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Had a four day visit from Spencer Lucas and Hendrik Klein to study my track finds. Lots of photography, made tracings of the tracks. They took a few truckloads of slabs for the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and will be coming back to collect the large trackway. It was a fascinating week.

A number of collectors are very interested in Triassic Dinosaur tooth material, however, lots of misinformation exists, partially because little is known and dealers want to sell product. My knowledge is very limited so I tried to put together an assemblage of current information that has been published so that we can all become better versed on this topic. I'm not saying its complete but its the best I can do with my limited knowledge. Most technical papers on this subject are outdated, difficult to read for a novice and not complete enough. Fortunately a recent, legible paper was published in 2015 by Heckert & Lucas that has helped me. I've tried to extract the pertinent information, associated with teeth, since that what most collectors are interested in. First let me get on my sandbox and say that we should NOT assume that what is being sold is accurately described regardless who is selling it or how much you like a dealer. Very little is known and even less is described. If a seller insists what he has identified is accurate, have him show you the technical documents that supports his diagnosis. There are a number of theropods and archosaurs in these assemblages that have serrated teeth so identification is difficult. Triassic dealers similar to those in the Kem Kem which label everthing Spinosaurus like to label everything Coelophysis. Just be cautious..its your money. Almost all the teeth you see sold come from New Mexico so I will focus in that region. A Map of New Mexico with the Triassic outcrops shown below as well as the associated Counties. The numbers correlate to the stratigraphic formations shown below in Figure 4. Figure 4 The Zuni Mountains in West-Central NM are from the lower Chinle Group (Bluewater Creek Fm) and contain Tetrapod fossils amphibians and phytosaurs and aetosaurs. Dinosaurs are possible but nothing is diagnostic. Faunal List of the lower Chinle Group Zuni Mountains Northern/West Central New Mexico has yielded some of the most interesting Vertebrate Fossils most associated with Coelophysis at Ghost Ranch. Included in this group are the Petrified Forest and Rock Point Formation of the western counties. Chindesaurus bryansmalli, Tawa hallae and Daemonosaurus chauliodus are considered valid a dinosaurs in the Petrified Forest Fm. Coelophysis bauri is valid from the Rock Point Formation. Faunal List of the Petrified Forest and Rock Point Formation - Key on this list is Coelophysis bauri in the Rock Point Fm Northeasten New Mexico (Bull Canyon and Redonda Formations). Heckerts 2015 paper comments that dinosaur fossils remains are rare in the Bull Canyon Formation. The coelophysoid Gojirasaurus quayi has been described but its taxonomic placement is uncertain. Herrerasauridae tooth fragments have been found but nothing has been assigned to a taxon. Heckerts & Lucas 2015 Paper on Triassic Vertebrate Paleontology in New Mexico https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Heckert_Andrew_triassic.pdf Bull Canyon Formation 2001 Paper on Vertebrate Fauna https://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/downloads/52/52_p0123_p0151.pdf Latest placement ( Hans-Dieter Sues et al 2011 ) Coelophysis bauri Formation: Petrified Forest (Chinle Formation) Location: New Mexico, USA Other occurrences: cf Coelophysis may be found in other late Triassic exposures Characteristics: Most all the teeth are recurved Lots of variation is seen in these dentition Some mesial teeth have only distal denticles. Fluted ridges can be see on juveniles The enamel surface texture is braided Marginal and transverse undulations appear to be absent on most crowns.. Premaxillary teeth: rounded cross-section, smaller teeth are ribbed but smooth on larger ones. None show serrations. Maxillary Teeth: the first tooth is recurved with no serrations, second tooth has serrations only on the posterior carina. All the other maxillary teeth have serrations on both edges. Some of the teeth the serrations may be limited to the upper part of the anterior (mesial) edge. Dentary Teeth: the first seven teeth lack serrations, eight tooth serrations only on the posterior edge. Subsequent teeth have serrations on both edges. The first four teeth are elliptical (rounded) in cross-section being compressed after that. Measurements: (From Hendrickx 2019 study) (2 Premax, 15 Maxillary, 3 Dentary) (Not all crowns had serrations) Dentary Density: 40 to 45 / 5mm (Avg 40.0 / 5mm) Maxillary Density: 35 to 50 / 5mm (Avg 15 / 5mm) Average Ratio's: Premax CHR: 3.6, CBR: 0.4 Maxillary CHR: 1.6, CBR: 0.4 Dentary CHR: 2.4, CBR: 0.5 The Museum of Northern Arizona publication Coelophysis describes the teeth as follows: Distal Carina Denticles (Source on colored images C. Hendrickx) Skull characterized by fluted teeth in juveniles, procumbent mesial dentary and maxillary teeth. Also some unserrated mesial crowns Some mesial teeth have only distal denticles. The mesial carina is straight and extends well above the root in lateral teeth. The enamel surface texture is braided and marginal and transverse undulations appear to be absent on most crowns.. (2 photos) Fluted ridges can be see on juveniles Additional images Premaxillary, Maxillary and Dentary teeth shown - Striations visible Anterior maxillary tooth #2 Maxillary Tooth #4 Maxillary tooth #10 Maxillary denticles M#5 Dentary tooth Posterior Maxillary Tooth Paper on Coelophsis Teeth by Currie and Buckley Coelophisis.pdf Additional images of the teeth with no supporting info Good overall paper on C. bauri but does nothing to increase our knowledge on how to describe its teeth https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292525024_The_paleobiology_of_Coelophysis_bauri_Cope_from_the_Upper_Triassic_Apachean_Whitaker_quarry_New_Mexico_with_detailed_analysis_of_a_single_quarry_block Ken Carpenter described these teeth from the Bull Canyon fm as cf Coelophysis. A few skulls Other Theropods Gojirasaurus quayi : one tooth was described with the holotype however it was found isolated and cannot be positively assigned to this species. (Added a few pages below) Chindesaurus bryansmalli : not aware of any skeletal material Daemonosaurus chauliodus Characteristics: Characterized by 3 large premaxillary teeth, first 2 dentary teeth are procumbent, longitudinal ridges on the crowns, some constricted teeth, and hooked mesial denticles A Premaxillary Teeth #3 B Maxillary Teeth C Posterior most Maxillary Teeth Reference on Daemonosaurus: The osteology of the early-diverging dinosaur Daemonosaurus chauliodus (Archosauria: Dinosauria) from the Coelophysis Quarry (Triassic: Rhaetian) of New Mexico and its relationships to other early dinosaurs STERLING J. NESBITT and HANS-DIETER SUES http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/royprsb/278/1723/3459.full.pdf Tawa hallae : http://www.thefossilforum.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=503864 Characteristics All preserved premaxillary, maxillary and dentary teeth seem to be fluted on both sides Premaxillary are unserrated Maxillary teeth with a mesial denticulated carina reaching the root Interdenticular sulci present on both mesial and distal edges Teeth are very pointy Fifth? left maxillary tooth Scale: 1 cm images from C. Hendrickx twitter feed

