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  1. Geo-Reinier

    Bivalve

    Bivalve Geology: London Clay Formation Period: Palaeogene Location: Sindlesham, Englan
  2. Barrelcactusaddict

    Claiborne Amber (Cockfield Fm., 41.3-38 Ma)

    From the album: Fossil Amber and Copal: Worldwide Localities

    8.0g prepared rough specimen displaying a partially polished face, measuring (mm) 50x22x14; this piece is a transverse section, and displays numerous layers or flow lines with sequences of micro bubbles as well as sediments. This material was recovered from the Malvern Clay Pits, east of Malvern, Arkansas. FTIR spectrum comparison of Claiborne amber to modern Shorea sp. resin points to the Dipterocarpaceae as a probable source for this middle Eocene-aged amber.

    © Kaegen Lau

  3. Recently, I found some mammal fossils right next to a river. The bones were buried in clay but the water had removed some sediment so they were visible although they were broken in tens of pieces. Later, I cleaned the soft clay from the bones and placed the small pieces together using normal glue because I have found out that its results are nearly as good as fossil glue or at least it doesn't have visible differences. Although the bones are almost complete, there is still a lot hardened red clay that doesn't go away with water or brushes. What should I use to clean the fossils completely without damaging them? (with household items if it's possible) Here's a photo of my 2 favourite ones.
  4. Hello! I am Jelte, a boy from the Netherlands. In the summer of 2022 I found a fossil fish in the Gault Clay, by Calais. I have no idea what species of fish this is? I hope you know it. I have no size the jaw is 1 centimeter long. Doe more pictures ask me please.
  5. Clayton Jones

    Durant Caddo Formation Pond Site wide shot

    From the album: Durant Pond Site trip November 11, 2023

    This site is exposed in the footprint of a shallow pond. The underlying limestone appears to have been exposed in the process of building the pond. The mud in between the exposed limestone is rich in clay and incredibly sticky.
  6. RuMert

    Warmed fossils

    Hi all! Today I'll show you a site which is quite similar to the subject of the Frozen Fossils topic, but somewhat opposite of the latter, as it's only accessible in summer (end of July- beginning of September). It's situated in the historical city of Vladimir on the Klyazma river. The banks are overgrown with vegetation, no movement whatsoever on the river and very few people visible. Occasional ducks and herons, fish splashing nearby.The bridge is the only reminder of civilization. The river bed is surprisingly formed of solid clay you can confidently walk on. The age of this clay is Lower Kimmeridgian (mostly the 1st bauhini/baylei zone which is pretty rare in European Russia)
  7. I found this around the where the Cincinnati, Findlay, and Kankakee arches meet in grey clay with nothing else around it - not sure how to identify, any help appreciated.
  8. Faten

    microfossil identification

    please can you help me identify this microfossil
  9. Pnwmedic

    How do I preserve this?

    I believe I found some trace worm burrows in clay… Lincoln Creek Formation in WA. unfortunately the dried clay makes it very unstable, some of the burrows are filled in with harder matrix. I’m not sure what to do… any advice would be great!
  10. Hi all! Could you please share your experience with using hydrogen peroxide for disintegrating regular clay? Looking to find small, but not tiny fossils - teeth, gastropods and such - not smaller than a couple mm, most likely 3-10mm. What % would I need? Here we can buy any from 3 to 37%. Which will be enough? Which will be safe to use at home? Should I just plunge clay into peroxide and if so, for how long? How small should the chunks be? Anything I should be aware of? Thanks in advance!
  11. I recently aquired a whole bunch of clay containing small fossils, but the clay is extreemly hard and I have trouble to extract the fossil by sieving this with water. For now I am drying the clay and putting it in sieves and rincing it with watter, but it is extremely labour intensive and uses lots of water and the result is not realy good. Someone that collects minerals recomended me Sodium hexametaphosphate to help disolving the clay, but I have no experience whatsoever with this product, so like the titel of the post sugests ; Has anyone used sodium hexametaphosphate to disolve clay deposits? I'am of course also open to other alternatives to extract residu from clay thx, Kevin
  12. Hi found these while digging foundations. Good quality solid clay base down to at least 2 meters deep. We came across a hard object within the soft clay. This is what we pulled out. My hand for scale, the big one looks like a bone to me? Though I have no idea tbh.
  13. I have collected wet clay or shale with many types of fossils embedded in it. I have found leaves, a fish, a pine cone, wooden bits, ect. Much of the fossils are there and havent turned to rock, so may not be considered an actual fossil. I am hoping some may have ideas on how to preserve these. I got them from Clarkia, ID. There is a youtube video called "Plants are Cool, too! Episode 2: Fossilized Forests!" that talks about the area. I am missing out on fossils opening it a wet clay because I can't split many thin layers, but splitting it in when dry it seems to crumble. Trying to figure out the best process without having to ruin more to get it figured out, any tips? What is the best way to dry it out, and for how long? I also dont know what to do with the pine cone, haha. I dont have the rock impression, I am regretting that I wasnt careful enough to keep it. It is weird that these are dated 15, 000,000 years old but I can pull out the actual biological items out of clay. Also, what do you do with your fossils that are unidentifiable. There are imprints that I dont know if it is from a seed or a bug. I have found actual seeds and such, so I am wondering if these are most likely bug remnants. Is there a good way to know a the difference?
  14. AroHed

