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  1. oilshale

    Masillosteus janeae Grande, 2010

    From the album: Vertebrates

    Masillosteus janeae Grande, 2010 Eocene Lutetium Kemmerer Wyoming USA Length 17" / 42cm References: Grande, L. (2010): AN EMPIRICAL SYNTHETIC PATTERN STUDY OF GARS (LEPISOSTEIFORMES) AND CLOSELY RELATED SPECIES, BASED MOSTLY ON SKELETAL ANATOMY. THE RESURRECTION OF HOLOSTEI. Copeia, 2010, No 2A, 1-863
  2. ThePhysicist

    Gar scales

    From the album: Hell Creek Formation Microsite

    Gars are predatory fish, armored with diamond-shaped scales coated in a hard enamel-like substance.
  3. ThePhysicist

    Holostean fish scales

    From the album: Hell Creek Formation Microsite

    Cartoon illustrating differences between lepisosteid and other holostean ganoid scales.
  4. Found this for sale somewhere, they are advertising it as a gar scale, but I don't think it is, although I could definitely be wrong. My first thought was maybe a scute of a crocodile, but I think that is also not it. Any ideas/ Thank you so much everyone in advance!
  5. With my wife still out of town for a couple of weeks and the kids back in college, It somewhat frees up my routine of family life and I get to be spontaneous with my schedule. So a second road trip up from Salt Lake, UT to Kemmerer, Wy. A beautiful drive of 155 miles which supplies enough scenery to enjoy every mile. Red rock canyons, granite canyons, terrain change for high mountain desert to higher elevation, very treeless and windy with cooler temps. And definitely less crowded! The quarries are at 7300 feet above sea level which makes a bit of an affect on the human body coming from lower elevations, even my altitude of 4500' ASL. Upon arrival at a different quarry than my first excursion I felt ready to go at it. The crew gave me the orientation- the do's and dont's and set me free. And off I went into the splitting rows of rock. About 10 vehicles with solos or couples were already on site by 9:45am when I started my session. As expected, the common finds were knightia and diplomystus with a few mioplosus, cockerelites and priscacara found now and then among the fossil enthusiasts. I chose a 4 hour session so I got busy. Three hours into it I realized I wasn't needing a bathroom break and began to feel gassed out. Dehydration just kicked my backside. Stupid me. I took a break and started drinking and eating some fuel. I slowed down for the last hour but was still lagging. My storage rack was full and another pile beside the "harder" rock plies away from the easy stuff were ready to load. Both rock supplies were pretty much equally productive. One was just harder = big hammer, big chisel to get them started cleaving. The highlights of the trip: Being there!, seeing families and couples enjoying their adventures, meeting a capable, attentive manager & crew of the quarry, the squeals from the kids who found a fish!, talking with the other fossil hunters, and off course finding more than plenty of fish to take home. Oh, and two stingrays and a gar fish were found while I was there. Not by me ...but everyone celebrated. Especially, the second stingray found by a lady in her early 90's. She said she had waited 30 years to do this. The lowest points: time raced by which led to my bout with dehydration. One plate broke on the way one = fixable, but as you can guess right on the fish, and not taking many photos, I ate an apple, PB&J sandwich, two Capri Suns, a soda ( yeah, bad for dehydration, oh well ) and a Gatorade, Then stopped in town and bought Advil, another soda, ( bad Steve ) a Cranberry juice and felt the rehydration take effect. While in town I followed up with a recommendation by Kris -aka - Ptychodus04 to stop by In Stone Fossil shop. So glad I did. A total ball out of the park homerun. The proprietor was incredible and we hit it off. Especially as soon as I mentioned Kris from Texas. She lit up with enthusiasm and praises about him. And there on the wall was " The Bird"! WOW! is all I can say after having seen the prepping thread images here on the forum, there it was less than a foot away. Amazing prep work in every aspect of the bird. The hostess said let's get a picture of you with it. Okay...I was dirty and tired still recovering from the dehydration and nausea. Being in the shade and down almost 500' in altitude helped a lot. The Bird The Gar Kris prepped. Incredible presentation...I think he said he logged 107.5 hours on it.. And the Gar fish proper without the derelict old guy running on steam and adrenaline...lol The palm fronds were among my favorites in this candy store. Amazing! A table top. A massive 45 X 67 inch gorgeous Sabalites powellii, palm frond. And to top off the visit/tour of the fossil shop, the proprietor, out of the blue says. Let me show you something. Since you know who Kris is ( i clarified that our relationship is via an internet forum about fossils, not a face to face personal acquaintance). She said that's okay, follow me. Through a couple of doors and I'm in the prep room and there in front of me is the 13 foot crocodile on the table. Wow! this beast is insane! Looks ready to bite your head off, I mentioned that the bone is like milk and dark chocolate in color and she said we call it mahogany. It does look like the mahogany obsidian chunks I have in my rock garden...only in the shape of a prehistoric reptile. There were chomp marks on its mouth and scutes on its back. Something bigger and badder got ahold of it at some point. Probably a bigger croc or mating partner. croc. A view into the air abrasion box. Foreleg. And...the Gar fish and a stingray found at the quarry. Well that's a wrap on this part. I gotta get to the airport to pick up a daughter flying in from Nash-Vegas. All my finds are in the man cave and I'll start going through them soon enough and add a few pics of my finds. I have one more free weekend coming up....wonder what I should do for 3 days?...hmmm. Go hunt Ammonites, Trilobites or Green River fishies? Steve
  6. Shellseeker