I will trade these fossils for one well preserved European goniatite or European triassic ammonite (specimen with 5 to 8 cm preferentially) because that kind of specimen is lack in my teaching collection. Note the Anorthopygus orbicularis is not a common species and, apart the incomplete test, has an exceptional detailed preservation, rarely seen. Best regards, Ricardo Traded

Hi, Thank you all for the help with my shark spine I.d yesterday. I was very pleased to finally find our what it was! Today I was looking over some other large pieces of bone bed from the same trip to Aust cliff, and I had a very pleasant surprised when I broke it open. I think it's some sort of tooth, it's large around 5cm in length. Is it from a shark as it was near to the area I found the spine? Any help would be appreciated. Many thanks

Hi, I'm very new to this and have had a couple of trips to Aust cliff uk recently. I hadn't really found much but today I found this tooth/bone? I have tried a little of my own research and have hit a dead end. I think it may be ichthysaur but I'm not sure if it's a bone or a rather long thin tooth. It appears to be hollow.Could anyone help me with an I.D please? Many thanks 20210921_213640.heic 20210921_213649.heic 20210921_214010.heic

Early June, two years ago, I found this ichthyopterygian vertebra in a small nodule out of the northern French Middle Triassic, from the Upper Muschelkalk. Almost two years to the day later a friend of mine helped me complete its preparation this month. When done, one of the first things that struck me were the elongate, and slightly tilted rib attachment sites. As far as I know, such rib attachment sites do not occur in any parvipelvian ichthyosaur species, which, instead, have round, button-like, attachment sites, especially on dorsal vertebrae as my find is. Now I realise that ichthyosaur vertebrae typically hold very little diagnostic value, but I was wondering whether the peculiar rib attachments might be indicative of a super-family, family or even genus, so that I can label the vertebra more informatively than "indet. basal ichthyopterygia". Nothing is known of the species at the sites where I found this, though, based on size alone, Cymbospondylus sp. seems like a good candidate. Any other ideas? @Pemphix @sander @paulgdls @Welsh Wizard @Crazyhen Dimensions of the specimen: 41mm (diameter) x 21 (depth)

Long time lurker but finally made an account here. Probably have talked to some of you on instagram though! This fossil was sold to me a while back when I first started collecting and I just wanted to make sure it is real. I was told by someone reliable that it's real, but was prepared using a cheap acid method. I would love to learn more about that too if that's the case. I attached pictures that I took with my iPhone and a moment macro 10x lens.