    Tooth ID

    Can anyone identify this tooth? I found it in a creek here in southwest Mississippi. I find a lot of mastodon parts, but this unusual. I am new here. It is incased in dry hard clay.
  15. tinabrand

    egg fossil? southwestern Baltic Sea

    Found on the beach in village of Niendorf on Lübeck Bay, SW Baltic Sea. The specimen is heavy. Is it an egg fossil, and if so, of what creature in what period? How did the quartz pieces come to be embedded? Thanks to anyone who can help!
  16. Cynwhite

    Looks like a flower, not crinoid?

    Found on surface in area with numerous crinoid stem sections. Stone appears to also have stem cross-section impressions. Friend notes this specimen does not have the five-lobed feature of crinoids. Western St. Louis County, Missouri. Near Rockwoods Reservation. Rocky clay soil is tens of meters deep with egg- to fist-size rounded stones throughout. Is this a cross-section or a negative impression? Vascular bundles? If not crinoid, what?
  17. From the album: Fossil Amber and Copal: Worldwide Localities

    “Oise Amber” Creil, Oise Department, France Argiles à lignites du Soissonnais Lowermost Eocene (~56-53 Ma) Specimen C (Left): 0.4g / 15x12x5mm Specimen D (Right): 0.3g / 10x10x8mm Lighting: Longwave UV (365nm) Entry nine of ten, detailing various rare ambers from European, Asian, and North American localities. French amber localities are extremely numerous and are found in 35 departments. There are at least 55 Cretaceous amber localities, contained mainly within the southern half of France; three French departments also host amber from the Carboniferous Period. Many of the Upper Paleocene to Lower Eocene amber localities were widely available in the 1800s to the 1950s, but as the lignite, potash, and alum quarries vanished, so did the amber found in them. The locality at Oise was discovered in 1996, making it a relatively recent find. It is located within the Paris Basin outside of Creil, at a place known as “Le Quesnoy” (not to be confused with the small town in NE France), and the amber is found in lignite layers situated in clayey sands. These layers were formed during a warming period that caused mass extinctions in Europe, but not necessarily among the insects; warm oceans and high temperatures created ideal conditions for a tropical environment at that time. Fossilized remains of the amber-producing tree “Aulacoxylon sparnacense” are commonly found in amber deposits near Houdancourt and Moru; the structure of the wood is reminiscent of modern trees of the subfamilies Combretaceae and Caesalpiniaceae. The Aulacoxylon genus belongs to the same subfamily (Detarioideae) as the trees which were responsible for the production of the Dominican and Mexican, and possibly Ethiopian ambers (Genus: Hymenaea). Since 1996, at least 20,000 arthropod inclusions in Oise amber have already been collected, mostly belonging to the Psocoptera (barklice) and Coleoptera (beetles). Sources: “Insects from the Early Eocene amber of Oise (France): diversity and palaeontological significance”; Denisia, Volume 0026, pp. 41-52; Nicolas, André, Denis 2009 “The French ambers: a general conspectus and the Lowermost Eocene amber deposit of Le Quesnoy in the Paris Basin”; Geologica Acta, Volume 2; A. Nel, G. De Ploëg, et. al. 2004

