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Here is another coprolite. Wondering if the class of organism that defecated it can be determined. I found it in a particularly desolate (in terms of fossils) exposure of Pierre Shale (late cretaceous) in NW Nebraska. It was the only fossil I found in 2 hours of hunting. Pic to left shows close-up with fish bone inclusions. @GeschWhat

I am wondering if any more information can be gleaned from this specimen beyond "coprolite". Bony fish? Shark? Mosasaur? Niobrara fm., Cretaceous. NW Nebraska. @GeschWhat

After prepping the big Stylemys that I recovered in Nebraska this summer, it seemed a shame to have spent all that time on the plastron only to have it sitting on a shelf out of view. So today I welded together a stand for it. I wanted the part upon which the tortoise rests to have as small a footprint as possible, because my idea was to use a mirror or mirrors to make the plastron visible to observers. Of course the angle of the mirror will depend on the height of the shelf where the tortoise is displayed. At just below eye level, this set up works reasonably well. If positioned below eye-level, this set-up works well (showing even more of the plastron).

The Mysterious Origin of Nebraska's "Devil's Corkscrew" Fossils Mental Floss Feb 1, 2018 http://mentalfloss.com/article/527706/mysterious-origin-nebraskas-devils-corkscrew-fossils Some papers are: Martin, L.D. and Bennett, D.K., 1977. The burrows of the Miocene beaver Palaeocastor, western Nebraska, USA. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 22(3), pp. 173-193. Meyer, R.C., 1999. Helical burrows as a palaeoclimate response: Daimonelix by Palaeocastor. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 147(3-4), pp. 291-298. Smith, R.M., 1987. Helical burrow casts of therapsid origin from the Beaufort Group (Permian) of South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 60, pp. 155-169. Doody, J.S., James, H., Colyvas, K., Mchenry, C.R. and Clulow, S., 2015. Deep nesting in a lizard, déjà vu devil's corkscrews: first helical reptile burrow and deepest vertebrate nest. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 116(1), pp. 13-26. https://www.academia.edu/20873080/Deep_nesting_in_a_lizard_déjà_vu_devils_corkscrews_first_helical_reptile_burrow_and_deepest_vertebrate_nest https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280559331_Deep_Nesting_in_a_Lizard_Deja_Vu_Devil's_Corkscrews_First_Helical_Reptile_Burrow_and_Deepest_Vertebrate_Nest https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Simon_Clulow/publication/280940311_Deep_nesting_in_a_lizard_deja_vu_devil's_corkscrews_First_helical_reptile_burrow_and_deepest_vertebrate_nest/links/5a0ad68c0f7e9b0cc02355d0/Deep-nesting-in-a-lizard-deja-vu-devils-corkscrews-First-helical-reptile-burrow-and-deepest-vertebrate-nest.pdf Yours, Paul H.

Hello! I've just swapped for some fossils, from eastern Nebraska, Cuming County. I suspect the shells are inoceramus - What do you think? There is also Petrified Wood - Any idea on age? It is agatized, it seems. These were from a dragline-type operation - Mammal fossils are also found.... I attach a photo of my Mammoth tooth, from the same area. I have searched for data to no avail! So, firstly, what are the shell fossils? I think perhaps inoceramus. But what era? Secondly - The petrified wood - a time period would be helpful if possible. Thirdly - The Mammoth Tooth - Is my ID correct? Mammoth Tooth - Mammuthus columbi 0.00 12/18/2017 Chris Stalp (trade) West Point, Cumings County, Nebraska Late Pleistocene - (About 25 thousand years old) The Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) is an extinct species of mammoth that inhabited North America as far north as the northern United States and as far south as Costa Rica during the Pleistocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with M. subplanifrons in the early Pliocene. The Columbian mammoth evolved from the steppe mammoth, which entered North America from Asia about 1.5 million years ago. The pygmy mammoths of the Channel Islands of California evolved from Columbian mammoths. The closest extant relative of the Columbian and other mammoths is the Asian elephant. Columbian mammoths had four functional molar teeth at a time, two in the upper jaw and two in the lower. About 23 cm (9.1 in) of the crown was within the jaw, and 2.5 cm (1 in) was above. The crown was pushed forward and up as it wore down, comparable to a conveyor belt. The teeth had separated ridges of enamel, which were covered in "prisms" directed towards the chewing surface. Wear-resistant, they were held together with cementum and dentin. A mammoth's molars were replaced five times over the animal's lifetime. The first molars were about the size of those of a human, 1.3 cm (0.51 in); the third were 15 cm (5.9 in) long, and the sixth were about 30 cm (1 ft) long and weighed 1.8 kg (4 lb). With each replacement, the molars grew larger and gained more ridges; the number of plates varied between individuals. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Proboscidea Family: Elephantidae Tribe: Elephantini Genus: †Mammuthus Species: †columbi

Hey all, I found this in a creek in southeast Nebraska today while looking for geodes and although I wasn’t sure at first I’m fairly certain it is at least partially fossilized. (Waiting for it to dry out completely for a more definitive answer on that front). I was pretty sure it was bovid, but am having trouble matching it to a specific vertabra of either modern cow or bison. Since I believe it to be fossilized I thought maybe I should explore other possibilities, but haven’t had any luck. Any input would be appreciated.

