Noob here. We tried our luck near Andalusia, but as expected the water was too high. We ended up in Sepulga River and this was all we walked away with, but still curious what might be here. There were lots of new mollusks strewn about and I grabbed these just as a MASSIVE huntsman spider chased me off.

I'm currently working on an oil rig in the Bay Of Campeche off the coast of Mexico. We currently have 5 paleontologist on board sampling micro fossils that are brought up when drilling. I had a chance today to look at some amazing specimens under a microscope. I wish I had pics but cameras are banned here. I got to see many types of Foraminifera that resemble the ammonties I collect. They were quite impressed when I showed them some of my Cretaceous finds from NSR.

The day began with a morning hunt at my honey hole at "riprap hill," and I was pretty much skunked. I think, after four years, I've picked the place over. There is virtually nothing left for me to split, and given a mild winter, nothing new has weathered out. But I at least was graced by the sight of the living in the form of this majestic animal: image.jpg_1

Diatoms are monocellular organisms which contain chlorophyll, and manufacture their own food in the same manner as plants, through the process of photosynthesis. They are one of the major producers of the Earth's oxygen. Their long geological history makes them very useful in the correlation of sedimentary rocks, and they are of equal value in reconstructing paleoenvironments. They are remarkably common everywhere there is any water at all! I have studied fossil marine diatoms for many years, as they are my primary interest in the microfossil world. Many of them are quite beautiful, and they are a favorite subject with many persons who enjoy photomicrography. My primary interest is in diatom taxonomy and evolution, not photography, so I'm afraid my images don't really do them justice. Centric diatoms exhibit radial symmetry, from circular to triangular, and all points between. Oval shapes are not uncommon. The oldest specimens of essentially modern diatom types are from the Cretaceous, and one of the very best localities is the Moreno Shale, which crops out in the Panoche Hills of California. Many diatomists have worked on this flora, and it is fairly well understood. Here we see two of the common taxa from this source. (The bar across the top of the Azpeitiopsis is a sponge spicule, not part of the diatom!) Diatom frustules are composed of secreted silica -- hence they are brittle, but can be virtually indestructible by chemical or diagenetic change in the right sort of environment. (One exception is a highly alkaline environment, which corrodes and ultimately dissolves biogenetic silica.) Other siliceous microfossils include some types of sponge spicules, silicoflagellates (another blog entry coming up perhaps), radiolarians, and ebrideans. At least one family of the foraminifera uses siliceous cement to form their tests. Diatom floras changed radically across the KT boundary, but they are still abundant in the Paleocene. Arguably the world's most famous locality for fossil diatoms is the region around Oamaru, New Zealand, and all collectors have many specimens from there. The age is Late Eocene - Early Oligocene. Somewhat earlier are the many great localities in Russia. Here is a Paleocene specimen from Simbirsk, Ulyanovskaya, Russia. Note that it deviates from pure centric form in that it is slightly ovoid. My own specialty is the diatoms of the Miocene. The United States is blessed with superb Miocene localities on both coasts, many well-known to members of this forum, because most of them can also produce superb shark teeth. The earliest known Miocene flora in the US comes from sites in Maryland: near Dunkirk, Nottingham, and other lesser known localities along the Patuxent River. All of these sites began to be explored in the mid-19th Century, because the diatoms are so perfectly preserved, to say nothing of abundant! These sites are in the lowest part of the Calvert Formation; indeed, there is an unconformity above them that lasted for a considerable period of time, and the diatom flora exhibits considerable changes across it. This part of the Miocene section belongs to the Burdigalian Stage, and age-equivalent diatoms are found also in bore holes and artesian wells at Atlantic City, New Jersey. An index fossil for the East Coast Burdigalian is the following taxon: This species of Actinoptychus evolved relatively quickly, and became extinct at the end of the Burdigalian. It is remarkably beautiful under the microscope, especially in color images, as fine structures in the silica serve as diffraction gratings. I regret that I have no color image in my photo library: I need to make a few! The Calvert Cliffs are rich in fossil diatoms, also, from the later, Middle Miocene. The above is but one example of the many marvelous specimens that can be found in the Calvert. If you're walking the beach for shark teeth, and have access to a microscope such as that used in microbiology or pathology labs, or even the type used in high school biology labs, grab a sample of the sediment. Soak it in water until it disaggregates into mud, let it settle until the water is just a bit cloudy, and put a drop on a microscope slide with a coverslip. A magnification of 100X should reveal diatom frustules (or fragments thereof) among the remaining, unsettled particles of silt. Diatomists all have their own protocols to get such specimens almost perfectly clean, and permanent slides made with a mountant of high refractive index can be utterly gorgeous. I am currently working most intensely on samples from the somewhat later Choptank Formation, that outcrops at Richmond, Virginia. This is another locality that produces excellent specimens: This is one of the most enduring taxa in the geological record, appearing from the early Paleogene right up until the present day, and it can be very abundant. A common triangular form. There are many genera of triangular centric diatoms. And other radial shapes are possible, too: So far as I am aware, this unique specimen is the earliest known example of this taxon, which is still found today in tropical waters. The breakage in the top "arm" is unfortunate, but what can I say: the specimen is, thus far, unique. One might expect modern contamination of the sample, were it not for the fact that the Richmond localities occur far from the contemporary ocean coast -- they are not "watered" by modern waves! That's it -- the 3.95 MB limit..............................

