Requesting suggestions for a fosssil from each period

[matgerke]

So, I have sort of a long-term idea for a paleontology display I'd like in my house: one representative fossil from every geologic period. The basic idea is that I'd like a reasonably priced (i.e. $20 to $100) fossil for each period. I'm thinking of displaying them each on a 15cm x 12cm bean-bag to give the display some coherence, so I'd like them to be roughly the same size (or at least the matrices to be the same size). I'd also like them to say something about the period (for instance, maybe a group that arose in that period, or dominated that period, or went extinct in that period).

So, bottom line, I'm looking for suggestions for medium-sized, moderately priced fossils from each geologic period. Hopefully each piece would be visible from a distance and have some conversation value. Here's what I have so far:

• Pre-cambrian: I have a nice Strelley Pool Stromatolite
• Cambrian: (maybe a Fuxianhuia, if I can find one?)
• Ordovician: (maybe a starfish? They evolved during the Ordovician, I believe)
• Silurian: (maybe a Eurypterid?)
• Devonian: I have a very nice Devonian Trilobite.
• Carboniferous: no idea -- maybe a nice Crinoid? They were much more prominent in Carboniferous seas.
• Permian: no idea -- hopefully something that died out in the Great Dying.
• Triassic:
• Jurassic: Dinosaur fossils are expensive. Maybe a coprolite?
• Cretaceous: I have a decent Spinosaurus tooth
• Paleogene: (there are neat fish from Wyoming, but I'm not sure they're really "representative" of the Paleogene. It would be cool to find an early mammal.)
• Neogene: I have a nice Megalodon tooth
• Quaternary: (maybe a mammoth tooth?)

So, any suggestions from the wise people here?

Thanks,

Matt

[KansasFossilFinder]

For the Carboniferous some ferns from St. Clair would be fitting.

[Auspex]

To me, the affordable icon of the Jurassic is a nice British ammonite

[DPS Ammonite]

Here in the US the Carboniferous is broken into the Mississippian and the Pennsylvanian.

I suggest these fossils that are easy to ID at a distance:

• Mississippian- a fern in a Mazon Creek concretion.
• Permian- quadruped track way in Coconino Sandstone.
• Triassic- colorful petrified wood from the northern Arizona's Chinle Fm.

[Herb]

Crinoid for the Mississippian

fern from Mazon Creek, Pennsylvanian

Teeth or bones from the Permian

Edited January 27, 2016 by Herb

[jpc]

I think a nice shiny heteromorph ammonite would suit the Cretaceous well. I know, you already have a tooth, but in this writer's opinion, pointy conical teeth can be found from the Devonian through modern times.

Edited January 26, 2016 by jpc

[Ludwigia]

Here's my 2 cents. Trilobites arose in the Cambrian, so a plate with Elrathia kingi from the Wheeler Shale would not be quite so expensive as a Fuxianhuia. Fish became dominant during the Devonian. Eurypterids can be pretty expensive so maybe you should scale down to something from the class of the Echinoidea, which was quite dominant and diverse during the Silurian. I agree with Auspex' suggestion of ammonites for the Jurassic since they had their heyday then. Another possibility for the Paleogene could be birds, which began their diversification then.

Edited January 26, 2016 by Ludwigia

[Manticocerasman]

Triasic: Mabey a Ceratite? They are quite iconic for the Trias in Europe, but I don’t know if they are common in the rest of the world.

[Seaforth]

To me, the affordable icon of the Jurassic is a nice British ammonite

Yeah. I can even get one of those as I have a good friend in the UK who finds them with the bucket load as he lives near Whitby, UK (the Lucky swine :-) )

[matgerke]

Thanks all for the great suggestions! So here's what I have so far:

Pre-cambrian: Strelley Pool Stromatolite

Cambrian: Fuxianhuia / Elrathia kingi from the Wheeler Shale

Ordovician: starfish?

Silurian: Eurypterid / Echinoidea

Devonian: Phacops Trilobite / fish

Mississippian: crinoid

Pennsylvanian: fern from Mazon Creek

Permian: quadruped track in Coconino Sandstone / Teeth or bones

Triassic: petrified wood from Chinle Formation / Ceratite

Jurassic: coprolite / British ammonite

Cretaceous: Spinosaurus tooth / ammonite

Paleogene: bird / early mammal

Neogene: Megalodon tooth

Quaternary: mammoth tooth

Any other thoughts? I could still use some specific suggestions for the Ordovician, Permian, and Paleogene.

