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Hi everyone! I found these among soft gray mudstones. From south Ankara, Turkey. Maastrichtian age, Late Cretaceous. Readings indicate that the area was shelf/fluvial at that time. Coprolite or pseudocoprolite? Some sort of mineral/mud concretion? Any guess? Some of them have tiny broken shell parts, sand grains inside and cracked crust as you can see in the picture. Please help me identify these. :) Thanks.

Since I have gone "down the rabbit hole" of Micro Matrix fossil hunting, I'm going to start a series of posts on the main time periods and locations I am collecting. I'll start off with the Best Of and then add in new finds. Of course, Texas Cretaceous is my primary interest, but will also have posts on Texas Pennsylvanian, Permian, Eocene and Pleistocene. Plus other posts on various locations around the country (and world!) SO if you like Micro fossils, keep an eye out for them! So Texas Cretaceous Best Micro Finds to start! Most of these are 1/8 inch (aprox 3mm) a few being up to 1/4 inch (aprox 6mm) 1. Ammonites -Del Rio and Eagle Ford Formations 2. Heteromorph Ammonites - Del Rio and Eagle Ford Formations 3. Bivalves - Del Rio, Glen Rose, and Ozan Formations 4. Corals - Del Rio and Ozan Formation 5. Crabs - Del Rio, Eagle Ford, Glen Rose, Corsicana and Walnut Formations 6. Crinoids - Glen Rose, Eagle Ford, and Del Rio Formations 7. Crocodilians - Aguja Formation 8. Dermal Denticles - Ozan, Aguja and Eagle Ford Formations 9. Dinosaurs -Aguja Formation 10. Echinoids - Del Rio and Glen Rose Formations Glen Rose Formation Glen Rose, Walnut, Austin Chalk and Eagle Ford Formations 11. Fish Teeth - Ozan, Del Rio, Aguja, Eagle Ford and Glen Rose Formation 12. Foraminifera - Ozan, Glen Rose, and Del Rio Formations 13. Gastropods - Del Rio and Eagle Ford Formations 14. Mammals - Aguja Formation 15. Marine Reptiles - Austin Chalk and Eagle Ford Formations 16. Rays - Del Rio, Wolfe City and Glen Rose Formations 17. Sawfish - Eagle Ford, Ozan and Austin Chalk Formations Aguja. Eagle Ford and Ozan Formations 18. Lamniforme Sharks- Ozan, Austin Chalk, Eagle Ford and Woodbine Formations: Ozan, Austin Chalk, Del Rio and Eagle Ford Formations: Del Rio, Eagle Ford, and Ozan Formations: 19. Non-Lamniforme Sharks - Ozan, Woodbine, Aguja and Eagle Ford Formations: 20. Ptychodontidae Sharks - Austin Chalk and Eagle Ford Formations: Austin Chalk Formation' 21. Starfish - Glen Rose, Walnut and Del Rio Formations 22. Vertebrae - Aguja, Del Rio, and Eagle Ford Formations 23. Worms -Del Rio, Corsicana. Ozan and Eagle Ford Formations

Today has not been kind to me. Originally, I was off work today, and had planned to leave early this morning to check out some potential trilobite ridden rock around St. Louis. This didn't happen, as I was awoken early to learn and find my car had been the victim of a hit and run. I will not be able to collect for some time now, which is very saddening. This was my first brand new car purchase, and I had planned to drive that car until the wheels literally fell off. That is no longer an option, so I was faced with cleaning what i could out, and saving some mementos I had forgotten about. Fortunately, I was able to salvage a case of fossils, though some still took some damage. So I will share these today instead. Some of these fossils may have been shared before, so I apologize for repeats. These were all I could salvage from 3 cases I left in my trunk. Here is a mix of Pennsylvanian Deer Creek Formation fossils, a few Mississippian Burlington Formation fossils, a Silurian double ventral Calymenid slab, and a few fossils from Texas as well. The crinoid and trilobite I believe were collected at Mineral Wells, while I believe the other 4 were collect along the NSR. Deer Creek Formation fossils- Both straight shelled cephalopods were broken. The root to the tooth also split away, and couldn't be located. Burlington Formation crinoids and coral Ozan Formation? Fossils Mineral Wells? Crinoid and trilobite Bainbridge Formation Calymene plate I'm glad I doubled checked under my driver's side seat. I had forgot about this slab I started to trim that had 2 ventral Calymene. They aren't the best, but worth saving. It was nice to see some fossils I haven't put eyes on in some time now, and also recover a few I forgot about. I hope your day goes better than mine has!

