Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'california'.
-
Hi. I would love help identifying this fossil. Is it what it appears to be, a starfish? Total fossil newbie here from central California coast. This was found on the beach near Capitola where we have MANY fossils. I have found lots locally but never anything like this before. Thank you in advance :-)
- 12 replies
-
Taxonomy according to Fossilworks.org. Diagnosis from Fritzsche, 1980, p. 217: "A Hipposyngnathus from the upper Modelo Formation of southern California with about 22 dorsal rays; 20-22 trunk rings; 42-44 tail rings; snout 1.5-1.9 in head; orbit 7.8-12.0 in head; pouch rings equal to trunk rings; pectoral fin present but rays not countable; pouch ridge as long as adjacent trunk. Maximum size known 242 mm SL. Discussion about the genus Hipposyngnathus by Fritzsche, 1980, p. 218: "The genus Hipposyngnathus is unusual in having a very exaggerated ventral trunk ridge. Jerzmanska (1968) suggested that the males alone had this ridge and that it was the site of egg deposition. She also speculated that pouch flaps were present on either side of the ridge. However, the extant genus Maroubra also has an enlarged ventral trunk ridge, although not so well developed as in Hipposyngnathus, and its eggs are not protected by flaps. It seems improbable that Hipposyngnathus had brood-pouch flaps." Identified by oilshale using Fritzsche, 1980. References: Jerzmańska, A. (1968). Ichtyofaune des couches à ménilite (flysch des Karpathes). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 13(3), 379-488. Fritzsche, Ronald A.(1980). Revision of the eastern Pacific Syngnathidae (Pisces: Syngnathiformes), including both Recent and fossil forms. PROCEEDINGS OF THE CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Vol 42, 181-227. Přikryl, Tomáš & Krzeminski, Wieslaw & Kania, Iwona. (2011). New information about the anatomy of a peculiar fish of the genus Hipposyngnathus Daniltshenko, 1960. Comptes Rendus Palevol - C R PALEVOL. 10. 559-566. 10.1016/j.crpv.2011.05.001.
- 2 comments
-
- 1
-
- modelo formation
- hipposyngnathus
- (and 4 more)
-
Marine Fossil Three Serrated Edges Late Pleistocene to Pliocene Southern California
MightyPretzel posted a topic in Fossil ID
Happy holidays everyone. I would greatly appreciate help identifying the following specimen. It was collected in the Santa Susana Mountains of Simi Valley, Ventura County, California. It came from the Saugus or Pico Formation. Saugus is late Pleistocene to late Pliocene while Pico is middle Pleistocene to Pliocene. My uncertainty regarding the exact formation arises from the fact that (1) it was float material already weathered out of the formation it came from and (2) based on limited research and knowledge, I believe there has been a lack of consenus regarding differentiation of the two formations (see recent work by Richard Squires et al. in Valencia and R. Squires in Newhall). I assume it is marine since all of Pico is marine and Saugus is non-marine to marine. At first I thought it was a shark tooth when I picked it up but I threw that thought out the window when I realized it had three serrated edges. Measures 22 millimeters long and 6.5 millimeters wide. It is 4 millimeters tall on one end and 9.5 millimeters tall on he end that has the needle structure. There are three to four 'bumps' on both long sides on the end with the needle. The bumps look evenly spaced. I can and will do my best to provide additional info if needed.- 13 replies
-
- pliocene
- pleistocene
- (and 14 more)
-
From the album: Vertebrates
Hipposyngnathus imporcitor Fritzsche, 1980 Miocene Santa Barbara California Length 20cm-
- hipposyngnathus
- miocene
-
(and 2 more)
Tagged with:
-
Here is a nice little gastropod cluster on the matrix that was rescued from a construction site along Reynard Way in San Diego. I think they are in the family Naticidae and are possibly Polinices galianor. Anyone have any thoughts? I'd love to nail it down more specifically if possible. Naticidae "Reynard Way" ~3-1.5Mya Pliocene to Early Pleistocene San Diego Formation San Diego County, CA Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Gastropoda -- Subclass: Caenogastropoda Order: Littorinimorpha Family: Naticidae Genus: Favor Polinices? Species: Galianor
-
Carcharocles megalodon (Joe Cōcke collection)
Macrophyseter posted a gallery image in Member Collections
From the album: Elasmobranchs
I do not own this rare tooth. It is from the collection of paleontologist Joe Cōcke, which he found locally and gladly allowed me to photograph.-
- carcharocles
- megalodon
- (and 6 more)
-
From the album: Vertebrates
? Evestes jordani Gilbert Middle Miocene Buellton Santa Barbara California Length 15cm -
