass with fresh acid followed by a rinse, repeat until the stopping point. As found. First pass. Second pass and rinse. Third pass and rinse. Final pass, rinse and stopping point. I was looking for some color contrast from before and after...or rather...coated with calcite and coating removed down to the "chocolate" with some areas still showing the calcite coating. Top view of the keel area. Backside with lichen patches showing. Drying after final rinse and inspection. Dry the next day. Freshly applied Paraloid coating. It cured out slightly less shiny except for the smoothest spots. Besides just liking these partial whorls of large ammonites, It's good practice for these guys awaiting preparation. The one on the right is a concretion of over 100#/45 + kg. The bucket on the left side has a 56 pound concretion with a 10-12 inch ammo in it. So the research boiled down to who considers what's big and what's REALLY BIG. I like them all but it was nice to find some that make me think I found something " DINOSAUR big" and not snail shell big.
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Hi all, I'm wondering if this might be a Requienia fragment? It's a circular, very flat piece, about 22cm (8.7") wide at the bottom, embedded in a block quarried from the central-Texas Austin Chalk. As you can see, due to the block being cut / broken off, it's shaped like a semi-circle, or maybe a setting sun, with some residual rock matrix in the center. Some faint stripes are visible that curve clockwise along with the general arc of the thing. It's VERY flat and thin. There's nothing to be seen while looking at the block from the lower side. Otherwise I would have included a pic. Any thoughts? Thanks!
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Cretaceous bivalve? South Central TX, USA (I know this is a long shot)
Jiesen posted a topic in Fossil ID
Any thoughts on this? I know it's a stab in the dark, due to the small partial remnant. This is embedded in a large landscaping stone that was quarried in South Central TX, USA, almost certainly between San Antonio and Austin. So it's Cretaceous, for sure. It measures about 60 mm in length (house key for additional scale). What you see here is all that's visible, unfortunately. I appreciate the feedback!
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I found this odd fossil jutting out of a weathered large landscaping stone, probably locally quarried from just north of San Antonio, TX. House key for scale. I'm thinking Inoperna? That same stone has lots of worm tubes and other little conglomerated bivalves. Thanks for any input!
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Hello friends, I'm very much a novice, but have fallen in love with this hobby after having found some Ilymatogyra, Texigryphaea, Neithea, and Pycnodonte specimens in the creek beds here in South Central Texas. Thank you for having me as a member. ps - My member photo is of our family's pit bull Dahlia, who loves flowers.
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Fun Finding Fossils with Friends in Fort...Worth TX
JamieLynn posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
well, it can't ALL alliterate after all.... Texas is so incredibly blessed with a ridiculous amount of fossils, and it's also a BIG state, as we Texans like to remind everyone. So I don't get up to North Texas as much as I would like, but it's definitely worth the four hour drive for some new hunting grounds! Happily, I have a friend in Fort Worth who let me stay with her and she was excited to show me a new spot she'd found. I've showed her around Central Texas a few times and when I said I was heading up her way, she said..."well..there's not really any spots I know of to take you", so I was going to scout out a few spots when she called back..."I found a spot! 10 minutes from my house!". She showed me a few things she'd found and I was excited to see it was Grayson Formation, which are not common exposures to be found in Central Texas. It's a super non-descript spot, practically a ditch, but it was obvious no one had hunted it before, which is AMAZING considering how many fossil hunters are in Texas. It was littered with tiny heteromorph ammonites called Mariellas. I didn't find any that were well preserved but they were everywhere! And I know with this formation, you have to look CLOSE. REALLY CLOSE. It's a lot of micromorph fossils, interspersed with large oysters. It's hard to see past the oysters sometimes. It was actually pretty late in the day and we hunted till the sun set, so some long shadows. Erich Rose called it Echinoid Light - that early morning and late evening long shadows which show up surface decor so well. A Mariella - it's about 3/4 inch long As I mentioned, none of the Mariellas were well preserved, but they were surprisingly intact...up to 6 whorls sometimes! We found a couple of little ammonites Otoscaphites but they were also pretty worn. My first great find was a complete Engonoceras serpentium. I have found fragments of them, but had yet to find a whole one. It's tiny but complete! I was on the lookout for any echinoids, but didn't see anything until just as we were starting to wrap up....I was walking back to my bucket and my eye caught that telltale round shape. I was VERY VERY excited, because I've only found a couple of these echinoids at the Waco Pit which is no longer open to collectors. I have one decent sized moderately crushed one and one tiny good one, so to come across this monster in perfect condition made my heart do a little flip flop! A Goniophorus scotti. One of my favorite little echies. I have to admit I was feeling a little bad that I was hoarding this echie, because my friend who generously shared the site with me didn't find one....but then SHE FOUND THE SHARK TOOTH....not a foot away from where I found the echie. So she was happy and I was happy and everyone was happy. hahahah Found a couple of other nice samples of the fauna typical in the Greyson (also known as Del Rio in Central Texas) - a really lovely Neithea texana: A good sized Plicatula and an interesting worm tube cluster. Pyrgopolon squamosus And of course, I brought back some micro matrix to look through! That Grayson/Del Rio stuff is hard to process because it is primarily clay mud. But I was happy I did because I found a few good things! Another tiny Goniophorus (sadly, crushed) and some pretty little gastropods of unknown genera Plus found ONE single Comatulid Crinoid - Roveocrinus sp. But this was a real surprise! I have not found Baculites in the Grayson, but this little piece was in the Micro matrix! And one of my favorite things to find...a little starfish ossicle! I'm still hoping to find my "whole brittlestar" someday.... But thankful for friends who love fossils as much as I do. Hunting alone is nice, I enjoy the solitude very much, but it is also really nice to hunt with friends.
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