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Hello everyone, I recently went fossil hunting in Rattlesnake Creek of Gainesville, Florida (Late Miocene) and uncovered many different fossils but three of them I am unsure of the identity of them. I believe one may be a type of vertebrae, but the others I can not place. The creek is shallow, relatively fast moving with a sandy bottom but many areas where gravel, fossils and stones accumulate. The first 4 pictures are of the same fossil, the next 3 of the the second, and the last 3 pictures of the last fossil. I would appreciate any attempts to help identify. Thank you very much!

Hi, I've recently fully processed some matrix from the Lower Hamstead Mbr. that I collected back in November, and I thought I'd share some of my finds in a similar way to my Bembridge Marls Mbr. material. The matrix originates from a 'shelly' horizon in the Lower Hamstead Mbr. and was collected from fallen blocks at the base of a low cliff exposure at Bouldnor Cliff. The Lower Hamstead Mbr. overlays the late Eocene Bembridge Marls and dates from the very earliest Oligocene epoch, approximately 33.75 - 33.5 million years ago. To put the finds into an environmental context the Lower Hamstead Mbr. was deposited during a period of rapid global cooling and drop in sea levels associated with the onset of antarctic glaciation (Oi-1). The cooling and eustatic change had begun in the late Eocene, with the palaeo-environments of the Bembridge Marls becoming increasingly terrestrial towards the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. By the Lower Hamstead Member the southern Hampshire Basin was a low lying coastal plain with extensive wetlands, lakes, ponds and sluggish rivers flowing south east towards the early channel (at this time the channel was more a large embayment with only occasional connection to the North Sea). The dense sub-tropical forests of the late Eocene had disappeared and the landscape was dominated by open woodlands of pine, sequoia, and oak. The environment was much cooler and annual rainfall had significantly dropped since the Eocene, although temperatures would begin to rise again further into the rupelian and Hamstead Mbrs. The basin was surrounded by areas of chalk upland (still existing today) with forests of sequoia and broadleaf species. This dramatic climate change is likely what triggered the Grande Coupure, in which endemic Eocene mammals like the palaeotheres disappeared and were replaced with Asian groups such as carnivorans, rhinocerotids, anthracotheres, and a variety of other artiodactyls. The mammals of the dense tropical Eocene forests simply couldn't adapt fast enough to the new open environments of the Oligocene and ultimately failed to compete against the better adapted migrants. By the Upper Hamstead Member the mammals on the Hampshire Basin coastal plain are almost entirely of Asian origin. Therefore the micro-vertebrates lived in an environment of large scale climatic and ecological change, which I think adds another level of interest to collecting from this member of the Bouldnor Fm. The material I've collected so far is a lot more varied than the Bembridge Marls, but overall is less abundant. So far it's produced at least 3 fish taxa, 2 mammals, and an indeterminate piece of jaw which may be reptilian or mammal. 1. A skull element from a Bowfin (Amia sp.), these fish are very common in most horizons of the Bouldnor Fm. 2. A vertebra from a Bowfin (Amia sp.) 3. A damaged lateral scute from a Sturgeon (Acipenser sp.) showing the transition to a freshwater environment 4. An indeterminate piece of a tiny jaw, may be crocodilian although I'm not sure. 5. The nicest find of the lot, a lower incisor from the theridomyid rodent Isoptychus (ID'd by Jerry hooker from the NHM). These rodents looked similar to modern kangaroo rats, hopping along the ground on large rear legs. Bite marks on Isoptychus bones collected from Thorness Bay suggest that they were common prey for the bear-dog Cynodictis. 6. Finally 2 images of an unidentified mammal tooth. I'm unsure as to whether this is part of the tooth or the entire crown, but it doesn't appear to be from a rodent. Hope you all enjoyed the finds, Theo

Hey! Is there a winners gallery for FotY? If there is, is there any way to sticky it to the top?