I joined with the hopes that someone here may know more about Natlandite fossil stone. My wife inherited a polished three piece set and unfortunately there is very little information available about it online. Within the two articles I could find we have learned that "it was first discovered in 1954 in Los Angeles, Ca. by geologist Manley L. Natland, during a small dig he made in his offices backyard. He was given a rock brought up during soil testing for an annex to the old Atlantic Richfield Building at 6th and Flower streets. Natland estimated the fossil stone to be between 5 to 7 million years old and said that it was likely formed when an earthquake dislodged a great mass of sludge from the Los Feliz area (then the seashore) and moved it to the Arco site, where it solidified. He had it cut and polished, revealing shells of bivalves, gastropods and coral in a marble like material, but thought no more about it until 1969, after he had retired from Atlantic Richfield, now Arco. That year, he asked to examine the excavation site where the building and it's annex were being torn down to make way for Arco towers, now known as City National Plaza. What he found was an entire bed of the fossil stone that he had seen years earlier. Natland arranged to have 500 tons of it hauled away and eventually had the rock cut and shaped into tables and statuary. The rock is about as hard as quartz and it contains about 350 different species. It was also named the official gemstone of Los Angeles in 1981." I have spoken with a paleontologist here at our local museum of natural history and he stated that he believes that some record of the stones should be preserved in a museum, if that has not already happened. He gave me the contact information of a paleontologist at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History and suggested that I contact them, as they would be the most appropriate place to store such fossils. They are absolutely beautiful pieces and any info or suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for taking time to read my post. Brandon Massey
- 11 replies
-
- 1
-
- los angeles
- 6th and flower streets
- (and 10 more)
-
The Lomita Marl Member of the San Pedro Formation is a well-known source for Middle Pleistocene marine fossils, and its beautifully preserved molluscan fauna has been treasured by fossil fanatics for decades. There are outcrops in the city of San Pedro, California, although many of the "classic" localities have been destroyed by urban development. It is well-exposed in the Lomita Quarry, located in the Palos Verdes Hills northwest of the city. It has been dated at 400,000 to 570,000 years ago, about equivalent to the Santa Barbara Formation, which occurs further north along the California coast near the city of the same name. The Lomita Marl is also an extremely rich source for microfossils, as ostracodes and forams are both very abundant and easy to extract from the matrix. Most taxa in these two groups are still extant off the southern coast of the state, but a significant proportion of the fauna appears to be extinct. (One must hedge here, as the ostracode fauna of the Pacific coast of the United States is not very well known; the forams are better documented.) A small sample of washed residues has given me the opportunity to begin study of this interesting fauna, and I hope to show some images of taxa from both groups on this blog. This first entry will look at four ostracode taxa, selected simply because they are relatively easy to identify. (Much of the ostracode fauna is known only in "open nomenclature", as in "Aurila sp. A", meaning that the species has not been recognized or is undescribed.) Bythocypris elongata Le Roy, 1943 is easy to recognize. It is common, and appears to be the only member of the genus to be found in the Lomita. It is a member of the family Bythocyprididae, which are smooth, and some would say "uninteresting" as a consequence. As is normal in the family, the anterior end of the valve is broader and a bit more inflated than the posterior end. The remaining three taxa are all members of the large family Hemicytheridae, a group with interesting surface ornamentation: Aurila driveri (Le Roy, 1943) is one of the several members of the genus to be found in the Lomita, and the only one (as far as I am concerned), that is easily recognizable. The high-arched dorsum and strong ventral flange place it in the large genus Aurila, and the prominent anterio-ventral teeth are characteristic only of this species. The caudal process is low on the posterior margin, and bears fine denticles. Australicythere californica (Hazel, 1962) is relatively large at roughly one millimeter in length, and is more elongate than most hemicytherids. There is no caudal process, but typically 3-4 large posterio-ventral teeth. The lower half of the anterior margin has some small denticles, rather worn on this specimen. The valve outline is quite distinctive for this species. Hemicythere hispida Le Roy, 1943 is probably the easiest ostracode from the Lomita to identify, and is quite abundant. This image does not do it justice, due to the lack of 3-D. Under a stereo microscope it looks almost "furry", as the entire valve surface is covered with round-ended tubercles. (The lack of 3-D here is due to the excess white matrix obscuring all but the ends of the tubercles.) This species also has a particularly prominent eye tubercle, seen here at the anterior edge of the dorsal margin -- under the microscope this tubercle appears somewhat shiny, rather like glass. (I had to sacrifice the shine to get decent illumination of the rest of the valve.) To make these images, the specimens were simply laid flat on the inside of the lid of a micromount box. Not very sophisticated, but it gives a nice black background -- at the expense of making the specimen a bit more difficult to illuminate evenly. And it's quick and simple........... That's it for this entry. I will try to illustrate some of the many forams to be found in the Lomita in a future blog entry.
