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The past few weeks, I've been doing awesome Internship work with Late Cretaceous microfossils at the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History (aka the Best Museum in Chicago). The micro fossils are 68-66 Million Years old and are from the Maastrichtian Cretaceous age Hell Creek Formation in what is now the U.S. States of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Montana. My job is to sort out the collected micro fossils into the correct taxonomic categories and I wanted to some of my best current finds with this project. I've discovered at least 7 Tyrannosaurus rex teeth and tooth fragments (some even mislabeled as fish teeth)

Here’s an oddity from the hell creek formation (Harding county, SD) that I can’t get a handle on. Very interesting rugose pattern. Any ideas?

As I was searching for special belemnites in my belemnite jars, I found this one here ! It is not round, and it could be a tip, as the alveola doesn't seem to progress fully through it ! Is this really one ? If so, how rare would a parhological belemnite be ? Its 2,7 cm in length, and was found at the shores of the baltic sea. @TqB, @rocket, @Ludwigia, @anonaddict

Hello. Is that crab?

Image Reconstruction of a Tyrannosaurus rex vs an Ankylosaur of the genus Denversaurus during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Western North America. Image Credit: Paleoartist ThePaleoLad or atak_draws https://x.com/atak_draws/status/1754264848228118920 I've recently been doing some research on what are the geologically youngest fossil remains discovered so far of the non-avian theropod dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex. I've found some intriguing results but I nothing too concrete. https://www.idigbio.org/portal/records/65ce5a67-ca48-41b6-9a64-0231f751fc8b http://www.paleofile.com/Dinosaurs/Theropods/Tyrannosaurus.asp https://www.theropoddatabase.com/Tyrannosauroidea.html I would like to now ask this question to the forum. Well, actually two questions: 1. Have any Tyrannosaurus rex fossils been found in the following geologic members and formations: Tullock Member, Fort Union Formation Ludlow Member, Fort Union Formation Upper Willow Creek Formation (not just lower section) Kimbeto Member, Ojo Alamo Formation Nacimiento Member, Ojo Alamo Formation Ferris Formation (Puercan 1 sections) Ravenscrag Formation (Puercan 1 sections) Upper Coalspur Formation (Coalspur coal zone) Scollard Formation Battle Formation (BFm) Denver Formation 2. What is the geologically youngest Tyrannosaurus rex fossils that have been so far discovered as of 2024?

Discovered this piece lodged within a compacted, well cemented limestone unit with other fossils such as bivalves, algae and forams. Most probably of Maastrichtian age, limestone matrix formed during a marine transgression event. Specimen has a shiny coating on top exposed surface (enamel?), flaky in nature. Seems to resemble a tooth. Would like to further enquire on thoughts.

Hello, I just saw this "Theropod" vertebra from the Ouled Abdun basin, on Facebook today. Is this really one ? If this is really one, I would use the pictures of this specimen to find missidentified Plesiosaur, crocodile, and mosasaur vertebrae that are really theropod. Thanks !