There is a new paper about the paleontology of Bears Ears National Monument that is available online as a preprint. It is: Uglesich, J., Gay, R.J. and Stegner, M.A., 2017. Paleontology of the Bears Ears National Monument: history of exploration and designation of the monument. PeerJ Preprints, 5, no. e3442v1. https://peerj.com/preprints/3442/ https://peerj.com/user/62073/ Another paper, which is available online, summarizes the archaeology of Bears Ears National Monument. It is: Burrilio, R.E., 2017. The Archaeology of Bears Ears. The SAA Archaeological Record. 15, 5, pp. 9 -18. http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/Record_Nov_2017 SAAweb.pdf http://onlinedigeditions.com/publication/?m=16146&l=1#{"issue_id":455593,"page":0} http://www.saa.org/AbouttheSociety/Publications/TheSAAArchaeologicalRecord/tabid/64/Default.aspx Yours, Paul

Hi, I thought I'd show some of my first micro-vertebrate fossils from the Bembridge Marls Mbr. of the Bouldnor Fm. I collected around 2kg of matrix from one of the 'shelly' estuarine horizons in the lower part of the member at Hamstead Ledge, and am really pleased the results so far! The Bembridge Marls form the basal member of the Bouldnor Fm. and were deposited between 34.0 and 33.75 million years representing the final 250,000 years of the Eocene epoch. The depositional environment varies throughout the member and many beds are laterally discontinuous (like the Insect Bed, which produces finely preserved insects, feathers, leaves, and lizard skin impressions). Generally however, the Bembridge Marls were laid down in a sluggish lagoonal/estuarine environment with areas of wetland and adjacent sub-tropical/tropical forests, in the southern regions of the Hampshire Basin. To the south were forested chalk uplands that are now the downs of the Isle Of Wight. There was also some fluvial influence from rivers flowing from the west, draining the uplands around Dartmoor in Devon. Fauna-wise vertebrates like fish and freshwater turtles are common, and mammal remains are rarely found (in comparison to the overlying Hamstead members which are rich in post and pre-grande coupure mammals), these include palaeotheres, creodonts, rodents, anoplotheres, choeropotamids, xiphodonts, and primates. So far I've only searched through a small amount of the matrix but it has produced indeterminate teleost vertebra, Bowfin teeth, fin spines, indeterminate fish premaxillae, and a very nice crocodilian tooth. (The quality of the images isn't always fantastic but I'm trying to find a way to work around it in the microscope's program) Isolated fish vertebra from teleosts are by far the most common micro-fossil, and I've collected more than 10 so far. Here's a nice example: Bowfin teeth are also quite common and vary in size from 2-7.5mm in length. Bowfins would have been ambush predators feeding on smaller fish and other vertebrates in the lagoons and estuaries. Based on vertebra I've found ex-situ on the beach it seems some of these fish were very large. (Close up of one the teeth) These pre-maxillae also seem to turn up from time to time and appear to be from some form of teleost. The closest match I can find is with some kind of Gadiform? And finally the best find so far, a crocodilian tooth crown. I spotted this on the surface of one of the matrix blocks. It's most likely from the alligatoroid Diplocynodon which was very common in the wetlands and rivers of Europe from the Palaeocene to the Miocene. Diplocynodon has also been found in the early Eocene marine deposits of the London Clay suggesting that they frequented both freshwater and brackish/coastal habitats. The matrix is nowhere near fully sieved and sorted through yet so hopefully there's a lot more micro-vertebrates in there! Hope this was of interest, Theo

The Colour of Fossils - Dr Maria McNama Geological Society, Sepember 6, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewa8vflfipo “Dr Maria McNamara (University College Cork) explains how the emerging field of fossil colour has revealed unprecedented insights into the ecology and behaviour of ancient animals, describing how colour is preserved in ancient animals and how it can shed light on what they looked like, how they communicated with each other, and how the functions of colour have evolved through deep time.” Yours, Paul H.

Hey FFFriends- I basically joined because I found this while kicking around tidepools on Agate Beach in Northern California. It was 50 feet from a whale carcass, so I think I just assumed for sake of size and locale it was a caudal vertebra from a whale. The find was obscured from years of tide pool living (kelp, worms, coralline algae), so after some delicate work I finally got it cleaned. Now I am less sure it's a vertebra. Can anyone help either confirm its origin in a Cenozoic whale tail, or is it something like a whale humerus shorn of its ball socket? A big stubby vestigial radius or ulna? Or a more terrestrial megafauna fossil? Please help! I have more angles, just let me know

La Brea Tar Pits Museum Bracing for a Flood of Fossils This Summer http://www.lamag.com/mag-features/purple-line-fossils/ The La Brea Tar Pits http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/quaternary/labrea.html Yours, Paul H.

Hello, everyone. I'm working on a side project right now and I could use the input of the room for this one. I'm wondering what people consider to be the best fossil collecting sites public and private in the contiguous 48 states. I'm looking for everything. Vertebrates and invertebrates, all periods, just the cream of the crop for everything. I don't need exact locations, so don't worry about sharing super-secret specifics. Thank you in advance everyone!

Its Spring. A glorious day. prairie Crocus are in bloom, the Meadowlarks are singing and the sky full of migrating waterfowl. First outing this year into the badlands. Headed out just north of Jenner, Alberta and then a trek east along the Red Deer River. Age is Campanian ( Late Cretaceous) about 72 million mya. All terrestrial deposits. A 6 km cycle ride in and then hike another couple. About 3 hours looking for fossils. Its feast or famine. Some hoodoos sterile and then an area dripping with vertebrate fossils. This area also yields a few 'unknowns' All fossils catch and release.

Hi! I would like to exchange these fossils for Miocene material or Mesozoic/Cenozoic echinoids/corals. Unfortunately, I can only trade with european members. 1-Mosasaur teeth;spinosaur tooth;otodus obliquus tooth (if you need more info, please pm me).

Just a few finds from today I'm not quite sure about or at all. First one that looks like a vertebrae (1st 3 pics) is 1.75" long. 4th and 5th are the same as are the 6th & 7th. Trip report is upcoming

This weekend I went on a quick hunt with my family to Sesimbra's Miocene (Calcarenitos e margas da Foz da Fonte-Burdigalian). It was a really nice hunt...And I brought home some quality (IMO) fossils. However, the documents I've been read about this site are not very specific about taxonomic informations. So, I would like to ask for some help identifying my finds. Invertebrates -Ficidae (maybe Ficus sp.)

I'm looking at planning a trip to Montana this summer with my daughter who will be turning 7 that week. I've been looking at the Baisch ranch(aka daily dinosaur digs) in Montana as it seems the most flexible schedule wise. We planned on trying to go for a week to hunt Glendive in general, but would really love to spend a few days hunting vertebrates. We obviously plan to do this legally so this leaves us only a few options with that one seeming the best. I'm wondering what kind of experiences you've had if you've gone there. What is the quality of fossils you were able to acquire? I know it says on their page about keeping most fossils. Was there anything you weren't able to keep? Any recommendations on items to bring outside of what's on the page? We've never been vertebrate hunting before so this would be completely new to us. Thanks in advance.

I ordered a different book from ebay and they sent me the wrong one. At least it's still fossil-related, but it's outside my area of interest. I don't know if this is worth anything to anyone, but if you want it, I'll trade it for a fossil. I'm more into inverts but it can be just about any fossil, it doesn't have to be very valuable! (I didn't pay a lot for the book...) Alternatively I could offer it for the cost of shipping. (I'll relist it in the sales section if necessary)

Winter hasn't yet arrived so we went for what will likely be our last badland adventure of the year. As usual, more of an all around Nature outing than just fossil oriented. The cooler temperatures are a welcome as much easier to scramble up and down the canyons. However, short daylight hours limited our hike to a couple of hours. You can tell from the deep shadows that we're approaching the shortest days. This is Late Cretaceous... Campanian. An area just down stream from Dinosaur Provincial Park. Although fossils on the surface can be collected in Alberta, these are all 'catch and release'. (We're almost fossils ourselves and downsizing the collection). It's only possible to identify most finds to a family level as the dino list in this area is quite extensive. Di on the look out for Tyrannosaurs.

Great weather so back into the Alberta badlands. This time to the Oldman Formation.This isolated locale is about 30 kms east of Dinosaur Provincial Park. Age Late Cretaceous (75 million years). Most exposures here are dominated by the Red Deer River but, instead, we hiked inland to a maze of steep sided canyons. I hadn't been here for a couple of years. Please excuse some of the dim photos as light is limited this time of year.

Yesterday was a fantastic day...warm sun and blue sky weather. We headed out for a hike to appreciate the Nature more so than a fossil trip. Saw moose, mule deer, muskrats, coyotes , tundra swans and migrating peregrine and prairie falcons. This is an isolated stretch along the Red Deer River. The badland exposures are Late Cretaceous Horseshoe Canyon Formation, the same age as those around the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller several kms down river ...but younger than those at Dinosaur Provincial Park.

Almost there! Over 270 pages of full color fossils from the Pennsylvanian of North Texas The long-awaited sequel to the Pennsylvanian Fossils of North Texas (2003) Available Q4 2015 in hardcopy, digital and e-reader formats.

Hey folks, Here are some pics of a few vertebrate bits from the Lower Member of the Glen Rose Formation (Albian) here in Texas. I have found the fish teeth before and they are no surprise, but the small vertebra is. I have some indeterminate non-fish bone bits from this same level and at least one sure turtle bone from the formation elsewhere, but suggestions for what this could be are welcome. There are two other items of concern: Round discs that remind me of button corals. I have several handfuls of them and they have eluded identification so far. They hide amongst the GR forams (Orbitolina texana) but are obviously not one of them. The second two items are possibly part of the aristotle's lantern of one of the larger echinoids that occur at this level. But again I could use a hand here. These may take a few pages to post but here goes.

Hi everyone. I just found this forum and am hoping to get some useful information. I have been doing a lot of research, and have been for most of my life on Fossils, stones and bones. I'll be attending college soon to study Paleontology and geology. It's been a dream of mine since I was very young. I do have some questions though, as I was not able to find answers. As far as collecting vertebrates, all the research I have done, I have concluded that I cannot even keep vertebrate fossils, I must turn them over to the public museums etc. I do see people buying/selling bones, and teeth and am not sure how they're doing it? I know the laws on collecting invertebrate specimens but can't figure out how one becomes a fossil dealer or one who is able to sell bones on Ebay. Can anyone give me some advice/information? I'm at a loss. I do have some bone fragments and teeth, that I'd bought from local stone shops. I don't have a clue on how they're able to sell them, but I am interested in this. Again, I cannot find any information whatsoever on how people become fossil dealers or even sell them. Where does one start when looking for vertebrates? Thank you all in advance!

"It ain't worth beans" a discouraged prospector would say when disgusted over the year's panning gone sour. When in my home during the frequent summer trips, it was a 1956 VW, 900cc lawn mower engine, practically NO HEAT, NO Power to get up a mountain road, nor room for two people to stretch out for getting some sleep on a long trip... beans and tuna in a can were the menu. Potato chips. Canned corn. Apples. A huge watermelon. Those doughnuts with the white powdered sugar... This was the diet of young fossil collectors, and I am proof that it was healthy, as I am still moving around with minor ailments. Once I was married... things changed. Unfortunately... AFTER we were married. The "this is so cozy honey..." went to "we need the two story, 75 square foot apartment made from canvas. Of course, after a 50 mile per hour, gusting to 65 miles per hour Wyoming wind... we were sleeping under the Stars... But that thought was quickly forgotten about the star canopy and snuggling up in a sleeping bag made for one. Then it was..." I will stay with Mom and you go on" and ... "have fun collecting, or whatever you do". Somehow the romance of getting out into the field, camping in pure squalor, mice running over your head after sunset... was no longer on the short list of things the Mrs. wanted to do. Honey... these small rattle snakes... never... crawl into the sleeping bag (or do they?) when you are gone collecting during the day. Scorpions in your shoe... just in those old western movies. (or do they?) She had me wondering, now. Well, beans, tuna and corn topped with a can of icy cold Coca Cola in an ice chest the size of a modern woman's purse... with a sugar frosted doughnut days came to and end. It was now time to step up in the world. Dinty Moore beef stew. Propane cook stove. Pots, pans, wash tubs, clean underwear, deodorant, tooth paste, shaving razor... now a 3/4 ton 4x4 Chevrolet pickup to haul the Mrs. and all of our home belongings... to hunt fossils in the Nebraska Badlands. Then tent camping at a camp ground with showers, running water, flushing toilets... restaurant, horse back riding, art classes... and maybe time to... hunt fossils. Somehow things were getting out of whack. No longer was I leading the troops into the unknown. It was going to the Playhouse on Thursday, ice cream social on Tuesday, swimming at the Hot Springs in South Dakota for Saturday. I went from Rooster to a Hen Pecked explorer wanna be. I had become... domesticated. After 17 years of transformation the Mrs. wanted me to quit my business and join hers. Setting up computer systems and programming for Desk Top publishing and Advertising Agencies needing computer consulting. Computers? Software. My question... "do these plug into a wall socket?" After the divorce... she left me with the rocks and fossils. She married an older guy who worked for a medical magazine publisher, a good client of hers. I had my... beans, tooth brush, tuna in a can and some Dinty Moore with an expiration date "good until"... that might even be good today. And best of all... MY 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser and extra rock hunting equipment, that she apparently forgot to take. She wanted everything else. That worried me, a lot. Today I have a wonderful understanding wife. She is not into computers was my first question when we met. She loved camping. She loved dogs! That other woman that was so starry eyed at the beginning,...hated dogs and my fossil hunting friends. Now after 22 years of happily being married, we have two Blue Heelers, a 23 foot trailer and cannot wait for mid April to begin our camping season. We still have beans with hot dogs from time to time. Tuna in a can... for me at times. I still love cold corn in a can, but keep it to myself. My wife cooks like a French Chef... but without the accent. I finally found my partner for LIFE. When she has had enough tromping through the gullies and hills... out comes a book and she will read. Now we have a house on wheels, showers, heat, running water, refrigerator... a bed. If you do not like the scenery... hook up, start up the truck... gone. Now this is, of course, the unabridged and unedited (at the present) story. My wife loves my fossil friends, well... what is left of them from the last situation. Stuart in Laramie, Wyoming has always hung in there, but he is still single and can do what and whenever. I have few restrictions today. Actually, age has added some conformity to my relationships... unless they bring up Creationism... and then I bring up the possibility of the next Great Extinction, which will take care of that problem. But, I wander again. Now the title BEANS was intended to keep JohnJ from flagging my photo or deleting my post... so... keep this quiet for a bit. Post YOUR beginning with the girlfriend/boyfriend to Mrs./Mr. and since you are really anonymous and I am hanging out there in the wind for now... lets hear it. Sometimes an interest becomes the glue that bond two people for life. I love my wife so much, that it is Valentines Day every day. Our wedding day was March 21st, the first day of Spring, or at least always close to the first day of Spring. How could I be so lucky? I am certain that it was probably... ... the Beans. I should have known. This was my Valentine for 2014 to my wife and friends who follow the Fossil Forum.

What's up people, I am new to this so bear with me. I am venturing to Wyoming in the near future by truck and was wondering what type of potential collecting sites I could stop at along the way? South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming fossil collecting sites would be greatly appreciated. As I will be traveling by truck, I will make multiple stops along the way to break the monotony of driving. Fee or free, I just need places to collect along the way. I am open to just about any type of fossil collecting, hunting and exploring so feel free to suggest anything. I appreciate it, bones

After 121 years, identification of 'grave robber' fossil solves a paleontological enigma, PhysOrg, Nov. 19, 2012 http://phys.org/news...ber-fossil.html Mystery Molelike Mammal Survived Dino Extinction Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience, Nov. 19, 2012 http://www.livescien...extinction.html Press Release - http://www.eurekaler...n-a1y111912.php Rougier, G. W., J. R. Wible, R. M. D. Beck and S. Apesteguia, 2012, The Miocene mammal Necrolestes demonstrates the survival of a Mesozoic nontherian lineage into the late Cenozoic of South America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America in press. doi:10.1073/pnas.1212997109 http://www.pnas.org/...997109.abstract Best wishes, Paul H.