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Where are all the British mosasaurs?
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon's topic in Questions & Answers
Sorry it's been a while I haven't been here, exams have kept me busy.. You raise an interesting point about how distance from land might factor into the occurrence of mosasaur remains.. However, I'd still maintain that variation in mosasaur fossil rarity is more tied into water depth. For instance - compare the chalks of two sites in the Danish Basin: Stevns Klint and Møns Klint. Both SK and MK are considered to be from roughly the same paleogeographical distance from the nearest landmass (Fennoscandia). The chalk at the former was deposited at depth ranges of ~100-200m, and the latter was deposited in deeper water ~200-300m (see papers by Jelby et al. 2014, and older literature from Surlyk, Rasmussen..) At Stevns Klint, mosasaurs are rare but not exceedingly so.. You've got a total of ~20 mosasaur shed teeth from that locality, as well as the partial skeletons from two individuals. At Møns Klint it's a different story: only 6 shed teeth ever found over there, no partial postcrania or anything else. Mosasaur remains are demonstrably more rare in the MK chalk, compared to the slightly shallower-deposited SK chalk. But who knows, honestly? It could be a combination of those two, or more factors! Also, I think it would be a good idea to introduce into this discussion the aspect of collecting bias, which undoubtedly skewers our data -
Where are all the British mosasaurs?
pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon replied to pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon's topic in Questions & Answers
I had reason to review Christian's presentation on the Møns Klint `Thoracosaurus` (see also), when I noticed a very useful map reconstruction that supports the above arguments on water depth playing a role in the occurrence of mosasaur remains in both the UK and Denmark and Germany. Unfortunately, I couldn't get at the exact map used, but I did find a number of other ones, most of which, however, are included in pay-walled articles. What I could get at, I've attached below: Late Campanian palaeogeography of Europe (Niechwedowicz, Walaszczyk and Barski, 2021) Upper Campanian palaeogeography of Europe (Jurkowska and Świerczewska-Gładysz, 2019) Upper Campanian-Lower Maastrichtian palaeogeography of Europe (Engelke et al., 2017) Maastrichtian palaeogeography of Europe (Jurkowska, Barski and Worobiec, 2019) While these maps clearly show that the Møns Klint `Thoracosaurus` would've been way out of its usual near-shore comfort-zone compared to Thoracosaurus macrorhynchus known from the chalk deposits in the Netherlands and Belgium, none of these shows the accompanying water depths. This is unfortunate, because considering the extents of the near-shore environments around the Welsh Massif (for some reason not reconstructed by Engelke et al. [2017]) and Mid-European Island the distance from there to the UK and Limburg (Belgian/Dutch) chalk deposits doesn't seem to differ too much - although, of course, the absolute distance between land and sea at these respective points is significantly larger in the UK. So, maybe, rather than water depth it could be distance to land that's a factor in occurrence of mosasaur remains? It would also be good to note that, contrary to popular perception, mosasaur/marine reptile remains are also not extremely abundant in the Low Countries, even if their occurrence there is higher than in other parts of Europe.
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Where are all the British mosasaurs?
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon's topic in Questions & Answers
Sorry I'm late to the party... but I think water depth might play a role when it comes to the rarity of mosasaur remains. See for instance, a lot of the chalk in southern England (e.g. Maastrichtian chalk in Norfolk) was deposited in a rather deep-water setting, probably a few hundred meters deep. This is similar to the chalk deposits in the Maastrichtian of Denmark (Møns Klint) or Germany (Rügen), where mosasaur fossils are exceedingly rare (material restricted to small handfuls of teeth). Compare with the Maastrichtian type area (Netherlands & Belgium), which represents a 40-50m-deep sea, and where mosasaur fossils are much more frequent. -
I'm back to the Forum - with updates about Danish crocodiles :)
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Hey hope y'all are doing well! Seems like I've been absent from here quite some time, huh? Between a rather intense semester at uni, and research work for the GeoCenter museum in Denmark, it's been a pretty darn busy past few months... But I'm back now, with some neat updates about the paleo stuff I've been up to lately Can't wait to browse through all the different TFF threads from the last weeks, too! The biggest thing I got up to - I participated for the first time in a paleontology conference!! It was really fun, I got to meet other up-and-coming paleontologists, took a workshop led by the brilliant Phil Mannion on how to better use the Paleobiology Database - and most importantly, there were some truly excellent talks about all sorts of interesting topics: unusual structures in mosasaur vertebrae, Silurian benthos paleoecology, resolving pterosaur taxonomy... I like to think that my talk was pretty good too, it garnered quite a bit of attention I presented Thoracosaurus crocodile bones from the Late Cretaceous chalk site Møns Klint (Denmark). My main conclusions were that the bones represent the oldest European gavialoid - and reveals that the transatlantic distribution of gavialoid crocs dates back at least to the early Maastrichtian. The Møns Klint specimen is also significant because crocs are simply darn rare in the chalk of Denmark, so new finds are really important to better understanding the paleoecology of the sea that covered Denmark and NW Europe in the Late Cretaceous. For those who are curious, here's a recording of my talk Hope you enjoy it!