Fairly recently, I crossed the first year anniversary of my time down here in South Texas. Despite the difficulty of searching this region, I've had the pleasure of experiencing a ton of strange new formations and gaining fresh perspectives on the ones that I thought I'd already understood. In my second school year, I've continued reserving time for expeditions, in hopes of collecting new specimens or at least enjoying a hike through some scenic Texas geology (of which I've had too many ). Early Sunday morning, I woke up to my alarm for a hunt I'd been planning all week. Unfortunately, the weight of last weeks tests and lab assignments kept me pinned beneath the sheets, helpless to overcome the fatigue. In addition to physical constraints, my brain was also very outspoken. The triple digit forecasts and long drive made the prospect of shutting the blinds for another lazy Sunday very appealing. After a prolonged internal conflict ensued, I at last rolled out of bed, emboldened by the knowledge that a free weekend like this may not be all that common pretty soon. Albeit a little behind on schedule, the engine was quickly fired and all four wheels were rolling on a westward route to a novel frontier. It was already well into the day when I pulled into my first locality. Upon exiting the car, humidity instantly fogged my glasses. Things were rather quiet and the only souls out and about were small packs of stray dogs (who were thankfully uninterested in me). From atop the hill I could see the border wall and Mexico stretching far beyond. I am well aware that there are about a million reasons one cannot/should not fossil hunt in Mexico, but I can't be the only one daydreaming of what might lie beyond. It's strange to know that the geology simply continues unimpeded underground for miles and miles, meanwhile I am stopped at a hard barrier. Despite being within only a short walk away, somehow it feels like I am gazing into an untouchable alternate universe... if that makes any sense. The fossils at this spot were sadly underwhelming. Although I managed to find a decently thick oyster bed, I couldn't locate any of the more intriguing invertebrates, let alone shark teeth. So I moved on. I then drove through a small construction site. The terrain was uninteresting, but a drive-by scouting of the ground yielded a chunk of Sphenodiscus, a personal first. Sphenodiscus sp. The next spot was a huge expanse with many different layers of Escondido Formation exposed. I was very excited on the walk from the car, but it was quickly apparent that the fossils were still rather sparse, despite the promising initial appearance. That same oyster bed from earlier kept turning up again and again without any success. After a half hour trek, I finally noticed a subtle faunal change. Instead of just oysters I began spotting numerous gastropods and some scallops. Two gastropods from the Escondido The fossil hunter within me took this as a sign to begin a more thorough search and at long last I was simultaneously rewarded and cursed with shark material. A vertebra and two decent teeth were wedged into some extremely resistant sandstone rocks. The vertebra I didn't bother with because it would inevitably turn into a pile of dust before it came loose. The smaller shark tooth, a Carchias sp., popped out easily with a few swings. The bigger tooth, a Cretalamna maroccana, was my main target and proved far more difficult. Shark vert Carcharias sp. Cretalamna maroccana and typical Escondido oysters Every swing on the C. maroccana reverberated soundly throughout the clear sky with a metallic clang. Even with the most effective strikes, only minute specks of rock were ejected from the contact point. I wish I was exaggerating, but it took about an hour to create a zone of cleared matrix around the tooth. Somewhere along the way I thoroughly convinced myself that to get this out in one piece alone would be enough to justify the hardships of the day. Outside of my mind, the temperature had begun to peak at 100F (which somehow feels way hotter on the border!). Each move shook a drop of salty sweat into my eyes. My arms began to glisten and every time I took a breather, I'd accidently brush my skin against the burning metal of the hammer. I made the final impact to free the tooth from its almost insurmountable prison. It responded by leaping many feet into the air and nearly escaping my sight. When I retrieved the specimen to fully enjoy the fruits of my labor, I instead found that the efforts did not completely translate. By now I was wishing I had taken my B plan and sifted sands off Port Aransas... Busted up C. maroccana And with that disappointment, I set out for one last site. It was an inconspicuous spot and is perhaps the best hidden locality I've logged so far. After a walk, I got down and began some cursory searching with low expectations given the unrewarding hours already burned. This spot, though, seemed to offer something different. Besides the typical Escondido sandstones, I came across a very strange grey/green shale. A closer look at one block with an orange splotch awakened me from my exhausted mood. The first sign of crustacean material! An unmistakable crab carapace The newfound adrenaline prompted me to go into a frenzy and soon I was seeing orange splotches everywhere. Most were seemingly only mineral stains, but some were crustacean claws. However, only a couple minutes of looking brought me to the ultimate prize and made me wonder if I had begun some hallucinatory stage of heat stroke. Never before had I seen such a crab from Texas. Costacopluma mexicana There it was clear as day: An ornamented carapace and some attached limbs. Very carefully, I transferred the specimen to its own bag. The dryness and fragile nature of the shale made disaster never quite far enough away. I quickly collected more crab carapaces, but none could have compared. Now it was certain that the trip was well worth it. Some cleaning at home helped bring out the full beauty and gave key information on ID. Costacopluma mexicana C. mexicana C. mexicana C. mexicana Costacopluma mexicana is a species of crab only known (to my knowledge) from the Maastrichtian of NE Mexico. Being so close to the border, it seems that I didn't need to daydream in order to experience the thrills of diving into their wonderful/alien fauna. This zone of crustaceans was also something I could not find info on in the literature. At times it can feel like too much of the Texas geological record has been thoroughly described and each fossil is never really much of a surprise given what's already documented. Special moments like this, however, remind me that there is still some magic left to the hunt. With time and patience, any one of us can be the first to dissect a snippet of the ancient past and see the world from a new vantage point. Some other interesting things included a fish scale and a possible leaf. Fish scale, ?leaf, and disarticulated claw The site was small, so I made quick work of searching it. One day, when the temperatures are much more hospitable, I will have to make a return. I feel like there could be a lot more to discover and, until then, I will likely spend many hours pondering on the prospect instead of sleeping. I have way too many fossil ideas, plans, and goals to keep up with, so look forward to my future reporting from some other random parts of the state. And to all who are reading this, thank you, I hope you have fossil sites keeping you up at night as well .

Barely a week after our last paper got published, our newest has now made it to press! This time we describe the dental remains of mosasaurs recovered from Holden Beach, Brunswick County, North Carolina, USA, where sediments were from dredged from the Maastrichtian Upper Cretaceous Peedee Formation to renourish the beach following storm damage. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383230348_Mosasaurs_Squamata_Mosasauridae_from_the_Late_Cretaceous_Late_Maastrichtian_of_North_Carolina_USA Authors: @Praefectus @BrennanThePaleoDude @pachy-pleuro-whatnot-odon Russian translations: @RuMert Abstract: During April 2022, offshore dredging for a storm damage beach renourishment project placed large quantities of Upper Cretaceous (upper Maastrichtian) Peedee Formation sediment onto the shores of Holden Beach in Brunswick County, North Carolina, USA. The Cretaceous sediment is highly fossiliferous and has yielded a rich and diversified assemblage of fossils from mosasaurid reptiles. New fossil material, namely isolated teeth, consists of several dental morphologies from the mosasaur subfamilies Halisaurinae and Mosasaurinae. Five species are recognized: Halisaurus sp., Mosasaurus cf. beaugei Arambourg, 1952, Mosasaurus cf. hoffmannii Mantell, 1829, Prognathodon cf. solvayi Dollo, 1889 and Prognathodontini indet. In this assemblage, prognathodontins predominate, being the most abundant marine reptile find, with all other species being comparatively rare. The mosasaur assemblage of North Carolina shows close affinity with the phosphates of Morocco, containing species typical of both the northern and southern margins of the Mediterranean Tethys. These new discoveries improve our knowledge of the biodiversity of mosasaur fauna from the late Maastrichtian of North Carolina and add to the known paleobiogeographical distribution of these taxa. The material described within was collected courtesy of the efforts of amateur fossil hunters and seasonal tourists combing Holden Beach for fossilized remains. I'm stoked to have two of our papers come out so shortly after each other, and just in time for the 7th Mosasaur Meeting in September! It's been a pleasure working on this project, as always! Thanks guys! A sample of the mosasaur teeth recovered from Holden Beach

