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  1. Dear all, It was difficult, very difficult to wait with posting, since I am very, very excited about this fossil find. However, I also wanted the Dutch magazine version to come out first. Well, it finally did this Tuesday, so here is some info in English, along with a couple of the figures. During a visit to the Piesberg near Osnabrück (Germany) in 2010, I found a stem fragment of Calamites decorated with strange, elongate-oval structures [Fig. 1]. While those features were unusual and quite remarkable, it proved difficult to find information about them and the fossil consequently went into my collection as unidentified. Last January, however, I stumbled upon a research paper that could shed light on the matter. The elongate-oval structures turn out to be one of the oldest-known examples of endophytic oviposition, i.e. egg-laying inside plant tissue, by insects. Fig. 1. The fossil specimen is atypical in several respects [Fig. 2]. The stem fragment doesn’t show the longitudinal ribs one usually sees on the internodes of Calamites. This is because we are looking at a preservation of the epidermis (outer layer of the stem), not at a cast of the central pith, which are more commonly found. Fossils of the epidermis (sometimes referred to as Calamophyllites) typically have internodes with a smooth surface (though it may be lightly striated or wrinkled), leaving few diagnostic features. Nonetheless, due to the presence of a characteristic nodal line with large, circular branch-scars [Fig. 2, shown on schematic in green], the fossil fragment can be identified as Calamites (subgenus Calamitina) with reasonable confidence. Below the nodal line with branch-scars, about eight elongate-oval structures can be observed [Fig. 1]. They are all orientated roughly parallel to the axis of the calamite stem and vary in length from 6 to 16 mm. A foreign nature with respect to the plant tissue is suggested by the gümbelite film in which the epidermis is preserved (gümbelite is a hydromuscovite and responsible for the well-known silver-grey colour of the fossils from the Piesberg). Note how this thin film of mineralization does not extend across several of the elongate-oval structures, which may indicate that the plant tissue there is either missing or damaged. Their exact origin, however, remained a mystery to me. Until recently. Fig. 2. While looking for information on some Carboniferous localities in France, I happened upon the research article ‘Earliest Evidence of Insect Endophytic Oviposition’ by Olivier Béthoux et al. (2004). The paper describes insect egg-laying structures, called oviposition-scars, found on two stem fragments of Calamites cistii from the Upper Carboniferous (Stephanian B/C) of Graissessac, Southern France. These scars are elongate-oval structures, orientated parallel to the axis of the stem, occurring on a preservation of calamite epidermis [see their Figures 1 and 2]. Careful preparation of three of these scars yielded small spherical cavities, which the researchers interpreted as imprints of the eggs themselves [see their Figure 2b]. The oviposition-scars from Graissessac vary in length from 5 to 38 mm and are surrounded by a thin film of organic material [see their Figure 2c]. Given the strong resemblance with the Piesberg-material, it didn’t take long to make the link with the mystery markings I found years earlier. Now, after confirmation by email from Olivier Béthoux and in person from Han van Konijnenburg-van Cittert, I can with reasonable certainty say that some sort of Carboniferous insect has laid its eggs in the calamite stem I found in the Piesberg quarry. This type of trace fossils is quite rare, so I am very happy I brought this one home. As a nice bonus this specimen comes from the Westphalian D, and is thus somewhat older (about 4 million years) than the published material from Graissessac (Stephanian BC), which is still cited as the oldest occurrence in recent literature. So you can really say this specimen from the Piesberg is one of the oldest examples around! Hope this was as fun and informative as this fossil has been for me, Tim
  2. From the album: Steinbruch Piesberg (Osnabrück, Germany)

    Note specimen also contains Megaovoidus compactus-type oviposition scars.

    © T.K.T. Wolterbeek

  3. From the album: Steinbruch Piesberg (Osnabrück, Germany)

    Note specimen also contains Megaovoidus foveolatus-type oviposition scars.

    © T.K.T. Wolterbeek

  4. From the album: Steinbruch Piesberg (Osnabrück, Germany)

    Note specimen also contains Megaovoidus foveolatus-type oviposition scars in top left corner of image.

    © T.K.T. Wolterbeek

  5. From the album: Steinbruch Piesberg (Osnabrück, Germany)

    Note specimen also contains Megaovoidus compactus-type oviposition scars.

