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Greetings all. I recently purchased a tooth that was said to be from the Bakersfield area. It's not that I don't believe that it is from the Temblor formation, or nearby areas, it's just that the tooth itself seems an odd color for Bakersfield. Most teeth that I have seen from there, including those from desmostylus, are much lighter all around. Maybe it hails from elsewhere? Is the color that unusual? Bad desmo hygiene? And what type of minerals in the area might contribute to such color? Manganese oxide perhaps? It seems I remember hearing it was prevalent around Bakersfield. Many thanks in advance. Cheers.

Been going through an old collection I haven't looked at in many years and in it are 15 or 20 pieces of wood, collected at the Ernst quarry back in the 90s. I haven't seen any similar examples from Sharktooth Hill or elsewhere. The pieces are somewhat fragile and often partially hollow with small (druzy?) purplish crystals on the interior. The rest is mostly composed of the same purplish-black material but man also show a tougher translucent outer crust. Some of the interiors of these pieces also contain powdery, lightweight chunks of brown matter. Based on appearance and the local geology as well as the preservation of flora from another miocene site in the region (see Reynolds p.114) I'm guessing the dark purplish stuff is pyrolusite or a similar manganese mineral. I assume the tougher clear stuff is microcrystalline quartz. The powdery brown stuff I cannot explain except as mummified wood, but I haven't found any pre-pliocene examples in the fossil record. I'm not a wood guy in general though so maybe there's more out there. What do you think? Something of research value? A small piece (~2.5 cm square) with the two primary minerals. Typical piece. Largest is about 15 cm. The mysterious Brown Matter. Very hard to get a good photo since it's mostly deep in the "geode."

This is a tusk I prepped a few years ago, sourced from central Alaska. It was in great shape for being a partial, no breaks to repair or even major cracks to fill, all natural besides a little stabilization and polishing to bring out the colors. Really strong vivianite on this one and inside the internal cavity appears to be crystals. It was tricky to get a good photo of them, but see below. I took a few of the inside shots with a UV flashlight as well as just a flash. Vivianite crystals?

Hello together, I just acquired this nice little trilo from morocco, by the name of Crotalocephalina gibbus. Besides asking myself what the actual name is (I found Crotalocephalina, Cheirurus and Crotalocephalus) I wonder if the reddish parts are natural. Most Trilos of the kind I saw are rather greenish, I wonder if these colours represent different oxidation levels of iron, or maybe artificial alteration. Thanks in Advance, J

I found this on the banks of the Trinity River in the DFW area of Texas. I spoke with an archaeologist online who guessed it to be bison or bovine of some kind. He guessed that it was considerably old because he could see mineralization in the photo I showed him. All I can tell is that it is a thoracic vertebra, approximately 3 1/2 in by 4 in in size. I cannot tell if it is fossilized or just a bone nor can I tell if the color is due to age or sediment discoloration. Would love to know what anyone thinks and if they could point me in the direction websites that might have answers. Thanks!

Someone on a facebook thread brought up something I'm not familiar with. Yeah...add it to the list. LOL If I understood it right they said some Cretaceous Period bone and wood has been found that has not undergone any physical change. The material was on the North Slope in Alaska so I wondered if it had anything to do with deposition in permafrost. They said it is not that uncommon but I don't recall coming across this in any textbooks or descriptions of preservation methods. Does anyone know of any other places where this has occurred or how it would be possible for anything organic to last that long without any alteration? This is someone who has published papers on paleontology so I would like to assume it's right. If so I need to include it in my fossil talks for kids because preservation methods is a big part of the talks and I like to get it right. Is this so common there aren't any descriptions or discussion of it?