-
- microfossils
- ostracoda
-
(and 2 more)
Tagged with:
-
Hello all, Thanks for letting me post my inquiry. I was wondering if any of you could give your input on a large "rock" that I found in my yard. I live in Menlo Park, California which is about a mile north of Stanford University in the San Francisco Bay Area. Please excuse my ignorance when it comes to the fossil world. I have zero knowledge in this area, but i must say that after only a few days of investigating websites and forums I find it quite fascinating. And also a massive black hole lol.. I have spent all of my free time looking into the topic the past couple days. so many hours!! (not complaining, its been awesome!) Anyways I will attach pictures below. The only reason I think it is a coprolite is because of the many other "rocks" that I have also found on the property, about 20 or so, that fit many pictures I have seen on the internet. But this one doesn't really look like any of the others and is quite large, at least double the size of the others. At first glance I thought it to be chunk of a wood round, as i have found petrified wood on the property, at least what I believe to be petrified wood. When I picked it up I noticed that it was very heavy, probably 30+ pounds, so definitely not fresh wood as this is way to dense to be so. Gave it a knock and its rock hard. On most of the outside there are small flakes of something shiny, some metallicy and some more clear, some faintly yellow/green.. I dont know if its crystal or something else but they seem to be thin pieces of something, some layered on top of each other. What struck me at first was the green that was viewable in some spots. This is the reason I picked it up in the first place to investigate further. The one green spot is mostly white now actually. After I noticed the green I had a piece of sand paper handy and I gave a quick rub on the white part to see if more green was under it and there was. However a day later the green has gone back to white. Not sure if thats from oxygen exposure or possibly the abrasiveness of the sandpaper causing scratches which turned white with time. The outraged just looks really really old is the best way I can sum it up. There was a small section that was slightly sticks out and cracked a bit so I knew it would come of easy. Gave it a wack with a chisel and it popped off. I will attach pictures of that as well. I have scraped at a couple sections, trying to see what was inside, and it seems to be green and brown in most. Parts have a serpentine look to them, which was my second guess after wood. But the rock just seemed to be to "living" if that makes sense. There are vertical and horizontal cracks throughout some with some sort of white lining in them. I really want to crack it open as I think it might be quite beautiful, based on the weight and density. Anyways I could go on but I will just post some photos and hopefully you can help me out a bit, because at the end of the day I really have no clue and don't pretend to. Also, another question I have.. Is it possible to have undigested chances of reptiles/fish/eggs inside a coprolite? not this one, but many of the other pieces I have found seem to have pretty clear inclusions of things like turtles and other things. I could be crazy also, but some of the inclusions seem to have something like skin still on them, which after research i noticed could be just lichen, but its strange that the lichen would just be on the inclusion and be a believable color as well. There also appear to be many many bite marks or teeth marks on them. My understanding is that my part of California would have been under water, and wouldn't be possible for dinosaurs to leave the coprolite. And based off the inclusions in the other rocks, it would seem to be a water beast anyways, or possible a large bird, ore maybe just something that lived by water. but not sure because like I said my area was below the sea back then. It just seems so large for it to be from a sea creature and I would have thought if something pooped in the ocean. would not most of it disperse and break apart in the water before it sunk and was covered up? Again, i have no clue haha Let me know if you want to see some of the inlusion pieces or more1 photos of this one. Photo #4 shows what i thought to be skin on this one, but other pieces are more clear. But again I have no idea Thanks for your time and I hope that a least one of you can help me out a bit! Have a great day!
- 15 replies
-
- coprolite
- california
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
A rangeomorph holdfast trace fossil from the Ediacara formation, Rawnsley quartzite of the Flinders Range, South Australia. This specimen is Medusina mawsoni, so called because it was until recently thought to be a jellyfish, but is now believed to be the attachment point of a fractal rangeomorph as Charniodiscus is the point of anchorage for Charnia sp. This one may have been the holdfast point for some species of Rangea. The diameter of the outer circle is 1.5 cm and the fossil is estimated to be 555 million years old.
