Search the Community

A new super cool ootaxon of eggs and very different that what we are familiar with is presented in this paper : Stillatuberoolithus storrsi from the Kaiparowits Fm of Utah. Eggs are tiny at around 18mm and " the exact identity of the egg producer is unknown, the eggshell microstructure and small size is consistent with a small-bodied avian or non-avian theropod" Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-89472-1#disqus_thread @-Andy- @HamptonsDoc

Tlatolophus galorum, gen. et sp. nov., a parasaurolophini dinosaur from the upper Campanian of the Cerro del Pueblo Formation, Coahuila, northern Mexico. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667121001312 Abstract

I recently purchased this vertebrae which was sold as a mosasaur (Clidastes) vertebrae. I wasn't convinced that the vert was Mosasaur (or even marine reptile for that matter) in origin when I bought it, I simply bought it because I thought it was a nice looking vertebrae. But now I thought I might give it a shot to try and get an ID on this thing. It was found in the Gober Chalk, Austin Group, Gober, Fannin County, Texas, USA and dates back to the Campanian, Cretaceous (± 80 mya). I don't really know what the vertebrae could be honestly, I don't believe it to be Mosasaur in origin or any other marine reptile like Plesiosaurs or Pliosaurs. I have been searching to see if it might belong to a cretaceous giant sea turtle like Archelon or something but I can't find really find any pictures of sea turtle verts to compare with. When I posted the vertebrae in my collection topic some members were inclined to point toward the vertebrae being mammalian in origin, but due to the size that would mean it probably isn't cretaceous in origin due to it's large size. So I made some more photos to get a better image of the vertebrae, I made some close ups a well of the bone structure and of the some of the places where you can clearly see remains of a chalk like matrix stucking to the bone. So I was hoping if someone might be able to put an ID on this thing and maybe if it is mammalian in origin where it might originate from should it not be cretaceous. Thank you in advance!

Saturday, 02/06/2021 St. Bartholomä-Formation (Campanian), Styria, Austria - mainly rudists of the hippuritid and radiolitid family. This was my first fossil trip since more then 3 months due to too much Covid first and too much snow lately. But now snow has melted, at least in St. Bartholomä. Note: Austria is still in so-called "hard lockdown", but you can drive around like crazy in our country, as long as you stay in your car overnight . I did not, I am doing only day trips, and St. Bartholomä is only a 30 km drive. - First I visited two low-productive sites, checked out small creeks again and a quarry, that is only barely accessible also in winter because of too much prickly blackberrys. At least I saw some good outcrops there, but not the right layer ("Knödelbrekzie") nor any rudists. - Switched over to the quarry at Point 25, my most productive site in this formation. Something has been coming down to the quarry floor during the winter, but no rudist etc. Examined my dig site higher up at the northern end of the quarry ("Point 25-North"), also some loose fresh material, but nothing. Started picking rocks from the undisturbed debris below the "Knödelbrekzie" outcrop and found indeed some ok rudists and a small coral colony. Still some potential here. I already know that there are fossils coming down also at the southern end of the fossiliferous "Knödelbrezie" in this quarry, but it is hard to reach from the quarry floor. However, it looked possible to reach it from above. And that was really the case. Some kind of bench has naturally formed at the edge of the quarry, exactly at the level of the fossiliferous "Knödelbrekzie". It had already disintegrated somewhat (which is good, even necessary!), forming a debris of cobbles intermixed with soil and earth. During unsystematic scuffing in the debris, I found indeed two quite good radiolitid rudists and a large limestone piece with two enclosed rudists, which I left behind. This is the site, called "Point 25-South", after scuffing, looking from the south end towards north. Funny thing, it came already with a handrail for safety . Its going down for about 5 meters to the right, steep, but not vertically. The fossiliferous layer ("Knödelbrekzie") and the debris is accessible for about 3-4 m horizontally at the moment. Maybe I will exploit this site systematically during this year, forming a horizontal, about 0.5 m wide and safe bench along the way to the north. Maybe not. I don´t know yet. I have quite a lot of rudists from St. Bartholomä and would like to do also other things . - Already quite late, I took a quick look at the overgrown heap of fieldstones at point 32. The electric fence running along the heap was turned off so I took the chance to remove some rocks under a root ball at the other side of the fence. From my perspective removing the rocks, I did not see "it", only as I moved a little bit, I saw it there, sitting deep under the root ball like an egg in its nest: Lower left is my first sighting, to the right after removing some earth and more rocks, just before picking. Its a good sized radiolitid rudist, about 7x7x7 cm, with coarse ribs. It was a very nice day out, good exercise (mainly stretching ), found a few fossils at a known spot, found a new, possibly productive spot and also a nice "Easter Egg". Links to some former trips to this formation: St. Bartholomä - 1 St Bartholomä - 2 (Point 32) Franz Bernhard