I have about 8 acres of coastal estuary in northern Nova Scotia, and decided to take a look at the estuary sediments to see if I could find any fossils. Yes, they are there! Microfossils and lots of other life including ostracoda. Using my hand lens I could see them very well. Will invest at sometime in a microscope and maybe I will see even more. Hand lens for scale for foraminifera and ostracod scale is in millimeters.

Hey everyone, a recent post here inspired me to create a cheap digital microscope for photographing/analyzing small fossils based on this tutorial by Yoshinok on instructables.com - http://www.instructables.com/id/10-Smartphone-to-digital-microscope-conversion/. I made a few modifications to his design, mostly size adjustments and such, but either way it is important to note that I do not take any credit for the design and instructions that I am posting here, I am only doing it to show how I did it and how it can be used for paleontology purposes. All credit goes to Yoshinok on the above link. The device can magnify at 175x or higher depending on the number of lenses used. It allows you to use a smartphone to take pictures or videos of very tiny objects. Using two lenses, you can actually see individual cells (and their internal structure) of plants. First off, as an idea of what this device looks like, here is a photo of the final product, without the smartphone. The entire device is about 6 inches wide and 4 inches across, and weighs very little. Here is an image of fossilized shark cartilage (or is it? lets find out!) found in the Cretaceous of North Mississippi. The structure is very difficult to see with the naked eye. Shark cartilage is usually identified by the pattern of the cartilage, which can only really be seen at high magnification. Good thing we have a digital microscope! Here is the cartilage magnified at 175x. The prismatic shape of each piece (for lack of a better word) of the cartilage indicates that this is indeed shark cartilage. Now to the fun part, the equipment and parts you need to construct this beautiful machine. The original author of this design said you could make it for $10. Sure you can, if you buy stuff at the right stores and use cheap materials, but I found that using all stainless metals (which are a good idea to have) and buying from Lowe's, it was closer to $20 total (minus the smartphone and equipment used to make it). DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any type of harm inflicted on someone making this device. The maker of this device claims full responsibility for any harm they do to themselves, others, or any inanimate and/or animate object within this universe. Equipment needed: - Some kind of saw, I used a scroll saw, but a jigsaw would work fine, or even a hand saw if you're careful. - Some kind of drill, I highly recommend a drill press as it is much easier to get straight holes with one, but a hand drill will work too if you do it right. - 5/16 inch and 11/64 inch drill bits - sandpaper, I used a Dremel tool with a sander attachment. hand sanders will work fine but will take more time. - Safety glasses and gloves - these are a must. Safety is your number one priority! These should be worn at all times. Parts needed: - 1x Piece of wood, at least 2 inches wider and 2 inches longer than your smartphone's length and width. Thickness should be at least a half inch for strength. - 3x 5/16 inch carriage bolts at least 3 inches long. - 9x 5/16 inch nuts - 5x 5/16 inch flat washers (not the tightening ones). - 2x 5/16 inch wing nuts - 1x piece of plexiglass/acrylic, Width must be at least as wide as our piece of wood, and at least as long as your piece of wood, plus 3 inches. Thickness should be about 1/8 inch. For example: if your wood is 6 inches long and 4 inches wide, your plexiglass should be 8 inches long and 5 inches wide. - 1x laser pointer (the super cheap kind, mine was like $2). The laser pointer has the lens you need in it. If you want 375x magnification, get two laser pointers. - 1x LED light. This is OPTIONAL. It is only needed for looking at translucent materials, like leaves. Most fossils are opaque so it is useless in that scenario. NOTE: If you don't have the equipment needed to build this, or just simply don't feel like it, I would be happy to buy the materials and make one for you if you trade a fossil for it. I like teeth, especially Cretaceous teeth of dinosaurs . Just PM me about it and we will go from there, but I highly advise making your own, simply because it is fun and educational! Here are my parts that I used: STEP 1: Get the lens out of the laser pointer. - Remove the cap from the tip of the laser pointer like shown. The lens is in the black plastic cap. This can vary between different laser pointers Here is the lens - Now take the acrylic you bought and use a pen to outline the dimensions of your wood base on the acrylic, and then cut it on the lines. Note: Acrylic breaks very easy, and often splinters, so go slow and be careful. - Next, mark three holes with a pen - two on the front corners and one on the back middle side of the wood base. Use the 5/16 inch drill bit to drill holes on the points you marked all the way through the wood. - Using the holes you just drilled a guides, mark the same holes on the piece of acrylic you already cut and drill it out all the way through. - Outline your specimen slide with the pen with the width of your already cut acrylic, and length about 1.5 inches. Then cut this piece out. - Drill two holes on each side of the specimen slide, at the same locations of the holes you drilled on front side of the already cut acrylic. - Drill a hole in the front of the main acrylic piece (the side with the two holes) using an 11/64 inch drill bit. Push the lens into this hole. It will be a tight fit, and needs to be, but if it doesn't go in at all, try widening the hole in tiny increments using the drill bit until the lens just barely fits in the hole. DO NOT use glue to hold it in, you risk getting it on the lens and ruining it if you do. - Push the carriage bolts though the holes at the bottom of the wood base you drilled out, as shown. - Place a washer on all three carriage bolts, and then a nut on each bolt. Tighten the nuts down. See image below. - Place a wing nut upside down on each of the front two carriage bolts, and then a washer on top of each of these. Slide the specimen slide down the carriage bolt on top of the washers. - Now add a nut on each carriage bolt, slide the main acrylic piece onto the bolts, and tighten it down with another nut on each carriage bolt. The final product should look like this from the front. NOTE: For higher magnification, put another lens on top of the first one (may require thicker acrylic). You are ready to take microscopic pictures now! To use the device, put an object on the specimen slide directly underneath the lens, and align your smartphone's camera with the lens. To focus the microscope, adjust the height of the specimen slide using the wing nuts until you see the image clearly. This distance is called the focal point, and isa characteristic of the lens. My focal point was at a distance of about 1 cm, so the slide should be pretty close to the lens. If anyone has any questions or suggestions, please let me know! Also, here is a shark tooth under the microscope

