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From the album: MY FOSSIL Collection - Dpaul7
Baculite Fossil, larger Segment SITE LOCATION: northeast Montana TIME PERIOD: Cretaceous period (66-145 million years) Nice little segment of fossilized baculite from northeast Montana that shows off the suture lines of these ancient animals. Interesting tiny druzy formations on the ends. Lots of sparkle. Baculites from this are dated to the Cretaceous period and are over 65 million years old. aculites ("walking stick rock") is an extinct genus of cephalopods with a nearly straight shell, included in the heteromorph ammonites. The genus, which lived worldwide throughout most of the Late Cretaceous, was named by Lamarck in 1799. The adult shell of Baculites is generally straight and may be either smooth or with sinuous striae or ribbing that typically slant dorso-ventrally forward. The aperture likewise slopes to the front and has a sinuous margin. The venter is narrowly rounded to acute while the dorsum is more broad. The juvenile shell, found at the apex, is coiled in one or two whorls and described as minute, about a centimeter in diameter. Adult Baculites ranged in size from about seven centimeters (Baculites larsoni) up to two meters in length. As with other ammonites, the shell consisted of a series of camerae, or chambers, that were connected to the animal by a narrow tube called a siphuncle by which gas content and thereby buoyancy could be regulated in the same manner as Nautilus does today. The chambers are separated by walls called septa. The line where each septum meets the outer shell is called the suture or suture line. Like other true ammonites, Baculites have intricate suture patterns on their shells that can be used to identify different species. One notable feature about Baculites is that the males may have been a third to a half the size of the females and may have had much lighter ribbing on the surface of the shell. The shell morphology of Baculites with slanted striations or ribbing, similarly slanted aperture, and more narrowly rounded to acute keel-like venter points to its having had a horizontal orientation in life as an adult. This same type of cross section is found in much earlier nautiloids such as Bassleroceras and Clitendoceras from the Ordovician period, which can be shown to have had a horizontal orientation. In spite of this, some researchers have concluded that Baculites lived in a vertical orientation, head hanging straight down, since lacking an apical counterweight, movement was largely restricted to that direction. More recent research, notably by Gerd Westermann, has reaffirmed that at least some Baculites species in fact lived in a more or less horizontal orientation. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Order: †Ammonitida Family: †Baculitidae Genus: †Baculites -
From the album: MY FOSSIL Collection - Dpaul7
Baculite Fossil, larger Segment SITE LOCATION: northeast Montana TIME PERIOD: Cretaceous period (66-145 million years) Nice little segment of fossilized baculite from northeast Montana that shows off the suture lines of these ancient animals. Interesting tiny druzy formations on the ends. Lots of sparkle. Baculites from this are dated to the Cretaceous period and are over 65 million years old. aculites ("walking stick rock") is an extinct genus of cephalopods with a nearly straight shell, included in the heteromorph ammonites. The genus, which lived worldwide throughout most of the Late Cretaceous, was named by Lamarck in 1799. The adult shell of Baculites is generally straight and may be either smooth or with sinuous striae or ribbing that typically slant dorso-ventrally forward. The aperture likewise slopes to the front and has a sinuous margin. The venter is narrowly rounded to acute while the dorsum is more broad. The juvenile shell, found at the apex, is coiled in one or two whorls and described as minute, about a centimeter in diameter. Adult Baculites ranged in size from about seven centimeters (Baculites larsoni) up to two meters in length. As with other ammonites, the shell consisted of a series of camerae, or chambers, that were connected to the animal by a narrow tube called a siphuncle by which gas content and thereby buoyancy could be regulated in the same manner as Nautilus does today. The chambers are separated by walls called septa. The line where each septum meets the outer shell is called the suture or suture line. Like other true ammonites, Baculites have intricate suture patterns on