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San Antonio, Tx I was curious as to what would cause a difference in sediment coloring? This piece isn’t like the other hardened sediment pieces I’ve found in my yard. The others are more brown or tan in color.

I drew this coloring sheet to give out at an upcoming children's program I will be doing at the public library my mom works at. I have done two previous programs over the years on fossils and dinosaurs, but this time I am going to be concentrating on the fossils of Illinois. Of course, this includes our bizarre state fossil, the Tully Monster! The sheet features a Tullimonstrum front and center chasing after an Elonichthys, with a pair of Essexella making their way across the background. It's not the most scientifically accurate drawing, but I hope it will be fun to color! Feel free to download and share- I uploaded both JPEG and PDF versions. (The PDF version also has some descriptive text on it) tully monster coloring page smaller.pdf

I'm looking at buying an iridescent ammonite for my project. It's not cut in half. I'm having trouble finding out if the iridescent color goes completely through the fossil and displays it on the cut side. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Photo of one is attached. Thanks, Doug

This fossil has been posted on here before: But, here are the exciting outcomes of their research on this exceptionally preserved fossil: This one is open access http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(17)30808-4 An Exceptionally Preserved Three-Dimensional Armored Dinosaur Reveals Insights into Coloration and Cretaceous Predator-Prey Dynamics Caleb M. Brown Donald M. Henderson Roger E. Summons Show more Highlights • A new armored dinosaur is described based on an exceptionally preserved specimen • Abundant in situ osteoderms with keratinous sheaths and scales are preserved • Reddish-brown coloration and crypsis in the form of countershading are indicated • Crypsis indicates strong predation pressure on this large, heavily armored dinosaur Summary Predator-prey dynamics are an important evolutionary driver of escalating predation mode and efficiency, and commensurate responses of prey [1, 2 and 3]. Among these strategies, camouflage is important for visual concealment, with countershading the most universally observed [4, 5 and 6]. Extant terrestrial herbivores free of significant predation pressure, due to large size or isolation, do not exhibit countershading. Modern predator-prey dynamics may not be directly applicable to those of the Mesozoic due to the dominance of very large, visually oriented theropod dinosaurs [7]. Despite thyreophoran dinosaurs’ possessing extensive dermal armor, some of the most extreme examples of anti-predator structures [8 and 9], little direct evidence of predation on these and other dinosaur megaherbivores has been documented. Here we describe a new, exquisitely three-dimensionally preserved nodosaurid ankylosaur, Borealopelta markmitchelli gen. et sp. nov., from the Early Cretaceous of Alberta, which preserves integumentary structures as organic layers, including continuous fields of epidermal scales and intact horn sheaths capping the body armor. We identify melanin in the organic residues through mass spectroscopic analyses and observe lighter pigmentation of the large parascapular spines, consistent with display, and a pattern of countershading across the body. With an estimated body mass exceeding 1,300 kg, B. markmitchelli was much larger than modern terrestrial mammals that either are countershaded or experience significant predation pressure as adults. Presence of countershading suggests predation pressure strong enough to select for concealment in this megaherbivore despite possession of massive dorsal and lateral armor, illustrating a significant dichotomy between Mesozoic predator-prey dynamics and those of modern terrestrial systems. The graphical abstract: