Search the Community

Hi TFF friends, I long hesitated wether to post it or not and where to post it but as i think it is worthy to share you this special news, i will use this thread to do so. 2 years ago, the Kumamoto Montana Natural Science Museum Association (kmnsma) , an association composed of the Museum Of the Rockies, the Carter county museum, Mifune Dinosaur Museum, Goshoura cretaceous museum, Kumamoto city museum, Aso volcano museum (whose goal is to develop and expand a sustainable U.S./Japan museum network that will promote educational learning and community engagement through the sciences of paleontology, geology, and astronomy) launched the idea to develop a joint educational program which could be use in the US and in Japan. After 2 years of development, we are proud annouce you that we've finished the educator guide for 5-6 grades. We published it online, where you can download it for free at the following address. It is a little bit heavy (31Mo). http://mifunemuseum.jp/kmnsma/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2018-MOR-Text-Book_web-File.pdf If you are interested in our projects, do not hesitate to visit the association website at http://mifunemuseum.jp/kmnsma/?page_id=9 And do not hesitate to leave a comment about the educator guide. David Edit: sorry for the change font.

Hi! my question here is about books, I want to know where I can buy fossil books to learn more about the subject of fossils, geology and prehistoric creatures. The books preferrably in English but Dutch is good as well and Also available with shipping to the Netherlands! I already own a trio of books about fossils and dinosaurs but all of these books are from different times and feature different things. List of books: Dinosaurs, A big book about prehistoric animals from 2009 (English) Fossielen, An encyclopedia from 1988 (Dutch) The fossil enyclopedia, well the title says it from 2007 (Dutch) Thank you for reading and for helping me out!

Hi everyone! I am very passionate about paleontology ever since I was young! And because I am not offered to study this course in my country, I am planning on self-studying and doing my own research. However, the problem is that I have absolutely no idea where to start! I would want to start right at the bottom, with the basics. So that when I move on and learn more about it, I will not be confused by terms or explanations. So should I start with the geological timescale? Or with geology and plate tectonics? Some tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hey Gang, I'm still messing with Tamiami Fm stuff and have found alot of good info/photos in partial copies of the following book and I'm looking for a complete version. The Geology of the Everglades and Adjacent areas Edward J. Petuch & Charles Roberts CRC Press Published April 18, 2007 Reference - 240 Pages - 12 Color & 115 B/W Illustrations ISBN 9781420045581 I have a number of incomplete copies/summary pages from a number of different sites but the complete version has alluded me. Several websites appear to allow a complete download but seem to be triggering Malware warnings that makes me leary. If someone knows of a legitimate free downloadable copy/site I'd appreciate hearing about it. I'll even pay for an ecopy if its not available to the public. CRC Press has these options Hardback $140.00 Ebook $52.16 Ebook rental 6 month eBook Rental $28.98 Thanks! Regards, Chris

Hi, Here i am in sunny, mostly, Bournemouth UK. I hate to say it but I am doing the tourist thing this week. Please somebody save me and take me Barton. . Just round the Corner from the hotel there is a small museum packed with fossils and some minerals on the lower floor. Here is the url http://bnss.org.uk. Wonderful volunteer showed me the collections and besides what is in the cabinets there are drawers filled to the brim. As it is a charity and only open to the public on Tuesday's, more often over the holidays, donations are very welcome. I have photos to share but need to get home first to download. Loads of Barton stuff. They have other galleries such as Archaeology, Egyptology, real mummy in a sarcophagus. Stuffed animals etc. Watch this space.

Hello everyone, I am in desperate need of help with a huge debate I have been having with a friend over fossils preserved in ironstone concretions. From some of what I had read to some advice from other members I it possible to find vertebrate bone among shells and other mollusks preserved in an ironstone concretion. Whether it leaves a trace of the organism, morphs the organic material into the structure of the iron concretion through the decomposition with preserving, or whatever else it may be it seems to be possible. So recently I have hunted a place known to have recorded marine cretaceous shell and other mollusk found in ironstone concretion as well as cretaceous plants in shale, it seems like not to vast of enough study has been done there only from what I know, but since no vertebrate material had yet been discovered there though there can maybe be the possibility. I found these two particularly distinct pieces in iron concretions that exactly mimic the scute structure of soft shell turtle and croc in my opinion, I know how iron concretions are famous for leaving psuedofossils and such but these two pieces look way to exact and since its possible for shells and mollusks to preserve why not scutes? So I am here looking to end this debate, I'm looking for your opinion, can these be labeled as fossils, traces, etc? Or are these among some of the world's best iron concretions and nothing more. Your input especially if you are very experience in this subject would be tremendously appreciated.

Hello I present an interesting question that I'm not to confident to answer myself and am seeking help from the more knowledgeable. Since it seems like (from what I had seen) iron concretions can at rare times preserve certain fossils or traces in one way or another such as molluscs, brachopods, and such. Due to this would it be possible for material such as turtle shell scutes or maybe even croc scutes to turn up in such concretions in one way or another? (the pics are just snipets of general info that I came across online)

Maybe a couple of weeks ago or so, I posted some pictures of oddities and such that my mind had assembled a wonderful history of. But was lacking in substantiated evidence to suggest it was anything other than a tasty delusion, likely inspired by the heat, sweat in my eyes and this child-like wonder that was being driven by the "ooooooh pretty" crystal pickin. I had found enough that there was definitely a story to be told and the local history I could find seemed a bit chinsey. Bottom line, until I posted here, it was a great idea and I had very little work to do to prove anything until y'all were like, "uh yeah, don't look like it, prove it" basically anyways. "sigh" I thought to myself, oh great, here we go again. Yet another hobby I get into obsessively as a personal expert that really is educated, talented and what nots. But the problem instantly became that I had realized that without study of what others in the past had done before me, I could not realistically assemble a modified theory. Certainly not from the couch geologist pov. I am a high (dys)functioning autistic, with a kagillion hobbies and or prior obsessions, which is my only real qualification. What is that? Well, my talent is that I see things in front of me that others don't. I am high reasoning I guess you could say, does it get me anywhere? No. That's probably where my other diagnosis comes in with combined ADHD. I'm all over the place. But guess what, it's all your guys(es) fault! It really was a loving push into what I have become today. Less than two weeks later I have have stopped looking at concretions and other oddities and instead have begun an extremely in depth look at the forces that create fossils and other minerals. Oh, btw. Most of this originated because I was surveying for precious stones and gold............go figure right! Now I was into literally everything that could possibly be involved in the formation of the planet, it's chemistry and catastrophic history. I felt that this was necessary to fully understand what you will see in fossils and how the planet reclaims them. Once again, it's all your fault! There is an absolutely massive amount of material to be referenced and checked. Theories to be studied, looking for that "one" marker that debunks and lends more credo to what I am assembling. This is truly staggering. I am looking at every previous theorem, even the ones that did not get so much traction. This is blending to create a picture that I believe will help people understand just how special the Earth is. Oh, and that the Human race is NOT going to survive! Eventually the planet will die! This is already a widely accepted theory. If we got hit by a meteorite in the Pacific Ocean it would prolong our existence though. Would kill a lot of people, but would give the core something to do. It's losing it's momentum. Quite fascinating really, and it's all your fault! The list to date, of angles that I am covering in this study. Tectonic Theory Aquifers Stone Chemistry Volcanism Celestial Impacts/Shock Metamorphism Faults (who's or whom) (***Unique Angle I Cannot Divulge Until Publication***) Delineating viable Vs. just plain cooky theories Global influence from Regional Events Especially, Erratics and Unconformities in the landmass The desk work is mostly complete, field observations are the next obvious step. I will be teaming up with the College I attend to have this study completed under the guidance of a professor. Making it viable. Because of technology advances I will need to start documenting in a much different way, taking samples with a GPS locator to prove the collection is legit. There is so much, and maybe I have covered everything I should. But this obsession has me literally almost every moment, thinking geology/paleontology/chemistry/physics/math and my brain is actually starting to hurt regularly. I don't mind though. I wrote this post as a Thank You to the ones who sternly but logically posed the questions that resulted in me learning. I am grateful! I still feel like there is more to add to this. The equation doesn't seem big enough. If any of you kind folks would care to contribute any logical shoves in literally "any" direction, please chime in. The equation I am trying to solve is this. How to better identify and stack events in a timeline. How to better understand the effects on debris from a past event that is changed by a later event. This culminates into what I see would be a better understanding of localities, by understanding how events in geological time interacted with each other. It's been fun, and rewarding. Here is a little of what I have discovered so far. I still need to get to the location to take photographs and talk to locals. But I believe I have found the impact crater for the Willamette Valley Meteorite. I am still working on determining the angle of entry into the atmosphere and possibly the speed to allow it to bounce to West Linn, Oregon. Just north of the impact, in Morrow County, a 40lb chunk of meteorite was found in a ditch by a farmer. Which suggests the meteorite split into two pieces with the inferior piece bouncing to the North into Morrow County. Which the crater also appears shows evidence of. Angle of entry, or at least the bounce appears to be ~18 degrees. The axial tilt of the Earth is ~23.5 degrees. I know nothing about entry into the atmosphere, but thought that with the possibility of the bounce angle being entirely different from the angle of entry, then this might just be the reason why it didn't burn up completely. Check it out! It's good at least in my imagination! Lot's more to come, thanks everyone! Please, even bad feedback! It completes a tricky puzzle.

Most the strata around here is in flat layers what caused this fluid looking rock

Hello, I am glad I found this forum; recently I purchased several acres in northern arizona and I found a few rocks/fossils on my land that I was hoping someone could help me identify. Any idea or suggestion is appreciated. Thank you 1st fossil/rock of 3

Hi TFF friends, how are you? I walked a little bit today to one of my favorite geological formation here in Japan called the Himenoura formation. The himenoura formation is a late cretaceous (santonian) marine formation. It is divided in three levesl called the lower formation, the middle formation and upper formation (really surprising I guess) and the formation is made of mud stone from the bottom to the upper part of it. Fossil hunter mainly search the lower formation because it is the richest part in fossils of this formation. The lower part is very rich in bivalves, ammonites and vertebrates fossils (sharks [13 species], sea turtles and bony fishes) . The middle formation is less rich in fossils but you can still find some inoceramus, bivalves, few ammonites and some shark tooth ( 2 species). the upper formation has no fossils. I was wondering why the upper formation do not contain fossils. What woud be the cause of this fossil rarefication? Does it mean that all life in this part of ocean gradually vanished or is there another explication? Did evolutionnists lack time when they burried fossils in this formation? Cheers, David

Took a trip out to South Carolina today to visit the Campbell Geology Museum! It wasn't big, but honestly I was surprised by how many really cool specimens they had. Pictures to follow:

Finding a lot of fossil wood this past week. Agates to for carving. The bedrock underneath the gravel at Stillwell Ranch is limestone packed with fossils. Mostly Rudist. Then there are enigma. This stone has the blue infill, I associate with one type of fossil wood preservation. I thought it was a cluster of horn coral initially. But they don't pack up like this. No septa at all. Just finger length long ovals, width of your big toe...........The best detail are the onion layers which are micro crenelated. The end photo seems to have bisected a number of the lobe features. I think they were long and egg shaped un-eroded. With a hollow cavity in the center that was filled with blue & white chalcedony. Chime in if you have a good idear or two of what this is.:

Hi, Bit of a geological question here, I recently took this photo of some of the Upper Hamstead Member strata exposed on a headland at Bouldnor Cliff whilst out collecting. I really like this spot as the colour variation in the beds is really interesting. I've heard that the colour mottling in mudstones such as these can be indicative of the paleo-environmental conditions they were deposited in. Generally speaking these muds were deposited in ponds, lakes, and sluggish waterways on a low lying coastal plain. However, would it be correct to presume the redder areas indicate more arid conditions i.e. a period when the Hampshire Basin coastal plain was very dry and the other green and grey beds periods in which the environment on the plain was wetter? Thank you, Theo

"Our laboratory was the geologic wonderland of New Mexico; our problems anything and everything which the face of that remarkable region presents to the student of earth history. The lecture platform was one end of the wagon seat, the shaded ground under a juniper tree, or the ragged wall of an igneous dyke. My student's desk was the other end of the wagon seat, a rock in the shade, or the bank of some arroyo. The hours were from daylight till long after dark, the discussion endless, and the themes were notebooks filled by the shifting light of the campfire. Under the stars of New Mexico's matchless sky I listened to a great man discuss evolution, magmatic segregation, stream erosion, and as the dying fire sunk to glowing embers and the stars shone more brightly I listened while the scintillating mind strayed into those fields of psychology and philosophy he loved so well, and heard him expound the principles of dynamic monism." -Douglas Johnson (field assistant) Clarence Luther Herrick: Pioneer Naturalist, Teacher, and Psychobiologist