Hi everyone, From now on I will post my hunting trip reports to Eben Emael as I often forget to make separate posts for them. I visit the Romontbos Quarry in Eben Emael multiple times a year with our fossil club, the BVP (Belgische vereniging voor Paleontologie). It's one of the last active locations that's still accessible in the Maastrichtian Type Location that allows hunting, and the quarry is only a 20 minute drive away for me, so that's ideal. DISCLAIMER: For all new fossil hunters: This location is off-limits for individual people! You cannot go hunt there on your own. The quarry is very strict and does not allow trespassing. This is an amazing location with great fossil finds, so I cannot stress it enough to not enter this place illegal as it could put a stop to fossil hunting for everyone here. If you want to go on a fossil hunt here, join the BVP! They are the only ones with permission to access the quarry, and they organize multiple excursions to the quarry each year under strict safety protocols. If we behave, and no one blows it by trespassing, we should be able to have access to this quarry until the year 2043. Now that's out of the way, let me introduce this amazing location which is my favorite place to hunt! The Romontbos quarry in Eben Emael is part of "Mount Saint Peter" which lies on the Dutch/Belgian border and is home to the so called Limburg/Liege chalk also know locally as "Limburgse mergel" which was often used as building blocks in the past which is why you can see serpulids, oysters and urchins in the stones of old buildings in the region. The quarry is located only a couple of km from the city of Maastricht and "Mount Saint Peter" is the location where one of the first biggest fossil discoveries has been made, a skull of Mosasaurus hoffmanni A.K.A "The Beast of Maastricht" back in around 1766. The layers of Eben-Emael are part of the Maastrichtian type locality dating back to around 70 - 66 million years ago, during that time this area of Belgium and the Netherlands was part of a shallow tropical sea. The layers in the quarry have a very rich fauna and floral list: You can find many bivalves (Acutostrean Agerostrea, Pinna, Neithea, ...), Gastropods, Brachiopods, Serpulids, Belemnites, Crustacean claws (Mesostylus faujasi), sea urchins (Hemipneustes striatoradiatus, ...) and shark teeth (Squalicorax, Pseudocorax, Palaeohypotodus, ...). For the microfossil lovers there is also oportunities to collect Bryozoans and Forarminifera There is also fish material like fish teeth and the odd scale or vertebra to be found, or if you are very lucky you can find fossils of one of the many species of Mosasaur and Sea Turtles that swam in this shallow sea. But also plant material can be found like Sea Grass (Thalassocharis) of which this quarry is one of the only places in the world where you can find sea grass. But also Conifer material has been found regulary at past excursions. Also known from this location and other localities in the Maastrichtian type locality but exceedingly rare are ammonites, crab carapaces, sawfish material, Elasmosaur material, dinosaur material (Betasuchus and Hadrosaurs), marine crocodile material and bird fossils. It is in this same quarry that "the wonder chicken" Asteriornis maastrichtensis and Janavis finalidens were found. Should you see me on one of the excursions, feel free to say hi and come for a talk! Also feel free to share your own fossils from your trips to Eben-Emael, the more the merrier!

Hello everyone? I found this in a shelf carbonate, Maastrichtian age. Tethys sea. The matrix is so hard that it will take some time to prepare it so if anyone has an idea please share with me. Let's brainstorm

Recently, I had the special privilege of exploring some South Dakota Hell Creek outcrops with a friend who has access to land. Lots of cool things were found and a thorough trip report is coming soon. This is an alien fauna to me, so hoping some of y'all have can point me into the right direction with these mysteries. 1). From what I've seen, I'm leaning into Pachycephalosaurus tooth, but I know those are rare finds so I don't want to jump the gun. 2) No clue what this vert is 3.) This tooth has me leaning in to fish, but of what type I'm not sure. It is bicarinate. 4.) Odd little (toebone?). Is this diagnostic enough for any ID? 5.) This jaw reminds me of some of the Texas cretaceous fish jaws I'm used to, but I do not know if that's a fair comparison. 6.) These jaws were surprisingly common. Croc? Champsosaurus? What would be the difference? 7.) Lastly - though realistically these might be the edges of turtle shells, the perceived vascularity of these pieces and rounded edges remind me of tiny ceratopsian frills. Is there a chance these are edge pieces of a Leptoceratops frill? Baby Triceratops? Any input welcome