Thanks again!

Matt

[Manticocerasman]

Ordovician: a graptolite?

[Stocksdale]

Here's a twist..... for the plant folks! Some might be a bit hard to get

Precambrian--Stromatolites

Cambrian--Algae from Utah

Ordovician--Receptaculites

Silurian--Cooksonia

Devonian--Archaeopteris

Carboniferous--Lepidodendron

Permian--Early Cycad or Petasperm or Conifer

Triassic--Bennettite Plant (Zamites)

Jurassic--First Flowers (Archaefructus)

Cretaceous--Magnolia

Paleogene--Florrissant flower or Green River plants or Grass Fossils

[siteseer]

For the Ordovician you might be able to find a reasonably priced nautiloid section. That was the period they became dominant. You could also go with a matrix piece with brachiopods all over it. I've seen stuff like that from Ohio.

For the Permian you might be able to find a decent bone of a Dimetrodon, a synapsid with extended relatives that later led to mammals. You could also look for Glossopteris leaves on a small slab. Glossopteris is known from the southern continents - one of the indicators for continental drift/plate tectonics back in the 1960's when the idea that continents could move was starting to gain acceptance.

For the Paleogene a Wyoming fish is not too bad of an example as the Green River fishes belong to modern groups but now live in different regions, exemplifying how climates have changed since the Early Eocene - the warmest time of the Cenozoic. Still, you might want to spring for a Coryphodon molar which might cost $40 at most. Coryphodon remains are also known from Wyoming. It was one of the largest mammals of its time (Early Eocene) but the group it belongs to died out by the end of the Eocene - no modern relatives.

So, I have sort of a long-term idea for a paleontology display I'd like in my house: one representative fossil from every geologic period. The basic idea is that I'd like a reasonably priced (i.e. $20 to $100) fossil for each period. I'm thinking of displaying them each on a 15cm x 12cm bean-bag to give the display some coherence, so I'd like them to be roughly the same size (or at least the matrices to be the same size). I'd also like them to say something about the period (for instance, maybe a group that arose in that period, or dominated that period, or went extinct in that period).

So, bottom line, I'm looking for suggestions for medium-sized, moderately priced fossils from each geologic period. Hopefully each piece would be visible from a distance and have some conversation value. Here's what I have so far:

• Pre-cambrian: I have a nice Strelley Pool Stromatolite
• Cambrian: (maybe a Fuxianhuia, if I can find one?)
• Ordovician: (maybe a starfish? They evolved during the Ordovician, I believe)
• Silurian: (maybe a Eurypterid?)
• Devonian: I have a very nice Devonian Trilobite.
• Carboniferous: no idea -- maybe a nice Crinoid? They were much more prominent in Carboniferous seas.
• Permian: no idea -- hopefully something that died out in the Great Dying.
• Triassic:
• Jurassic: Dinosaur fossils are expensive. Maybe a coprolite?
• Cretaceous: I have a decent Spinosaurus tooth
• Paleogene: (there are neat fish from Wyoming, but I'm not sure they're really "representative" of the Paleogene. It would be cool to find an early mammal.)
• Neogene: I have a nice Megalodon tooth
• Quaternary: (maybe a mammoth tooth?)

So, any suggestions from the wise people here?

Thanks,

Matt

[Carcharodontosaurus]

For the Triassic, I would get a tooth from an early dinosaur like Coelophysis. A bit on the small side, but representative of the start of dinosaurs. For Paleogene, I'd get a section of oreodont jaw.

[paleoflor]

Here's a twist..... for the plant folks! Some might be a bit hard to get

A bit hard?! Best of luck with your Jurassic and Cretaceous entries...

I really like the idea of a palaeobotanical version, though.

It immediately reminded me of the nice logo of www.palaeobotany.org.

[paleoflor]

Thanks all for the great suggestions! So here's what I have so far:

Pre-cambrian: Strelley Pool Stromatolite

Cambrian: Fuxianhuia / Elrathia kingi from the Wheeler Shale

Ordovician: starfish?