Made another trip to the Triassic Cumnock formation of North Carolina. Split a LOT of shale, got what I believe are 3 nice plant fossils!!! (6 total since they split) One looks like a compression fossil of ginkgo leaves I think..the other 2 I think are plant vasculature. Can someone confirm this? I want to make sure these are actual fossils too, not pseudofossils... Also, I found some nodules as a part of one of the plant stems with odd bluish yellow minerals..not sure what that is. Thanks everyone!!

So I just made a trip to a publicly accessible creek that cuts through the Triassic Cumnock formation of North Carolina. Made a couple of nice finds. An unknown plant fossil, it’s worn down a bit, but anyone think they can ID? Also found a TON of what I believe are Cyzicus fossils, the largest are just shy of 1cm. Can anyone confirm these are Cyzicus? Thanks for the help!!!

First picture is a clavicle impression which has bone imbedded in the rock. Second is a vertebral or cranial bone. The rest are bone fragments.

I’ve found these rocks near my track fossils and petrified wood. Can anyone shed any light on them?

Stumbled on a nice pile of petrified wood pieces and it included some amphibian bones pieces. A nice dermal bone and possible clavicle piece.

Hi all, I recently became aware that Madagascar appears to have a fully developed and interesting Mesozoic marine reptile record, yet am not particularly able to find any information on them. The only article I have come across is Bardet and Termier, 1990, "Première description de restes de Plésiosaure provenant de Madagascar (gisement de Berere, Campanien)". However, I've been unable to track this article down. As such, I was wondering whether anybody on TFF might have any information on them. Basically, I'm starting from scratch, so would be very interested in the clades of marine reptile that are known from the region, if not recognized genera or even species. What formations have remains been found in, to what stages in earth geological history do these date, and where geographically are these located? Ideally, there'd be some open-access articles I could refer to, yet any bit of information is welcome. Thanks in advance!

I found these two in the creek in my backyard in central western New Jersey. They appear to have symmetry and share common features. Does anyone know what I might be looking at? I’ve also found what appear to be osteoderms in great abundance in the same area. Any help or guidance in the right direction would be appreciated. Thank you.

It’s taken over a year of excavation, hauling and reassembly but I’ve got the trackway essentially completed. The chunk at the top needs to go at the bottom of the picture but my yard has a slope where it goes. Spencer Lucas, Hendrik Klein and four others are coming in October to study my collection so I’ll have help moving the entire trackway to finish it. 28’x18’

Hi guys! Found this at Mona Vale (Sydney, Australia), early triassic, Narrabeen group. Fossil ID please.

This fish is from Luoping, Yunnan, China. It is about 28 cm long during the Triassic period. Please help me identify which family and genus it belongs to. 1627652635291

Here is a picture of a Bivalve imprint I found whilst in a Creek in Western Wake County. I was in the Triassic Basin and they have fossils dating back around 230 Ma ± 2 ma. It was part of the Carnian Stage of the Triassic part of the bigger Newark Supergroup. I presume it is a freshwater genus but I don't hear much about freshwater Bivalves when it comes to Triassic fossils.

Hi all, I am trying to identify this fossil from a photo taken at Blue Anchor, Somerset. It shod be Triassic or Jurassic. At first I thought it might be a marine creature but it, doesn't look like a skeleton, so I thought possibly a large plant? It is perhaps 0.5 to 0.75 metres across. Many thanks.

Hi, i just got this one, i thought it's an aetosaur spike but now I'm unsure.. it's bull canyon and 4 cm long. Does anyone here know?

Hi all, I recently acquired the below fossil, a pair of articulated jaws, purportedly from Pachystropheus rhaeticus, still with teeth, found at Garden Cliff/Westbury-on-Severn. Whether I wasn't paying proper attention when I bought it or just hoping there wouldn't be any pyrite on the piece, when I received the specimen it turned out that there are quite numerous pyrite-crystals growing to the side of the fossil. As it's quite an unusual piece that I'd rather like to keep, I'm now looking for people with experience with pyrite from the Garden Cliff location. In essence, I'd like to ask how stable the pyrite from this location typically is: whether it decays into a black oxidation product or starts blooming with time. How concerned should I be about the stability of this piece? The pyrite itself looks relatively clean right now, so I'm thinking the rock on which the fossil sits hadn't been exposed for too long. But any advice would be welcome. @Welsh Wizard @Pterygotus @DanJeavs