their shells that can be used to identify different species. One notable feature about Baculites is that the males may have been a third to a half the size of the females and may have had much lighter ribbing on the surface of the shell. The shell morphology of Baculites with slanted striations or ribbing, similarly slanted aperture, and more narrowly rounded to acute keel-like venter points to its having had a horizontal orientation in life as an adult. This same type of cross section is found in much earlier nautiloids such as Bassleroceras and Clitendoceras from the Ordovician period, which can be shown to have had a horizontal orientation. In spite of this, some researchers have concluded that Baculites lived in a vertical orientation, head hanging straight down, since lacking an apical counterweight, movement was largely restricted to that direction. More recent research, notably by Gerd Westermann, has reaffirmed that at least some Baculites species in fact lived in a more or less horizontal orientation. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Order: †Ammonitida Family: †Baculitidae Genus: †Baculites -
From the album: MY FOSSIL Collection - Dpaul7
Baculite Fossil, larger Segment SITE LOCATION: northeast Montana TIME PERIOD: Cretaceous period (66-145 million years) Nice little segment of fossilized baculite from northeast Montana that shows off the suture lines of these ancient animals. Interesting tiny druzy formations on the ends. Lots of sparkle. Baculites from this are dated to the Cretaceous period and are over 65 million years old. aculites ("walking stick rock") is an extinct genus of cephalopods with a nearly straight shell, included in the heteromorph ammonites. The genus, which lived worldwide throughout most of the Late Cretaceous, was named by Lamarck in 1799. The adult shell of Baculites is generally straight and may be either smooth or with sinuous striae or ribbing that typically slant dorso-ventrally forward. The aperture likewise slopes to the front and has a sinuous margin. The venter is narrowly rounded to acute while the dorsum is more broad. The juvenile shell, found at the apex, is coiled in one or two whorls and described as minute, about a centimeter in diameter. Adult Baculites ranged in size from about seven centimeters (Baculites larsoni) up to two meters in length. As with other ammonites, the shell consisted of a series of camerae, or chambers, that were connected to the animal by a narrow tube called a siphuncle by which gas content and thereby buoyancy could be regulated in the same manner as Nautilus does today. The chambers are separated by walls called septa. The line where each septum meets the outer shell is called the suture or suture line. Like other true ammonites, Baculites have intricate suture patterns on their shells that can be used to identify different species. One notable feature about Baculites is that the males may have been a third to a half the size of the females and may have had much lighter ribbing on the surface of the shell. The shell morphology of Baculites with slanted striations or ribbing, similarly slanted aperture, and more narrowly rounded to acute keel-like venter points to its having had a horizontal orientation in life as an adult. This same type of cross section is found in much earlier nautiloids such as Bassleroceras and Clitendoceras from the Ordovician period, which can be shown to have had a horizontal orientation. In spite of this, some researchers have concluded that Baculites lived in a vertical orientation, head hanging straight down, since lacking an apical counterweight, movement was largely restricted to that direction. More recent research, notably by Gerd Westermann, has reaffirmed that at least some Baculites species in fact lived in a more or less horizontal orientation. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Order: †Ammonitida Family: †Baculitidae Genus: †Baculites -
From the album: MY FOSSIL Collection - Dpaul7