- 177 replies
-
- 7
-
- fort steele
- marble mountains
-
(and 76 more)
Tagged with:
- fort steele
- marble mountains
- mickwitzia
- chambless limestone
- mickwitzia occidens
- mid-dyeran
- yorkia zafrensis
- yorkia
- nisusia vaticini
- nisusia
- kutorginata
- kutorginate
- lancara formation
- barrios fascies
- spain
- embalse del luna
- leon
- falites fala
- falites
- phosphatocopida
- ctenopyge affinis
- phosphatocopid
- sphaerophthalmus alatus
- ctenopyge
- biwabek
- mary ellen mine
- proterozoic
- biwabek formation
- stromatolite
- collenia
- collenia undosa
- ptychopariida
- cyanobacteria
- jellyfish
- trilobite
- medusina
- south australia
- ellipsocephalus
- lower cambrian
- lingulella davisii
- lingulella
- millard county
- tremadoc
- utah
- late cambrian
- linguella davisii
- upper cambrian
- wales
- ptychagnostus gibbus
- hamatolenus morocanus
- linguella
- czechoslovakia
- ellipsocephalid
- wheeler shale
- ptychagnostus
- prague basin
- slammestadt
- agnostid
- paradoxides series
- morocco
- hamatolenus
- middle cambrian
- norway
- czech republic
- ethmocyathus
- cambrian
- jince formation
- medusinites
- archaeocyathid
- rangeomorph
- california
- holdfast
- parabolina
- ediacaran
- australia
- parabolina spinulosa
- peltura beds
- d
-
From the album: Collection
© fruitoftheZOOM
-
- california
- santa monica mts
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Please help me identify if these are fossils from California coast?
Ravendi posted a topic in Fossil ID
Hello! I am not really a fossil collector- or any kind of expert- but I do like to collect natural things I find in various places, and have held on to these for a few years without having an idea if they're really anything at all. I found this forum and would absolutely love some help! Even if there is no identification to be had, it would be great to know if it's still worth holding onto- or... just a rock. The first is a white hard substance with some interesting spiral patterns in it. As you can see in the first photo, the inside chamber of the main form is hollow. I found it on a California beach, probably Pismo?- 10 replies
-
- california
- coast
-
(and 3 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Untitled Album
This is just a small piece/edge of a layer that must have encompassed acres. It was a horizontal layer extending into the base of a 50 foot vertical cliff, and so, very difficult for me to recover even this small plate this is a type of sardine---Xyne grex- 1 comment
-
- california
- sardines
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
Unusual extinct, surf zone "hippopotomus" single tooth. each composed of many enamel columns upper and lower I c
- 1 comment
-
- 2
-
- california
- temblor formation
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Cetorhinus huddlestoni teeth 2.5 - 5.5 mm long Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California These are most of my smaller C. huddlestoni teeth. They range from 2.5 to 5.5 mm long.- 2 comments
-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Cetorhinus huddlestoni #1, side view 7.5 mm long Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California The Cetorhinus teeth from Sharktooth Hill were only recently described as a new species, C. huddlestoni. This is my largest Cetorhinus tooth.-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Cetorhinus huddlestoni #1, labial view 7.5 mm long Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California The Cetorhinus teeth from Sharktooth Hill were only recently described as a new species, C. huddlestoni. This is my largest Cetorhinus tooth.-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Cetorhinus huddlestoni #1, lingual view 7.5 mm long Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California The Cetorhinus teeth from Sharktooth Hill were only recently described as a new species, C. huddlestoni. This is my largest Cetorhinus tooth.-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Carcharhinus sp. 2#, labial view 9.5 mm wide at the base, 8 mm tall, 10 mm slant height Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Carcharhinus sp. 2#, lingual view 9.5 mm wide at the base, 8 mm tall, 10 mm slant height Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Carcharhinus sp. #1, labial view 10 mm wide at the base, 8 mm tall, 10 mm slant height Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Carcharhinus sp. #1, lingual view 10 mm wide at the base, 8 mm tall, 10 mm slant height Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with:
-
From the album: Sharktooth Hill
Heterodontus sp. #4 lateral tooth 6 mm long Round Mountain Silt Member of the Temblor Formation - Middle Miocene Epoch Sharktooth Hill, Bakersfield, California This lateral Heterodontus seems much more worn.-
- Sharktooth Hill
- California
-
(and 1 more)
Tagged with: