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Showing results for tags 'whales'.
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I recently got to illustrate a bunch of cetaceans for an upcoming issue of the Steinkern Magazine, a German publication for fossil collectors. Pappocetus lugardi (Gueran, Morocco) Eocetus schweinfurthi Basilosaurus cetoides Squalodon sp. (Summerville, South Carolina) Goniodelphis hudsoni (Achan Mine, Florida) Pomatodelphis inaequalis (Noralyn Mine, Florida) Hadrodelphis sp. (Achan Mine, Florida) Eurhinodelphis cocheteuxi (Antwerp, Belgium) Delphinodon dividum (Antwerp, Belgium) Scaldicetus caretti (Antwerp, Belgium) Globicephala sp. (Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina)
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2023 in review - this year's advances in marine mammal paleontology!
Boesse posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Hi all - I've just completed my 11th annual roundup of all of this year's peer-reviewed articles in marine mammal paleontology. Lots of important new studies on fossil toothed whales! Links to the publisher/journal page are provided with each entry. Read it here: https://coastalpaleo.blogspot.com/2023/12/2023-in-review-advances-in-marine.html-
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When did baleen whales become large? New blog post - The Coastal Paleontologist
Boesse posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Hey all, I realize I've been incommunicado quite a bit this year - it's been a bad one. Things got real bad at the office and both my wife and I resigned from our department and we've been working for a new nonprofit in Charleston. But, I AM alive and returning to active status here on TFF now that 1) the forum has been upgraded and is functioning and 2) I've had some breathing room and time to unwind after leaving a deeply toxic work environment. I've also made a conscious effort to get back into blogging more frequently and have written/posted quite a lot in 2023. My most recent post summarizes a bit of an interesting and ongoing debate in whaleontology: when exactly did baleen whales become gigantic? Anyone who has spent any time in the Pliocene of the Carolinas or Florida knows that baleen whale fossils that are only a few million years old are nowhere near as large as the gigantic skeletons of modern whales hanging in museums. So, what gives? I've written a blog post that goes into a fair amount of detail regarding competing ideas for the evolution of body size in baleen whales - shown above is skull width of archaeocetes, odontocetes (toothed whales) and mysticetes (baleen whales) through time. Read the whole thing here - please enjoy! And don't hesitate to ask questions, here or on the blog. https://coastalpaleo.blogspot.com/2023/12/obscure-controversies-in-cenozoic.html -
Apology for Taking Whale Fossil Not Accepted (Karamea, New Zealand)
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
Apology not accepted: Man who took 23 million-year-old fossil receives mixed response. (Karamea, New Zealand) Sinead Gill, Stuff, March 1, 2023 The legal quirks behind the 'theft' of a 23-million-year- old whale fossil cut from West Coast rock. (Karamea, New Zealand) Joanne NAsh and Sinead Gill, Stuff, October 26, 2022 Yours, Paul H.- 1 reply
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New blog post! A guide to whale and dolphin earbones - part 1
Boesse posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Hi all - it's been a while, since I started on twitter and started teaching much of the itch I scratched through blog writing was taken care of by twitter - but now I've thought about returning to more long-format science communication. The blog format is certainly more informative for most fossil collectors anyway. The new post is just the first in a series on whale and dolphin earbones - the first is an introduction to the basic anatomy and function of earbones, along with basic differences between baleen whale (Mysticeti) and dolphin (Odontoceti) earbones, with comments on their preservation, discovery, and their uses in cetacean taxonomy, cladistics, and studies of diversity. The next post will be the one most anticipated by the majority of collectors - a guide to identifying dolphin periotics by family. The third post will be similar, but directed towards mysticete periotics, and the fourth will cover mysticete and odontocete tympanic bullae. Read it here: https://coastalpaleo.blogspot.com/2022/12/bobbys-guide-to-whale-dolphin-earbones.html Obligatory photo of some periotics we collected out on Charleston harbor on Dec. 1, well worth boots full of freezing cold water: -
whales evolution sahara sea monsters exhibit at hays ,kansas
jnoun11 posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
hi one cool video from stenberg museum about evolution of whales. enjoy-
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Hunting for Fossil Whales in the Clifts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
This Cliff Face Is Packed With Fossilized Whale Remains Devon Bidal, (Hakai Magazine) Smithsonian Magazine, February 18, 2022 Yours, Paul H.- 3 replies
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The rise and fall of the world’s largest lake (megalake Paratethys) and mammal evolution
Oxytropidoceras posted a topic in Fossil News
The rise and fall of the world’s largest lake By Sid Perkins, Science News, Jun. 4, 2021 The open access paper is: Palcu, D.V., Patina, I.S., Șandric, I. et al. Late Miocene megalake regressions in Eurasia. Science Reports 11, 11471 (2021). Yours, Paul H.-
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Hey all, Thought I would share this blog post that has a comprehensive review of all papers in marine mammal paleontology published in 2020. Enjoy! https://coastalpaleo.blogspot.com/2020/12/2020-in-review-advances-in-marine.html
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Celebrating an anniversary and a leap day with fossils
