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I found these in California by the Oregon border. I picked up a bunch of rocks to polish and noticed the vertebrae. They look like plioscene bird embryos. Is that correct?

First off, I am a complete beginner to fossils and also this forum and I am hoping someone with more experience can help me ID this possible fossil I found. I found it at Glen Afric in New Zealand and I know there have been some penguin species found before. Does anyone know what this could be? Its a large piece of rock, +- 20kg (40lb) and was a pain to get back to the car so hope it is something! Thanks!

I feel so silly putting in the tags, because I have no idea what scientific terms I would use... I'm sorry for my ignorance! I found this rock in a streambed in Shasta County, California, USA. I will try to attach the best pictures I can; unfortunately the only camera I have available is my phone, equipped also with a magnifying application. As you see, from comparison with my hand, it is very small. Perhaps the size of, or a bit larger than, a quail egg. Please excuse me if I've done this incorrectly, or if there is some additional information I should provide. I thank you so much for your time and any input!

Hi guys ! Can anyone help me out with this ? I found two days ago at my Marl stone Quarry a bone and I don't know if it's from a mammal or from a bird? The lake as you know is from the Miocene epoch.I will send you pics now,it's quite small bone....It looks like metacarpal or metatarsal bone to me..

Can anyone tell me what this is?

I just bought my first Avian fossils. Pleistocene bird bones for North Florida. The largest bone is just shy of 3 inches.

Can someone please tell me if this is an actual fossilized egg / it’s hollow - and if so, where would I sell it or get it authenticated?

This is rather interesting - a specimen of the bird Archeorhynchus spathula (STM7-11) from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation (northeastern China) has been shown to have probable evidence of preserved lungs Wang, X., O’Connor, J. K., Maina, J. N., Pan, Y., Wang, M., Wang, Y., Zheng, X., & Zhou, Z. (2018). Archaeorhynchus preserving significant soft tissue including probable fossilized lungs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201805803. Wang etal 2018 Archaeorhynchus lungs.pdf

I thought this was interesting. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/10/health/neanderthal-child-eaten-by-giant-bird/index.html

I walked for some way across Southport beach in Northwest England, after the tide had gone out. I had originally gone there to try to locate some interesting items like shells or stones and I picked up a hand-full. However, I had forgotten about my trip and my finds, until a few weeks ago when I relocated the items. This particular item (pictured) is one that caught my attention the most. On close inspection, the item contains many holes; is dark grey in colour and has white stripes that appear to embrace the stone/fossil. Recently, my imagination has told me that this item could be a fossilized bird embryo, since I can see slight indications of skeletal bird-leg appearance, with perhaps some kind of foot - and this appears as the white stripes embracing the dark grey. However, I actually have no educated clue as to what this item is but I will be grateful for some help towards its' identification.

Howdy-ho, folks: I was helping my dad dig a ditch and found this, it's in Stearns County MN. We live on top of a glacial dropoff (top of a rather large Hill, similar to powder ridge if you know the area). It looks like the head of something, with a beak and all. However, am i seeing something that's not there? is it worth my time to take somewhere? If you look at it up close, it has features, and what looks like freaking feathers. There are even symmetrical eye holes, looks like it laid down somewhere and that was it. I did post this on reddit and got laughed at, i figured before cutting this thing up into strips I'd get a second opinion. It's about 8 inches long, sorry i forgot to take pics of it with a ruler. Worse case worse - to prove it's not anything, should I just cut it up? Views: left, right, bottom. Edit: for anyone interested, I inherited grandfather's rock "collection" (but really these were rocks he found at the farm) and if you know anything about the other rocks I just added - if you know anything, let me know. I'd also be game of giving some of these to anyone in the local mn area, if interested. these were in a pike on his workbench, supposedly they were "rarer" rocks, but that was just from him picking things up, could have been just what he found pretty or something. grandpa was a grade a [jerk] so no one really wants 'em for the sentimental value, sadly enough. I may just create a new posting with pics of some of the rocks, don't want to waste too much of your guys/girls time however. i myself travel most of the time and live in a tiny apartment so keeping more than one or two is out of the question, unfortunately as well.

Hi everyone! It would be amazing if any of you could help with identifying some marine microfossils I sieved. The origin is campanian (might be santonian) marine sediments. The location has yielded mosasaurs, fish, and sharks in abundance. But I have a few bone fragments that I have absolutely no clue what they are... Here are some of the mysteries:

Any view on the authenticity of this bird fossil? And the species? It is from Xixian Formation of Liaoning.

Is anyone aware of any Cretaceous birds with hookbills? Specifically like parrots, not hawks.

Searching through some matrix I found this partial vertebra. Wish it was a bit more complete but maybe next one. This was found in marine sediment from near Richmond in Central Queensland Australia. It is from the Toolebuc formation witch is Cretaceous Albian about 98 - 100 million years old The longest length dimension is 6.5 millimetres so the animal it comes from must have been huge Also interested in where on spine this would have been situated if sufficient information can be gleaned for this partial. Thanks in advance for all input. Mike

I have come across another small bird fossil and am unsure what bone it actually is. this was found in the toolebuc formation in central Queensland Australia near Richmond. This makes it about 98 to 100 million years old. The bone at longest length is 17 mm so still quite small. Thanks for any input in advance. Mike D'Arcy

looking trough some matrix I came across this little specimen. When it was complete it would have been 40 mm in length. Unsure of the orientation of the section of bone on left end and small section in middle is upside down, but due to this being very delicate, I am not going to play with it. The bone is hollow, thin walled and filled with calcite but the bone will chip easily so this is the only photo as specimen now in small case so as to not damage further. I am comfortable with this being bird as it matches the preservation of the other pieces found in the area. I assume it is an ulna due to the curve so it would be the only one known from this species. The other bird specimens from this local are assumed to be enantiornithine, but only time will tell for sure. Mike D'Arcy

Godfrey, S.J., Weems, R.E., & Palmer, B. 2018 Turtle Shell Impression in a Coprolite from South Carolina, USA. Ichnos, (ahead-of-print publication) 8 pp. ABSTRACT Coprolites (fossilized feces) can preserve a wide range of biogenic components. A mold of a hatchling turtle partial shell (carapace) referable to Taphrosphys sulcatus is here identified within a coprolite from Clapp Creek in Kingstree, Williamsburg County, South Carolina, USA. The specimen is the first-known coprolite to preserve a vertebrate body impression. The small size of the turtle shell coupled with the fact that it shows signs of breakage indicates that the turtle was ingested and that the impression was made while the feces were still within the body of the predator. The detailed impression could only have survived the act of defecation if the section of bony carapace was voided concurrently and remained bonded with the feces until the latter lithified. Exceptionally, the surface texture of the scutes is preserved, including its finely pitted embryonic texture and a narrow perimeter of hatchling scute texture. The very small size of the shell represented by the impression makes it a suitable size for swallowing by any one of several large predators known from this locality. The coprolite was collected from a lag deposit containing a temporally mixed vertebrate assemblage (Cretaceous, Paleocene and Plio-Pleistocene). The genus Taphrosphys is known from both sides of the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary so, based on the size of the coprolite and the locally-known predators, the juvenile turtle could have been ingested by a mosasaur, a crocodylian, or a theropod dinosaur. Unlike mosasaurs and theropod dinosaurs, crocodylian stomachs have extremely high acid content that almost always dissolves bone. Therefore, the likely predator of this turtle was a mosasaur or a (non-avian or avian) theropod dinosaur. selected quotes: Until now, no coprolite was known to preserve a vertebrate body impression. Here a single coprolite (Calvert Marine Museum Vertebrate collection, CMM-V-4524, Fig. 1) from Clapp Creek in Kingstree, Williamsburg County, South Carolina, USA is documented to preserve a natural mold of a partial turtle shell (carapace and scutes) referable to Taphrosphys sulcatus (Bothremydidae, Testudines). This occurrence provides another example of how coprolites can preserve evidence of trophic interactions that cannot be known solely from the study of body fossils. Among the twelve turtle taxa known from the Paleocene in South Carolina (Hutchison and Weems, 1998), and the nine or ten taxa known from the Late Cretaceous (Weems, 2015), only Taphrosphys has all of these characteristics (Fig. 5). While Adocus is similar in that it also has an elongate first neural and first costals, it differs in that it had a square-shaped second neural (Meylan and Gaffney, 1989) quite unlike the hexagonal second neural seen in the CMM-V-4524 carapace impression. Based on this identification, the stratigraphic origin of this specimen can be restricted either to the Late Cretaceous or early Paleocene (Danian), because Taphrosphys has never been reported from the Williamsburg Formation (Thanetian, upper Paleocene). It is notable that “Taphrosphys leslianus,” now considered a junior synonym of T. sulcatus, has relatively wider vertebral scutes than are found in adult specimens. This suggests that, as T. sulcatus grew, its vertebral scutes became relatively narrower and its pleural scutes relatively wider. Carrying this trend back to hatchling size implies that hatchlings of T. sulcatus probably had very wide vertebral scutes as seen in CMM-V-4524 (Fig. 5). Identification of this specimen as T. sulcatus greatly expands our knowledge of the growth and developmental stages of this turtle from hatching to maturity. Based on the paleoenvironments in which specimens of T. sulcatus are found, this turtle probably was an inhabitant of both estuaries and shallow marine environments. Based on the hatchling or near-hatchling size of the specimen described here, it was probably living in an estuarine environment at the time it was eaten. In addition to a mosasaur, the predator may have been a theropod dinosaur (including avian theropods). The tyrannosauroids Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis (Carr, Williamson and Schwimmer, 2005) and Dryptosaurus aquilunguis (Carpenter et al., 1997) are among the known Late Cretaceous theropod dinosaurs from eastern North America that would have been large enough to produce coprolites of this size (Weishampel, 1990), so one of these animals could have been the predator if the coprolite is of Late Cretaceous age. If the coprolite is of Paleocene age, however, then it most likely was produced by a large bird. Although poorly known, there were a number of species of Late Cretaceous and Paleocene birds large enough to produce coprolites of this size, including a Paleocene pelagornithid (relevant literature summarized in Mayr, 2007). Bird predation is a major factor limiting turtle hatchling survival today (e.g., Janzen, Tucker and Paukstis, 2000), so it is likely that a similar pattern existed in the Late Cretaceous and early Paleocene. The small (i.e., young post-hatchling) size of the turtle shell and the fact that the shell shows signs of breakage both indicate that the turtle was ingested and that the shell impression was made while the feces were still within the body of the predator. The way in which the feces tapers immediately beyond the turtle shell impression (Fig. 1B) suggests that as the shell was voided, the cloacal aperture was stretched more than it might ordinarily have been. CMM-V-4524 is the first-known coprolite to preserve a largely complete body impression; though turtle vertebrae have been reported from Late Cretaceous shark coprolites (Anagnostakis, 2013, fig. 9J; Schwimmer, Weems and Sanders, 2015). This specimen also represents the first-known record of embryonic and early post-hatchling turtle scute texture preserved in the fossil record.