This post is about a well preserved Gravicalymene celebra molt I recently found in the Laurel member of the Salamonie formation of Southeastern Indiana. It is quite a peculiar specimen since it appears to have two very distinct mineral compositions. Most of the trilobite is composed of dolomite as is typical for fossils found in the Laurel. However, I initially noticed what appeared to be white calcitic pieces of the cephalon partially exposed at the anterior end of the specimen. The matrix surrounding these pieces was very easy to remove, having a fine sand like consistency. After some prep work, I was able to uncover a good portion of the glabella and concluded that these white pieces did indeed belong to the same specimen. My initial thought was that they are composed entirely of calcite, but I haven't been able to make that conclusion so I decided to post some detailed pictures in order to see what you all think. Figures 1&2. Specimen in ventral and lateral views. (Before prep work, the white rostral plate and lateral border (cephalic doublure?) which are quite obvious in the above picture, were only partially exposed. Initially my professor suggested that they likely belonged to a separate fossil specimen, perhaps a bryozoan.) Anterior end Figure 3. Anterior view showing the left and right lateral borders (cephalic doublures?), rostral plate and patrially exposed glabella. Figures 4&5. Magnified images of the rostral plate displaying uniform bumpy texture on the surface. \ Figure 6. Magnified image of dolomitized lateral border (cephalic doublure?). Note the absence of the bumpy texture seen in the previous images. So essentially my main questions are: 1. Could this white colored mineral be calcite, or something else? 2. Are the long narrow pieces considered cephalic doublures or just lateral borders? (In my research, I haven't been able to find a detailed description of Calymenid cephalic anatomy) 3. What exactly are the uniform bumps found on the white pieces? 4. Is double mineralization of a single specimen a rare occurrence, or has anyone seen something like this before? 5. What could this mineralization mean in terms of the taphonomic interpretation of this specimen. An interesting side note: A few weeks later I was once again fossil hunting in the spot at which I found the specimen described above. Along with some nice brachs and another full trilobite, I found a partial mold of a G.celebra thorax. I looked and looked for the specimen it may have once been attached to, but was unable to find anything. After returning to my lab, I noticed something quite interesting. It turns out that the mold belonged to the specimen I had collected just a few weeks before! I was glad to have found this mold, since it shows the morphology of part of the specimens posterior half which has been weathered away. Figure 7. The partial mold Figure 8. Specimen and mold side by side. Figure 9. Reunited and it feels so good!

I thought these were horse teeth, but after some poking around I'm thinking they're bison teeth. Please, help with identification and geological era. I'm starting with photos of the two that look like bone, in what stage I don't know, but do have three more (one large and two small) that I believe to be completely fossilized teeth from the same animal. All were found in Bucks County, Carversville exactly, in or near a creek bed at the bottom of a ridge of cliffs, which, we've been told, is a very special geological location where finds are not typical of the surrounding area. Because I could not wait to get another photo with a point of reference for size, I must include my best estimation from memory: the larger piece is approximately 2" long and 1/2-3/4" deep and not quite 1 1/2" wide The smaller of the two pieces can be referenced by the larger, but is about the size of my index finger from the first knuckle to top. I'll wait to post the photos of the possible complete fossilized pieces, I'm sure I will need to be more diligent including all needed info in the photos I choose to post. For now, I hope this is enough, do tell!

Just got back and am beat from a day at Arkona. This one is a bit strange. Just when I think I've seen every odd pattern, ichnofossil, mineralization, and concretion type in the Widder shale, I get a curveball. Or should I say a snowflake?. specs: Mid Devonian (Widder Fm). Arkona, Ontario. About an inch. I can't seem to find it, so this pic was taken in the field. I might have lost it.

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting, I absolutely love this forum. I've decided to register and dive head first. I've recently moved back to Southern Arizona from Florida and I have rekindled my love with rocks, and now fossils, since it would seem I've been finding many of them from all of the ages. Please help me identify this find, it looks carnivorous of some sort, it would be cliche to say it looks like a raptor, but indeed it does. It would be hard for me to believe that this is a fake, since there is also tons of evidence that would point to this being real. (If it is, I'll post more of my finds from the area). I KNOW, I'll get to the point already. I'd just like some real feedback from folks who are more informed and educated in this area than I am. Here it is... and what do you think? Mineralization? Replacement of the softer tissues with minerals? I also have more what look to be different skulls, but some with holes in them and inside you can see bone, which the rock has encased. Found in Southern Arizona. I do apologize for the images being rotated in every direction.

I thought this was an interesting piece. It is a piece of Mudstone that was broken up before it fully mineralized, then stayed in that state long enough to turn into a stone. Strange thing is that ALL of it is still there, even the very small bits that had crumbled apart. It looks soft, but is very hard and a stone now. In all of my years rock hounding this is the best example i have ever found. I really enjoy snapshots in time. Another strange observation is that there isn't any other materials in the cracks. It's amazing it held together so well over the thousands of years. The pictures don't do this thing justice. Has anyone else found any similar rocks? Please share.

On February 2nd, the Finger Lakes Mineral Club will be having an open house event at the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, NY. We're in the planning stages now, and I'm working on assembling the displays I want to bring. One of those will be about different mineralizations that fossils show. At present, I have a number of limestone, shale, and sandstone fossils to choose from, including a few brachiopods that appear to have the original material preserved, plus a few examples of types that are less common and possibly unknown to the general public: -- Opalized shells from Australia -- Petrified wood replaced with jasper -- Agatized coral -- A beetle from the La Brea tar pits -- A piece of Lepidodendron from Pennsylvania coal -- Shells from Florida that appear unaltered, including original color patterns on a few -- Insects in amber -- Green River fish fossils Does anyone have any suggestions for other types that I should include information about? I'm planning on typing up some placards to put with my pieces explaining (as best I can) how these mineralizations occur. If anyone has any information that I should include, I welcome the input! Last year, we had 70+ visitors come by to check out our displays. We'll see how many visitors we get this year!