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I'm gonna be participating in a conference!!
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Just wanted to share this bit of good news with you guys - I was accepted, some time ago, to present at a paleo conference The conference, Progressive Palaeontology 2021, is organised by the Palaeontological Association and is hosted (online) by the University College London (my uni!). It runs from tomorrow until the 19th. Although registration is now closed, some talks will be uploaded to Youtube (it's possible for presenters to ask to have their talks stay up on Youtube, publicly, even after the event has finished). Now although the conference is mostly for master's and PhD students, I thought I'd still go ahead with trying my hand at getting into the conference. I'm so delighted I got accepted! For those who are curious, this is the title and abstract of my talk: Historical material of cf. Thoracosaurus from the Maastrichtian of Denmark provides new insight into the K-Pg distribution of Crocodylia Crocodylia is one of the distinctive groups that survived the K–Pg mass extinction event. New material from Late Cretaceous–early Palaeogene deposits is therefore important to understanding shifts in crocodylian distribution and ecology. This paper describes and assesses a fragmentary mandible of a marine crocodylian from the lower Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Møns Klint (Denmark). Based on features including narrow rami and curved, slender, and conical teeth, the specimen is referred to cf. Thoracosaurus (Gavialoidea). Although collected in 1968, the material has not yet been described. However, given its importance to crocodylian palaeontology, the specimen warrants further attention. This research aims to systematically present the palaeobiogeographical significance of the fossil material, assessed using digital palaeolatitudinal reconstruction. The Møns Klint specimen represents the oldest gavialoid record in Europe, with all other material deriving from upper Maastrichtian and Danian deposits. This indicates that Gavialoidea were present in the European Chalk Sea throughout the Maastrichtian, rather than being a latest Maastrichtian arrival. Furthermore, the Møns Klint ‘Thoracosaurus’ represents one of the only lower Maastrichtian gavialoids, the other two being from Mississippi and New Jersey (United States of America). The specimen thus extends the palaeogeographical range of lower Maastrichtian gavialoids across the proto-Atlantic and by ~7º in palaeolatitude. This reveals a transatlantic distribution of Gavialoidea dating back to the earliest Maastrichtian, providing further evidence for distributional communication between vertebrate faunas of the Western Interior Seaway and of the Chalk Sea. These factors therefore make the Møns Klint Thoracosaurus specimen particularly valuable to understanding distributional patterns of K–Pg crocodylians. I'm especially pleased that after several years, some of my research on the marine fauna from the late Cretaceous chalk of Møns Klint is finally getting "out there", into the academic/public world. A small step of progress for my Møns Klint Fossil Research Program! It'll also of course be great to see many talks on fascinating aspects of paleo research, exchange with paleontologists, and participate in workshops!! I'll make sure to post on TFF the recording of my talk once it's made publicly available Really can't wait for this, I'm so excited!! -Christian
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The giant mosasaur Prognathodon is now known from Denmark!
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in Fossil News
A paper was recently published announcing the presence of Prognathodon in the Late Cretaceous chalk of Denmark. Prognathodon was a large, predatory mosasaur, well-known in the USA and Morocco, but known from other places e.g., the Netherlands. This new study is especially quite a big deal, because mosasaur fossils are incredibly rare in the Danish chalks. Prognathodon is now the 4th mosasaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Denmark, along with Mosasaurus, Plioplatecarpus and Carinodens. The Danish material is represented by two teeth - one of them being from the fossil site I study, Møns Klint! It's quite exciting that more and more research on the Late Cretaceous vertebrates of Denmark is being done The two danish Prognathodon teeth. The larger one (A-D) was found at Møns Klint, the smaller one (E-H) was found at Stevns Klint. These would have originated from 7.5- and 4-metre long mosasaurs, respectively. This is the new paper describing the mosasaur material: Giltaij, T.J., Milàn, J., Jagt, J.W.M. & Schulp, A.S. (2021). Prognathodon (Squamata, Mosasauridae) from the Maastrichtian chalk of Denmark. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark, vol. 69, pp. 53–58. You can download the paper from here : https://2dgf.dk/publikationer/bulletin/bulletin-69-2021/#3 Hope you enjoyed this "Made-in-Denmark" mosasaur news -Christian
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Scrappy bones and a few teeth: Denmark's finest mosasaur specimen
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in A Trip to the Museum
Hi all Some of you may remember that I used to (and still do) research on fossils from the Late Cretaceous chalk of Denmark... Now there are 2 main chalk sites in Denmark, Møns Klint and Stevns Klint. My work focuses on the stuff from Møns Klint, but in all honesty there's some spectacular fossils coming out of both localities. One thing that both Møns and Stevns have in common is that fossils of mosasaurs (giant lizard-like marine reptiles) are extremely rare, with only a small handful of specimens found every year. A few years ago, I went to the Geomuseum Faxe (south of Copenhagen) to check out one of the finest mosasaur specimens from the Danish Chalk. It's roughly 67 million years old, and was found by amateur collector Peter Bennicke at a small quarry close to the Stevns Klint cliffs. The specimen is preserved in a large-ish block of chalk (~0.7 metres wide). The whole fossil consists of about 7 or 8 teeth, and some small cranial and jaw fragments. Yeah. Mosasaurs are so rare in Denmark that the best mosasaur fossil is a small association of a few teeth and bone bits. These remains are from Plioplatecarpus sp., one of the smaller fish-eating mosasaurs. The find was considered so rare that it was declared as part of the "Danish Natural History treasure trove" (Danekræ, catalogue Nº DK-1048). The museum where the mosasaur is kept (on loan from the natural history museum in Copenhagen). The chalk quarry (Stevns Kridtbrud) where the mosasaur fossil was found. Here's the Plioplatecarpus specimen in all its fragmentary glory! Most mosasaur fossils in Denmark are in the form of single isolated teeth, so this find is especially cool because it's one of very few (2-3) specimens that consist of multiple associated bones/teeth from one individual. This one would've been roughly 4-5 metres long, and would have ate small to mid-sized fish such as Enchodus. By the way sorry for the not-so-great photo quality, it's kinda difficult to take good pictures from behind an exhibition case... Best-preserved teeth. Tiny little teeth... And a small scrap of bone, probably cranial. More bone fragments... So yeah, a few associated teeth and bits of bone - for something so rare, this one's pretty cool. Hopefully I can find something like that, at Møns Klint this time, when I go out for this year's fieldwork! Let me know what you think about this nice mosasaur specimen!!