After an unusually long, blissful spring, summer has arrived here in Texas. School is out, and my schedule is open, free from the burden of classes. Despite the freedom, my time has been getting filled. Working on a mosasaur paper, prospecting new sites, social commitments and a fun day job are forming good memories, and more are coming (I'll get to that). First though, my excursions from a week ago --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For the past few months, my finds have been few. Split between the duties of the semester, I haven't been getting out much, and when I have been going out, I've been looking hard for new sites, rather than returning to old honey holes. Despite my intrepid searches, no dazzling new sites have turned up, but that's the game and this kind of work is what it takes to play it. So, starving to get my hands on some fossiliferous rock, I returned to a tried a true spot that sometimes yields cool finds. It's a beautiful, tiny stream that's surprisingly accessible if one is willing to get wet and bushwhack. In its course, it reveals the blue-gray upper eagle ford formation, a Turonian layer famous for oil and exceptional marine vertebrate fossils. Above it lies the Austin chalk formation, with it's lower-most member (the Atco member) coming in at a Coniacian age and contacting the Eagle Ford. Both these layers are rich in fossils but contain different faunal assemblages, making a cool, visible case study for how marine ecosystems evolve. Some species of Ptychodus like P. anonymous can be found in the Eagle Ford, but move a few inches up into the austin chalk and they vanish. Other species like P. whipplei and P. mortoni abruptly appear in Coniacian Austin chalk layer, but do not occur in the slightly older Eagle Ford layer. The same seems to happen with Mosasaurs like Russellosaurus, so far only ever found in the Eagle Ford - an early precursor to the diverse, strongly marine adapted plioplatecarpine mosasaurs that would succeed it. My first find as I moved up the trickling waters was a partial ammonite. I was not yet in fossiliferous territory, but this wayward cretaceous traveler told me moving upstream was the right call. After a short endurance run, I made it to a bend in the stream where it constricts to no more than a foot or so across. Squatting in the deep gully, with walled banks just a few feet away on either side, I noticed a brown, shelly conglomerate protruding form the gravel. This was an escapee from one of the few highly fossiliferous lenses in the upper eagle ford, and I knew to spend some time with it. Picking it apart, I was not disappointed. First to show was perhaps one of the most prolific sharks in the Turonian seas, Squalicorax falcatus. Invigorated and impressed by the beautiful coloration, I kept on, eyeing every piece of the conglomerate as I knocked away. Close by came another beacon of the texas Turonian: the small, charismatic Ptychodus anonymous. Every Ptychodus tooth I find probably adds weeks to my life. Halfway through the dinner plate sized conglomerate, I could have moved on and been happy. However, still to come were the true gems of the Turonain Ptychodus species and I'm glad I stayed. If you look in the right places, an astute observer may notice a tiny lens, representing just a blip in geologic time, where the typical Ptychodus anonymous teeth of the formation take an odd turn in their morphology, hosting wrinkles that somewhat converge at the apex, almost like what's seen in the later Ptychodus mortoni. This unusual morphology is an undescribed species, and the work being done on it has been threatening to release for ages. At least it means that this species is getting attention . So, trucking on, I was met with a beautiful sight: Here it was: Species X, in crisp detail. The soft matrix made the grand reveal an easy task. With three flawless teeth from a single rock, I was ready to move on and find the origin of this tumbler. First though, the final portion demanded attention. My jaw fell down after I dropped the next hammer blow: For species X, this is a large tooth, and I recognized it immediately as one of the best Ptychodus teeth I've ever found. My pick and a few carefully directed hammer blows made quick work of the surrounding matrix. This is one of those weirdo teeth that flirts with the boundary of species X and P. anonymous. I think it could fall either way. Stunning. As I moved on, I enjoyed the scenery and the extant fauna. It's easy to look by the extant creatures we share our creeks with, but it's good to remember that fossils are cool because they were alive once. We can all do well to tip our hat to our creek side neighbors. Spiny softshell turtle Diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer) As I left the creek, I found a reminder of my previous point, with a creature who once straddled the position of extant and extinct that never made a comeback to its original glory. Laying like a pearly beacon in the gravel was a large Bison tooth, locally extinct for at least 150 years. And so concluded a fossiliferous trip. With my collection tub heavy, I was now prepared to return to a challenging goal I've failed at twice before. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Though a hunter from the start (and in my heart, I suspect I always will be), my goals have been shifting academically since I first noticed my interest in fossils 3 or so years ago. In particular, I've been assisting in mosasaur research, on the specimen my brother and I found. I hope this will be the first of many that I will work on. But I digress... One of the richest fossil assemblages of mosasaurs in the world is in the Maastrichtian of morocco. There are a few reasons: 1) Coastal Africa was a source of up-welling, shallow waters, and abundant food. 2) The chemical environment of the moroccan phosphates was conducive to preserving fossils 3) Mosasaurs were very diverse during the Maastrichtian, arriving on fantastical dentitions, unique body plans, and varied (even segregated) feeding strategies to survive. This is thought to be niche partitioning, where species adapt very specific methods of life to avoid competition with other species like them. The third point implies that mosasaurs everywhere should be diverse during the Maastrichtian. Due to their sheer success at the end of the cretaceous, niche partitioning must have been inevitable, driving high rates of speciation. I don't think that Maastrichtian morocco was all that unique during that time. There is a selection bias towards fossils being discovered there due to the commercial digging and mining activity, but as far as paleo environments, other shallow seas likely rivaled morocco in diversity. The most famous shallow cretaceous sea, at least in my corner of the world, is the western interior seaway, bisecting the north american continent. During the Maastrichtian, it was a shadow of its former self, but nonetheless a substantial body that drowned much of Texas. Yet, despite that, Texas has a very poor record of Maastrichtian mosasaurs. One reason, perhaps, is the tsunami that the cretacoeus ending Chicxulub meteor generated. Much of the upper Maastrichtian marine strata in texas is a tumbled mess due to the apocalyptic force of the wave that crushed Texas that spring day 66 million years ago. The tsunami ripped up millions of years of strata in some places, now visible as tsunamite deposits with Maastrichtian debris branching up into the Danian deposits. However, some spots survived, with the K-Pg line visible in some places in Texas. Elsewhere, early maastrichtian strata stayed in tact, spared by its depth in the strata at the time. My goal was to find maastrichtian marine strata and prospect for mosasaur material. Because of how poor the maastrichtian record is here, coupled with the high degree of endemism in maastrichtian mosasaurs, I suspect that the Texas maastrichtian hides many undescribed species. The problem is that Texas maastrichtian outcrops are uncommon, and if you're lucky enough to find one, they chew you up and spit you out. Worse, they're poorly sorted on geologic maps, which often just display groups instead of formations. Some formations are better than others, so using a map means you have to do the leg work and filter out the formations you weren't looking for in person, one by one. After several challenging excursions in barren rock with nothing to show but a sack of woe, I'm not surprised Texas has such a poor record of maastrichtian vertebrates. But, this is the game Two excursions this year into my best maastrichtian spot have left me with large oysters (Exogyra costata) but nothing else. However, invigorated by yesterday's Turonian success, I set out with maastrichtian mosasaurs on my mind. Site 1: A partial success. After long last and two other failed attempts, I finally found an outcrop of the upper taylor marl (which lies on top of the Pecan gap formation, which itself lies over the lower taylor marl (AKA the Ozan formation)). Though not maastrichtian, this middle campanian formation is a tad younger than the well explored Ozan, and could promise different animals. I found it lithologically indistinguishable from the Ozan formation, but I'm sure a geologist could separate them on sight. Though some research promises that in it's upper reaches, bountiful, spectacular ammonites could be seen, I saw nothing. In fact, the only difference I could make of it from the Ozan is that it has fewer fossils. I must come back! Site 2, that same afternoon: My old nemesis, a beautiful maastrichtian cliff of unknown geologic affinities. My suspicion lies with a Kemp clay ID, but I'm not too sure. Two times this enormous, searing outcrop has turned me away, burned and empty handed. Due to the sheer extent of this outcrop, I suspect my best chance for maastrichtian mosasaur material lies here, despite the unforgiving rocks. As I began, I crossed the creek below to the flat opposing bank, in case it gave me views of more outcrops down stream. A small gar, perhaps 3 feet or so, meandered through the murky water in front of me as I crossed, while peaceful oak/elm savanna rose from the banks before me. I trod though bushels of grass and vines, no different than usual, when an explosive, fiery pain scorched my calf. Chewing my tongue and resisting the urge to immediately claw my leg, I made haste back to the water to submerge myself. I have the benefit of what seems to be a partial immunity to poison ivy. I tread through jungles of it, even seeking out outcrops choked in it as my advantage because it deters other hunters. Outbreaks are rare and small for me, often only coming days after my excursions. Whatever plant did this to me was of evil crop, and I have no idea the culprit. The cool water did little, and despite my leg being wet and sunscreen smeared, the oil/spines took strong effect. It took great power of will not to touch the agitation for the next 10 minutes, but then, suddenly as it came, the sensation disappeared and my leg was fine again, though a bit sensitive. Very unusual experience. For my sufferings though, I did not come away empty handed. Early on, as I worked a tumbled boulder, I paused a hammer blow to see this where it would've landed: Heart attack averted, I plucked it from it's resting position, and in my hand found the broken apex of a mosasaur tooth - my first from maastrichtian strata. Though diminutive enough to consider fish, the ornamented enamel, notable thinness of the enamel, and bicarinate nature point me to mosasaur. What's more, the ridges seem unusually strong for a tooth apex. Not something I expected, and so this supports my idea that there is a hidden diversity of unseen mosasaurs from Texas maastrichtian waters. Not the complete, articulated skeleton every hunter fantasizes about, but a tantalizing clue that I'm in the right place. Though sometimes punishing, I can't wait to return to this place