Baculite Fossil, larger Segment SITE LOCATION: northeast Montana TIME PERIOD: Cretaceous period (66-145 million years) Nice little segment of fossilized baculite from northeast Montana that shows off the suture lines of these ancient animals. Interesting tiny druzy formations on the ends. Lots of sparkle. Baculites from this are dated to the Cretaceous period and are over 65 million years old. aculites ("walking stick rock") is an extinct genus of cephalopods with a nearly straight shell, included in the heteromorph ammonites. The genus, which lived worldwide throughout most of the Late Cretaceous, was named by Lamarck in 1799. The adult shell of Baculites is generally straight and may be either smooth or with sinuous striae or ribbing that typically slant dorso-ventrally forward. The aperture likewise slopes to the front and has a sinuous margin. The venter is narrowly rounded to acute while the dorsum is more broad. The juvenile shell, found at the apex, is coiled in one or two whorls and described as minute, about a centimeter in diameter. Adult Baculites ranged in size from about seven centimeters (Baculites larsoni) up to two meters in length. As with other ammonites, the shell consisted of a series of camerae, or chambers, that were connected to the animal by a narrow tube called a siphuncle by which gas content and thereby buoyancy could be regulated in the same manner as Nautilus does today. The chambers are separated by walls called septa. The line where each septum meets the outer shell is called the suture or suture line. Like other true ammonites, Baculites have intricate suture patterns on their shells that can be used to identify different species. One notable feature about Baculites is that the males may have been a third to a half the size of the females and may have had much lighter ribbing on the surface of the shell. The shell morphology of Baculites with slanted striations or ribbing, similarly slanted aperture, and more narrowly rounded to acute keel-like venter points to its having had a horizontal orientation in life as an adult. This same type of cross section is found in much earlier nautiloids such as Bassleroceras and Clitendoceras from the Ordovician period, which can be shown to have had a horizontal orientation. In spite of this, some researchers have concluded that Baculites lived in a vertical orientation, head hanging straight down, since lacking an apical counterweight, movement was largely restricted to that direction. More recent research, notably by Gerd Westermann, has reaffirmed that at least some Baculites species in fact lived in a more or less horizontal orientation. Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Order: †Ammonitida Family: †Baculitidae Genus: †Baculites -
Taken from Lund, Richard, and Grogan, E.D., 2005, Bear Gulch web site, www.sju.edu/research/bear_gulch, 14/11/2016, page last updated 2/1/2006: "Heteropetalus elegantulus is an elegantly slim little euchondrocephalan with many different tooth shapes along its jaws. It ranges to only about 4 inches in length. Skull, jaws, and dentition place it close to Debeerius. It is common in the weedier shallow water areas. There are no scales, except for a small patch at the rear of the dorsal fin of males. Lateral line canals of the head are supported by rather large highly modified scales. Heteropetalus has an almost eel-like body, a protocercal tail, rounded and very flexible pectoral fins midway up the sides of the body, and a single long flexible undulatory dorsal fin (preceded by a small fin spine). All these features indicate a maneuverer in weedy or reef-like environments as well as along the bottom. Mature males have a distinctly strengthened, hooked and denticulated posterior end of the dorsal fin; the dorsal fin of males was significantly higher than that of females. This dorsal fin dimorphism is similar to that seen in the Gouramies, modern bony tropical fish available in any pet store. They have a very small mouth, with the teeth crowded to the front of the jaws, and a variety of plucking, nipping, and crunching teeth. The jaw suspension itself is rather flexible to give it a certain amount of both lateral and fore-and-aft motion. The bright yellow spots in the dorsal view of a head are the inner ears, and the yellow is from iron oxide particles that were bio-concentrated during the life of this fish. H. elegantulus was originally described as a petalodont, but subsequent discoveries proved it to be otherwise; it is closely related to Debeerius ellefseni." This fish is clearly a male as shown by the claspers. References: Lund, R. (1977). A new petalodont (Chondrichthyes, Bradyodonti) from the Upper Mississippian of Montana. Annals of Carnegie Museum, 46 (19): 129-155. Grogan E.D. & Lund, R. (2000). Debeerius ellefseni (Fam. Nov., Gen. Nov., Spec. Nov.), an autodiastylic chondrichthyan from the Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone of Montana (USA), the relationships of the Chondrichthyes, and comments on gnathostome evolution. Journal of Morphology, 243 (3): 219-245.
