Jump to content

Late Cretaceous small tetrapods found in Lithuania


D.N.FossilmanLithuania

Recommended Posts

Dear Guys, 

 

I made the pictures of possible big discovery in Late Cretaceous erratics of Lithuania. 

There are some frog bones in flints (ilium, urostyle, tibiofibula, scapula), snake pieces (tibiofibula like of Tetrapodophis! and one thin scale), and toothed birs upper and lower jaw fossils.

If you could confirm these finds, it will be the first further my article in scientific magazine and I wish it will be successful. :)

There will be some posts, please review the pictures and tell what do you think. :)

At first, I will show you frog remains. 

 

Best Regards

Domas

frog ilium x.jpg

frog scapula x.jpg

frog scapula xx.jpg

frog tibiofibula x.jpg

frog urostyle x.jpg

frog urostyle xx.jpg

The second part- snake remains. :)

 

possible Tetrapodophis tibiofibula x.jpg

possible Tetrapodophis tibiofibula xx.jpg

unidentified tibiofibula x.jpg

snake scale.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And the last part- toothed bird jaws. :) 

hesperornithes beak.jpg

bird lower jaw fragment x.jpg

the end of the bird lower jaw x.jpg

bird upper jaw fragment x.jpg

bird upper jaw fragment xx.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And the links to tetrapod identification: 

1. Frogs. The document will be shared here- "Herpetofaunas,..." . :) 

2. Tetrapodophis leg bones . 

tetrapodophis-rear-limbs-shown-had-delicate-but-functional-limbs-that-may-have-been-used-for-grasping-prey-or-used-during-mating.png

3. Giant bird Samrukia lower jaw from Asia.

Vaizdo rezultatas pagal užklausą „samrukia fossil“ 

4. Hesperornis skull (look at the end of upper jaw). :) 

Vaizdo rezultatas pagal užklausą „hesperornis skull“

Jass & Gardner 2013 - Herpetofaunas from the 'overburden' (Quaternary) of western Canada (1).pdf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, big find! Let me know what comes of it.

“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very cool, I have only worked with specimens in shale and slate so I am unfamiliar with what fossils look like in the rock you have. But the first photos i do see the frogs back leg very cool find!

"I am going to dig up dinosaurs whether they are liquid or solid"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Am curious to know what the associated fauna is in the flints. Very interesting fossils!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you very much :D Yes, I will tell what tybes of fauna I have found in these Late Cretaceous rocks.

There are many cidaroid and spatangoid sea urchins, sponges, molluscs like bivalves and belemnites, modern brachiopods, worm skeletons, very rarely- bryozoans and corals. 

From Vertebrate type I also have the masses of cycloid and ctenoid scales, fish bones in these erratics, there are also some shark teeth but they are not very common. 

One time, I also found the carapace pieces and chelicera like leg ends of crab or lobster, so I think these are the rocks formed in shallow sea. :) 

There also could be many islands around and the continent was also not far. Our Cretaceous basin was located in England, Denmark, Germany, Kaliningrad, Poland, Lithuania and Byelorussia, the Lithuania actually was the side of basin which was the most far in North. :)

 

Best Regards

Domas

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear Whodaman HD, I wanted to say that the frog, snake and bird fossils are the first cases in Lithuania and Baltic States.

Talking about Lithuanian flints the bony fish cycloid and ctenoid scales and other remains, small tetrapods till now were not identified. 

These fossils are small- the size is between 2 mm and 1,5 cm. :) 

One more thing that I am interested in is that John Brewer said that the snake scale needs help to ID or confirm, so I would like to ask you one question. 

Anyone knows the Cretaceous fossil specialist who has worked with small tetrapod remains? ;)

 

Best Regards

Domas 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, D.N.FossilmanLithuania said:

Thank you very much :D Yes, I will tell what tybes of fauna I have found in these Late Cretaceous rocks.

There are many cidaroid and spatangoid sea urchins, sponges, molluscs like bivalves and belemnites, modern brachiopods, worm skeletons, very rarely- bryozoans and corals. 

From Vertebrate type I also have the masses of cycloid and ctenoid scales, fish bones in these erratics, there are also some shark teeth but they are not very common. 