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Using vinegar/acetic acid to reveal small teeth in chalk
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in Fossil Preparation
Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well! From what I've read, small shark/fish teeth can be occasionally encountered by dissolving samples of chalk/limestone in acid. I read Jeppsson et al's 1999 paper on using buffered acetic acid to extract phosphatic fossils (in my case shark teeth), but the method outlined is not that simple and requires access to certain laboratory equipment I don't really have access to right at the moment... All I have is some cheap white vinegar, and some trays and tins I've got some samples of chalk from the Late Cretaceous of Møns Klint, a fossil site in Denmark with relatively diverse fish and shark fauna. Here's the thing - would it be OK to put the samples of chalk in white vinegar (acetic acid)? If it is, I've just got some questions -- Should I dilute the vinegar? And if so, by how much? How long should I leave the chalk in the vinegar? Any suggestions and ideas would be much appreciated, I'd love to find some little fish and shark teeth. Christian -
Need help in identifying problematic fish bone
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in Fossil ID
Hey everyone Hope you're all doing well! While looking through unprepped/untouched blocks of chalk from last year's fieldwork session in the Late Cretaceous of Møns Klint (Denmark), I found one block that showed a little trace of fish bone. I scraped a bit around it with some dental tools, and managed to reveal the whole fossil. And I'm having quite some trouble identifying it... Could anyone help me? I've included pics and details of the specimen below. Pics: Note especially the 'ridges' in the upper half of the fossil Full details: -Location: Møns Klint, Isle of Møn, Denmark -Stratigraphy: Occidentalis belemnite zone, Hvidskud Member, Møns Klint Formation, White Chalk Group. -Age: Upper part of Lower Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous; ~70 million years old -Measurements: ~5mm largest width; ~4mm height -Possible interpretations so far: partial fin element, partial scale. Most recently, I considered it to be the partial scute of a Dercetidae fish (based on Wallaard et al. 2019 and Friedman 2012)... But I'm really unsure... Taken from Wallaard et al. 2019 Taken from Friedman 2012 I'd be really grateful for any help identifying my specimen
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Møns Klint fossil reptiles - size comparison chart
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in General Fossil Discussion
Hey everyone - hope you're all doing Just thought I'd share with you guys a chart I made, comparing the sizes of various marine reptile species known from the Maastrichtian chalk of Møns Klint (~70 million years old - Hvidskud Member of the Møns Klint Formation). For now, there are only 3 reptile species known from MK. But who knows, that number might increase now that more in-depth collection and research is taking place over there Anyways... onto the size comparison chart - here it is: Details: The Mosasaurus hoffmannii is known from one very well-preserved pterygoid ('palate') tooth crown (belongs to the Danish Museum of Natural History/NHMD, but on loan to the GeoCenter Møns Klint/GCMK). M. hoffmannii is estimated to have reached ~17 metres, though the one in this chart represents a smaller-sized individual (~12m). The M. cf. lemonnieri is known from an excellently preserved tooth crown (belongs to NHMD but on loan to GCMK). Other fragmentary, eroded mosasaur teeth (2 or 3) are known from Møns Klint, and they might belong to either M. lemonnieri or M. hoffmannii The possible Thoracosaurus (crocodylian) is known from a partial mandible, with 2 tooth imprints associated (I'm currently describing that fossil, and soon hope to have the paper sent for publication ) Known remains are shown in white (teeth for the mosasaurs, partial mandible for the crocodile). Note: the reptile outlines are not mine, I modified them from some that were made by DeviantArt users paleosir and PWNZ3R-Dragon. Hope you liked this size comparison chart! -Christian
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What music do you listen while you are prepping, hunting or enjoying your fossils?
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to ziggycardon's topic in Members' News & Diversions
On the road to the Møns Klint (Denmark) chalk cliffs, we usually blast either music from Jurassic Park, or, more often, country music. A personal favourite during those drives is a version of Take me home, Country Roads, sung by both John Denver and Johnny Cash :- 18 replies
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Fossil Contributions to Paleontology - The Gallery
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to JohnJ's topic in Partners in Paleontology - Member Contributions to Science
More donations to the GeoCenter Møns Klint museum in Denmark All fossils were collected from the Late Cretaceous chalk of Møns Klint in 2018 (and donated in August 2019). Associated spines of a Stereocidaris pistillum echinoid/sea urchin. (scale bar 5cm). Donated for exhibition value, and since associated echinoderm material isn't very common at Møns Klint. Enigmatic echinoderm fossil, donated for potential significance of the fossil (it also be shown to other chalk researchers). ~2.5cm tall. Juvenile cf. Belemnella belemnite rostrum/guard; approx 5cm long. Donated for exhibition value, and since well-preserved juvenile material is rather rare at Møns Klint. Large, nearly complete spine of a Stereocidaris pistillum echinoid. Donated because of unusual association with a partial cirrepede/barnacle (circled in black); cirrepede material is rather uncommon at that locality. The spine is approximately 7cm long. Partial stem of an Isselicrinus buchii (crinoid/sea lily). Donated because large, continuous sections of crinoid stems are kinda rare, and also because it is associated with a cirrepede fragment (unfortunately not visible in this photo..). The stem is approximately 8cm long. Assorted remains of 2 echinoid species. Donated because of the two pairs of mouth parts (the small 'triangular' plates with rounded edges) - since finding associated sea urchin remains with several mouthplates is relatively rare. The whole piece of chalk measures 10cm across.