Hi Is this hair , feather or algae fossil? Age : Campanian Location : Southern Poland

Right now you'll be seeing a lot more posts from me as I'm making a concerted effort to get some of my fossils ID'd which I've been slacking on for a couple months (between, college, work et.). Anyway, here's a cool little tooth I found searching through some Texan Aguja formation (Late Cretaceous, Campanian) matrix I got from PaleoTex. It was found with its roots still attached but unfortunately they've since broken off, however I've kept them in the same container so I don't lose track of them when I eventually try to reattach them. I'm confident it's a mammal tooth, and I think it's from a multituberculate. I'd be interested in reading some opinions on it and if it's possible to narrow down any ID, whether that be to order, family or genus level. It's about 2.5 mm in length and 2 mm in width.

Hello, This is probably a long shot, especially because the ends are broken off, but I was wondering if someone could have a go at IDing this very small theropod claw from the Dinosaur Park Formation. I figured that the relative thickness above and below the blood groove might be diagnostic, but I know how hard these can be to ID at the best of times. After consulting this thread, my best guess so far is that it comes from a troodontid, but I'm skeptical about this simply because of how rare they are. Thanks!

According to a new study, what was once thought to be one species Deinosuchus hatcheri may have been as many as 3 species. This new study is linked in the attached article which is a good read Deinosuchus hatcheri Deinosuchus riograndensis Deinosuchus schwimmeri https://www.hakaimagazine.com/news/when-deinosuchus-ruled-the-earth/

Could not resist collecting some more Trochactaeon snails at Breitenbach-11 in Kainach, Styria, Austria last Saturday (10/10/2020). Especially the upper T-bed contains rather well preserved (for the formation, of course ) snails. But always the right amount of weathering is needed (not too much, leads to disintegration of snails; not to less, they will adhere firmly to the rock). Still some potential there. Worked only with a screwdriver, needed only a few very gentle hammer taps. No prepping, just a short brush with a soft tooth brush. For more info about the area, have a look at my previous post: Trochactaeon - Gosau of Kainach, Styria, Austria - Summary Franz Bernhard

Fossil snails of the genus Trochactaeon from Kainach near Voitsberg, Styria, Austria (Gosau-Group of Kainach, upper Cretaceous) - Summary of this years prospection Introduction Snails of the extinct genus Trochactaeon (formerly part of the genus Actaeonella) are among the most familiar fossils of the upper Cretaceous Gosau-Group of the Austrian Alps. The rather large size of some species (>10 cm), their intriguing spiral pattern in transverse sections and plenty supply, based on many mass occurrence, make them particularly popular. Some well known occurrences in Austria, distributed over several 100 km, are Brandenberg in Tyrol, “Schneckenwand”/Rußbach in Salzburg, Waaggraben near Hieflau in Styria and “Schneckengartl”/Dreistetten in Lower Austria; all of these are located within the Northern Calcareous Alps, mainly composed of Mesozoic rocks, especially Triassic platform carbonates. The most extensive occurrence of Gosau-Group sediments in Austria, the Kainach Gosau, however, is resting on sediments of the Palaeozoic of Graz. The Gosau-Group of Kainach consists mainly of coarse- to fine-grained clastic sediments (conglomerates to siltstones, Geistthal-formation, Afling-formation), some bituminous marls (St. Pankrazen-formation) and some hydraulic marls (St. Bartholomä-formation). The age of the whole group is considered to be mostly Campanian, but stretches into the Santonian and possibly into the Maastrichtian (Ebner & Rantitsch, 2000). In contrast to many other Gosau-Group occurrences, the Kainach Gosau is considered to be rather poor in fossils. Noticeable fossil occurrences are rudists of the St. Bartholomä-formation, some plant fossils and accumulations of small gastropods within the St. Pankrazen-formation and a few scattered ammonite concentrations within the Afling-formation. All of these fossils are already known since the 1850ies. This is also the case for the Trochactaeon snails. Transverse section of Trochactaeon giganteus from the Kainach Gosau. Generalized geological map of Styria with Trochactaeon occurrences in the northern part of the Kainach Gosau. Location of the Waaggraben site is also indicated. Brief history of Trochactaeon in the Kainach Gosau Trochactaeon snails were first mentioned in a footnote by Morlot (1850), thereby proofing the Cretaceous age of these sediments. Only two years later, their existence was already doubted (Peters, 1852). However, in 1871, Stur was able to prove the occurrence of Trochactaeon in the Kainach Gosau with museum specimens already submitted by Morlot (Locality “Am Sengsenwerk `in der Eben´, Kainach, Nord”). Indicative was the host rock of the snails, which is different to the host rocks of Trochactaeon snails within the Gosau sediments of the Northern Calcareous Alps. It took about 100 years, before several occurrences of this snail within actual outcrops were discovered by systematic investigations of a local teacher and collector in the 1960ies. But the in-situ occurrences where never described, only briefly mentioned in mapping reports and summaries of the regional geology (Gräf, 1975). The only exception is a large outcrop at the main road in Gallmannsegg north of Kainach, where some of these snails are very firmly embedded in a very hard, conglomeratic sandstone and can therefore be observed “permanently”. This site is featured in a recent excursion guide (Hubmann & Gross, 2015) and very interestingly, this is also the discovery locality of Morlot (1850), though highly modified during later road construction. Discovery site of Morlot (1850), highly modified during road construction (red X). Römaskogel Mt. (1006 m) to the upper right. Field work and results Already since several years on my wish list, it took two events in March 2020 which allowed me to prospect efficiently for this snails: First was a hint from Hans Eck (Voitsberg), who pointed out some occurrences to me, some very detailed hints, some quite general. Their distribution enabled me to restrict the prospecting area to a rather small stretch of land in the northwestern part of the Kainach Gosau, namely from Gschmurgraben/Anesbach to the east to Eckwirt to the west. The second incident was the C-thing, which allowed me to make for several day trips in this area, walking along forest roads and other paths some whole days long... Excerpts of the geological maps 1:50.000 Köflach (left) and Voits-berg (right) with the investigated area. All Trochactaeon occurrences are located within the red rectangle. Anesbach to the upper right, Eckwirt to the lower left, size of squares is 2x2 km. This prospection resulted in more than 10 “new” occurrences of Trochactaeon snails. They range from a few snails stuck within the driveways of forest roads to up to a 0.5 m thick bed tightly packed with snails. They are situated in the uppermost Geistthal-formation or the lowermost Afling formation; the literature gives ambiguous attribution of the snail-bearing zone. The especially good exposures along a forest road in the area of Breitenbach allowed the recognition of at least 6 Trochactaeon-bearing beds within a sediment thickness of about 20 m. About 100-200 higher in the sedimentary column, another Trochactaeon bed occurs. The host rock of the snails is a rather hard, dark grey to dark brown, mostly slightly conglomeratic sandstone, firmly enclosing the snails. Adjoining rocks of the snail beds are grey to greenish grey siltstones and sandstones, sometimes containing plant debris. Coarse-grained conglomerates are also abundant. Bedding planes dip generally with 20°-60° toward southeast to south. Rather surprising was the discovery of nearly black, up to 1 m thick limestone lenses with abundant fragments of radiolitid rudists near the snail beds in several spots. Continued...