Silurian: Eurypterid / Echinoidea

Devonian: Phacops Trilobite / fish

Mississippian: crinoid

Pennsylvanian: fern from Mazon Creek

Permian: quadruped track in Coconino Sandstone / Teeth or bones

Triassic: petrified wood from Chinle Formation / Ceratite

Jurassic: coprolite / British ammonite

Cretaceous: Spinosaurus tooth / ammonite

Paleogene: bird / early mammal

Neogene: Megalodon tooth

Quaternary: mammoth tooth

Any other thoughts? I could still use some specific suggestions for the Ordovician, Permian, and Paleogene.

Thanks again!

Matt

From a display perspective, a Pennsylvanian fern or pteridosperm frond from St. Clair (PA-USA) or the Piesberg (Germany) might be a better option than one from Mazon Creek. Specimens from these localities consist of light greyish to sometimes light yellowy imprints on a dark grey shale. Such contrast helps with "seeing" them from a distance in displays.

[Koss1959]

Yeah get a Jurassic ammonite. A nice Asteroceras or something. Or maybe an Ichthyosaur vert?

[Troodon]

For me the Permian says Dimetrodon or one of the other synapids, The Triassic is the dawn of the dinosaurs so a tooth/bone from one would be ideal to represent that period.

[Pterosaur]

You could get a lot of pretty neat, reasonably priced things for the Quaternary.

You could probably find a partial mammoth tooth for under $100. Giant ground sloth tooth would be another nice way to go. I've seen those sell for anywhere from $30-$100 on EBay if they aren't gigantic.If you really want to save money you could buy a bison antiquus tooth for about $10-20 or even an entire side of the jaw for probably no more than $40. A megaloceros partial antler would be REALLY cool, and I know I've seen them for $90-100. You just have to catch them quickly because they tend to go fast. Last suggestion is a Romanian cave bear tooth. The nice ones are a little bit out of the price range, but the ones in fair condition are normally less than $100.

There is a lot of cool stuff that is very recognizable from the Quaternary. Look no further than EBay for most of them.

[Carcharodontosaurus]

Another suggestion I have is to get matrix or rock samples to represent extinction events alongside the fossils. Like a K-Pg rock sample for the Cretaceous, a piece of basalt for the Permian, or even a spear point for the Quaternary.

[matgerke]

Another suggestion I have is to get matrix or rock samples to represent extinction events alongside the fossils. Like a K-Pg rock sample for the Cretaceous, a piece of basalt for the Permian, or even a spear point for the Quaternary.

I love this idea!

[matgerke]

Okay, I have started building the display. Will update this post with photos when it is up. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Pre-cambrian: Strelley Pool Stromatolite (purchased)

Cambrian: Fuxianhuia / Elrathia kingi from the Wheeler Shale

Ordovician: starfish / graptolite / brachiopod plate / nautiloid

Silurian: Eurypterid / Echinoidea

Devonian: fish / Phacops Trilobite (purchased)

Mississippian: crinoid

Pennsylvanian: fern from Mazon Creek or St. Claire

Permian: quadruped track in Coconino Sandstone / Dimetrodon bone

Triassic: petrified wood from Chinle Formation / Ceratite / Coelophysis tooth

Jurassic: Ammonite (purchased)

Cretaceous: Spinosaurus tooth (purchased)

Paleogene: Oreodont skull (purchased)

Neogene: Megalodon tooth (purchased)

Quaternary: Mammoth tooth (purchased)

[minnbuckeye]

I have been collecting in the Ordovician for three years now and have NOT seen a starfish. They are present but in very low numbers. I agree with Stocksdale that a recepticulite would be a much better representative of the period. They can be stunning in their surface pattern.

[matgerke]

I have now acquired at least something from each period.  Maybe over time I can improve on these.  Attaching photos of the display, in case anyone is interested.

[matgerke]

Archaean: Strelley Pool stromatolite

Ediacaran: Nemiana simplex

Cambrian: trilobite mortality plate

Ordovician: orthoceras

Silurian: sea scorpion

Devonian: trilobite and lobe-finned fish