I have been doing some reading on mosasaurs and one thing that I noticed is that "Prognathodon" currii, first described by Christiansen and Bonde in 2002, is from latest Campanian deposits in Israel making it at latest 72 Million years old. However, several papers have reported "P". currii in the Moroccan phosphates (ie. Bardet et. al., 2005; Bardet et. al., 2015) which is 66-67 million years old. Now I am no expert on Mosasaur dentition and I admit the teeth of the Israel "P." currii and Moroccan "P." currii are very a similar looking gumdrop shape, and of course, you cannot simply diagnose species solely on stratigraphy and paleobiogeography, there must be sufficient morphological variation. But I suspect that the two are not conspecific and that there are morphological differences to be identified between the two. IMHO the two "P". currii represent a separate lineage of durophageous prognathodontin mosasaurs comprising at least 2 closely related species which may or may not be congeneric. 4-5 Million years of separation between the Israel holotype and the referred Moroccan material makes me almost certain that it is not just one species remaining in complete stasis. We know that the species turnover rate in Albertan tyrannosaurs is less than a million years. And some species of hadrosaurs, even less. Another example is the genus Homo, it wasn't present more than 3 million years ago, let alone Homo sapiens. Given these lines of reasoning. I think that the Moroccan "P." currii and Israel "P". currii belong at the very least in separate species. I have attached some photos of the Israel Holotype and referred moroccan "P". currii below. Thank you, I look forward to hearing your responses! Note: I put "Prognathodon" in quotation marks because regardless of how many species "P". currii is, it is very distinct from Prognathodon solvayi (the type species). It has been known for some time that the genus Prognathodon is something of a wastebasket genus in serious need of revision. "P". currii holotype (Christiansen and Bonde, 2002): Moroccan "P". currii dentition (Bardet et. al, 2005): Mounted skull of Moroccan "P." currii References: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27711032_Durophagous_Mosasauridae_Squamata_from_the_Upper_Cretaceous_phosphates_of_Morocco_with_the_description_of_a_new_species_of_Globidens?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6Il9kaXJlY3QifX0 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265730987_Mosasaurids_Squamata_from_the_Maastrichtian_Phosphates_of_Morocco_Biodiversity_palaeobiogeography_and_palaeoecology_based_on_tooth_morphoguilds https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0629%3AANSOGM]2.0.CO%3B2

I have read through Arambourg's "Vertebres fossiles des phosphates de l'Afrique du Nord" in an attempt to gauge what species of the genera Cretalamna are present in the Ouled Abdoun Basin, with the help of sharkreferences.com. According to these two sources, 2 species are present in the phosphates: Lamna appendiculata - Cretalamna appendiculata Lamna biauriculata maroccana - Cretalamna nigeriana However, on elasmo.com, Lamna biauriculata maroccana is stated to be synonymous with Cretalamna maroccana, a species not listed whatsoever on sharkreferences.com. The L. biauriculata maroccana teeth in Arambourg appear to be immensely similar to those labelled as C. maroccana on elasmo.com, which has led me to believe that C. nigeriana and maroccana are synonymous, which leads me to the question of which is valid, of which I am not sure. Thanks in advance for any guidance Othniel

Hello all. I have these two fossils from the Maastrichtian Berivotra location in Madagascar. I suspect they are button corals, and was wondering if anybody could ID these to a family or genus level? They are very small, both around 5-7 mm. Thanks in advance