I have just noticed that many of the larger microfossils I have found are noticeably attracted to a strong neodymium magnet. What has occurred in fossilization for this to happen?

Decided to take some extra hash shale I had boxed up and give it the vinegar bath treatment to see what might be hiding inside of it. I was actually really excited to see all the very tiny crinoid bits in there. I was stoked to see a rather tiny cup in there as well. (Uppermost sample in the photo.) A nice big Mediospirifer that literally plopped out of a random rock I had thrown in. Also found this tiny little Eldredgeops in there. Notice that's a thumbnail in the background!

Hi everyone, I've recently done some shale collecting near the Rocky River in Ohio. I've found the shale in this area is late Devonian to Mississippian, and is good matrix to look for microfossils. I've collected some smaller material that I'm soaking and freezing to disaggregate, and also some larger material (1-6 inches). I wanted to know if anyone has had any experience with matrix from this area/from this period and if so are you more successful with smaller or larger material? Thanks very much!

Hi everyone! I recently came back from a little expedition in the north of France, where I prospected for Chalk bryozoan fragments. All of them were found in a number chalk nodules, all of them recovered from two outcrops… in a forest. Along with the various bryozoan fragments that I recovered from the matrix, I also found a small bivalve. My best find of the expedition, though, was a fragment of an echinoderm spine (Tylocidaris?), which are quite rare in that area. I will show the pictures of the fossils in another post. In that post, I will also provide a more detailed narrative of the field trip. This was just a "prélude". Have a nice day!

Hi All - I've recently been inspired by a number of members' posts about microfossils and have been sorting through some matrix from the US that I was sent. I currently live in Singapore and am wondering if anyone knows of any microfossil sites in or near Southeast Asia where collecting would be legal? I realize this is a long shot but thought I'd float the question. Many thanks in advance! Charlie

Here are a few of the micro fossils I've been having fun with recently. I've gathered some micro-matrix from Jeff's magic cookiecutter shark creek as well as some from the Peace River where John and I had good success with large mammal fossils (Proboscideans in particular). I've gone through a couple of plastic Solo cups of the cookiecutter micro-matrix in search of additional specimens of Isistius shark teeth to add to my small but growing collection. In my last batch of micro-matrix from this spot I've found a few nice ones including an unbelievable number of midline (symphyseal) teeth. This batch has already given up two Isistius and they've been nice complete teeth and not the more common fragments. Apparently, I must be some sort of Pied Piper of Isistius or possibly a symphyseal savant as one of these two is a really nice looking tooth with the two overlap notches on the same side marking this tooth as yet another symphyseal--I think this makes 3 or 4 now. A nice complete symphyseal Isistius and a more common non-symphyseal with a bit of a chip on one corner: Cheers. -Ken

if you don't want to spend the money for a microscope or microscope camera here is a low budget device that will get acceptable micro pix. For $10. It will also work well on small megafossils. I got this at the mostly defunct Radio Shack, but I am sure it is still around. ( got it last X-mas) It slides on over your phone camera lens, and provides its own illumination. Just move it up or down to focus ( variable X) and take the photo. I have provided both edited and unedited pix to compare. (the only editing was to get them the same size). These specimens are from the U.Ordovician , Grant Lake Formation, Elk Creek , KY 2-3 mm in length. They are on standard 60 grid micro slides, about 3.5 mm on a side for each box.