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Hello again Fossil friends! I have another fossil I need help with. Found with other shell and coral fossils in a river shore in north eastern Kansas, most likely Pennsylvanian. It looks to be maybe a sponge with exterior and interior... structure? Couldn't figure this one out. Maybe someone with more knowledge can ID it for sure.

Heya! This is a spherical convex structure found in the South of the England. Unfortunately, as I found it when I was very little, I cannot seem to recall the exact location, and, thus, the age. Originally, as a child, I crudely assumed it to be a mushroom... Ah, the wonders of child's minds... More recently, I conducted a study upon it, and, due to the septa and mouth-like crystalline structure at the top, I identified it as a polyp cup of a Rugosa coral. However, I am still unsure as to what it is. Any input would be greatly appreciated, cheers!

This is a sponge(?) microfossil in a fragment of a flint nodule. The flint has been quarried from the south of the British coast, which is mainly Cretaceous strata. It looks slightly like it's an imprint, but, upon further inspection, it is a broken off membrane. Currently (and slightly embarrassingly) I have only whittled it down to Echinodermata... I know, I know, spare me your applause, while my PhD's waiting! More sincerely, if anyone could shed some brighter light upon this, I'd be very grateful!

Howdy everyone. :-) I think I've gotten a little better at identifying the Pleistocene fossils I've found (and figuring out when an ID is probably hopeless), but on the few things I've found that don't fall into that era, I'm still pretty lost. I found the rock below a while back in a sand and gravel matrix near South Texas. It looks like a regular nondescript rock on its rounded face (top left), but on the flatter face (the other three pictures), it looks like it was cracked open at some point and revealed something. Tiny fin? Leaf? Impression fossil or marine creature fossil fragment? I'm hoping some of you experts can give me some info. Thanks as always!

Last Thursday, found a bunch of reef type fossils in the Peace River... Sort while watching the NFL today. Here are a few of the smaller items: A ray denticle, a tapir cap, cypress wood, and ....

Hi everyone, I hope you're all having a good start to 2021. Tonight I'm sharing a fossil which has been in my possession for a number of years. I found it on my first trip to Big Brook in Monmouth County, New Jersey when I was only 11. Some veteran fossil hunters took a look at what I found and told me it was a dinosaur bone. Being a novice I took their word at face value, however after a number of years dinosaur hunting out west, I was able to see that this ID was incorrect. When I showed it to a paleontologist at my local university he did not think it was bone at all and perhaps some plant material. At this point, however I am confident it is actually bone, and most likely from a marine reptile. An interesting comparison I made was with a piece of dugong rib I found on Florida's Peace River. I found that both were quite dense, with small outer pores and minimal spacing in the cancellous tissue (especially when compared to true dinosaur bone). Additionally, the presence of apparent bite marks suggest to me that this is not a concretion or plant material. The fossil is about 6.4 cm in length and 2 cm in diameter. I would like to hear some opinions on it. Thanks, Noel A close up of the bone surface. The quality of the photo was not what I had hoped. Closeup on one of the apparent bite marks.

I found this fossil at the Molecap Greensand Formation in Western Australia. It's a Late Cretaceous coastal marine deposit, mostly marine invertebrate fossils there, shark teeth too. Sometimes marine reptile fossils and there's also been a couple of dinosaur bone fragments found, plus a pterosaur jaw fragment. I visited there in search of shark teeth, unfortunately I didn't find any but I did find whatever this is. Maybe a bone fragment of some sort? A rib fragment maybe?

Found this Fossil at Big Brook in New Jersey. It is a marine fossil site and I was wondering what this object is. It has the texture of a tooth or fossilized material. The object has a cone shape with a pointy tip at the end. On the inside, the object has lines and indents running down the side in 1 direction Images

Hi all, I'm a marine biologist from Sydney. I have a modest collection of fossils which I am very proud of, they are all gifts from family and friends rather than collecting/finding them myself and so they hold a lot of sentimental value for me. I've joined the forum because I have a couple of fossils that were gifted to me by another collector who hadn't identified them to a specific genus or era which I'd like to have enscribed like my other fossils.