    Marine Petrosal, Vertebra, partial jaw

    Gorgeous day. Sunshine through 1 pm, then Thunderstorms developed with rumbles and winds that cooled me kayaking back to my truck. Not a drop. This is my favorite location, MioPliocene with lots of variety: GWs, Clams and corals, mammal and fish jaws without teeth, No time to discuss it all, but enough to get photos and ask for help on three. 1st up a tiny (because it is the smallest I have found) Petrosal. I am thinking river dolphin based on size, but It is different that those I thought were river dolphin.. Any time I seek an ID , I always search the Internet for a matching image.. On my 1st page of images, this one pops up... Take a look at A1 and compare it to my find today... REALLY close .. Only issue is that mine is half the size of these that come from Globicephaline Whales from the Mio-Pliocene Purisima Formation of Central California, USA. For the uninitiated , Globicephaline is another name for Pilot Whale. How can mine be so small and come from a whale? @Boesse Next is a small section of a Fish Jaw.... Two rows... One large, one tiny running parrallel. Is Aligator Gar the ONLY Florida fossil fish that has this characteristic ? Finally, the Fish or Shark Vert.... This seems similar to the Tiger shark Vert I found back in 2018....but not sure.. Very rare find for me...
  7. Opabinia Blues

    Kem Kem Bone Grab Bag

    Every year at the Denver fossil show it seems like I pick up some unidentified Kem Kem material. This is because for one it’s cheap, but also because it’s kinda fun to investigate this material. Here are eight pieces I picked up as a bulk set. I have some idea about identification on each of these but would love to hear other’s input. In the following pictures I have the top row being archosaur fossils and the bottom row being fish fossils. My guesses: 1. Caudal(?) vertebra centrum. Croc or theropod, but probably croc. 2. Croc dorsal vertebra 3. Croc centrum 4. Theropod pedal phalanx. Specifically, the distal-most phalanx of toe 1 (the “dew claw”). Narrowest ID I think I could guess we would be Ceratosauria indet., should probably be labeled as Theropoda indet. 5. Two fused fish vertebrae. Are these identifiable any more than this? 6. Gar or gar-like vertebra 7. Chondrichthyan fish vertebra. Maybe Onchoptistis numida? Can that determination even be made? 8. A gigantic ganoid scale. Any guesses just based on size? I’m unfamiliar with all the monster fish in this rock unit. Thanks :)
  8. Alex S.