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Preparations for my 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to The Amateur Paleontologist's topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Small update after a month-long radio silence on my Møns Klint project... I've gathered (and purchased) most of the materials and equipment I'll be needing for fieldwork - including a new small bottle of cyanoacrylate superglue. Preparation has been finished for all fossils which will be donated to the on-site GeoCenter Møns Klint museum. Also, I have finished developing my fieldwork protocol documents, so I now have a clear idea of how the fieldwork will be set - this includes details about which parts of the cliffs I will work at, the collection priorities etc... I really hope that this year's field session is gonna be even more productive than the last I'll post more updates as the field session gets closer... And of course I'll have loads to post here once I'm back! -Christian- 10 replies
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Finis Shale, a New Type of Lagerstätte
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to BobWill's topic in General Fossil Discussion
Thanks for sharing! That's really interesting Meaning that the site I work on (Møns Klint) can also be considered a liberation lagerstätten It has the same faunal content, lithology and preservation quality as the Rügen Chalk... Good to know -Christian -
Preparations for my 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to The Amateur Paleontologist's topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
I know I haven't posted in this thread in a few weeks, I've been working on reviewing and revising my collection strategies for this MKFE. This included compiling a list of "yes or no" questions to determine easily whether something collected is worth donation. Is it cephalopod, arthropod, echinoderm or vertebrate? If cephalopod, is it an ammonite or coleoid? If arthropod, is it brachyuran or decapod? If echinoderm, is it an ophiuroid, asteroid, crinoid or regular echinoid? If vertebrate, is it reptile? Is it complete? If not, is it somewhat complete? Is it well-preserved? Does it show unusual taphonomy? Is it articulated? Is it associated with different fauna? Specifically, is it associated with non-epifaunal elements? Otherwise, does it show evidence of any interspecific interactions? (e.g. symbiosis or predation) Does it show evidence of ontogenetic development? Does it show evidence of pathology? Is it very differently sized? (when compared to other members of same taxon) Does it have any unusual features? Is it somewhere it usually/always isn’t? (in terms of stratigraphy) In similar terms, is it very frequent in one layer but then absent in the layers above? (indication of possible extinction) Is it rare at Møns Klint? If so, is it rare elsewhere in the world? (in similar deposits) Has it been mentioned in paleontological literature as a taxon present at Møns Klint? Has it been found at Møns Klint before? If the answer is "yes" to one or more of these questions, then the fossil would be deemed as worthy of donation. What do you guys think of these criteria? Do they seem specific enough? -Christian- 10 replies
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Help! Live/Current Atco Reptile Excavation
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to Heteromorph's topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
It's true, Everhart is more into sharks, but he has written quite a few good papers on Kansan mosasaurs - so I figured he might be able to help In the part of France where I live, there are virtually no mosasaur remains... However, at Møns Klint, the Danish chalk site where I go each year, mosasaur remains can be found - they're from the Lower Maastrichtian, about 70 million years old. They are, though, exceedingly rare - the only mosasaur remains from that site are 4 or 5 teeth (and the first one was found in 2007). I have yet to find one -Christian- 70 replies
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Preparations for my 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to The Amateur Paleontologist's topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Currently reworking one of the sections of my paper describing a partial crocodylian jaw from Møns Klint - I'm hoping to have the whole paper finished by the time the 3rd MKFE begins Also, here are as promised some of the fossils I collected from the 2nd batch of washout material: -Christian