I was recently reorganizing my fossil collection and thought I would share some pieces I collected during Paleontology field trips in undergrad at Alabama. I'm glad I took thorough notes at the time! The demopolis chalk is a popular formation for finding Exogyra/ostrea/pycnodonte shells and shark teeth. We visited a site in Tupelo, MS many times for surface collecting. Some of the cool pieces I found were many fragments of a mosasaur jaw (top pic, top 2 slots), a Squalicorax kaupi tooth, a scyliorhinus(?) tooth, bony fish vertebrae, and bony fish teeth. I was told the dark fossils at the right of the third picture might be ray plates, but I'm not sure. Turritella in pic 1 are from a different formation.

Hello! I have collected quite many specimens with Trochactaeon snails from April to May 2020. They all come from the Upper Santonian to Lower Campanian upper Geistthal-formation or Lower Afling-formation of the Gosau of Kainach in western Styria. Some of the specimens contain abundant black, wavy, "folded", shell fragments. They seem to grow on the Trochactaeon snails in some places. They resemble small oysters in some ways. Unfortunately, I have not found anything conclusive about their identity. I found a pic in a paper of Kollmann (2014), with some somewhat similar, unidentified bivalves growing on an Upper Cretaceous snail (last pic). Other accompanying fossils are very rare fragments of phaceloid coral colonies (they to not grow on the snails, though). Any suggestions are highly welcomed! Thank you very much! Franz Bernhard First specimen is a double sided polished slab with abundant black shell fragments. Some of them seem to have grown on the Trochactaeon snails (epibiontic?). Here are some individual polished snails with bivalve fragments. Some of them seem to have grown on the snails (white polygons). The circular things in the middle left pic seem to be the same; there is a snail shell just a few mm below the polished surface at this spot (the specimen is very thin there). Rarely, also on weathered surfaces these bivalves(??) can be seen, growing on the snail shell. But I am not really sure, if this is the same thing as in the polished sections or if this is something else: This is the reference pic from Kollmann (2014), epibiontic bivalves on Nerinella grossouvrei. Thanks a lot!

New study confirms the power of Deinosuchus and its 'teeth the size of bananas' by Taylor & Francis The open access paper is: Cossette, A.P. and Brochu, C.A., 2020. A systematic review of the giant alligatoroid Deinosuchus from the Campanian of North America and its implications for the relationships at the root of Crocodylia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, p.e1767638. Yours, Paul H.