One time, I also found the carapace pieces and chelicera like leg ends of crab or lobster, so I think these are the rocks formed in shallow sea. :) 

There also could be many islands around and the continent was also not far. Our Cretaceous basin was located in England, Denmark, Germany, Kaliningrad, Poland, Lithuania and Byelorussia, the Lithuania actually was the side of basin which was the most far in North. :)

 

Best Regards

Domas

 

Pics of associated fauna possible? This is a fascinating topic!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, D.N.FossilmanLithuania said:

Yes, I will show some of them ;)

 

Demosponge, Late Cretaceous.JPG

Echinocorys sea urchin, Late Cretaceous.JPG

Eucidaris sea urchin spine, Campanian- Maastrichtian.JPG

Inoceramus bivalve, Late Cretaceous.JPG

Frondicularia foraminiferan, Campanian- Maastrichtian.JPG

Hexactinellid sponge, Late Cretaceous 2.JPG

Hexactinellid sponge, Late Cretaceous 5.JPG

Lenticulina foraminiferan, Campanian- Maastrichtian.JPG

Nice strange collection. Could you post identification for them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, I will tell you. :) 

Fish remains:

1- Ctenothrissiformes scale.

2,3- Elopiformes scales.

4- not visible, sorry.

5- Pycnodont tooth.

6- Scapanorhynchus shark tooth.

7- Unidentified bony fish scale.

Invertebrates:

1- Demospongian, 2- Echinocorys sea urchin, 3- Cidaroid sea urchin spine, 4- Inoceramid bivalve, 5- Frondicularia foraminiferan, 6,7- Hexactinellid sponge textures,

8- Lenticulina foraminiferan. :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Look at this piece of bone- it should be larger Cretaceous tetrapod (Pterodactyl, etc.), the identification would be also helpful although the piece is small. ;)

Regards

Domas 

possible Pterodactyl bone.jpg

possible pterodactyl bone xx.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And other small tetrapod fossils- some of them are only possible. :) 

 

bird lower jaw fragment xx.jpg

reptile scale.jpg

unidentified rib bone.jpg

unidentified scapula xx.jpg

unidentified skull bone.jpg

mosasaur osteoderm.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please recommend me the specialist contacts if somebody knows. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting, this material looks exactly like what I find in Denmark.

 

I find foraminifers and preserved bone pieces in hardened chalk but they are always fish related which would make sense since the ocean was deeper over here.

 

I'm curious, do you also have a layer of around 20cm that we call "the crab layer" over here because it preserves crabs and snails which are extremely rare otherwise?

 

Really can't help with any ID though

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear Phevo, 

The fossil of crab legs and carapace fragments was found in the rocks where these fossils are not very common, it was glauconite sandstone of Campanian- Maastrichtian age. 

In that sandstone prevail bivalve molluscs, there are almost not any gastropods and etc. Unfortunately, I found that fossils about 7-8 years ago and now it is not in my collection.

Talking about fishes and tetrapod remains I think that fishes are more numerous but tetrapods can also be found almost everywhere in these formations. 

Notice that Cretaceous sea was also located in the Southest Sweden, The Lithuanian basin edge cannot be found in Latvia or other country in North.

One more thing- I also know that the nearest dinosaur fossils from Lithuania is found in Bornholm island so in Lithuanian deposits tetrapods are also quite possible. 

I agree that frog or lizard bones are similar to fish bones, they are small animals too. :)   

I think it is even possible to find very small mammal in the same formations (I saw pictures from UK), however the attributes should differ from frogs or small lepidosaurs. ;)

I already sent pictures by email to specialist, don't know if he will help, I do not know the complete specialisation of him only "Mesozoic vertebrates" :D

 

Best Regards

Domas    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

THank you for suggestion, Dear John Brewer. :) 

In Vilnius university (my country Lithuania) recently worked two specialists of vertebrates- Andrej Spiridonov and Zivile Zigaite.

But now they work abroad so I have nobody to consult with, and have only one version- to try contact specialist or museum team in abroad. :)

But thank you very much. :D

 

Best Regards

Domas 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

I agree about this one being a hexactinellid sponge. It looks similar to the Cretaceous-Eocen Guettardiscyphia .

 

5926d23711f6e_HexactinellidspongeLateCretaceous2.JPG.d82179f6f005ac40132f7bebb671d509.JPG.c3a5557d43fce4ef1d31597ddbd8763a.JPGgallery_11087_1603_41890.thumb.jpg.1f7588753e49be35cabde72360bc4180.jpggallery_11087_1603_127807.jpg.3c1fe3eec5bed1dd1b86e2effdecbe28.jpg

comparative pictures from here

 

" We are not separate and independent entities, but like links in a chain, and we could not by any means be what we are without those who went before us and showed us the way. "

Thomas Mann

My Library

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...