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  2. Ludwigia started following Indiana Ice Age Fossils
  3. Ludwigia

    Indiana Ice Age Fossils

    Ludwigia replied to JoeyN101's topic in General Fossil Discussion

    Research, research, research. Fieldwork, fieldwork, fieldwork.
  4. pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon started following Mixosaurus I bought. and Genuine Plesiosaurus skull ?
  5. pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon

    Genuine Plesiosaurus skull ?

    pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon replied to Brevicolis's topic in Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications

    A decent enough reconstructed skull. You can be assured that the teeth have been replaced, as there are far more present than you'd expect the skull to have been found with, and the teeth easily break off - both during fossilisation, preparation and shipping. It's not without reason that Moroccan plesiosaur teeth traditionally were sold preferentially left in matrix and that many of those removed from matrix show signs of having been stuck back together...! Another clue that these teeth have been replaced is that many seem too big for the skull and even for the alveoli into which they have been placed, with there being no variation in height after the sympheseal part of the mandible. See the below diagram to see what I mean. Cranium of Muraenosaurus leedsi (fig 4. from Noè, Taylor and Gómez-Pérez, 2017) Plesiosaur bone in general seems to also have been rather brittle, and I've been told this may have been due to a high cartilaginous component in their make-up. For this reason, jaws and skull parts are only found a couple of times a year, and certainly with much less frequency than mosasaur material. This both increases the price of plesiosaur skulls, as well as makes it more likely that there's at least some reconstruction. Taking this into consideration, the lower jaw/mandible doesn't seem to be too bad - although, as @rocket pointed out, something seems to be going on with the right half of it on the lingual side (seems to have been incompletely removed from its matrix). Compare with the below specimen: As concerns the rest of the skull, the angle of the photographs and the way these were cut out really doesn't help, as they provide a distorted look of the fossil. However, my general impression is that the overall morphology is correct, even if the skull may have been foreshortened to match the size of the mandible a bit. Compare with the below: (source) Also, below, for reference, are some further images of reconstructed specimens that I'd consider qualitative. From this I'd say that the skull posted above is a bit too tall and short - which, again, is likely due to the cranium and mandible of different individuals have been used to composite it. Hope this helps!
  6. rocket
    Sometimes they are on the market. The ichthyo itself is not sooooooooooooo expensive, but shipping... We often thought about to buy an unprepped one in hugher size (possible to get some at 50 x 50 cm - slabs, but then they normally do not have a good posture), the ones with great posture like the one @Crazyhen showed is really more attractive. Prep will take time, but with airbrasive it is possible to get fantastic result. I would assume, when @Crazyhen finished the prep of his great one with airbraisive more details could be seen.
  7. pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon

    Mixosaurus I bought.

    pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon replied to JJ Lavoie's topic in Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications

    All ichthyosaurs (sensu lato) had sclerotic rings. However, due to the fragile nature of the bone that comprises these rings, as well as due to them being comprised of numerous smaller bone segments, it's easy for them to get crushed, dispersed, destroyed or otherwise lost. The same goes for the other major marine reptile clades - the plesiosaurs (sensu lato) and mosasaurs - too. They also had sclerotic rings, though these are rarely preserved. This doesn't imply OP's specimen is inauthentic, as it clearly is the real deal I agree! Awesome specimen! Wish I could get myself a nice one like this someday...! Especially the paddles are hugely interesting to me, as the bone structure is so different from later parvipelvian ichthyosaurs - much closer to their terrestrial tetrapod ancestors!
  8. Mssaraeliza

    Identifying some rocks collected

    Mssaraeliza replied to Mssaraeliza's topic in Fossil ID

    All found in Wyoming county PA. I will look at other posts to see the right way of going about posting these. Sorry for posting so many at once with so few details.
  9. Mssaraeliza started following Identifying some rocks collected
  10. Mssaraeliza

    Identifying some rocks collected

    Mssaraeliza replied to Mssaraeliza's topic in Fossil ID

  11. Mssaraeliza

    Identifying some rocks collected

    Mssaraeliza replied to Mssaraeliza's topic in Fossil ID

  12. Mssaraeliza

    Identifying some rocks collected

    Mssaraeliza replied to Mssaraeliza's topic in Fossil ID

    Thankyou. Im quite new to this. I appreciate the reply.
  13. Today
  14. Al Dente

    fossil help

    Al Dente replied to fossil35's topic in Fossil ID

    Looks like bits of crab shell.
  15. Al Dente

    Is this a Horn Shark heterodontus anterior tooth?

    Al Dente replied to BlueFossils's topic in Fossil ID

    It looks like one. The root is missing which makes it a little difficult to positively ID, but Heterodontus looks like a good match.
  16. rocket
    @Crazyhen: great specimen! Do you go to finish prep on it one day?
  17. Rockwood

    Possible Vertebra in Upstate NY

    Rockwood replied to Honeymayoon's topic in Fossil ID

    Sorry, this looks like pyrite to me. The mineral does sometimes replace fossils, but I don't recognize this as such.
  18. Crazyhen
    It's genuine and not coloured, though not complete and is partly decomposed. You may compare it with this complete specimen.
  19. JoeyN101
    I'm really wanting to find ice age mammal fossils in Indiana. What is my best chance of doing this successfully? I live in central indiana and we have a creek we own with some gravel beds.
  20. Yoda
    @MarcoSr Some fantastic Agate from Indonesia
  21. Yoda
    @Kimber Some really nice finds
  22. Opabinia Blues started following ThePhysicist
  23. Kimber
    I would say yes! I think we need a land owner, a small group and a few loads of fun. Plenty to share!
  24. Kimber
    More goodies from my pile. I think I need to start selling some
  25. Honeymayoon

    Possible Vertebra in Upstate NY

    Honeymayoon posted a topic in Fossil ID

    Found this on the shore of the Hudson River near Albany, NY. Hoping this is a fossil protruding out and not just a rock! Thanks🙂 IMG_1056.MOV
  26. Doctor Mud
    Guess it will be a bit expensive to deliver to New Zealand
  27. Kimber
    I think I've figured it out. It's called Bank Run Shell Roadbase. Sold by the truck load.
  28. Doctor Mud
    Wow, there is some beautiful stuff in here for sure! Do you know where it comes from? Sometimes these spoil piles really produce the goods.
  29. jforbes
    Well that is much cooler than I imagined. Thank you for the help.
  30. pterosaur_nerd

    Mixosaurus I bought.

    pterosaur_nerd replied to JJ Lavoie's topic in Is It Real? How to Recognize Fossil Fabrications

    nice fossil I remember seeing this one and considering buying it . nice to know it was a real one . terry
  31. dbrake40
    Thoughts on this vertebra? Found in a box of bison bones from Sherburne County Minnesota. Anoka Sand Plain materials - roughly 6k years old.
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