Found the tooth to the right today, possibly a deformed Pseudoscapanorhynchus the one to the left is how it’s supposed to look like. Or is it another species? What do you guys think? Kristianstad Basin Sweden, Cretaceous.

I found and prepped this ammo many years ago but ran into it again in one of my old fossil boxes. I decided to do some rock cutting and a bit of clean up. Its now in the collection The one on the right is the one I just finished up. I cut a bunch of rock from the bottom so it will sit nicely on a shelf and I also cut some rock off the back taking off more than 4 lbs I put on one coat of floor wax onto the critter and 2 coats onto the rock itself that is mostly covered in a layer of calcite. Its shiny but I like it. As Forrest would say, "I like it alot".

We got an interesting green slice of petrified wood, incredible color. I have only seen them from Turkey or USA (Oregon? Nevada?, I forgot) many years ago. This has no information, it is more 80:20 for USA because most of the other woodslices in this collection came from USA. But, some from Africa, Asia, Europe..., so, I do not know. What do you think? Perhaps, @paleoflor has an idea? Size is approx. 20 cm, this is around 8"

Huge rare fossil in fallen block discovered on Island Liam Chorley, Isle of Wright County News, November 2023 Isle of Wight: Enormous fossil ammonite dug out from boulder BBC News, November 2023 Other Isle of Wright ammonites Huge Isle of Wight ammonite fossil discovered in Chale Liam Chorley, Isle of Wright County News, June 2023 It's all right with ammonite as student pair discover 96kg fossil Dominic Kureen, Isle of Wright County News, June 2020 Miscellaneous BBC article Jurassic Coast cliff falls tempt fossil hunters BBC News, September 2023 Yours, Paul H.

Hello everyone Recently returned from fossil hunting on private ranches in Montana (Garfield County and Fallon County) for Cretaceous Hell Creek fossils. Found lots of cool micros (teeth, verts, etc.) and macros (pubis, scapula, verts, etc.). Went with PaleoProspectors who I highly recommend. Below are photos of some items for ID if possible Photo 1-Overall Line 1-One of the raptor digits; Line 2 Maybe very worn claws; Line 3 Maybe very worn Ankylosaur osteoderms; Line 4 Crocodile Jaw Photos 2-7-Two apparent raptor digits. From Troodon's ID of Claws/Ungals from the Hell Creek Formation possibly look Troodon? Not sure if ID beyond Raptor is possible Photos 8-14 Very small about 1/2" possible claw. Again from Troodon's guide possibly looks like a Troodon hand claw Photos 15-18 -About 2" very worn bone with a gentle curve, possible blood groove and odd shape. Maybe just a very worn bone but wanted an opinion on it. Photos 19-24 -Two very worn bones with a ridge that look a little like an ankylosaur osteoderm with a center ridge. The surface texture doesn't look exactly right but they are pretty worn. May be just worn bones? Photos 25-28-Broken Crocodile jaw without any teeth or sockets. Let me know if you would like any additional angles on the photos, more info on which photos go with which description, or want more info. Thanks for looking, I appreciate any opinions on these items.