Hello all, I collected this tooth last weekend along the Red Deer river in Alberta, and would like to know if it's possible to differentiate it as either A. sarcophagus or T. rex. I'm about 90% sure that it's from a deposit of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation, but the region also has exposures of the Scollard which introduces the possibility that this is from Tyrannosaurus. I had to leave the tooth with a friend until I can apply for a disposition certificate, so I can't get any additional photos, but I made a point to get pics of the major diagnostic features used to ID theropod teeth. Denticle spacing is 0.5mm, or 2 per millimetre: Thanks.

Upper Campanian foraminifera from Northern Germany. We found in the quarry of Laegerdorf near Hamburg. We think it is a Lituola. What's your opinion ? It is agglutinated and the specimens have such areal, multiple openings. See more of our finds at https://foraminifera.eu/loc.php?locality=Laegerdorf+Neue+Heidestrasse

Specifically on the east coast if possible, but west coast suggestions are welcome too. I've found videos of them being discovered such as the one bellow and I know which states they're in, but no specific location is given. Any and all help is very much appreciated, thank you.

hi guys I was looking through some chalk Blocks obtained in a great trade and aside from the usual oysters and other common teeth I found this one and I was wondering whether you could help ID it , it’s from the campanian of hallencourt, maybe @Al Dente will know thanks all p,a it’s about 1mm I was lucky to find it with no microscope

Hello all, I recently found this strange fossil within a sandstone concretion from the late Campanian marine Bearpaw formation. I'm very familiar with the typical ammonites and other molluscs of the formation, and haven't seen anything like this - is it some sort of nautiloid, or something else entirely? Thanks.

Hello everyone, A few weeks ago I came across this fossil in the field, and couldn't make ends of what it could be. The locality that it was found in represents a shallow marine lagoon environment, deposited in the late Campanian marine Bearpaw formation of SK. Typical finds at that locality (all within sandstone concretions) include nacreous mollusks, as well marine vertebrate material and decapods which are preserved as glassy black, similar to this specimen. Because of this, I'm inclined to think that this fossil is either from a vertebrate, or possibly a chitinous organism. I'm totally stumped either way though. I won't be able to provide any more photos unfortunately, as this one was left in the field. Note that this fossil was actually preserved in three dimensions - unfortunately I don't have a photo, but you can see on the leftmost split on the top half of the concretion that there's a plate that extends down into the concretion. This plate was roughly triangular in shape, and had gentle striations radiating from the middle point toward the ends. Thanks.

Saitta, E.T., Vinther, J., Crisp, M.K., Abbott, G.D., Kaye, T.G., Pittman, M., Bull, I., Fletcher, I., Chen, X., Collins, M.J. and Sakalauskaite, J., 2020. Non-avian dinosaur eggshell calcite contains ancient, endogenous amino acids. bioRxiv 2020.06.02.129999 preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.02.129999 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.02.129999v1 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341881580_NON-AVIAN_DINOSAUR_EGGSHELL_CALCITE_CONTAINS_ANCIENT_ENDOGENOUS_AMINO_ACIDS https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Evan_Saitta Free pdf: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.02.129999v1.full.pdf Yours, Paul H.

Hello Fellow Forum members, Here are several trips that occurred during late 2019 or early 2020. If there are any finds that you'd like better id'd or photographed please let me know. All finds come from the late cretaceous deposits of New Jersey. I experimented with labeling the finds in Inkscape but it was computationally intensive and I didn't continue it. The last photograph is a find that I would appear an identification on.

A new report about the Cretaceous (Campanian) bivalves of the Coffee Sand In Mississippi is now available for downloading. It is: Dockery, D.T., 2020, Cretaceous (Campanian) Bivalves of The Coffee Sand In Mississippi. Open-File Report OFR-319. Department of Environmental Quality - Office of Geology, Jackson, Mississippi. https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/geology/work-areas/publications-and-map-sales/categories/open-file-reports/ofr-319-cretaceous-campanian-bivalves-of-the-coffee-sand-in-mississippi-60272/ https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/geology/work-areas/publications-and-map-sales/categories/ In addition, two older 7.5 minute geologic quadrangles for Tishomingo County, Mississippi, are now online at: https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/OFR5_BelmontDigitized.pdf https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/OFR6_Tishomingo_BishopDigitized.pdf https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/geology/work-areas/publications-and-map-sales/categories/ Yours, Paul H.

Paper reassess the previous referral of specimens to Rubeousaurus ovatu and determines it represents a new centrosaurine taxon, Stellasaurus ancellae in the Two Medicine Formation in Montana https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsos.200284 Artwork by AndreyAtuchin Nasal horn