First off: happy new year, everyone! Blezingeria ichthyospondylus is an enigmatic marine reptile from the Ladinian-stage Triassic, Upper Muschelkalk of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany, first discovered in Crailsheim. Although various material has been referred to the species through time, its affiliation remains unclear. Initially described as nothosaurian and later as cymbospondylid ichthyosaurian, it has most recently been classed as thalattosaurian. Fossilworks, however, still defines it as cymbospondylid, whereas Muschelkalk.eu classifies it as an Eosuchian. Below is an overview of some of the material that has been attributed to the species: Source: Wikipedia Vertebrae & humerus. Source: Wikimedia Commons Source: Muschelkalkmuseum Ingelfingen Vertebrae & scapula. Source: Muschelkalk.eu As you can see, the vertebrae are amphicoelous, just like those of ichthyosaurians. Though, contrary to in ichthyosaurs, the neural arch in B. ichthyospondylus is attached to the vertebral body. Scapulae and pubis bones are also highly reminiscent of those found in ichthyosaurs. All this, of course, is not to say that there were no other early marine reptiles with amphicoelous vertebrae - such as those of Placodus gigas figured below, for example: Sources: online vendor & figure 13 from Diedrich, 2013. Review of the Middle Jurassic "sea cow" Placodus gigas (Reptilia) in Pangea's shallow marine macroalgae meadows of Europe At the same time, and in the same area, true ichthyosaurs were also already around, and already had characteristic their amphicoelous vertebrae free of neural arch, including such species as Cymbospondylus sp., Phantomosaurus sp. - which, according to Fossilworks, are sister taxa to B. ichthyospondylus - and, possibly, Pessosaurus sp., to which the below Middle Triassic vertebra has tentatively been ascribed: Source: Muschelkalkmuseum Ingelfingen The most comprehensive overview of Blezingeria ichthyospondylus material, however, comes from Diedrich, 2015. The vertebrates from the Lower Ladinian (Middle Triassic) bonebed of Lamerden (Germany) as palaeoenvironment indicators in the Germanic Basin (figure 9): Looking at the above image, the similarities with ichthyosaur skeletal material is indeed no longer obvious, which is reflected in the reconstruction, though there are still similarities to be found in the bone morphology of B. ichthyospondylus' fibula (no. 11 in the image above) and the Utatsusaurus sp. (primitive ichthyosaur) paddle in the diagram below: Figure 4 from Motani, 2005. Evolution of Fish-Shaped Reptiles (reptilia: Ichthyopterygia) in Their Physical Environments and Constraints The only cladistic data I can find on the interrelationships between thalattosauria, ichthyopterygia and sauropterygia, however, comes from the Pterosaur Heresies and Reptile Evolution - and, therefore, doesn't derive from the most reliable sources - lacks documented source references, and seems, at least in part, internally contradictory: Not having read Diedrich 2015 yet, my first question is, is there any more information on Blezingeria ichthyospondylus out there on easily accessible media (i.e., the internet, preferably open access)? Does anyone on TFF know about this species, and what is there to know about this species? Where does it fit in phylogenetically, and how does this relate to the other clades of marine reptile? Is there any merit to the above cladograms? Thanks for your help!

I wonder if anyone may be able to help determine whether this is a bone, and whether it might be from a fish or a tetrapod? It was found in the Middle Pennsylvanian Wewoka Formation of northeastern Oklahoma. It may take me 3-4 postings to upload all 7 images. Best wishes.

Hello, I just joined the forum in hopes that someone can help me identify this fossil I found this afternoon. It was found in a rocky stream bed in Travis County, Texas, just to the east of Austin. It measures approximately 3.5 cm long, 3.5 cm high, 2.5 cm thick. I'm assuming that it is some type of gastropod, but I'm not sure since I am very new to fossil hunting. Any assistance you can offer would be very appreciated. Thanks! Amy

Any idea what this could be? I found it in a creek bed in Central Texas Hill Country. Fossils around here are mostly marine, so I'm thinking coral or fish tooth maybe? The hollow center is closer to one side than the other and appears to have been worn open rather than broken. One end seems to have a ring and the other tapers to a blunt point.

I found this broken nodule in an outcrop of Pennsylvanian shale in Northeast Oklahoma. I’m wondering if the fossil could be the upper part of a skull? Other common fossils from this site include fragmentary fish remains (e.g., teeth, spines, dermal denticles, and coprolites from sharks and other fishes), as well as invertebrate remains from ammonites, gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, corals, and conularia. If this is a skull, would you guess it to be from a fish, amphibian, or reptile? I don’t see any traces of teeth in the nodule, but I can provide closer views of areas that might be of interest. I’ve done as much prep work as I dare with a brush and needle (my skills and tools are rudimentary). I look forward to any thoughts you may have. Best wishes .