Hello everyone! It's been awhile since I've had a chance to give a fossil hunting update, the Holidays took over in quite a hurry, and coupled together with taking on some new responsibilities, the shorter days, cooler weather and a scramble to get the end of the year work done, it was quite difficult to get everything organized! I'm hoping to be more efficient with my cleaning and preparation this year, and though I have some life hurdles to overcome I think this year could be even better than last one with my fossil hobbies. I'm hoping to add more additions to my echinoid album, and I'd like to make some albums for some of my other fossils sometime this year. Not long after my last trip to the Waccamaw site I once again found myself out there collecting more specimens. I went with a slightly different group for the weekend, where we doubled up and went to the ever popular Holden Beach to look for some more Cretaceous goodies. And in addition, I did get to check out a different Waccamaw site at a different time as well, which had slightly different specimens, and an array of unusual color preservation. I think it was another successful month, and I found a lot of really cool specimens. I even got an opportunity to obtain some neat fossils from a fellow collector and friend in the midst of everything, and I'd like to include some of that briefly as well. While we were wrapping up for the weekend, I ended up trading him some of my Virginian Ecphora shells for some really cool Triassic plant specimens from the Pekin Formation, as well as some grey and black shales from the Cumnock Formation. It's a positive update to my quest to obtain local Triassic fossils I can take on the road to display, and with these acquisitions I was able to do just that recently! I feel like they get overlooked at times, but there are some really cool fossils from the Triassic Basins. I did manage to acquire some other cool specimens as well, but I'll save them for the mailbox scores thread. Here are some of those plant specimens and shales. Most are hard to identify, but there are some partial Otozamites fronds. The shales were a gamble, and I ultimately did end up splitting some, while retaining the last two intact, as they contained visible coal, and are somewhat significant to my home area's history in regards to the Cumnock Formation and all the historical coal mining that occurred. However, I did manage to find this little guy in one shale. I made a post a while back, and my current idea is that it's some form of Metoposaurus tooth. It's badly fragmented, though I have been offered by a friend to try and repair it, which I may take him up on. Although these second hand fossils were greatly appreciated and will serve well as display items, I also attempted to steak out a potential Triassic site right down the road earlier this week! Unfortunately, though it did indeed have Triassic geology, it was a conglomerate of Sanford Formation with a small bit of Pekin Formation mixed in, which did not immediately appear to contain much, at least on the surface. The old Triassic report mentioned it was mostly a mixture, so I wasn't too disappointed; it was still fun to check out a new area. In addition to the hunt for a fossil site, the area was also home to a small copper mine that last operated in the very early 20th century. I had not been exploring there since I was a boy over 20 years ago, so it was interesting to check out again! I ended up collecting some malachite from the spoil piles before heading home, so I at least found a few things to keep on that trip. I'm really grateful the landowner was kind enough to let me check it out. I hope to return there again sometime during lighter hours to look for some copper ore fragments as well. Now, onto the actual fossil tips! I'll start with Holden, as I have less to show off from there. It was fairly tame as far as crowds go, since the Holidays were kicking into gear. Despite a single day to collect, I think I did alright! I made a new friend during that part of the trip, and I was able to collect some nice modern mollusk shells as well, some of which could be used to compare to my Waccamaw finds. I did find an interesting sand dollar of some variety embedded in a stone, but I dropped it in the rapidly rising tide as I was collecting another specimen, so I ended up losing sight of it. To start, these are two Glycymeris americana valves, one from Holden, and the other from the Waccamaw site, as a comparison. These are some of the Hardouinia mortonis echinoids I found that day. I had many more, but it was hard to get them all pictured! On the topic of those echinoids, I found a few really good pathological specimens that day! This is the more extreme of them, with the side being somewhat compressed into the part, and the peristome off axis and off center. I'm not sure if this is something genetic, or if this was evidence of some kind of repaired biologic damage. It's probably my most pathological specimen to date. This was another specimen with similarly placed deformities, but much less extreme. And this one was a really unusual one, with an "elongated" periproct, giving it a more heavily sloped appearance compared to the standard ones. Moving on, this was probably my favorite find from the Holden part of the trip. This is a partial Anomoeodus phaseolus mouth plate and jawbone, which is a fairly uncommon find. I had previously found two teeth attached together, but this one is by far my best one yet. I found some individual "teeth" from these reworked into the Waccamaw formation site as well, but they were very small. I also found a few things I had not found myself since 2022, namely a nice, whole Mosasaur tooth, and a fragment of a Sphenodiscus lobatus ammonite. I found a few shark teeth, but I was honestly so focused on other finds I didn't emphasize looking for them as much as I normally would. I gave a few that I picked up to my new friend I made while I was hunting, as well as a small mosasaur tooth. This is an Enchodus jaw fragment with the base of a tooth I found, this might be the largest jaw fragment I found to date. I haven't found a tooth and jaw fragment attached together yet, but I'll keep looking! A turtle shell fragment I found out there. This is one of the more defined ones I've found, and appears to be from the edge of the shell. This was a cool steinkern I found, from what appears to be a Naticidae snail. This one is a bit heftier than ones I've found previously, and it almost seems to have some of the innermost shell preserved on one section, but this could be some other material. This is one Exogyra costata I found on the beach. I did pick up a number of them, but there weren't as many good specimens this trip for some reason. I took a couple of pictures of the same shell under UV light as well. And the last of my notable finds, this is a Striaticostatum harbisoni, a Peedee Formation Wentletrap Snail that was preserved due to recrystalization! Next to it is a steinkern of another one, which is usually all that is preserved; this is the first one I've found like this. It's broken toward the base, but it lets people see the tiny crystals inside the shell that grew during the process. I also found a second partial one, but it's in a much more worn condition. Now, onto the Waccamaw site finds! This site is slowly growing on me, as well as a greater appreciation for mollusks. It's becoming one of my favorite sites to visit. I've been utilizing a out a book that was published just last year titled Photographic Atlas of Waccamaw Formation Mollusca to identify my finds. It's a great resource for identifying the various mollusks of the formation, of which there are over 1000 different varieties! I found so much this time that I had to cut back on sharing them, though I do hope to do an album on everything when I get time. Starting off, here are some of the paired Lirophora varicosa athleta, AKA Imperial Venus Clams, I found. Here are a couple of pathological valves I found, as well as a sponge damaged valve and a valve with an oddly placed gastropod drill hole. Here is an intact Chama macerophylla, also known as the Leafy Jewelbox Clam. It's less common than the Arcinella cornuta Spiny Jewelbox Clams from what I've noticed. This is a Neverita duplicata, also known as the Shark Eye Moon Snail with some particularly beautiful shell preservation. This is a Naticarius plicatella, an extinct moon snail with an interesting spiral groove pattern along the whorl. Although the aperature (opening) is broken, this is my largest specimen of this snail found at the site to date. Here are two paired bivalves, a Trachycardium emmonsi (Cockle Clam) and a species of Diplodon clam (Diplodonta acclinis?) A Crepidula fornicata, also known as the Fornicating Slipper Snail. This one was unusually thick and large compared to the ones I normally find, around 5.715 cm (2.25 inches) long. Another worn Crepidula fornicata with a couple of Septastrea marylandica coral colonies growing on it. There appears to have been a third between the two but it probably broke off when it was originally extracted from the earth. Two valves from two different Ostrea lawrencei oysters that have a lot of small coral colonies and singular corals. This one is interesting because they were both attached to a relatively small scallop valve, as seen by the impression on their hinges. A really cool Ostrea lawrencei that has a