    © T.K.T. Wolterbeek

  6. I have taken a great interest in the Carboniferous period lately, but aside from the more well known 3 (Meganeura, arthropleura, and pulmunoscorpius) finding info on other giant "bugs" seems kind of difficult.
  7. Mochaccino

    A couple Green River Fm. Insects

    Hello, I am looking for confirmation and if possible specific identification of these two insects I have from the Eocene-aged Green River Fm. of Colorado. 1. Labeled as "Mosquito" 2. Labeled as "Mantis"
  8. Being a Colorado native, I have taken multiple trips to the public-access Florissant Fossil Quarry located near Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in Florissant, Teller County, Colorado. This quarry provides fossil collectors fantastic access to the shale layers of the Florissant Formation, a late Eocene (Priabonian, ~34 million years old give or take) lagerstatte known for its diverse fauna of fossil insects, in addition to plants, gastropods, and very rarely vertebrates. Most fossils occur in very thinly laminated ashy grey shales. Other lithologies present include well-sorted tan course sandstones and well-sorted grey claystones. A lacustrine depositional environment is apparent, and though the Florissant Formation has previously been interpreted as the remains of a single large lake (the retroactively named Lake Florissant), it is now generally thought that deposition occurred across several smaller lakes, which of course shifted in their exact location throughout the period of deposition. This thread is for me to share some of my better quality (or more interesting) fossil insect finds from the Florissant Fossil Quarry, and to allow other people to share their Florissant insects. I intend on updating this thread as I make more collecting trips. Most insect fossils found at Florissant are of poor quality, however exceptionally beautiful specimens do crop up quite frequently. Regardless, identification even down to family level is usually very difficult, and some specimens I even have difficulty assigning to an order. Additional reading: https://bioone.org/journals/palaios/volume-27/issue-7/palo.2011.p11-084r/DEPOSITIONAL-SETTING-AND-FOSSIL-INSECT-PRESERVATION--A-STUDY-OF/10.2110/palo.2011.p11-084r.short Please note that at least for now picture quality is not ideal. I do not have the capacity to take good quality macro photographs, but I am doing the best that I can. The scale of the ruler is millimeters, magnification (when applicable) is noted. Order Diptera (True flies): Probably my best-preserved Florissant insect (and one of the first ones I ever found). Another fly. I'd like to be able to identify this one to family (and it almost certainly is identifiable to family) but I haven't been able to place it. This is a gorgeous fossil! Magnified 20X under a stereo microscope. Another gorgeous fossil fly. Possibly a gnat (suborder Nematocera), but I'm not 100% on this identification. Partial fly of indeterminate family, most of the abdomen is apparently missing. Both wings are preserved, the thorax and head are also nicely detailed. This is an example of a march fly (Family Bibionidae), probably the most common insect at Florissant. Many specimens (such as this one) are preserved without their wings. The head and mouthparts are very nicely preserved here, I feel shameful that I could not manage a better photograph. Crane fly, (Family Tipulidae). The preservation quality is not fantastic, but the gross anatomy can be easily made out (both wings, the abdomen, thorax, head, eyes, and even the halteres and some of the legs are present). Order Hymenoptera (Bees, ants, wasps, and relatives): A nice solitary bee (clade Anthophila). The details are not as high-fidelty as some other Florissant insects, but a nice complete specimen. Order Hemiptera (True bugs): Magnified 20X under a stereo microscope. A shield bug (superfamily Pentatamoidea). This is a really neat specimen because fossil Hemipterans aren't particularly common. Indeterminate Order: A large insect that I've never quite been able to place. Two wings are very faintly preserved which would normally be indicitave of a fly, but this specimen just doesn't look much like a fly otherwise. The antennae are interesting, it's a very large insect, and the tibia has an interesting flange. Unfortunately I can't seem to get a good look at the mouthparts (which has