Geologists matching rocks from opposite sides of the globe have found that part of Australia was once attached to North America 1.7 billion years ago. Article https://amp.livescience.com/61490-chunk-of-north-america-in-australia.html?__twitter_impression=true Paper pay walled https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/526080/laurentian-crust-in-northeast-australia?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Hey Trilobase Users. Finally, decided it was time to seriously address cateloguing my fossil collection. I just started using the Trilobase program, so I'm still on a learning curve. So far I like many of its features, however, the Geologic Section for the Collection Site information does not seem to have a designated spot for including the site's geologic formation. Since the geologic formation is important information for a fossil specimen, this seems to be an oversight. I'm curious how you users have dealt with this issue? Please let me know what you have done to resolve this issue. Thanks

Hello, I am a student at Centralia Community College working on an identification / analysis of fossils from the Clarkia Formation. I was wondering if anyone here has worked on this formation? If so, do you have any advice on how to properly set the sediment they are in to limit breakage/crumbling? Thank you! ~ AQM

I'm curious as to what North Carolina was like during the Pleistocene. Does anyone know if there are any references specifically addressing this time period for NC or the Southeast? It is my understanding NC was not covered by glaciers. Is there any reason why Pleistocene aged fossils could not be found in most areas of the state? Any information or resources would be appreciated.

So today Ive went down to the bay that I was planning to find fossils in for awhile, only to come back empty handed (I couldnt reach any of the shale quarries and just decided that its layers are too flat to house fossils anyways). Being a Palos Verdean, There are small pockets of quarries which are generaly unprotected by preserves (usually alongside roads, sometimes beaches). Palos Verdes has a rich history of Miocene-Quarternary fossils, but much of the fossiliferous zones are protected by preserves. Because I cant really go far just to find fossils, I can only hunt in the small pockets I can find. Ive studied some geological maps and do know where the according-to-theory fossiliferous shale are, I just dont know how exactly to find fossils without destroying the place and getting under a legal flat. Are there any tips and tricks for this kind of fossiling?

Can anyone explain why the majority of rivers in NE NC and SE VA have most of their high banks/ bluffs on the southern (right) sides? And please let me know if I have that wrong and they're not skewed that way.....but it does seem like that. Thanks.

I've been wondering if anyone on the forum has a favorite App or Apps they've found useful in searching for fossils? I haven't been able to locate any apps that focus on mapping your location in relation to underlying bedrock data, and it got me curious. Thanks! Have a good weekend!

Hey all, I've recently caught the "fossil bug", and I have been looking at geologic maps online to help determine potential hunting locations. Is anyone aware of an exhaustive website, book, etc. that labels stratigraphy? If not, what do y'all use to determine the age of certain locations/formations? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks, Caleb

For anyone who finds themselves up to the challenge of fossil hunting in Massachusetts/New England I have a couple of very informative books to recommend. These books are also relevant for anyone hunting in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Fossils can be hard to find here in Northeastern USA so it pays off to do your homework! I've met both of the authors of these books and they're definitely experts on the local geology/paleontology. Happy Trails! Title: Carboniferous Plant Fossils of North Attleboro, Massachusetts Author: Steve Emma Description: An in depth guide to the Pennsylvanian aged plant fossils that can be found in the Narragansett Bay area. This area includes southern Massachusetts and much of Rhode Island. Title: Windows into the Jurassic World Author: Nicholas G. McDonald Description: An in depth look at the Jurassic aged geology and fossils found in the Connecticut River Valley area which extends from Western Massachusetts down through Connecticut.

Dear TTF Members, I was wondering if you experts on the forum could provide a more in depth explanation of time periods such as the Mesozoic Era and what kinds of creatures dwelled at these times. I would like to learn more about the evolutionary timeline to help me become a better fossil enthusiast and helper in this forums' community. Sincerely,