Septastrea marylandica colony over nearly the entire outer surface. I didn't realize that it was covered in coral until I washed it, as the amount of sand and dirt that covered it almost covered it completely! The uncovered inner surface was the only exposed part of the oyster when I collected it. A large oyster, Ostrea compressirostra, that was found paired in the Waccamaw site, a fairly rare find. Unfortunately, the upper valve had a lot of bore damage on one side, but it's still a cool, paired find nonetheless! A Pleuromeris decemcostata, a pretty cool, small species of clam. It almost has a beaded structure to its ribs. In addition, the same Pleuromeris decemcostata under UV light. It's hard to see in this picture, but some of the "beads" in the ribbing have a UV reaction, in a somewhat random order.The Waccamaw stuff has some decent UV reaction, but it's no where near the level of the Florida Pleistocene shells of a similar age. A very small intact Arcinella cornuta, also known as the Florida Spiny Jewelbox. This is the smallest intact one I've found yet, at around 1.9 cm (.75 inches) across. One of my favorite finds from the Waccamaw site part of the trip, a Pterorytis fluviana, a type of murex with very frilly spires. Usually the spires are broken down, but this one as fairly intact aside from a hole in the side! A Radiolucina waccamawensis, an extinct hatchet clam. It measures about 7.62 mm (.3 inches ). These are pretty interesting little bivalves with a neat crossed structure to them. Some Eupleura caudata, a small species of murex snail. These had some nice shell preservation as well! A Neoterebra dislocata (Eastern Auger Snail) on the right, and what I believe is a Calliostoma tuomeyi (Calliostoma Top Snail) on the left. The Calliostoma Top Snails, like the Cone Snails and the Murexes, seem to vary a good bit and have very subtle differences, which makes it hard for me to identify. Two different extinct Nassa Mud Snails (or Dog Whelks); a rare Ilyanassa porcina on the left, and a somewhat uncommon Ilyanassa scalaspira on the right. A bryozoan-encrusted gastropod shell. I'm wondering if this is a variety of Bryolith (or Plagurized Gastropod), or if it it is simply a colony that covered an empty shell; either way it's really cool. Two Waccamaw Formation Conasprella oniscus cone snails, with a UV light comparison showing the remnants of their color pattern. This pattern can be used to differentiate the different species found in the same place to some degree. Here's a cool Arcopsis adamsi, a type of Ark Clam with an interesting beaded sculpture instead of the coarse ribs of the more common species. Next, a case of miscellaneous micros: on the right are three Biflustra savartii, a species of "Erect Form" Bryozoans, on the bottom left is an interesting and unknown Archohelia coral branch, and the upper left is some unknown, extraordinarily fragile fossil of some sort. It was probably 30-40% larger before I tried moving it to this case; it had a fragility not unlike that of the ill-fated microfossil echinoid I found on the previous trip. Another little case containing an assemblage of various paired microfossil bivalves from the Waccamaw site. The beaked Nuculana acuta (Pointed Nut Clam) are probably my favorite of the micro-sized bivalves. Kalolophus gibbesii, a medium-sized clam related to the modern Kalolophus speciosus, also known as Gibb's Clam. I've found similar clams in Virginia, but this is the first one I found in the Waccamaw Site. An Aurinia obtusa, a type of Volute Snail. This is the most common species from the Waccamaw, I've been told the other two are exceptionally rare. This is also the first mostly whole one I've found in the site. Next is a large Mercenaria mercenaria valve, which I took pictures of to show the progression of cleaning it out for it's inner contents. About halfway through cleaning I discovered a partial Rhyncholampas sabistonensis echinoid, with part of the side plating and the entire oral surface. It's overall in poor condition, but serves as another good example of the rare things that can be found inside other shells. There were quite a number of other things as well, such as whole Lirophora varicosa athleta (Imperial Venus) Clams, barnacles, and more. However, a lot of stuff was attached with a tough sediment, which made extraction difficult. The last image in this series shows the contents found inside waiting to dry off. And the last thing I wanted to share from the site is a juvenile gastropod of uncertain identity I'm thinking it's likely a Pliculofusus sparrowi (A type of gastropod related to the Tulip and Spindle Snails), but also somewhat resembles a juvenile Scaphella precursor (A rare species of Volute). While that's all the Waccamaw stuff from the normal site, that's not all the Waccamaw Formation fossils I found last month! I had a chance to check out a different location of the formation at a different time, and while there were a lot of similar things, there were some things different about this other site as well. Oysters were much more common, I found a few species I hadn't seen before, some varieties of gastropod were larger, and there were a lot of really interesting mineralization colors as well. There were a lot of red, yellow and orange colored shells, likely from iron oxides in the soil. There were also some interesting blue-grey colored shells, which I'm not too sure of the process that made them this way. Some were comparable to the blue shells found in the Bone Valley area of Florida. Here's a really cool and large Anadara lienosa Ark Clam valve from the secondary Waccamaw site. This is the largest Ark Clam I've found from the formation yet. It has some of the unusual orange-yellow iron oxide coloration. Here's a paired Arcinella cornuta (Florida Spiny Jewelbox) from the other Waccamaw site. This one came apart while I was cleaning it but I've got the two halves paired together still. I found some other paired specimens but they had a lot of spines missing. A very big Mercenaria mercenaria (Hard Clam) valve that was in the portion that had the blue mineralization. The outer surface is heavily worn but it has a very dark grey-blue coloration to it. A very hefty and thick Glycymeris americana (American Bittersweet) that has buried in the sediments containing a lot of iron oxides, and has a very cool yellow, orange and red marbled coloration. Two Septastrea marylandica corals from the other Waccamaw site. Both have some yellow coloration, and one has splotches of red, all from the iron oxide present in the site. Here's a Crepidula fornicata (Fornicating Slipper Snail) and two Neverita duplicata (Shark Eye Moon Snails) with some pretty cool blue-gray coloration. The rightmost is an especially pretty dark grey-blue! Two worn Crepidula fornicata specimens (Fornicating Slipper Snails), with Septastrea marylandica coral colonies growing on them. They also both have bryozoan colonies and Polychaete worm tubes on them, as well as a lot of boring sponge damage; These were the home of a number of animals, even after their death. An unusual paired oyster from the other Waccamaw site. Due to the larger quantity of oysters in that site, and paired ones like this could be found in a much higher frequency. Here's what I believe might be a juvenile Triplofusus giganteus, also known as the Horse Conch. It's over 3.81 cm (1.5 inches) long. A somewhat rare Trigonostoma elizabethae, an unusual type of Nutmeg Snail. This came from the other Waccamaw site, but I did find a larger specimen at the primary site that I forgot to take a picture of before storing it away. This one has some of the blue-gray coloration. Two neat Ensis clams, also known as Razor Clams, from the secondary Waccamaw site. They're usually broken like this due to their thin, fragile structure. The top one may be a Ensis directus, and the bottom may be a Ensis megistus. An assortment of microfossils from the other Waccamaw site with various mineralization colors. I'm hoping to find a new technique for extracting these, as my current method results in some of these getting broken. And my last find from the site, An unusual bone of some variety; I almost want to think it's a turtle shell fragment, but I'm really not sure. It has some odd, rib-like structuring on the longer outer edges. And that's all I've got for now! 2023 was a really fun year for collecting, but I feel like 2024 could potentially be even better. As I wrap this post up, I'll be getting ready for tomorrow, where I'll be displaying some of my finds from the last two years at a park for an event, after which I'll be heading back to Holden Beach once again for a weekend to unwind from work and hunt for fossils with a couple of friends (I'll save my modern echinoid hunt for another time). I might post an update on that here, or I might wait until I go to Aurora, NC fairly soon. Further out, I've got a trip planned for Virginia once again in the early summer (Super excited for this one!), another extended Holden Beach trip in the spring, and there's a chance I might be able to tag along with a small group to go hunt fossils in central / northern Texas around the time of the solar eclipse, with some stops in Oklahoma and Mississippi! It'll be the first time I've ventured west of the eastern coastal states, so it'll be interesting if I do end up going. It'd require a lot of time off of work, so I'm still working out the logistics of it.