been very useful for me in the past for identification). Magnified 20X under a stereo microscope. At first I thought this might be an ant (family Formicidae) but under magnification the shape of the head is more suggestive of a fly. Very poor preservation, I'm not confident I'll ever get a solid answer here. Larvae: A nice plump fly larva, looks to me to be from a botfly (family Oestridae) or a relative. A very strange fossil. The segmentation and tagmosis definitely means this is an arthropod of some sort, and an insect larva is my current interpretation. Still, I've never seen anything quite like it. I've had a few people suggest to me this might be the abdomen of an earwig, but that's definitely not the case (earwig cerci do not look like this or articulate with the abdomen in this manner). Non-Insect Invertebrates: Just an example of one of the tiny gastropods that are common. It takes a keen eye to see them, but once you can recognize them you realize they're very plentiful. If you have some fossil insects from this locality in your collection, feel free to post them here too! Cheers!
  9. About a year ago I made a post where I made a post on the forum where I shared some of my more interesting fossil insects I had found at the Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado. For those uninitiated, the Florissant Formation is an Eocene (Priabonian Stage, ~34 Ma) lägerstatte notable for exceptional preservation of plant and arthropod fossils. My original post can be found here: One of the fossils I showed off in that post was of an insect larva which I had interpreted as a fly (order Diptera) larva, speculating that it may be a botfly larva because it possessed setae which resembled those of a botfly. I had never been super confident in this interpretation, and over the last year I’ve showed the fossil to several knowledgeable friends, paleontologists, and entomologists. What has emerged is a different consensus that I am much more confident with (and is far more intriguing than what I had originally thought!): this fossil is in fact the dorsal view of a caddisfly larva (order Trichoptera). There are several anatomical characteristics present which I had failed to notice initially. To start, I was viewing the fossil backwards. I had interpreted that anterior end as the posterior end and vice versa. Once I had this corrected, it became clear that the insect’s head and thorax are both clearly definable and both eyes are visible on the head. Additionally, small portions of the legs are visible sticking out from the thorax as well. I originally did not see any legs which had informed my original interpretation, but in this fossil most of the legs are tucked underneath the body and not visible. Here’s the fossil. The anterior end faces to the left. Here’s a picture of a modern caddisfly larva sans its protective casing. It is oriented in the same fashion as the fossil, for comparison: Caddisflies are closely related to butterflies and moths (order Lepidoptera) but they have larvae which live in bodies of water. Many caddisfly species’ larvae build little casings out of silk and pebbles/debris to protect themselves, but this is not universal. The larva seen here is not within a casing, so it either died in a rare instance in which it was not in its case or it is of a species which does not build cases. Adult caddisflies have been reported from Florissant, as have fossils of isolated larval casings, but I was unable to find a description of a body fossil of a caddisfly larva. Not to say one doesn’t exist, they just seem to be obscure. So there you have it: a really interesting and unique find from this fossil locality. Just needed another half dozen or so sets of eyes to figure out what was actually going on there!
  10. Life in maars: why it’s worth protecting a spectacular fossil site NZ almost lost to commercial mining interests John G. Gordan and otehrs, The Conversation, July 20, 2023 Foulden Maar: Dunedin City Council saves fossil site from mining by buying land RNZ, February2, 2023 Saving Foulden Maar-GSNZ lnvolvement Daphne Lee, Bruce W Hayward and Jennifer Eccles GSNZ Geoheritage Subcommittee Bruce Hayward publications A book on this site is: Lee, D., Kaulfuss, U. and Conran, J., 2022. Fossil Treasures of Foulden Maar: A Window Into Miocene Zealandia. Otago University Press. Yours, Paul H.
  11. Mochaccino