fossilsonwheels posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Today was not only a leap day but it was the 10th anniversary of the Gateway Science Museum. We were invited to take part in the festivities and provide an activity. We decided to bring some fossils that folks might not associate with leaping or jumping. We tied the leaping theme together with our fossils and talked sharks, whales, avian dinos, non-avian dinos, and marine mammals. The Cetaceans stole the show but people were digging the breaching sharks too. I was often busy with double duty, I’m a supervisor at the Gateway, so Carter took the lead. He absolutely nailed it. Proud dad today watching my kiddo be the MAN for Fossils on Wheels. Fun day and a great day for Carter. Good job kiddo.- 6 replies
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Aloha, here is the best of my collection. Since I moved together with my girlfriend, only the small and nice samples are on display, one showcase out of three. Looking forward to the day when we will have some more space. So it is a crowded mix of fossils, minerals, recent beachfinds and mosty selfmade or altered skeleton models. Sadly, only a small percentage of my fossils is selffound, although nearly all of the beach stuff is. There is the "poultry showcase", dedicated to Birds and pterosaurs (Parrot skull is a replica of course, as is the Pterosaur plate regrettably) The big showcase is a composite image because I could not get all into one foto. The whales you may know from the Palaeorecreation thread. Best Regards, J
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This piece was found in a pleistocene deposit off the New Jersey coast and was labeled as Whale, hard to find any comparisons so I am unsure this is the case though its likely, any help on this will be appreciated. measures 3 x3 x 2 1/2 in
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Hunting With The Curator of the CMM Apr 4 2019
FossilsAnonymous posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
It was a glorious day to fossil hunt. Warm with a soft breeze and still slightly chilly water. See, I had gotten incredibly lucky. I had gotten a connection to Dr Stephen Godfrey and he invited me to hunt today at a classified location (sorry I am not allowed to spill the beans). Our friend Mr Eric came along as well as MomAnonymous. As soon as we had gotten there, interesting things began to appear. Dr Godfrey began to point out things i'd never had understood without being told. At the bottom of the cliff face, Dr Godfrey pointed to a strange indentation and then told us a story about he and other paleontologists finding completely intact fish skulls at the cliffs, which are nigh on impossible to find. Then he told us that the skulls were a type of tilefish, which as some may know burrow through mud. These tilefish buried themselves in these burrows and they became a kind of tomb, which is why they stayed intact and weren't destroyed. At this time, the Hobbit (movie) had just came out and when Dr Godfrey was given the ok to name the species, he went from something from the Hobbit. Dwarves tunneled, and their mountain was named the Lonely Mountain, and Erebor in the elvish language, and the species became Eraborensis.- 18 replies
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contacting smithsonian/natural history museum/experts
Still_human posted a topic in Questions & Answers
Would anyone happen to have contact info for anyone in the fossil field at the Smithsonian/Museum of Natural History? Actually, any museum, or "official"(?) expert of the field--Prehistoric whales/Cetus. Ive tried contacting anyone from the smithsonian website contact form, and through email, but haven't had any luck yet. I know they would be very busy, but as my attempts have only gone to the most general direction, I'm thinking that if the messages even end up getting to the correct people at all, they may not even get the messages for some time. -
Toothless, 33-Million-Year-Old Whale Could Be an Evolutionary ‘Missing Link’
Kasia posted a topic in Fossil News
https://gizmodo.com/toothless-33-million-year-old-whale-could-be-an-evolut-1830739126 https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-11/cp-3wf112118.php https://phys.org/news/2018-11-whales-lost-teeth-evolving-hair-like.html -
Basilosaurus vs. Zygorhiza vs. Dourodon teeth- What's the difference?
Macrophyseter posted a topic in Questions & Answers
I've found a couple of listings of archaeocete teeth frags from Harleyville, South Carolina on a fossil seller. I know that Basilosaurus cetoides, Zygorhiza kochii, and Dorudon serratus all exist in this area, with a couple of examples of all three having been found there (now in Charleston Museum collection). However, is there a way to differentiate between them when it comes to teeth, specifically incisors? Some images of the listings are below. First tooth measures 2.6 inches. Second tooth measures 2.2 inches, but is a frag so I imagine that it may be much bigger if restored. Third tooth measures 3.75 inches.- 2 replies
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- archaeocetes
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Bones of prehistoric animals found during construction of LA subway
Kasia posted a topic in Fossil News
http://www.newsweek.com/fossils-prehistoric-mammals-unearthed-during-subway-construction-los-angeles-859032?piano_t=1-
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As request by WhodamanHD, here is a post of my recent sperm whale tooth find from Brownies Beach over the weekend and some other cetacean teeth. I also included a very cool red squalodon tooth I found at Stratford hall along with another tooth which I believe is also Squalodon. I like how the Squalodon tooth is split in half, I wouldn't have found it if I didn't notice what looked like a root of a tooth underwater. I also included a cool dolphin vertebrae I found at Stratford Hall
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The "Cone Whale" is now on display at CCNHM, Charleston, SC!
Boesse posted a topic in A Trip to the Museum
Hey all, Our collections manager and I have had a pretty busy week, and finished the first phase of the installation of the "Cone Whale" - a baleen whale skeleton collected from the Lee Creek Mine by Lee Cone (President of the Special Friends of the Aurora Museum). The specimen is the most complete whale skeleton ever collected from the mine, and was hauled out a few bones at a time over a two week period in Spring 2007. It includes a partial disarticulated cranium with an earbone (petrosal/periotic), left and right mandibles, all cervical vertebrae, most of the thoracics, and possibly a couple of lumbar vertebrae - and about a dozen ribs. The skeleton also has numerous shark bite marks, which just yesterday we marked with a series of red triangular markers. The new exhibit features artwork by yours truly, shark-bitten ribs in a magnifying box, and in the future will also include a number of specimens that the "Cone Whale" was preserved with. The "Cone Whale" shares a number of features in common with rorquals (family Balaenopteridae - the pleat-throated whales, e.g. humpback, fin, blue, minke) and gray whales (family Eschrichtiidae). The two families are closely related, with gray whales possibly being included within the rorquals based on DNA. Fossils like this hold promise to shed light on the early diversification of this group. The "Cone Whale" is a new species and was not represented amongst the fossils described in the Whitmore and Kaltenbach chapter of the Lee Creek IV volume - I've only seen a couple of other earbones of this taxon, so it is safe to say that this is the rarest baleen whale from the mine (and hence, a very lucky find). Lee Cone graciously donated this specimen to our museum in October 2016 and we've been painstakingly caring for it, and attempting to further reassemble fragments of the specimen. Turns out, Lee was nearly exhaustive in his efforts, and we've only been able to match perhaps 10% of the isolated fragments. The entire skeleton is highly fractured because it went through a dragline and was dumped - yet all the bones stayed in approximate position. Many parts were found by bulk screening of sediment. Come see the "Cone Whale" at College of Charleston soon - it opens to the public today for the first time ever! "Like" our page on Facebook or follow us on twitter for more frequent museum news and updates! -Bobby Boessenecker, Ph.D. College of Charleston Charleston, SC- 3 replies
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Interesting..... https://www.seeker.com/earth/animals/whales-only-recently-evolved-into-giants
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Hi All, I recently came across what I believe to be quite a large collection of fossils while walking along a sandy coast in Manado, North Sulawesi (Indonesia), which was undergoing development. Judging by some of the fossils and the Cenozoic geology of the region, I was leaning towards them being whale and turtle remains but would very much appreciate any advice anyone may have on individual fossils or the collection as a whole. Once the most likely creatures are established, I plan to focus my research to try to identify and categorise as many of the fossils as I can. Thanks in advance for your input, and I'm happy to send through further shots/angles as required. This appears to be a partial whale caudal vertabrae with marks (teeth/wear?) on one side. Some on the top row resemble sperm whale teeth while the last few on the bottom row could be parts of ribs or other bones. Here are close-ups of some of the teeth-like forms. The fossils in the top row appear to be the femurs of sea turtles and the one on the bottom right the end of a sea turtle rib. The very small fossil is of similar shape to the larger ones, and I'm not yet sure about the whiter fossil at the bottom left. Some larger fossils (including the suspected vertabrae). The rounded one at the top may be from a femur. Could these be from a pelvis or sternum? Some of these (particularly the third from the left on the second row from the top and the ones on the row beneath it) resemble jaw fragments. The second from the left on the bottom row has almost a tripod appearance. Some of these could be from leg bones or ribs, while there appears to be a couple of hand bones to the lower left. Some very femur-like ends. The one third from the left on the bottom row resembles a bone from a dugong's sternum. Some rib fragments and other pieces. And finally some smaller fragments, some with triangular cross-sections, and perhaps some hand and finger bones.
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From the album: Tertiary
Whale vertebrae Miocene Calvert Formation Anonymous beach/Chesapeake Bay Found by anonymous collector and generously donated to this writer-
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Does anyone know what creature these teeth belonged to? I found the first one about a year ago and I found the second one two days ago, and I think they came from the same animal. I am pretty sure a whale but I have no idea what kind. These are the first teeth of this kind I have found, Im pretty sure mammal k-9. maybe seal? Last, could someone confirm that this is a hubble meg tooth.