    © Kaegen Lau

  18. From the album: Fossil Amber and Copal: Worldwide Localities

    “Oise Amber” Creil, Oise Department, France Argiles à lignites du Soissonnais Lowermost Eocene (~56-53 Ma) Specimen C (Left): 0.4g / 15x12x5mm Specimen D (Right): 0.3g / 10x10x8mm Lighting: 140lm LED Entry nine of ten, detailing various rare ambers from European, Asian, and North American localities. French amber localities are extremely numerous and are found in 35 departments. There are at least 55 Cretaceous amber localities, contained mainly within the southern half of France; three French departments also host amber from the Carboniferous Period. Many of the Upper Paleocene to Lower Eocene amber localities were widely available in the 1800s to the 1950s, but as the lignite, potash, and alum quarries vanished, so did the amber found in them. The locality at Oise was discovered in 1996, making it a relatively recent find. It is located within the Paris Basin outside of Creil, at a place known as “Le Quesnoy” (not to be confused with the small town in NE France), and the amber is found in lignite layers situated in clayey sands. These layers were formed during a warming period that caused mass extinctions in Europe, but not necessarily among the insects; warm oceans and high temperatures created ideal conditions for a tropical environment at that time. Fossilized remains of the amber-producing tree “Aulacoxylon sparnacense” are commonly found in amber deposits near Houdancourt and Moru; the structure of the wood is reminiscent of modern trees of the subfamilies Combretaceae and Caesalpiniaceae. The Aulacoxylon genus belongs to the same subfamily (Detarioideae) as the trees which were responsible for the production of the Dominican and Mexican, and possibly Ethiopian ambers (Genus: Hymenaea). Since 1996, at least 20,000 arthropod inclusions in Oise amber have already been collected, mostly belonging to the Psocoptera (barklice) and Coleoptera (beetles). Sources: “Insects from the Early Eocene amber of Oise (France): diversity and palaeontological significance”; Denisia, Volume 0026, pp. 41-52; Nicolas, André, Denis 2009 “The French ambers: a general conspectus and the Lowermost Eocene amber deposit of Le Quesnoy in the Paris Basin”; Geologica Acta, Volume 2; A. Nel, G. De Ploëg, et. al. 2004

    © Kaegen Lau

  19. From the album: Fossil Amber and Copal: Worldwide Localities

    “Oise Amber” Creil, Oise Department, France Argiles à lignites du Soissonnais Lowermost Eocene (~56-53 Ma) Specimen A (Upper Left): 0.5g / 14x13x12mm Specimen B (Upper Right): 0.35g / 13x9x7mm Specimen C (Lower Left): 0.4g / 15x12x5mm Specimen D (Lower Right): 0.3g / 10x10x8mm Lighting: 140lm LED Entry nine of ten, detailing various rare ambers from European, Asian, and North American localities. French amber localities are extremely numerous and are found in 35 departments. There are at least 55 Cretaceous amber localities, contained mainly within the southern half of France; three French departments also host amber from the Carboniferous Period. Many of the Upper Paleocene to Lower Eocene amber localities were widely available in the 1800s to the 1950s, but as the lignite, potash, and alum quarries vanished, so did the amber found in them. The locality at Oise was discovered in 1996, making it a relatively recent find. It is located within the Paris Basin outside of Creil, at a place known as “Le Quesnoy” (not to be confused with the small town in NE France), and the amber is found in lignite layers situated in clayey sands. These layers were formed during a warming period that caused mass extinctions in Europe, but not necessarily among the insects; warm oceans and high temperatures created ideal conditions for a tropical environment at that time. Fossilized remains of the amber-producing tree “Aulacoxylon sparnacense” are commonly found in amber deposits near Houdancourt and Moru; the structure of the wood is reminiscent of modern trees of the subfamilies Combretaceae and Caesalpiniaceae. The Aulacoxylon genus belongs to the same subfamily (Detarioideae) as the trees which were responsible for the production of the Dominican and Mexican, and possibly Ethiopian ambers (Genus: Hymenaea). Since 1996, at least 20,000 arthropod inclusions in Oise amber have already been collected, mostly belonging to the Psocoptera (barklice) and Coleoptera (beetles). Sources: “Insects from the Early Eocene amber of Oise (France): diversity and palaeontological significance”; Denisia, Volume 0026, pp. 41-52; Nicolas, André, Denis 2009 “The French ambers: a general conspectus and the Lowermost Eocene amber deposit of Le Quesnoy in the Paris Basin”; Geologica Acta, Volume 2; A. Nel, G. De Ploëg, et. al. 2004