    Green River Fm. Insects?

    Hello, Can someone help ID the insects and other stuff on this plate? It's from the Eocene Green River Formation of Colorado, and the whole plate is about 12 cm long. I see some winged insects but have a hard time telling if they are crane flies or potential dragonflies/damselflies. Thanks.
  12. Jonathan Raymond

    Real amber ?

    Hello everybody ! I bought these two pieces of amber on the internet. Is it real amber ?
  13. Raysun

    Fossil insect?

    So growing up we had a neighbor who was like family and someone I really looked up to. He was a geologist and he also taught at a local university, as I'm not sure of his exact credentials Ive only known this because I was very young when he was alive. He passed years ago but left me some of his fossil finds over his life and Im hoping I can get some help to know what they are. So I'm starting with this one. Unfortunately I have no information as to where they were found .
  14. Jewely Sullivan

    I'm new , so need help.

    Anyone have any ideas on what this may be?
  15. minnbuckeye

    Round 3 of Western Trip

    The third chapter about my trip out west has been a bit delayed in coming. @piranha graciously referred me to a book on Green River leaves, the main subject of this posting. It was a wonderful book full of beautiful pictures and relevant information on the flora of the Green River Formation. And I immersed myself in it as a way to“semi ID” my finds. For those who are interested: MacGinitieH.D.1969 The Eocene Green River Flora of Northwestern Colorado and Northeastern Utah. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences, 83:1-140 In addition to piranha, I need to thank a “to remain nameless” forum member who directed me to the site. I also stopped at Florissant for a short time, which contains many similar if not identical species at its location. So, my finds are a mixture of the two sites, but mostly Green River. To begin my journey, I exited the highway onto what was thought to be the proper road. It seemed more like an abandon trail, but the landmark mentioned was present. It concerned me, with the small low riding rental car being driven, the likelihood of getting stuck existed. Roads like this never stopped me before, so off I went. And besides, it is a rental car!!!! Looking at my directions, it instructed me to turn right at the next “dinosaur”. What a unique instruction. I couldn’t wait to see what was ahead. After seemingly hours, traveling under 10 mph, seeing nothing but expanses of sagebrush reaching to the horizon, I finally reached my next turnoff. And yes there it was, the dinosaur, clear as day (mixed in with a little pareidolia) soaking up the warmth of the morning sun. After turning right and many more rough miles of travel, I finally reached this isolated spot of Green River Formation. It is the light-colored rock in the foreground. The beauty of the Utah landscape overwhelmed my senses and I just sat on the rim of the canyon taking it all in. It is moments like this that keep me “fossil hunting”. My mind, body and spirit were united as one! Enough of this meditation stuff. You want to see fossils!! First up are the possible insects found. Again, pareidolia may be part of what I am seeing so forgive me if some are misidentified as insects. My readings told of seeds frequently encountered in the Green River. These pictures depict what I believe are seed like structures. Possibly Somara ailanthus: A legume pod?? Next are unknowns to me. They appear to be coniferous. The next specimen was tentatively IDed as a coniferous leafy shoot. But in the book that I attempted to make my IDs from, the tip of a fern, Asplenium delicatula looked very similar. Woody pieces are found on occasion. The first one pictured matches Equisetum winchesteri closely. The next two are unknowns that I keep seeing as flowers. Hopefully not more pareidolia. An odd trace fossil. Now I will show samples of the Green River leaves found. I was unprepared for splitting this matrix. My lowly bon big face Estwing brick hammer could not peel up large enough slabs of matrix, resulting in many partial leaves like these. Be prepared for the need of multiple small chisels and pry bars if better specimens are wanted. The first leaf is similar to Quercus petros. The next leaf is suggestive of a legume. Finally Eugenia americana?? Next are a few Florissant leaves. The middle one possibly Populus heeri. Next up is Astronium truncatum. Notice the matrix is NOT flat and the leaf conforms to the undulations. This is common with leaves from Florissant. Dinner time!! I will finish this post when my after dinner nap concludes!
  16. Location: Colorado Time: Late Eocene Epoch Formation: Florissant Formation Hello! I had the fortunate opportunity to visit the famous Florissant Fossil Quarry in Colorado and was able to collect some amazing stuff before the rain ended our class fossil hunting ventures. Nevertheless I have at least 3 insects that I was hoping I could ask for identifications on for here! I also added some of my plant fossil finds if anyone can recognize those too it would be great! Found this little fly guy Mosquito? or something else? Insect larvae? Or just missing the wings? To me this looks like a possible larvae of some insect, but the wings present in the top right might suggest another story, what do you think? All of my insects just so happened to be next to each other with some amorphous plant debris Fossil Flower? I spotted this guy right as we arrived lying in a mound by the road Sorry for the grainy photos, this guy just could not focus for the life of me Leaves: Other plant material: Couldn't really categorize this one. It was very weird to say the least as it looks very plant like but I have a feeling it could be something more.
  17. In the summer of 2020 jpc and I had planned to get together in Eastern Wyoming to collect. That trip was unfortunately aborted by the coronavirus outbreak that year. This year, that conversation resumed and a new plan for a three day excursion in June emerged. I decided to make it a two week long car trip, driving all the way from New York, a longer car trip than any I've made in the past 25 years. That would afford me the opportunity to stop at some other sites on the way there and back, plus see some family. Another big reason for driving was an opportunity to visit and collect at the Big Cedar Ridge Cretaceous plant site. Having the car would afford me the opportunity to bring the necessary tools and be able to transport the fragile specimens safely. The rising price of gasoline certainly had an impact, and my plan was to cut costs as much as possible wherever I could. Part of that plan was camping 10 nights I departed the suburbs of New York City on Saturday, June 11th. That evening I arrived at Sturgis, MI, just off interstate 80. Spent the night in a motel and headed off the next day, driving through the heart of Chicago enshrouded in mist. It was my very first time driving through that city. I headed north and in the middle of the day arrived at my cousin's place in Madison, WI. He had moved there from Manhattan five years ago to teach music at the University of Wisconsin. This was my first time visiting him there, my first time in Wisconsin, actually. He took me on a lovely tour of the school and the town. I spent the night and was on my way again just before noon the next day. It rained off and on as I drove through Western Wisconsin and crossed the Mississippi into Dubuque, Iowa. From there it was a short drive to my first fossil stop- at Graf. This Upper Ordovician site in Maquoketa Formation is famous for its nautiloid death assemblage. I have found quite a few nautiloids over the course of my collecting career, but I've never encountered a site where they are thoroughly dominant. There was a layer of limestone, a few feet thick that was in many places just packed with their shells.
  18. Anyone know much about locality 34? Not sure if anyone has made expeditions there or how one can access the area. Any input is greatly appreciated!
  19. Thanks to the generosity of my good friend, @Jeffrey P, I was gifted by him some shale, from the Florissant Pay to Dig Quarry. I just got a chance to look over some of the shale, and haven't even split any, but came up with these two interesting finds just perusing the surfaces of the shale. Any chance on ID's? Thanks in advance, for any insight. Sorry for the poor quality photos - They are quite tiny - maybe 3-4 mm in length.
  20. MHAN

    Fish or insect?

    This is from my own collection. I like it very much and it is like a peaceful painting to me (a fish swimming in the beautiful water) I know the “plants” are not plants, they are dendrites of manganese. But yesterday I was told that the fish is not a fish either, it might be an impression of some kind of insect Want to know what your guys think. Thank you in advance. (it is from Liaoning, China)
  21. Neanderthal Shaman

    Looking at Water Tigers

    Besides paleontology, my other big thing is insects, particularly the aquatic ones. My favorite part about spring is that the retention pond near my house starts to teem with them. I'm particularly fascinated by the larvae of the predaceous diving beetles (family Dytiscidae) which some people colloquially refer to as "Water Tigers". Went down there today and managed to see and catch a couple of them. It's still early in the season, so they haven't beefed up yet. This one here was maybe only 1.7 cm long. This particular larva is a member of the Dytiscus genus, commonly known as the "greater predacious diving beetles". They're worthy of that moniker, as they're viscous predators. Soon this one will be big enough to start preying on tadpoles, if it isn't already. Breathing tube is at the tip of the abdomen. As an adult beetle, air bubbles will be carried underneath the elytra, or wing covers. Broke out my cheap little $10 microscope phone attachment for a headshot. Those mandibles have little orifices at the tip that they can use to inject digestive enzymes into prey. Once the insides have been liquified, the same mandibles are used to suck the resulting goo out. Horrifying stuff. As an adult, those mandibles will be greatly reduced, and it will use them along with the maxillae to chew rather than suck.
  22. marguy

    Diatomite fossils

    On October 10, we (my wife and I) went to an extraction site for diatomites, in the Cantal massif. The age of these rocks is Messinian, bordering on Miocene-Pliocene. I present some photos of the exploited site (seen during a previous visit) and some fossils found this Sunday in the rocks stored awaiting industrial treatment. The remains of fossil plants are not abundant, you have to cut a lot of rock and the quality of conservation is often poor, but occasionally a pretty leaf appears... The next problem is long-term preservation, even with immediate consolidation treatment, performed at the site. The most 'common' species is Alnus hoernesi = A. stenophylla, but studies conducted for over a century have identified 86 species!
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