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Preparations for my 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to The Amateur Paleontologist's topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Little update - Fieldwork has been planned for the 2nd and 3rd weeks of August. Also, I've almost finished preparation of an echinoid (sea urchin) assemblage from Møns Klint - see picture below. The specimen's almost ready for donation to the GeoCenter museum, I just need to write up a descriptive note for it Approx. 10 cm across, contains remains of 2 distinct sea urchin species - including spines, mouth parts, and plates from their 'exoskeleton' I've also started going through a second batch of microfossil material collected during last year's field trip - I'll soon post pictures of the fossils I found Stay tuned for more updates! -Christian
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Preparations for my 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to The Amateur Paleontologist's topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
@Tidgy's Dad Thanks a lot! And brachiopods aren't very rare at Møns Klint - I'm sure I might find one or two... I'll be sure to post them here @caldigger You're right - the fossils are everywhere in the cliffs, and I usually look through material that has fallen down the cliffs. The majority of fossils that I collected during last field trip was from the remains of a landslide. @Phevo You mean the one close to the lighthouse? Thanks for letting me know -Christian- 10 replies
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Preparations for my 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Hey everyone - It's Christian. For the past few months, I was inactive on TFF as I had a lot of schoolwork.. But now, I've got a lot more time on my hands - which means that I can get back to all things fossil related This of course includes making preparations for my 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation (MKFE - the fieldwork aspect of my Møns Klint Fossil Research Program). I'll be going for 2 weeks, in mid-August - I'm really excited! As I said in a post from a few months ago, the collection policy of this MKFE is essentially the same as last time's (cephalopod, crustacean, echinoderm and vertebrate material). This time, though, there'll be a bigger focus on articulated and/or associated material - eroded sea urchin spines and belemnite fragments are getting too numerous... On the first days of the field trip, I'll have to do quite a bit of prospecting for new sites to work at, because there's a chance that the landslide spoil heap from last year has most likely been washed away by the waves. I'm already having some ideas of particular projects for this field trip, which include a comprehensive collection of washout microfossils - to determine relative abundances of various faunal groups. Another project is the in-depth analysis of fossil material from different layers of chalk - which I hope will yield some zone fossils. Of course, I'm still hoping to find a lil' mosasaur tooth I'll also use this field trip as an opportunity to donate to the GeoCenter Møns Klint some of the fossils I found during the 2nd MKFE. I'll keep you guys posted! Stay tuned I'm so excited to getting back there! -Christian
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Plans for the 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in Fossil Hunting Trips
Nowadays, I'm mostly focused on preparing for my high school finals. But in my free time... Well I started to plan the 3rd Møns Klint Fossil Excavation (MKFE), as part of the larger Møns Klint Fossil Research Program. This field session has been planned for mid-August, and will last about 2 weeks - needless to say, I'm pretty excited Especially when considering the success of the 2nd MKFE... Collection policy will remain mostly the same as last time, meaning that arthropod, cephalopod, echinoderm and vertebrate material will be the priority. Of course, there will be a slight change; with more focus on articulated/associated remains (because single, eroded fragments are becoming a bit too numerous...). Also, last year, when I was collecting anything significant (e.g. articulated echinoderm remains), I forgot to try and find associated zone fossils. This time, I'll remember to collect zone fossils (brachiopods and belemnites), as they can be pretty useful for determining more precisely the age of a specimen. Of course, I'll use this field trip as an opportunity to donate to the GeoCenter museum some of the fossils from the 2nd MKFE. Can't wait to go back there!! -Christian
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What's Still On Your "fill My Bucket List"?
