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Let’s See Your BIG Fossils!


FossilNerd

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We have many wonderful threads that let members show off some of their fossils. Threads like “Fossil du Jour” and your “Latest Mail Box Score.” In that same spirit, I wanted to see if anyone would be willing to share examples of some of their BIG fossils. It could be as simple as the largest fossil in your collection, or the largest example you have of a certain type of fossil. Just as long as you would in some way consider them to be on the large side.

 

I’ll go first. ;) 
 

This is the largest fossil in my collection. It's a piece of petrified wood. Its roughly 15in long x 14in wide and 4.75in thick. That's  about 38cm x 35.5cm x 12cm to the rest of the world. I can't find my scale to weigh the thing, but it is at least 50 pounds or roughly 22.5kg. I would guess it to weigh more. Unfortunately, I have no information on this piece. It was gifted to me by a friend who had it gifted to them by someone else.

 

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This is the largest crinoid columnal (in diameter) that I have ever found. It's about 1.25in wide (3.1cm). It's from the lower Mississippian. (Borden Formation, Muldraugh member). Unidentified as of now.  

 

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

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7 minutes ago, Ruger9a said:

Here is a Calamite that is about 19 inches

Very nice! Thanks for sharing! :) 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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Here are the rest of the photos.  Not sure if this classified as BIG, but it's the largest I've got.

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5 minutes ago, Ruger9a said:

Here are the rest of the photos.  Not sure if this classified as BIG, but it's the largest I've got.

I think it fits the criteria for the thread. :thumbsu:

Calamites were basically tree sized horsetail plants. Seems BIG to me!  

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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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My two biggest:

 

Vinctifer comptoni

Cretaceous Santana formation

Brazil

Me for scale

65126762_931815210505952_4819478460353216512_o.jpg.915575ed576d420bf91843c200039ef5.jpg

 

Campanile giganteum

Eocene

Paris basin, France

Hand for scale

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Not a big individual, not my biggest fossil.  But this is the biggest thing within easy reach.  A cute little Titanothere palate.  Sorry for the out of focus scale, its ~8" in depth too.

 

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We just picked up a fossil that is now easily our biggest. It is not even here yet. Shipping may take a little longer than usual lol

Previously our biggest were a Camarasaurus rib section and a Diplodocus coracoid (2nd picture), both right around 14" x 10". This one is quite a bit bigger and much heavier. We think the kids will LOVE it.

 

Diplodocus sp

Partial pubus

Jurassic

Morrison Formation

Wyoming

 

23"x 10". It is 4 inches thick and weighs over 20 pounds.

diplopubis.jpg

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4 minutes ago, fossilsonwheels said:

We just picked up a fossil that is now easily our biggest. It is not even here yet. Shipping may take a little longer than usual lol

Previously our biggest were a Camarasaurus rib section and a Diplodocus coracoid (2nd picture), both right around 14" x 10". This one is quite a bit bigger and much heavier. We think the kids will LOVE it.

 

Diplodocus sp

Partial pubus

Jurassic

Morrison Formation

Wyoming

 

23"x 10". It is 4 inches thick and weighs over 20 pounds.

diplopubis.jpg

 

I had no idea how small that picture of the big bone would be. Ironic lol I will post a better picture when it arrives.

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Coral mound all the way through, and around forming a rough sphere (and partially buried, to boot). Devonian (late Emsian). 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Love this thread already! 
Here are my biggest fossils from my collection:

 

A partial vertebra from a whale found in the North Sea, around 1 million years old

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A 40+ cm long Megaloceros giganteus femur also found in the North Sea, 20 000 years old

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A 55 cm long wooly mammoth tibea found in the North Sea, around 20 000 years old

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A large Erymnoceras with a diameter of 24 cm, found in St. Laon in France (165 mya)

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A 30 cm long piece of Sigillaria trunk from Ibbenburen in Germany (Carboniferous)

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A large Pteria approximata found during our first hunt in Eben-Emael in Belgium (67 mya)

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A large 40 cm long piece of petrified wood (Glyptostroboxylon sp.) found in Hoegaarden, Belgium (54,9 mya)

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And my biggest fossil of them all, my large 1,1 meter long lower jaw from a Prognathodon sp. mosasaur, found in Khouribga in Morocco. (72 mya)

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Here is the mosasaur jaw next to my 1,9 meter long Spinosaurus skull reconstruction for scale.

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Interested in all things paleontology, geology, zoology, evolution, natural history and science!
Professional exotic pet keeper, huge fantasy geek, explorer of the microfossil realm, member of the BVP (Belgian Association for Paleontology), Volunteer prepper at Oertijdmuseum Boxtel.  