A Fossil A Day....keeps the blues away! Or something like that... I started an Instragram account (jamielynnfossilquest) and am posting a fossil a day, so I figured I should do that on here, to REAL fossil enthusiasts! I'm a few days behind, so I will start out with a few more than one a day but then it will settle down to One Fossil (but I will admit, I'll probably miss a few days, but I'll double up or whatever.) I'll start with Texas Pennsylvanian era, but will branch out to other locations and time periods, so expect a little of everything! So enjoy A Fossil A Day! Texas Pennsylvanian Fossils: Nautiloid Agathiceras ciscoense Brachiopod Neochonetes acanthophorus Trilobite Ditomopyge sp. Gastropod Straparollus sp. Bivalve Astartella vera Cephalopod Brachycycloceras sp, Brachiopod Cleiothyridina orbicularis

I just finished my first piece of paleoart ! I named it : "the "last" last non avian dinosaur". It shows a Chenanisaurus babaricus watching a second sun, the meteor impact, suddenly arising. How do you like it ? Im really happy with how it turned out ! (please ignore the white stripe at the bottom, I had to screenshot this piece on an Ipad from the program where I've drawn it, as otherwise I wouldnt be able to show it, as it was saved in a different picture format wich this Forum couldnt convert into the actual picture)

Gmornin yall, I recently took a trip to Big Brook in New Jersey with my girlfriend, and we returned with a few items. There were not as many shark teeth as we expected to find, but some interesting fossil and fossil-like material nonetheless. Shark Teeth: The one's on the left are from my girlfriend. She beat the snarge out of me this time. This will Not occur again. Bony Fish Material: The only one I found was the large vert. My girlfriend whispers to the fish and I am beginning to feel jealous of the fish. Belemnites: I guess she speaks to squid too. These are all hers. Here begins a lot of material that we couldn't quite identify, but looked organic in origin. Any help identifying them would be greatly appreciated, although I may have to make a separate post in the fossil ID part of the forum for that. Potential Jaw: This one is also hers. Ammonite-like and Tooth-like Object: Medium-sized Bone-like Rock: These are probably mostly concretions or iron, but any hope that something is in here is worth exploring. Same goes for the unidentified material below. Small-sized Bone-like Rock: Something better be in here or else I'll turn to the creationists for explanation. Larger Unidentified Questionable Objects: Mosasaur for sure. Potential Coprolite: Big Poo Moment. Lastly, here are some pictures taken using a microscope, just for fun: These photos were taken by my girlfriend at her job. She is a productive member of society that uses her paid time productively. - Skidush

I acquired this cretaceous guitarfish, Rhinobatos whitfieldi from Hgula, Lebanon. Although incomplete, it has exceptional preservation. Below is a picture of the fossil and a second image with angled light, showing the texture of the fossil surface.