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From the album: Dinosaurs and Reptiles
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From the album: Dinosaurs and Reptiles
30 mm nicely preserved tyrannosaur tooth. As I understand, it is impossible to distinguish between Gorgosaurus, Daspletosaurus and Albertosaurus from Judith River Fm. -
Hey everyone. I purchased this fossil recently and wanted to get your opinions on it. It is from the Hell Creek formation of Montana. The seller says that is either a surangular or angular bone from a theropod jaw. After looking at pictures it does look very similar to the angular bone of a Nanotyrannus, looks about the right size too. What do you dinosaur experts think? Thanks! -Mike
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We were exploring the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, and found very similar sections of jaw bone. It seems like structurally, this section was the strongest and most likely to survive. As you can see, they are very small... Any idea on what these might have come from?? Thanks for any tips!
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Summer Road Trip - Part 3 - Hell Creek Dino Hunt - **UPDATED!**
abctriplets posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
From our Fish Dig in Kemmerer, Wyoming (Fish Dig Trip Report), we drove back up to Montana (which was frustrating, as we had just been in this region the previous week, but we were with family members who didn't see the value in spending all day out in the heat looking at rocks...) This was the first of our two days exploring the Hell Creek Formation. For this day, we went to Baisch's Dinosaur Digs (http://www.dailydinosaurdigs.com/). We were in Glendive, Montana, and Baisch's office was not far from town, and really easy to get to. We popped into the office, which turned out to be a small museum containing finds from the ranch, as well as finds donated to them. We got a very brief tutorial, and were shown some samples of common finds in the region. They showed us what bone material would look like, what crocodile scutes would be, what gar scales would look like. It was going to be a super hot day (100+), and they were kind enough to let us start an hour earlier (at 7am). We weren't sure if we would stick it out for a full day, or just do a half day. After a bathroom stop, we gathered up all of our water bags, and piled into their truck. The main owner, Shana, was out in the field already, trying to recover some kind of big bone, so we never got to meet her. Instead, we were driven out into the middle of nowhere by her assistant. While friendly, she didn't know that much about the geology or paleontology of the region. So basically, we were just doing a surface collection/survey on a ranch. Still pretty cool, and my kids loved finding bone fragments around them. The kids scrambled up and down the slopes. We warned them to stay close, and to not put their hands under any rocks, etc. Our guide had a pistol on her belt just in case we ran into rattlesnakes or mountain lions.
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My most recent and most exciting acquisition, a giant partial vert from a tyrannosaurus rex from the hell creek formation of Montana. Nearly went into cardiac arrest that I was able obtain such a large specimen from t rex, so I thought I would share. It really fills up the dinosaur collection and feels like it weighs a ton, I think the dimensions are somewhere around 6.5 inchs or so long and 10.5 inchs tall if I remember, would've been alot taller if the process was still intact and I like how the giant pores are visible cause of the damage. Super massive piece, I was worried about it collapsing my shelve but it fits fine so far.
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Found this in Glendive, Montana (hell creek). The ranch is best known for triceratops and edmontosaurus. The back of it looks concave, almost like a socket, but the front appears naturally rounded, not like a fragment of a long bone. I'm not even sure whether this is a complete bone or a fragment off something larger. The sides have 2 symmetrical curves that look a little like partial eye or nose sockets (picture 2). Perhaps this is a piece of triceratops frill or a juvenile nose horn? It reminds me of a kneecap, but I think I remember reading nonavian dinosaurs lacked kneecaps. The ranch owners had no idea, said it reminded them of a toebone. I'm really curious what you guys make of this one.
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My friend found this in Glendive Montana (hell creek, I believe). The ranch has had a few skin fossils come out, but mostly mud impressions. This appears to be attached to the bone. What do you guys think?
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What is this?
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My daughter found this back in June in the hell creek formation in Montana. I'm not sure what kind of bone or dinosaur it would have come from so she asked me to post it on here for the experts to advise. My best guess was part of a vertebrae but I'm not sure. Thanks in advance.