There is a very interesting paper about the tracks of footprints of birds, pterosaurs, dinosaurs found just below the K/Pg boundary in the Las Encinas Formation, State of Coahuila, Mexico. Although the PDF is in Spanish, a more or less usable translation can be obtained using document option of Goggle Translate. The open access paper is: Serrano-Brañas, C., Espinosa-Chávez, B., Flores-Ventura, J., Barrera-Guevara, D., Torres-Rodríguez, E., Cadena-González, D., and Vega, F.J., 2024. Huellas de aves, pterosaurios, dinosaurios y el límite K/Pg en Coahuila, México (Footprints of birds, pterosaurs, dinosaurs and the K/Pg limit in Coahuila, Mexico). Revista-Maya-Geociencias, Febrero 2024. pp. 96-105. LInks to PDFs of Febrero 2024 and other issues of Revista Maya Geociencia A related paper is: Serrano-Brañas, C.I., Espinosa-Chávez, B., Ventura, J.F., Barrera-Guevara, D., Torres-Rodríguez, E. and Vega, F.J., 2022. New insights on the avian trace fossil record from NE Mexico: evidences on the diversity of latest Maastrichtian web-footed bird tracks. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 113, p.103686. Yours, Paul H.

Hi All, I will be grateful for identification of late cretaceous (probably Maastrichtian) shark teeth found in Nasiłów, Poland. I know that some of the roots are missing and genus may be hard to identify but just the family will be enough in such cases. Thank you!

In parts of the Severn Formation in eastern Maryland, I will periodically find layers that are very dense with nodules. Has anyone else noticed something like this?

Howdy all, I've had this salamander vertebra from the Hell Creek Formation for quite some time now, and I was wondering if there would be any way to place an ID. (I've been told it could be either Scapherpeton tectum or Habrosaurus dilatus)