Out hunting , everything was small. 1. Symphyseal ? I actually see some slight serrations on upper right of 1st photo. 2. )Just to show off my only one of these for the day 3) 29 mm in length. 4) Complete ?? 25 mm

Hey everyone, I found a ton of fossils littered on the ground around a cave entrance about a week ago. I took a few rocks home but can't quite figure out what they are. I've tried my best to light up the fossils for the pictures, but all the details were difficult to see when the photo was fully lit. A 10x hand lens was used to take the close ups. Ruler is metric. Geology: Bungonia Formation limestone, 427.4 - 410.8 million years old. Found in NSW, Australia ROCK 1 I have 2 rocks with the same fossil. I want to say it's a type of solitary rugose coral, but still not sure.. I saw a few disc-like fossils in the rocks at the site (perhaps the top of the coral?). You can see it on both faces of the rock Rock 2: Same species are the rock 1? Here's another shot of rock 2. You can see a few fossils in this, especially the crinoid (stem?) and the possible rugose coral in the bottom right. I don't know what that line that meanders through the middle of the rock is though and would love advice ROCK 3 This is the one I'm absolutely stumped by. They're difficult to see, but there's faint fossils on this rock. It wasn't found near the cave entrance like the first 2 rocks but in a small eroded drainage line. Are they even fossils?

In short, I'm trying to figure out exactly what was on the menu: fish or cephalopods. While sorting through some Oxford Clay fish coprolites, I came across this specimen. It was part of a batch purchased years ago. I must have just assumed the inclusions were fish vertebrae, but now I'm not too sure. I know some vertebrae from some fish fry can be hollow, but the texture/material of these inclusions look very different from anything I've seen (including vertebrae in Oxford Clay coprolites). Because of the color and layers, I'm thinking these may be chitinous. That said, I haven't seen enough fossilized chitinous material to be sure. The only thing I've seen are cephalopod hooks in coprolite (tiny and thin with no layers) and Arthropleura tergites (note layered because they weren't exposed to digestion?). I know back in the early 1800's, William Buckland thought some of the rings found in Blue Lias coprolites could be rings from the suckers of cephalopods, but acknowledged fish vertebrae should not be ruled out (On the Discovery of Coprolites, or Fossil Faeces, in the Lias at Lyme Regis, and in other Formations - Page 226). I have a number of specimens with that type of ring, but they are smaller and fossilization/mineralization isn't the same. So here are my questions: 1. Does anyone out there have any examples of beefy chitinous inclusions in coprolite? 2. Is there a quick test for chitin? 3. Has anyone seen vertebrae that look like these? 4. Has anyone seen fossilized rings from cephalopod suckers? Some extant squid have these, but their rings have little teeth/serrations on them. 5. Any other ideas what these could be? As always, thanks for looking! @MarcoSr, @DE&i, @Carl

Earlier I asked for help in id of a couple pieces of what was identified as enchodus jaw. This surprised me because it was seemed different to me, in that the teeth were thick and curved. It makes me wonder if these multiple teeth, and jaw pieces are enchodus or something else. I would really appreciate it if you guys could look these over and tell me what you see. All have been photographed on simple notebook paper (ie each line has the exact same spacing-- distorted by my camera)

I'm brand new here. My kids and I were at Topanga State Beach today and though we've been thousands of times before, this was the first time we found fossils! We found lots of rocks packed with small shell fossils, but then this one was much larger. The photos are all from the same one rock, different angles and sides. Any idea what it is (or maybe it's just a large shell)? Any idea how old it is?

Went for a walk down the shoreline in Huntington Beach, California the day after a storm and found this. I have a video of it on my instagram, is there a way to get it here so that it shall pass admin gates? Sorry for the crappy close up of the conical shaped shell at the bottom.

Zoom for better detail.

In a late cretaceous marine formation I found two little pieces of jaw. I would like help in id if possible. One is maybe 2.5 cm in length and the other 3 cm, both have the ragged texture of almost everything from this site. I wonder (hope) if the upper is croc, and if the lower is a small mosasaur. It does not match the typical fish jaws that I find because of the sharp curve to the teeth. Help and ideas will be appreciated.

Hi all I found this little specimen a while back back and have a tenatave Id for the specimen I am still open to other options as to what the fossil may be. This specimen was found in the marine enviroment of the toolebuc formation in central Queensland.This formation is cretaceous aged about 100 millions years. In this enviroment I have found - ichthyosaur, pliosaur, turtle, shark, fish, bird, pterosaur so the posibilities are there. I have held back on the tenatave ID so as not to push in any direction and to allow alternate sugestions. Thanks in advance for any input. Mike

Hi all, I recently took some more interest in crocodile vertebrae, an area that I haven't really touched on before. Now I already knew that the vertebrae of marine crocodiles differ from those of more terrestrial species as Thalattosuchia have platycoelous vertebral centrums, whereas other crocodylomorphs have procoelous vertebrae. Within Thalattosuchia, however, the two major branches superficially (at least) seem to have rather similar "waisted" vertebrae. So, what I was wondering about was how one can tell Metriorhynchid vertebrae apart from Teleosaurid ones. Anyone here that could help me with that? Anyway, thanks in advance for your help!

Mancos shale outside of Grand Junction Colorado 2 inches in length