Found along a river in southeast nebraska would like to know what it’s from

I have no idea what it is please help to identify. Was found in southeast nebraska.

Hi all, I found this what I believe to be a conularid between Brownville and Peru Nebraska in what I believe is part of the Dakota Formation (nearshore Cretaceous) however to my knowledge no Conulariida have been described in Nebraska Cretaceous material. There are also outcrops of Permian limestone (part of the Stanton formation) present where I found this, but this is the wrong type of rock for that. I’ve never found a conularid before, so confirmation of that would be helpful! (Also ruler is in inches)

Hello I'm new to this website and would like to post a couple pictures of a fossil I need identified can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thought I'd share a few photos of a tortoise prep I just completed. This is from the white river group of Chadron, NE (circa 33 mya). Here is a series of photos from discovery to excavation to restoration and preparation. The discovery: broken shell (As usual, I forgot to take a true "before photo". I've already probed a bit here). After some digging, it was discovered that this individual is upside-down. Here, the plastron is being revealed.

Found in southeast nebraska along a river. Help identify what shark it’s from.

Found along a river in southeast nebraska. Would like to know what shark the teeth are from.

Found in southeast nebraska want to know what it is

Found this in an alley. Any ideas? I was thinking a shell of some sort...

We get a lot of posts on TFF on eggs which mostly turn out to be geologic specimens. So I thought I would post a real Oligocene bird egg and some eggshells from my sons’ Nebraska ranch. The egg and eggshells are from the Scenic Member of the Brule Formation. Here is one of three complete bird eggs that my sons have found on the ranch in 2016 and 2017. This egg, found by my son Mel, is around 2 ½ inches long. I’ve found a large number of eggshell pieces in the anthill matrix that I’ve been taking from the ranch during the last two years. I’ve found eggshells in all 18 areas of the 360 acre ranch where I took anthill matrix. I was really surprised about how common the eggshells are throughout the ranch especially with the fact that I didn’t find bird bones. A good number of eggshell specimens from my September 2016 trip to the ranch have just been given to an eggshell researcher. I’m really looking forward to her opinions on them. I’ve been assuming that they are all bird eggshells. I again found a large number of eggshell specimens from anthill matrix from my May 2017 trip to the ranch. Below are close-up pictures of an individual eggshell specimen which is 5mm by 3 mm by 1mm thick. Outside of eggshell (note a good number of pieces have this pattern but there were a number of other distinctive patterns on the outside): Inside of eggshell (note the inside of all specimens pretty much looked like this): Cross section of eggshell (note the very thin white outer layer): Below are a number of eggshell specimens from my May 2017 trip. For size reference the gem jar cups are 1 ¾ inches in diameter. The specimens in each cup are from a different area of the ranch. Some eggshells have the outside of the eggshell face up and some have the inside of the eggshell face up. A few eggshells are missing that thin outer layer of eggshell. Note that there are several distinct patterns on the outer eggshells. Marco Sr.

OK...the wife and I are starting to plan an epic fossil hunting trip for next year (our 30th anniversary). We've wanted to hunt the White River near Chadron, Nebraska forever. Now's the time. I have no connections to property, so I'm looking to the collective knowledge of the Forum. I know property is pretty sealed up vs. how it was in the 90's. We're willing to pay (within reason) for access. Anyone have suggestions?

Does anyone know what type of ear bone these might be?

Hello, looking for some help identifying what this is...tooth or part of one. This is front and back photos

Hello, I am new to fossil hunting and was wondering if I could get any pointers on localities in my area. NW Iowa, NE Nebraska, SE South Dakota, SW Minnesota. I know sometimes people like to keep these things secret but if you could point me in any direction it would be much appreciated, thanks and happy to be on the forum.