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to fossilized6s's topic in General Fossil Discussion
Fossils I'd love to own (or at least find, if it's to be donated)... Reptile material from the Smoky Hill Chalk of Kansas, USA Shark or reptile material from the Chalk of Møns Klint, Denmark A heteromorph ammonite from the Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan Any kind of opalised tetrapod bone/tooth from the Cretaceous of Australia An extensive microsite with plenty of theropod teeth in the Hell Creek Formation, USA British Triassic bonebed stuff Plesiosaur and Ichthyosaur bones in the Oxford Clay and Lias, UK Phyllocarids, eurypterids, straight-shelled nautiloids from the Paleozoic of USA Any kind of harpetid trilobite Ivoites or similar ammonoid from Hunsrück, Germany Late Cretaceous dromaeosaur material from southeastern France Winterswijk (Netherlands) Triassic reptile material The skull of Balaur bondoc (Romania) Heteromorph ammonite from the Late Cretaceous of Vancouver Island (Canada) Vertebrate material from the Late Cretaceous of Vancouver Island Any kind of terrestrial tetrapod material in Mesozoic marine sediments Burgess Shale-type preservation anywhere in the world (not counting Burgess Shale, Chengjiang, Emu Bay Shale...) That's approximately it, guys I hope I'll be able to find at least some of that! -Christian -
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to caldigger's topic in Members' News & Diversions
Happy Halloween! @LiamL How about this one (true story)? Chalk echinoid breaks inside 'field jacket' - Once I'd realised how friable the matrix was, it was already too late... meanwhile, this one below isn't exactly a true story (actually completely fictitious)... but makes for a good story to narrate around the campfire after a long day of fieldwork (warning: spooky...) It was a dark and rainy night on the beaches of Møns Klint. *incidental music kicks in* The young fossil collector was hammering into the cliff face, trying to excavate a shark vertebral centrum. It was a very tough job, but eventually he got the fossil out in two pieces. He retrieved from his bag materials for safely transporting his specimen, and begun wrapping the fossil. He paused - there were some distant sounds of sudden splashing. Almost like someone was walking in the shallow waters... The collector shook his head, trying to rid himself of such thoughts ("I'm alone here, darn it! does anyone ever come here at night?") and continued wrapping up the shark centrum. After a few minutes, his specimen was labelled, safely wrapped, and bagged - he was almost ready to go. All that was needed was to retrieve his "heavyweight" excavation tools... (hang on a minute - where are my hammer and chisel?!) that night, the white chalk cliffs of Møns Klint became stained with red.... -
August 2018 Invertebrate / Plant Fossil Of The Month Poll
digit posted a topic in Fossil of the Month
Check the entries below carefully and cast your vote! PM me if you notice any errors with the entries. The poll ends September 9th. Be sure to vote in our other FOTM poll, HERE. 1. Melongena lainei (Gastropod) - Miocene - Roquefort, department of Landes, France 2. Eldredgeops rana (Trilobite) - Middle Devonian - Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA 3. Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae Wilson - St. Mary's formation (Calvert cliffs) - Calvert County, Maryland, USA 4. Hemipneustes striatoradiatus - Maastrichtian (Cretaceous) - Eben-Emaal, Belgium 5. Stereocidaris pistillum (Quenstedt 1852) (Regular Urchin) - Lower Maastrichtian (Cretaceous) - Møns Klint, Island of Møn, Denmark 6. Horn Coral growing in a colony of Syringopora sp. coral - Pennsylvanian Naco Limestone - NE Gila County, Arizona, USA 7. Columbarium sp. (Gastropod) - Fyansford Formation (Middle Miocene) - Fossil Beach, Mornington, Victoria, Australia 8. Eldredgeops rana (Trilobite) - Windom, Moscow formation, Middle Devonian - Livingston County, New York, USA
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August 2018 Finds of the Month Entries
The Amateur Paleontologist replied to Fossildude19's topic in Fossil of the Month
Here's my entry for the August IPFOTM contest -Collected on 9th of July 2018 -Preparation began on the same day, and finished on 23rd of August 2018 -Associated remains of the cidarid Stereocidaris pistillum (Quenstedt 1852), a regular sea urchin -Møns Klint Formation; upper part of Lower Maastrichtian (70 million years old) -Collected at Møns Klint (island of Møn, Denmark) Photo taken before preparation Photo of the specimen taken once preparation was completed. Several partial spines are clearly visible in this. Scale bar measures approx. 50mm Preparation of the specimen revealed a few articulated test ("shell") plates on the underside Near those test plates, I also uncovered a single columnal element (part of the stem) of a Nielsenicrinus sp. - which happens to be one of the least common crinoids at Møns Klint. A nice little bonus
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