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Excavating Dinosaurs at Redding Farms Near Rudyard, Montana
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
Paleontologists unearth more dinosaur fossils north of Rudyard By: Josh Meny, MTN News, KRTV, Great Falls, Montana, Aug. 19, 2017 http://www.krtv.com/story/36172339/paleontologists-unearth-more-dinosaur-fossils-north-of-rudyard Redding Farms has unearthed dinosaur fossils for decades By: Josh Meny, MTN News, KXLH, Helena, Montana, Aug. 19, 2017 http://www.kxlh.com/story/36170618/redding-farms-has-unearthed-dinosaur-fossils-for-decades Down on the dinosaur farm By Martin J. Kidston Independent Record, August 6, 2005 http://helenair.com/news/down-on-the-dinosaur-farm/article_0d3f3f53-a8ca-5a9f-8596-a97319bdaddb.html Yours, Paul H. -
Also in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana, we found this interesting bone. It was in two large pieces, and then I later attached two smaller pieces to it. I had shown it to another paleontologist (before it was cleaned and glued together), and he suggested maybe mandible end, or another condyle. To me, it has a femur like quality..... Any suggestions as to what this is, and what it might be from? I'm leaning towards triceratops, based on odds.....
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My uncle found these rocks and he thought they were interesting. My thoughts were volcanic, maybe a spindle lava bomb and another strange rock that has a porous top layer, but is heavier than pumice.
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So this was the largest bone we picked up on our great Out West trip. We had found it out on a ranch in Montana, as part of the Hell Creek formation. The bulk of the bone was a bit fragmentary, so our guide put a plaster wrap over the top of it. Turns out she just applied it directly to the bone, so I've spent the past few days scraping and scrubbing to get the plaster off. I reglued the loose pieces as they came off, and assembled the fragments that were directly around the bone (during excavation) into 3 medium sized pieces (below). The smaller piece on the right was located *directly* under the large bone. In my dreams this would be a recognizable bone, and one I could make larger by attaching the other pieces to it. Here's the current state: As you can see, it is interesting, and has shape. The socket in the large piece is what caught our attention initially. The smaller piece (right) that was found directly beneath the bone also has a socket. The bone structure in the large piece hints at shape (from the grain and the bits of outer bone that's left), and the small piece has a nice point opposite the socket. The bottom of the large piece (see below) is a nice smooth curve. So...any thoughts? We were leaning towards some sort of hip bone, but feel there are a few other options that might fit as well. Or not at all. We're new to this. At this point, I thought if by chance I could figure out what the shape was supposed to be, that maybe I could better attempt the jigsaw puzzle.
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So I'm working my way through my tiny fossils, collected in the Hell Creek Formation in Montana. These are gar scales, right? They are quite blue! Is there a species name, or just "gar"? And this next set I'm not too sure of. Some sort of skin/scale/scutes? The third is quite more spiky, and the fourth is much more smooth than the other two. The 2nd and 3rd here I think are scutes? From crocodile? And what's in the first container? And finally, some misc. items. The 1st I think is a turtle rib (shown from inside the shell?) And the 2nd is an edge of a turtle shell (smooth on both sides, curves down to the nice edge on top). The 3rd has slight ridges on it. And the 4th looks like a random bone fragment....but it broke in a nice zig-zag pattern (at the top) - or is it actually something?
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Ive been through many earthquakes in California, some small some rather large and dangerous. None of those earthquakes made any noise. Last night, (I live outside of Helena Montana), both my wife and I were wakened up by ground shaking and then realized it was a very noisy earthquake! My wife was very frightened. I figured it was over, but was now wide awake. Then about 10 minutes later we both heard a very strange noise but no ground shaking. Figured it was a small aftershock. Then another 20 minutes or so and we heard another really loud noise comin our way the house begins to shake! After 2 more of those everything quited down. The most bizzar night I have ever experienced!!! Im gunna havta run into town and get the newspaper and see what and where. We dont get any local news. RB
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I found it in the Montana rocky mtns in a old dried up riverbed.