First day on the forum and after the great responses on my first post I figured I would ask about another find from the past year. This was found in a deep draw in a pasture that I frequently find fossils in. Most are small but this was much larger than anything else. It almost looks like part of a vertebrae but I'm wrong more often than not. The indentions and form look more bone like than anything I've seen in nature. Any ideas as to what it could be or do I just have another odd "rock"? More images

First post on the forum but figured this would be the best place to get some information. I found this "rock" yesterday while checking a bean field near Scottsbluff, NE. I'm an agronomist so I spend all summer wandering around in cultivated fields and this is the first "rock" of this nature I have found (lots of fossils in the area but usually just toe bones, vertebrae, etc...) Upon inspection it appeared much different than anything I've ever found. Unfortunately it looks to hat been hit with various farm implements over the year which has left some chunks missing. After researching online, I concluded that it may be a fossilized egg of some sort due to the shape and the cracking pattern. What do the "experts" think? Another image

This is a quick post, with a few group pictures, on the anthill matrix that I recently collected from my sons’ Nebraska ranch this May. The specimens in this post are from anthill matrix that was collected from anthills that are in the flats of the ranch which are Oligocene, Lower Scenic Member, Brule Formation. I’m currently working with 2 amphibian (frog and salamander) researchers, 1 squamate researcher (lizards, legless lizards and snakes), 1 mammal researcher (rodents) and 1 bird researcher. I’ll soon be also working with an eggshell researcher and another mammal researcher (insectivores especially bats). I’ve been asked about trading some of this matrix by TFF members but can not do so until the research is finished and the papers are published. I finished searching one gallon of the seven gallons of anthill matrix that I just collected this May. I continue to be amazed at both the fossil density and quality of specimens that I’m finding in this anthill matrix from the ranch. So far the fossil density of this batch of anthill matrix from the ranch is actually higher than what was in the matrix from my September and May 2016 trips. One reason for that may be the 3 inches of rain that we had at the ranch the four days or so before I started collecting the matrix. To get that much rain is unusual with the rain probably breaking down and washing away a bit of the matrix itself. I’ve attached a number of group pictures of what I picked from this first gallon of anthill matrix. The white paper plates are 9 inches in diameter and the gem jar cups are 1.75 inches in diameter for size reference. There are lots of mammal specimens with rodent specimens by far the most common. There are also a good number of Lagomorph specimens. There are also a decent number of really nice insectivore specimens and other small mammal specimens. There are a large number of squamate specimens, with a good number of these being Glyptosaur especially Glyptosaur osteoderms. I’m not seeing anything that jumps out as being new from what I’ve previously sent to the squamate researcher but there are a lot of nice jaw pieces and vertebrae. I’ve only found at best two amphibian specimens so far. One looks like a frog humerus and the other possibly a damaged salamander vertebra. I’m not seeing bird bones that I recognize so far. However, based upon the squamate researcher finding eggshell pieces in the previous specimens that I sent, I did intentionally look for eggshell specimens. So I think there are also eggshell pieces in this matrix also. I decided to pick everything from this matrix, versus only specimens that I could recognize, like I did with the September 2016 matrix. There are a tremendous number of bone and tooth fragment specimens. Picking everything is taking a long time and I may not be through searching all 7 gallons of this matrix by the end of August as I had originally hoped. I wish I could recognize the diagnostic cranial elements but unfortunately I don’t have that expertise requiring that I pick everything so as to not lose something that might be of scientific importance. All and all I’m extremely happy with what I’m finding so far in the anthill matrix from the ranch. I also did take a quick look at some of the 1 gallon of Eocene anthill matrix from a neighboring ranch that I also collected in May. That result was not encouraging with only a few mammal specimens that were damaged found so far. Marco Sr.

Hello Everyone, My name is John. I live in Colorado and I have 8 year old triplet boys and they are crazy for fossil hunting. I have taken them to Kemmerer for fish fossils, Nebraska for mammal fossils and here in Colorado in Florissant for leafs and bugs and Kremling for Amonites and Baculites. We are now in search of our next location for fossil hunts. I don't mind pays me someone as a guide as it will help ensure that my boys find what they're looking for. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where we could go for our next adventure? Even if it's Nebraska as we enjoyed those trips. Thanks in advance.

Not sure where to post this, but here goes: I will be travelling west on I-80 through Iowa and Nebraska and wondered if anyone could recommend any easy-access fossil hunting sites within a half-hour / 45 min, or so, off of I-80 in Iowa or Nebraska. Preferably roadcuts or other relatively easy-access sites that are public and known not to draw problems from law enforcement or locals. I'm not interested in collecting vertebrates - just invertebrates. I've never hunted either state. Also, if anyone knows whether there are any regulations against fossil hunting along roadcuts, etc., in either state. Thanks for any help / suggestions!