Science has been wrong for over 100 years. Here we have the proof that birds stem from turtles. Look at those long front legs. These extended front legs are an unmistakable indication that birds (and perhaps even the giraffes?) are descended from turtles. Have fun Thomas

Hi, I've just got back from a collecting trip up to Hamstead Ledge this afternoon and came across a fairly rare find that I was hoping someone may be able to help with. It's the distal tarsometatarsus of bird found ex-situ on the foreshore. Bird material from the Bouldnor Fm. tends to be quite rare and this is the first piece I've actually ever come across so was really excited to find it! I was wondering if there were any diagnostic features on the specimen that would be able to take the ID further than "Aves indet.". If anyone has any knowledge of bird material then I'd really appreciate their help (what I have noticed is the trochlea are fairly evenly spaced but didn't know if that indicated anything). Thank you, Theo The specimen measures 1.9cm in length and 1.5cm across at it's widest point.

I found this bone today in Edgecombe County North Carolina on the Tar River, upper Yorktown Formation, Rushmere member. The area is well known for Chesapectens along with other bivalves and gastropods. I looked at the Smithsonian publication, Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina, III. Miocene and Pliocene Birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina. Storrs L. Olson and Pamela C. Rasmussen. Issued May 11, 2001. After searching the many plates I found one that is a pretty good match. The proximal end of right ulna of Morus peninsularis. a Gannet. I am looking for your opinions on this. @Auspex It is plate 14 page 333. I would love to have this positively I.D.'d. It was found in the formation, partially exposed and 2 pieces. They fit together well. Overall length is 144.4 mm or 5.68 inch.

Any idea what species are these two specimens of bird fossil? And if they are genuine? They are from Liaoning of China.

This Bird 'Eyeball' Survived 120 Million Years By Laura Geggel, Live Science, January 11, 2018 https://www.livescience.com/61405-dinosaur-age-birds-saw-in-color.html An Amazing Fossilized Eye Reveals How an Ancient Bird Saw Feast your eyes on this. By Natasha Frost, January 12, 2018 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/amazing-fossilized-ancient-bird-eye-color-rods-cones The paper is: Tanaka, G., Zhou, B., Zhang, Y., Siveter, D.J. and Parker, A.R., 2017. Rods and cones in an enantiornithine bird eye from the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. Heliyon, 3(12), p.e00479. http://www.heliyon.com/article/e00479/ Yours, Paul H.

Hey everyone! I came here for some help identifying this fossil I found as a child. I was with my aunt when I found it, so it was either in Oklahoma, Missouri, or possibly Texas. I’m sorry it’s such a big expanse of land, but I was so young! I’ve been wondering what it was for almost as long as I remember, but my mother took it from me and hoarded it with all of my other cool fossil finds! Lol. Any help identifying it would be appreciated! I’ve included the best images I can take with my phone, and I’ve also included some other finds as a size reference.