Crocodylians are some of the most under-appreciated parts of Mesozoic and Cenozoic faunas. While it's a common to assume that they are "living fossils" and barely changed since the Triassic, this is actually false - crocodylians were, and still are, extremely diverse. Systematics of these organisms can be confusing, so in this thread when I say "crocodiles" I mean Crocodylomorphs - a larger clade that includes extant crocodiles and their extinct relatives starting in Triassic. Let's start, of course, with Upper Cretaceous Kem Kem beds in Morocco. Those deposits were home to famous dinosaurs, such as Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, that ofen overshadow the incredible diversity of local crocodylomorphs. Clade: Crocodylomorpha Clade: Crocodyliformes Clade: Metasuchia Clade: Neosuchia Family: Pholidosauridae Species: Elosuchus cherifiensis Elosuchus was the largest and one of the most common Kem Kem crocodylians. Its taxonomy is debated, but it was most likely a Pholidosaurid, a member of the family of large, aquatic crocodylomorphs that were close to the base of crocodylomorph phylogeny. Another famous member of this family is Nigerien Sarcosuchus imperator, one of the largest crocodylomorphs. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of its teeth at hand, so feel free to add any of your own! I do have this partial premaxilla. Premaxillae of many pholidosaurids can be easily identified because of their bulbous shape. Elosuchus teeth were large and robust, sometimes with enamel ridges. Family: Stomatosuchidae Species: Laganosuchus maghrebiensis In my experience looking at various commercially available Kem Kem fossils, this species is one of the rarest. Laganosuchus was a stomatosuchid - a family of crocodylomorphs with strongly compressed skulls, earning them the name of "pancake" crocodiles. I have a small dentary section, close to the symphysis - connection between left and right halves. I believe it is a stomatosuchid because of how compressed this section is, considerable distance between tooth sockets (alveoli) and short symphysis, as seen in Elosuchus and many other crocodiles. Here is a similar L. maghrebiensis dentary fragment with a tooth; and a L. thaumastos tooth (Sereno & Larsson, 2009). Here is a lower jaw of L. thaumastos from Niger that displays the "pancake" shape (also Sereno & Larsson, 2009). Clade: Metasuchia Clade: Notosuchia Notosuchians were primarily terrestrial crocodylomorphs, known since the Jurassic but reaching their peak diversity in the Cretaceous. There are a few species known from Kem Kem beds: Hamadasuchus rebouli, Antaeusuchus taouzensis, Araripesuchus rattoides and Lavocatchampsa sigogneaurusselae (unfortunately don't have any specimens from this one). A unique trait of notosuchians is strong heterodonty - differentiation of teeth. Many species had well-defined incisiform, caniniform or molariform teeth, functionally equivalent to incisors, canines and molars in mammals. Family: Peirosauridae Species: Hamadasuchus reboulli Hamadasuchus was one of the two peirosaurids in Kem Kem, the other one being Antaeusuchus. Antaeusuchus was larger than Hamadasuchus, had less ornamented dentary surface and significantly more robust teeth. Here is a dentary from Hamadasuchus, displaying the diagnostic triangular and labio-lingually compressed posterior tooth. You can read more about the differences between these two taxa in Nicholl et al., 2021. Here are a few Hamadasuchus teeth from various tooth positions. Many of these have fine serrations, another characteristic trait of notosuchian teeth. All scalebars are 1 cm. Family: Uruguaysuchidae Species: Araripesuchus rattoides Araripesuchus was a small terrestrial notosuchian with gracile anatomy. It also had clear heterodonty but its teeth were considerably smaller than those of Hamadasuchus. Additionally, the dentary was less apico-basally expanded. I have a dentary and a partial maxilla from different individuals. You can clearly see how heterodont this species was from the size of the alveoli. Teeth of A. wegeneri from Niger: Notosuchia indet.? This is a dentary section that I've been struggling to identify. Its extremely elongated, but certainly not Laganosuchus because it looks like left and right halves were fused along the entire length. Also, alveoli are not spaced enough for Laganosuchus or Elosuchus. The one preserved tooth is strongly compressed and has visible denticles, which points to a notosuchian. However, it could also be Aegisuchus - an aegyptosuchid crocodylomorph, jaws of which are unknown.