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I planned a trip with my daughter to head out to Glendive Montana as her birthday present to go collect fossils. As I've posted in the past, fossil hunting was something we started together as we both loved everything to do with the local museum here. I thought what would be better than to go hunt in the badlands for real dinosaur bones. After doing lots of research on here, reading books, and government literature we planned our trip out to legally collect fossils at Baisch's Dinosaur Digs. We planned a trip out for a week, booked 2 half days and 2 full days. This gave us 3 days to hunt for invertebrates(part 2 when I get around to it, probably not until at least next week) and chill. We arrived at the ranch at 8am last Tuesday, and met Shana, who would be running our tours. Marge used to run the tours, but about 2 years back she decided to hang up her boots. Shana gives you a tour of the stuff they've collected over the years, much of which is pretty cool. I wish I had decent pictures of inside there, but my daughter took those ones, and they are a bit blurry. After getting a tour of all the things you can find out there, of which there is a lot, we headed out to the badlands. You can drive with her or take your own vehicle and follow. We chose to follow as I wanted to bring along a portable toilet for my daughter as needed. Shana provides you with a screwdriver, paintbrush, and bags to put your fossils in. For most of the stuff you're finding, that should be sufficient. If you need more stuff, like casting material, hardener, etc, she carries that stuff with her as well when you find something good. I would do it day by day, but really the process is very similar, just the spots are different in what you are looking for. We drive out to a spot and park. From there, we'd hike out a little or lot depending on the site. You start scouring the ground for anything that looks like fossils. At the micro sites, you're pretty much just scouring the ground for chunks of bone, gar scales, teeth, turtle shell, and the like. Other spots we went to, you would check the ground and cliffs. If you found bone, you'd start moving up the wall to see if you could figure out where it was coming from and hope you find something nice. For me, we mostly stayed with the micro stuff, as my daughter just turned 7, is not graceful and was scared about travelling up to higher ground. Most of the bigger and more articulated bones they find are found higher up. We found tons of chunkosaurus and turtle pieces. There's also an unlimited supply of agatized wood if you like that. Overall we had a great time and I'd recommend Baisch's to anyone looking to experience hunting for fossils and actually getting to keep what you find. They keep anything carnivore to help pay for the ranch, but most of what you find is herbivore material. Here are some pics from our trip.
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Hey there, I bought this nice vertebra a while ago and the seller said that it belonged to a Pachycephalosaurus. It was found in the Hell Creek Formation in Carter County, Montana. Just wondering if it is a Pachycephalosaurus and what part of the body did it belong to? Thank you for your help; much appreciate it! Let me know if you need more photos of different angles. Jojo
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This by far has been the most ambitious trip that I've done, but it was certainly worth the long drive times, poor truck stops (to sleep at), and lack of time to sleep and even eat. In just 10 days I traveled through 7 states (WY, ID, MT, CO, UT, AZ, NM) and covered at least 4700 miles (I might actually have broken 5000). Not only did I alot some time for general fossiling/rockhounding, but also time to stop at a few of the more "touristy" types of places (national parks/monuments, etc). The first day I visited a couple sites in southeastern Montana, with the first being known to produce oysters. It took longer than expected to find, but afterwards I discovered the site to be completely loaded with oysters and oyster fragments. The majority were completely covered with just a tiny bit showing, but after finding a few it seemed like all of them kept popping up one after another. Most were under 1cm in total length, but I found a couple that were larger. The next site was a little disappointing in that due to poor road conditions, I couldn't make it out to a few of the stops that were rumored to yield crinoid pieces (given that I've been working on crinoids for the past year at university, this was going to be one of the highlights of my trip for rockhounding). But I did manage to find one of the stops, which while it appears mostly picked over, did produce one nice piece of coral and several pieces with fragmented clams. This was actually a place that encompassed much more land than I anticipated, so I hope to return next year and alot several days there.
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