View my collection topic here:

The Growing Collection of Ziggycardon
My animal collection at the "Members pet" topic

Ziggycardon's exploration of the microfossil realm

Trips to Eben Emael (Maastrichtian of Belgium)

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Next project will be a dedicated prepping space.

 

"A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge." - Tyrion Lannister

 

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This is the largest ammonite I have found not massive but a good size. 
 

Stemmatoceras large .

Sherborne Dorset uk

 

 

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Now that’s what I’m talking about!!! Thanks everyone for adding to the thread! Awesome stuff! :dinothumb:

@gigantoraptor

Im not sure how big Campanile giganteum get, but it sure looks massive to me. Love it! The Vinctifer comptoni is bad either!  

 

@Abstraktum

That's a nice big set of mosasaur verts!

 

@Kane

I love coral and that’s a big one! 

 

@fossilsonwheels

Nice! The kiddos will love it!

 

@ParkerPaleo

Maybe not your biggest, but a nice fossil non the less!

 

@ziggycardon

Your collection never ceases to amaze! Thanks for sharing!

 

@Ludwigia @Bobby Rico

I was hoping for some giant sized ammonites and you two delivered! Thanks!

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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Oh boi, fun idea for a thread.

 

Yes I do have a bunch of big fossils.

 

I have my woolly rhino (coelodonta antiquitatis) skeleton composite of course. Or is that cheating as it's made up of isolated bones? The skull is about 70 cm long(2.2 feet), though that one is a replica. The whole skeleton is around 3 meters (10 feet). An old photo from last year as I haven't gotten any new bones for it since.

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My largest individual mammal bone is probably my woolly mammoth (mammuthus primigenius) left scapula. Around 70 cm long or so.

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I also have a Campanile giganteum shell. Though it's not as nice looking as @gigantoraptor's specimen.

This species is actually the largest snail in the world. My specimen is 30 cm long (11.8 inch). Though it's not complete, so it's possible that it might have been around 40 cm. Still my largest invertebrate.

Campanile_giganteum03.thumb.jpg.a1d1dfe03016779c4d5779a3182277dc.jpg

 

My largest dinosaur fossil would be an adult hadrosaur humerus from the Two Medicine formation. I'm still prepping it so I don't have a good photo right now as it's in two pieces.

 

My second largest dinosaur fossil is a spinosaur scapula from the Kem Kem beds. It's around 40 cm long (15.7 inch). Though it's missing maybe a third of the length.

It also has some lovely gnaw marks.

 
 

 

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Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite

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My biggest to date.  A section of Proboscidian jaw bone found in the Peace River, FL.  

Approximately 8" overall and weighing 3.4 lbs.

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3 hours ago, LordTrilobite said:

 

I have my woolly rhino (coelodonta antiquitatis) skeleton composite of course. Or is that cheating as it's made up of isolated bones? The skull is about 70 cm long(2.2 feet), though that one is a replica. The whole skeleton is around 3 meters (10 feet). An old photo from last year as I haven't gotten any new bones for it since.

:default_faint::drool:

Cheating or not, that is a thing of beauty! Thanks so much for sharing! 
 

I think I would have it on every post. Make it my signature!

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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is it cheating to tell you guys about a 12 foot long Eocene petrified tree I collected if I have no pix?  It is now party of the yard decor which under a foot of snow.  The most interesting part of it was that the portions that was on the surface was orange-ish in color while the stuff I dug out of the rock was dark brown to black.  True, that is not interesting, but dig this... the freshly dug pieces turned to orange-ish within two weeks of sitting in my yard.  Yes, less than two weeks.

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In my limited experience, fossil price increases exponentially with size. 

So I tend to keep to the smaller end of the scale. :look:

 

The material found on my one and only collecting trip so far was quite fragile. Biggest piece was about hand sized. 

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160.png MotM August 2023 - Eclectic Collector

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My largest belemnite, 22" Megateuthis suevica, Bajocian, near Osnabrück, Germany, a purchase.

With the largest one of the same species - a mere 10" -  that I've found in the UK (Yorkshire coast).

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Tarquin

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4 hours ago, Yoda said:

In my limited experience, fossil price increases exponentially with size. 

So I tend to keep to the smaller end of the scale. :look:

 

The material found on my one and only collecting trip so far was quite fragile. Biggest piece was about hand sized. 

The piece doesn’t have to be something massive in size. It could be the biggest example you have of something that is normally small. Like my biggest crinoid example in the original post. Not massive in and of itself, but large for a crinoid columnal. Even if you need a microscope to see it, it still could be big for what it is. ;) 

The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.  -Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. -Bill Nye (The Science Guy)

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