    © Kaegen Lau

  20. Mondoubleau

    Cenomanian fossils

    Hi everyone, I am not a specialist in paleontology, I would like some help in identifying these 3 stones. I found them in clay from a marine environment dating from the Cenomanian... It seems to me that there is a bivalve, a vermiform fossil (?) and one resembling a degraded bone. I do not know well the paleontological discoveries of my region, I just know that there was the discovery of a vertebra of a marine reptile and the tooth of a sauropod. Thanks a lot for your help
  21. Barrelcactusaddict

    Siegburgite (Cottbus Fm., 25.5-23.5 Ma [min.])

    From the album: Fossil Amber and Copal: Worldwide Localities

    "Siegburgite" Goitzsche Opencast Mine Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Saxony-Anhalt State, Germany Bernsteinschluff Horizon Cottbus Fm. (25.5-23.5 Ma [min.]) Chemical Composition: C: 81.37%, H: 5.26%, O: 13.37%, Cinnamic Acid: 0.0073% Specimen A (Top Left): 0.4g / 14x12x6mm Specimen B (Top Right): 0.5g / 14x14x8mm Specimen C (Bottom Left): 0.3g / 14x12x4mm Specimen D (Bottom Right): 0.2g / 13x10x4mm *I did not take a photograph of these specimens under longwave UV, due to the fluorescent response of Siegburgite being so weak; they fluoresce a dull burgundy. Siegburgite is referred to as an "accessory resin", but is considered a true amber. It occurs alongside several other accessory resin species, as well as the more well-known Bitterfeld amber. Siegburgite is a fascinating amber, and is one of the few fossil resins classified as a Class III resin; it is essentially a natural polystyrene, found as concretions where it is a binding agent to fine sand and mica: the sand is often evenly distributed, and is variable in proportion to the resin, occasionally more than 60%. Siegburgite is highly flammable. Siegburgite was produced by a plant of the genus Liquidambar (Hamamelidaceae Family, also commonly known as the "witch-hazel" family): within the fresh resin, known as storax or copalm balsam, cinnamic acid and esters quickly decarboxylate (chemical reaction that removes a carboxyl group, and releases carbon dioxide), forming styrene; upon its burial, the newly-formed styrene underwent polymerization over tens of millions of years, as it became polystyrene. It is found in the lignite (German: "Braunkohle"), lignite-sand, and lignite-clay layers of the upper portion of the Cottbus Formation; Bitterfeld amber is also found within this Formation. The amber- and accessory resin-bearing layers are situated beneath the Bitterfeld Main Coal Seam, and above the Breitenfeld Seam. The Goitzsche Mine, from which Siegburgite and other fossil resins were obtained, opened in 1949 and closed in 1991. Sources: "Siegburgite, a new Fossil Resin."; Jahrbuch für Mineralogie 1875; pp. 128-133; A. V. Lasaulx "Roman Amber Identified as Siegburgite"; p. 12; Dietz, Catanzariti, Quintero, Jimeno 2013 "The System of Mineralogy of James Dwight Dana 1837-1868: Descriptive Mineralogy"; p. 1005; Dana 1892 "Biology of Amber-Producing Trees: Focus on Case Studies of Hymenaea and Agathis"; p. 9; Jean H. Langenheim 1995 "The First Fossil Cyphophthalmid (Arachnida: Opiliones), from Bitterfeld Amber, Germany"; Jason A., Gonzalo Giribet 2003 "Geography - Coal Mining in the Goitzsche/ The geology of the Goitzsche"; Europagymnasium Walther-Rathenau-Bitterfeld Comeniusprojekt "Die Bernsteinlagerstätte Bitterfeld, nur ein Höhepunkt des Vorkommens von Bernstein (Succinit) im Tertiär Mitteldeutschlands"; Fuhrman 2005 http://www.regionalgeologie-ost.de/Abb. 23.11 Halle-Merseburger Tertiaer.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1RiYz3wsaHe-k20RnzaZv4jZt29VpR9oxrndNKKQ7ueDaygvpPC4peqVQ

