Auspex Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 The Santana Formation, in the Araripe Basin of N.E. Brazil, is world-famous for the richness and fine preservation of its Cretaceous fossils. Many fine specimens have been posted by our members, and I wanted to start a thread to collect a sampling here in one place. I have only one fossil from the Santana (Crato Member, apx. 100 MYBP), but it's something on the rare side: a feather. More specifically it is a small (and incomplete) down feather, well preserved and showing a fine rachis, barbs, but no barbules. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 (edited) That's a nice feather! Here is rhacolepsis. Pretty common, I guess. Nick Edited February 25, 2010 by 32fordboy www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Trying to keep things together Here is a link to similar Santana Fm thread: http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?showtopic=10642 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baybay Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Wow those fish fossil look so real...very cool fossils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 fossil feathers are really cool. something which seems so delicate and ephemeral became preserved "forever" until it could find its way into the life of a human who could appreciate it. now i'll wonder forever what happened to the bird...did it just lose the one down feather whilst preening and never even notice it, or was there a whole fossilized bird a foot or so away from the feather that maybe you should go find? it's almost friday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Stunning fossils Guys !.... feathers & fish lol.... wonder if it was off a diving bird Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted February 25, 2010 Author Share Posted February 25, 2010 Here's a link to the Wikipedia article about this rich Lagerstatte: WIKI LINK Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, turtles, insects, and of course fish are all represented there. Some of the fish have their stomach contents preserved, and insights into the paleoecology of the deposit have resulted from their study! Anybody want to post their Santana insects? "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oilshale Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Here is an Araripelepidotus temnurus, Agassiz 1841. Length is about 51cm or 20". As usual from this site, I got the fish as a split geode. So I glued it together and used a grinding machine to remove as much as possible. Then I prepped it from above with a pneumatic air scribe under a binocular. Not yet finished - will still need another 20 to 50 hours or so. Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes (Confucius, 551 BC - 479 BC). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastoid Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I should tell you about the room stuffed with Santana fish I saw. Completely untouched, unstudied, hundreds of them. Shelves full. Barrels full. Fish a meter long. Hundreds of insects. A multi-million dollar collection, just sitting there, nobody on the staff particularly interested... Makes you wonder. Blastoid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I should tell you about the room stuffed with Santana fish I saw. Completely untouched, unstudied, hundreds of them. Shelves full. Barrels full. Fish a meter long. Hundreds of insects. A multi-million dollar collection, just sitting there, nobody on the staff particularly interested... Makes you wonder. Blastoid let me guess ... Is this the ROM ?.... PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blastoid Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 University of Guelph. Call 'em up and have a look if you're a Santana fan. Supposedly a 7 million dollar collection was donated, by a guy looking at some jail time, they got half the collection, I forget the whole sordid tale. Go here, click on University of Guelph button at top to see a hundred photos: http://www.thefossilguy.co.nr/ The stuff is just sitting there, ignored. Note the BARREL full of little squared-up fish plates. Makes me a sad panda. Blastoid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 (edited) Wow... thanks for the link Blastoid... you need to hit the University of Guelph menu to see the +100 photos.... what a sight..... that is one big collection! PL Edited March 4, 2010 by pleecan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redlichia Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Aspidorhynchus comptoni (Vinctifer comptoni) 36cm ->>>>> < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Aspidorhynchus comptoni (Vinctifer comptoni) 36cm Very rarely do you see a comptoni with the 'complete shnout'. Thats one of the nicest ive seen. I have several fish from the santana, but lord knows where they are at the moment? Here is a picture of my comptoni. Still needs some prep work. Someday. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Aspidorhynchus comptoni (Vinctifer comptoni) 36cm [ Very nice collection.... nice sharp details to be seen. Thanks for posting. PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redlichia Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Thanks to all, Rb the your comptoni is very nice too,the same for the your interesting crabs:) ->>>>> < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubonius Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Aspidorhynchus comptoni (Vinctifer comptoni) 36cm very very intersting Red ..... mmmmh not only a complete exemplar but twice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 University of Guelph. Call 'em up and have a look if you're a Santana fan. Supposedly a 7 million dollar collection was donated, by a guy looking at some jail time, they got half the collection, I forget the whole sordid tale. Go here, click on University of Guelph button at top to see a hundred photos: http://www.thefossilguy.co.nr/ The stuff is just sitting there, ignored. Note the BARREL full of little squared-up fish plates. Makes me a sad panda. Blastoid What a waste... Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 (edited) Anybody want to post their Santana insects? How about a 40mm fish and 6mm insect combo.... surrounded with dendritic pseudo fossils. PL Edited March 14, 2010 by pleecan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted March 14, 2010 Author Share Posted March 14, 2010 Oooooo; that's a great association! I note that the dendrites (manganese?) are formed on parts of the fish skeleton; I guess this shows that the bedding plane of the shale opened a bit before excavation. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 The dendrites ( not sure the composition could be maganese compound)represents natures art work.... neat looking stuff... reminds me of graphtolites patterns from the ordovician. PL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redlichia Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 The dendrite is oxide of Manganese minerals,pseudofossils. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudofossil ->>>>> < Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleecan Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Thanks Redlichia for the link and information. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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