    Hell creek micro matrix finds

    Hi everybody I have been sifting through some micro matrix off of a hadrosaur pubis I have been working on and was hoping to get some ID's. I'll label the specimens by number to aid in responses. The first is this therapod tooth that I was thinking could be dromaeosaurid, possibly Archerorapter because of the ridges on crown but unfortunately the tooth isn't in wonderful shape. The tooth CH: 5mm CBL: 3mm CBW: 1mm and the distal Carina are 10 per mm. There aren't any distal Carina preserved. 1. Next is what I think as a gar dermal plate and the several other pieces like it but with different patterns. The dermal plate 2. The other patterns. 3.4. Next is an odd bone fragment that I haven't the faintest ides of what it is. 5. Probably my best find would have to be this vertebra that I think is a Scapherpeton tectum trunk vertebra that I was beyond thrilled to find. 6. I feel like this next one is a tooth and makes me think gar but is fairly beat up so it might not be identifiable. 7. Here's a fragment of bone that is only diagnostic in the fact that it is hollow. 8. Here's some of what I think are gastropods with a small amount of shell remaining. 9. Here is a curious looking fragment that is only half there but seems to have some enamel? 10. And finally here is what I'm pretty sure is just a fragment of tooth enamel. 11. As always think you for your time and knowledge I look forward to hearing from you.
  9. SawTooth

    Gar teeth?

    I was out of town for about 2 weeks and I had a chance to go fossil hunting at a pretty good spot (that post should come out soon). This is a piece of jaw one of my friends found with two teeth in it. Based off of the amount of gar scales found there my closest guess would be gar jaw, could anyone correct me on that? (Entering the pictures I notice that measurements are missing, it's about one cm.) Thank you!
  10. SawTooth

    50 minute fossil hunt

    Today we went to a great spot we don't go often. The first 50 minutes were great, then it started raining,I can't imagine what I would have found if I got to stay a good 3 hours. We got two gator osteoderms, including the smallest one I've ever seen (below the large one) some gator teeth. Multiple mammal teeth (follow link below message to get to the ID message) horse frags, gar scales, turtle shell, and other weird fossils. Again, please go to the ID chat just to check if you can help.
  11. oilshale

    Atractosteus simplex (Leidy, 1873)

    Atractosteus simplex and A. atrox occur mainly in Fossil Lake deposits where they are relatively rare (less than 0.05% of the fish fauna). The long snouted gars are much rarer in Lake Gosiute and Lake Uinta deposits. Taxonomy from Fossilworks.org. Emended species diagnosis from Grande 2010, p. 471: “†Atractosteus simplex differs from other species in the genus by the following characters A-E. (A) Having a lower number of lateral line scales than any other species except for †A. messelensis sp. nov. (Table 184). (B) Having a lower number of abdominal vertebrae than any other species except for †A. messelensis sp. nov. (Table 182). (C) Differs from †A. messelensis sp. nov. in having a shorter premaxilla relative to head length (Table 180). (D) Differs from †A. messelensis sp. nov. in having a shorter head relative to standard length (Table 180). (E) differs from A. spatula and A. tristoechus in that the dermosphenotic forms part of the orbital margin as in A. tropicus." Line drawing from Grande 2010, p. 475 : Identified by oilshale. References: Grande, L. (2001) An Updated Review of the Fish Faunas From the Green River Formation, the World’s Most Productive Freshwater Lagerstätten. Eocene Biodiversity, 1–38. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1271-4_1 . Grande, L., Kammerer, Ch. & Westneat, M. (2006) Comparative and Developmental Functional Morphology of the Jaws of Living and Fossil Gars. // Journal of Morphology, Vol 267, Issue 9, 1017-1031. Grande, L. (2010) An Empirical Synthetic Pattern Study of Gars (Lepisosteiformes) and closely related Species, based mostly on Skeletal Anatomy. The Resurrection of Holostei.// Copeia, 2010, No 2A, 1-863.
  12. ThePhysicist

    Gar scales

    From the album: Hell Creek / Lance Formations

    Lepisosteidae (scales) Hell Creek Fm., Powder River Co., MT, USA Cretaceous gar fish scales - though I may be wrong about the big one.
  13. RuMert

    Bony fish tooth

    From the album: Moscow region Late Jurassic vertebrates

    Probably Atractosteus, 7 mm, Fili Park, Volgian-Nikitini zone
  14. I'm looking for gar fossils, has anyone here got any they would be willing to sell?
  15. Microraptorfan

    Gar Fossils?