    © Kaegen Lau

  22. I sometimes stumble upon these strange fossils which I like to call 'mini surfboards'. I unsuccessfully searched a couple of times on the internet and found no similar photos to help me identify them. They've all been found on the clay layer. They all have a very similar pattern . Their size is usually around 3cm (even larger sometimes).
  23. Barrelcactusaddict

    Claiborne Amber (Cockfield Fm., 41.3-38 Ma)

    From the album: Fossil Amber and Copal: Worldwide Localities

    1.4g translucent specimen measuring (mm) 16x15x10; one side presents an unbroken exterior, with slight remnants of sand, clay, and lignitic matrix. This material was recovered from the Malvern Clay Pits, east of Malvern, Arkansas. FTIR spectrum comparison of Claiborne amber to modern Shorea sp. resin points to the Dipterocarpaceae as a probable source for this middle Eocene-aged amber.

    © Kaegen Lau

  24. Barrelcactusaddict

    Claiborne Amber (Cockfield Fm., 41.3-38 Ma)

    From the album: Fossil Amber and Copal: Worldwide Localities

    4.1g rough specimen measuring (mm) 25x18x15. This is a section of a run, with successive layers grading from translucent to opaque; portions of the sand, clay, and lignitic matrix coats the exterior as depicted. This material was recovered from the Malvern Clay Pits, east of Malvern, Arkansas. FTIR spectrum comparison of Claiborne amber to modern Shorea sp. resin points to the Dipterocarpaceae as a probable source for this middle Eocene-aged amber.

    © Kaegen Lau

  25. As a later summer vacation we decided to do a road trip - Tour de France. France having many interesting destinations and things to do and collecting fossils would be one of them. As we usually don’t plan our trips beyond a few days ahead also the fossil locations were decided on the road. But when reading about Carniol it became clear it was one we had to include. Other non fossil highlights of the trip were Bordeaux, the Pyrenees, Toulouse (great museum of natural history), Lyon and of course Pont du Gard. When finding out about Carniol I did some further reading on how to get there. Apparently the French drive on the very bad (not true) roads to get there like madman (true) at 90 km/h (sometimes true), the cliffs and canyons are very scary (not after the Pyrenees) and parking was also going to be a challenge (it was easy). Carniol is a tiny village and probably the fossil sites are it’s main tourist attraction although calling Carniol touristic is probably very far from reality. Near the village there are two places where the fossil rich clay is exposed and can be easily reached from the road (50-100m walk). The grey clay can be recognised from a distance so it didn’t take us long to get at the site (we only visited the western one but they are supposed to be similar). We were lucky that there was heavy rain in the days before our visit as this exposes the fossils. The downside is that the clay is very sticky and heavy and it forms a plateau under your shoes. As mentioned before the fossils are washed out of the clay and you just need to pick them up. Unfortunately larger fossils are poorly conserved and some nice pieces crumbled after picking them up. But the small fossils are many and diverse. We found lots of what we recognised like Ammonites including heteromorphs, belemnites, gastropods and bivalves like this. As I read that taking some of the clay for washing was of interest (we didn’t prepare for this) we filled an empty 5 liter water container with clay. As we had an appointment for dinner in Lyon and we were satisfied with our finds we left after about two hours. But the rest of the vacation I kept thinking about starting to wash and sort our finds. Back home it became obvious we had some nice finds even before finishing sorting everything. A big tooth my partner picked up but she didn’t recognise as such and she didn’t tell me about (Protosphyraena with a small?). From the clay we brought home, I found a jaw fragment (identified on Reddit as Saurian). Still a lot of material to go through as for now I am just grouping the finds. In due time I hope to get some help with further identification of everything although I will give it a try myself with the information already available here and on other sites.
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