    Are these gar fossils? I got them off of online awhile back and they apparently come from South Carolina Pleistocene? age deposits, Jaw parts are from the Morgan river while the rostrum is from the Medway Sound
  16. Microraptorfan

    Mesozoic Gars

    I thought I would ask here, do any of the members here have Mesozoic gar fossils in their collection, im not looking to buy them, more wanting to see the range of Mesozoic fossil gar material owned by members here
  17. Microraptorfan

    Jurassic Gar

    Hi I came across this while searching for gar fossils, it allegedly represents a Jurassic gar, which is significant. I enquired about it's current whereabouts from the site owner, but they said it was sold about 10-15 years ago. This is a shot in the dark but I was wondering if anyone here might know of it's current whereabouts? It's from the Jurassic of the Twin Creek Formation of Utah.
  18. I've always loved living fossils, especially the fish. They are relics of an age long lost, offering us a glimpse of an incredible prehistoric world. Some are enigmas that survived countless extinction events since the Devonian. Others are majestic predators that swam alongside the dinosaurs. Let me present my collection of living fossil fishes from the Mesozoic and before. I will begin with one of the most famous of all - the coelacanth Coelacanth Species: Whiteia woodwardi Age: 252.3 - 251.3 mya | early Triassic Formation: Diego Basin; Middle Sakamena Formation Locality: Ambilobe, Madagascar First appearance: Eoachtinistia foreyi was found 360 million years ago in Australia Paddlefish Species: Protopsephurus liui Age: 125.5 - 112.5 mya | early Cretaceous Formation: Yixian Formation Locality: Lingyuan City, Liaoning First appearance: This is the oldest known species Sturgeon Species: Peipiaosteus fengningensis Age: 125.5 - 120 mya | early Cretaceous Formation: Jehol Biota Locality: Chifeng, Nei Mongol First appearance: Multiple species e.g. Yanosteus longidorsalis found since 125 million years ago in China Pipefish Species: Hipposygnathus sp. Age: 28.1 - 13.8 mya | Oliogocene - Miocene Formation: Monterey Formation Locality: Santa Ynez Valley, California, USA First appearance: Solenostomidae species were found 55.8 million years ago in Italy Note: Although most of this collection only includes fishes that existed since the Mesozoic or later, I made an exception for the pipefish as their order, syngnathiform, existed since the late Cretaceous
  19. A trailer full of high-end fossils was stolen from GeoDecor at the Denver Show this week. Please keep a look out for them. This is a great family owned and run business.
  20. Fish story for the ages: High schooler unearths rare fossil by University of Chicago, September 30, 2019 https://news.uchicago.edu/story/fish-story-ages-high-schooler-unearths-rare-fossil https://phys.org/news/2019-09-fish-story-ages-high-schooler.html Yours, Paul H.
  21. Fun day on the North Sulphur River Texas. We saw some cool wildlife. Here's my finds. A nice mix of pleisosaur, mosasaur, enchodus, shark, turtle, horse, coprolite and artifacts.
  22. JohnJ

    Sidetracked

    April 3, 2010 Adrenalin pumped through me like it usually does on the way to a new location. While on the road, I enjoyed ‘working out’ the geology I traveled over. The sunny spring morning framed the entire outdoors in vivid color, and from the corner of my eye, I noticed some fresh excavation in the distance. Like many other places, I made a mental note of it and continued to my destination. Dozens of miles and minutes later, my friend, Bob, and I had pulled our gear together and loaded things into the boat. We waded through the spring bloom and poison ivy and began a journey we would not soon forget. Golden groundsel & Texas bluebonnets I wanted to learn more about one of my favorite geologic outcrops on this trip, the Lower Cretaceous Washita Group. Its formations have fascinated me with the remains of creatures of incredible variety and beauty. From the monster-sized Eopachydiscus ammonites to the simple, elegant form of Kingena wacoensis brachiopods, the North Texas strata have enchanted fossil hunters for years. According to some of the latest research, the lowest in the group, the Kiamichi Formation, is supposed to be around 103.5 million years old. It is followed by the more well known Duck Creek Formation at near 102 million years old. The Fort Worth, Denton, Weno, and Pawpaw Formations are found in the middle of the group. Above these, the Main Street Limestone (about 97 million years old) is overlain by the Grayson Marl. The Washita Group is finally capped at close to 96 million years old by the Buda Formation. Our trip started near the ‘bottom’; just where was our next challenge. One of our first clues came in the water when the partial whorl of a Mortoniceras ammonite laid in contrast to the bottom gravel. My interest was further piqued by a second ammonite wedged beneath a few rocks on the next gravel bar. Other fossils in combination with these ammonites and a bank bluff of alternately receding layers of marl and hard stone suggested we were in the Fort Worth Formation. Partial Mortoniceras ammonite fragment Mortoniceras sp. ammonite Of course, we kept in mind that the gravel bars contained the reworked fossils of any formations found upstream. But before long, Bob found a large Mortoniceras ammonite eroding from the silt covered formation. Mortoniceras sp. ammonite As we moved along the stream, it became apparent that no one had collected there in a long time. Large Macraster echinoids and additional ammonites were scattered periodically in the gravels. It was amazing to see so many. Bob found two other large ammonites hiding in the gravel. We picked up a few more fossils along the way, but most looked their best where they laid...capturing a moment of potential Cretaceous perfection. Larger Mortoniceras sp. ammonites found by Bob Macraster obesus fossil sea urchins Keeping us company in water were other creatures, too. A shy red-eared turtle and a well-fed diamond backed water snake added to the adventure. But it was a close encounter with several spawning longnose gar that kept the adrenalin flowing. Diamond backed Water Snake Red-eared Turtle Spawning Longnose Gar Bob’s haul and my finds About mid-afternoon, we had a nice load of fossils in the boat, so we headed for the take-out. On the way, I contemplated a few options to round out the day. Then I remembered the fresh excavation on the morning drive. So we loaded up and headed that way. Upon arrival, I realized the site was not as large as it appeared earlier in the day. A utility easement near the road had been reshaped by a bulldozer. In the course of their work, they had cleared a large ditch and exposed the local geology. We thought we would give it a quick look to see what formations were present. Bob walked slightly ahead of me as we descended into the shallow water. Sticky yellow clay and a few Ilymatogyra arietina oysters stuck to my shoes. Then, I froze. “No way...you’ve got to be kidding,” I uttered. Bob turned and responded, “What?” I looked up at him from where I had dropped to my heels, “I’m about 90% sure this is ivory…mammoth ivory! It’s part of a tusk!” My heart pounded as I looked just below the water at its fragmented surface. Silt covered most of the concentric layers, but I recognized the fragmentation pattern from previous tusk finds. We pulled out our cameras and began the preliminary documentation. Initial exposure It was late afternoon, and I did not know the size of the find. But another problem was more obvious; the shallow water clouded with the touch of a finger. The clay appeared to be reworked Grayson marl (Del Rio Clay), so it would not be hard to excavate. However, the Pleistocene gravels scattered within it would make any digging awkward. After sizing up our options, we decided to get creative with the water to maintain visibility. Bob generously labored to keep clear water flowing across the area I slowly excavated with my knife and rock hammer. Working in the silty water was slow and frustrating. There were moments I just used my hands to ease away the gravel and clay. I thought I could expose the end of the tusk in a short time; but as the sun descended lower on the horizon, the realization that I might not, began to sink in. Late in the day, we took our final series of photos. The long shadows and tired muscles signaled the moment to make some tough decisions. There were about three feet of tusk exposed and it was all underwater. It was extremely fragile. To try to remove it would have destroyed it. So, I made the decision to carefully cover it up. Although it was a difficult choice, given the circumstances, I thought it was the right one. To excavate it properly would require drier times or a small coffer dam, plaster, reinforcement, and more tools. Even if it was removed under the best conditions, the final preparation would be a huge challenge. It was time to call in ‘the troops'. Cloudy water was a constant problem Roots penetrated one end of the tusk Angling downward into the clay and gravel Bob and I discussed tentative plans to find someone to lead a future excavation. Then, I graciously thanked him for his efforts and, with a handshake on a day well spent, we parted company. During the long drive home, I called a couple of friends for assistance with the new ‘tusk project’ and gathered more leads to follow up. What a memorable day! I called my wife and told her we got a little sidetracked on the way home...when she heard ‘why’ she said, “You’ve got to be kidding!” June 2010 Postscript: At the end of April, after speaking and corresponding with several universities and groups, I was finally able to find an organization to take on the ‘tusk project’. They have contacts within the paleontology department of a local university and they hope to use the dig as a training opportunity. The question on everyone’s mind: Are there bones associated with the tusk? Organizing a university dig takes a little time. Nevertheless, this story will have another chapter in the future.
  23. From the album: Vertebrates

    Atractosteus messelensis Grande, 2010 (old name: Atractosteus strausi Kinkelin 1884) Eocene Lutetian Messel near Darmstadt Germany Length 22cm
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