I recently came across a few scientific papers about a little known Coelurosaur theropod dinosaur from South America I would like some help in understanding its place in Coelurosauria. Image Reconstruction of the Early Cretaceous Coelurosaur Aniksosarus from what is now Southern Argentina. Image Credit: Deviantart artist oroti0, 2023. Image Source: https://www.deviantart.com/oroti0/art/Aniksosaurus-950583918 The name of the Coelurosaur is Aniksosaurus and it lived during the Early Cretaceous period (100.5-89.8 Million Years ago) in what is now Chubut Province of Argentina. It was discovered in early cretaceous deposits at the Lower member of the Bajo Barreal Formation, formally described only in 2006, and is known from several fossilized specimens. https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=97082&is_real_user=1 Image of the femora specimens of Aniksosaurus darwini with measurements (in mm) of the femora specimens. Image Credit: Ibiricu, L. M., Martínez, R. D., Casal, G. A., and Cerda, I. A. (2013). The Behavioral Implications of a Multi-Individual Bonebed of a Small Theropod Dinosaur. PLoS ONE. 8(5): e64253. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064253 Image Source: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/figures?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0064253 From what I've read in some of the few papers about this coelurosaur, it was 2-3 meters (7-10 feet) in length fully grown and has been categorized as a member of everything from Compsognathidae, a maniraptoromorph outside compsognathids and maniraptorans, and even a member of Pantyrannosauria. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2010.520779 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6626525/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6626525/ I'm personally leaning a bit towards placing it in Pantyrannosauria based on the presence of other Pantyrannosauria in South America at this time including Santanaraptor and the currently unnamed Pantyrannosauria sp. (based on Specimen MN 4451/1-V) from the early cretaceous Salvador Formation (dating 143.1-121.4 Million Years ago) alongside the somewhat advanced Coelurosaur features the specimens have. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Aniksosaurus-darwini-gen.-et-sp.-nov.%2C-a-new-from-Martínez-Novas/04565788edd6321fa6e6daf8fb1d438766e52af9 But I really would like your guys thoughts on where this genus belongs in Coelurosauria?

Last December we took trip to the South Carolina coast and found lots of Pleistocene treasure which I have already posted in my latest gallery, South Carolina Pleistocene Fossils Finds. I didn’t get time to write up a trip report about the South Carolina trip as I have been other busy with other projects, but the photos in the gallery speak for themselves. It was a very good trip. Since we were already so far from home, we planned to drive up the coast to Holden Beach to see what we could collect there as we had heard of the Cretaceous fossils being found as a result of the beach nourishment. Even though we were a bit late to the fossil frenzy on Holden Beach, we were pleased with our finds. The fossils on Holden Beach are a wild range from the Late Cretaceous PeeDee Formation through to the Pleistocene. And the very first fossil I picked up on day one was this Pleistocene Equus sp. right astragalus. And then the entire day, and every day after was spent picking up and evaluating each echinoid for quality. (They get heavy if you keep every one.) A few of the better preserved samples that I collected have big chunks of attached matrix. If anyone has a way of removing that without serious tools, please let me know. I don’t have a group shot of all the Hardouinia mortonis that we picked up, but this one was nice enough to edit for my gallery. Just ignore the predation hole on the base. Low tide was before or at dawn those six days and we experienced some of the most beautiful sunrises ever! We were prepared for hunting in the dark and made the most of every day. Right away we began finding Crow shark teeth. I really like this one. Does anyone think that it is a symphyseal tooth? All shark teeth were scooped up for further examination later under warmer conditions. Even the small Bull shark teeth are striking when looked at closely. If I have any IDs wrong, please let me know. I love the colors on this Great White tooth, and I was pleased that it didn’t fade too much upon drying. Another Great White The Cretaceous fossils were the reason for the trip, and it was exciting to pick up such unusual fossils as these crab specimens of Prehepatus harrisi. I was fortunate to collect both a right and a left manus of this crab even if both are missing the dactyl and pollex. As found. Another crisp December morning with my little helper Annie the Rat Terrier. continued in next post...

Hi everyone! I have my eye on an interesting piece. The seller doesn't seem to know what it is, but it looks like it might be the tip of the beak of an Azhdarchid Pterosaur or at least similar to ones I've seen advertised as such. Another possibility that occured to be is Hybodont spine, but it doesn't quite look right (or maybe it does and I'm seeing Pterosaur because i want to). Not a lot of information beyond it being 2.75 inches (about 7 cm) and coming from a collection that specialized in Moroccan material. What do you all think? Any insight is appreciated as always!

Hi everyone! I have some unexpected footprint-y finds to share . Back in June, June 1st to be exact, I visited the old locality where I found my first dinosaur track which ultimately led me to join this forum, linked below. This is a stream locality in Maryland close to DC that belongs to the Early Cretaceous Patuxent Formation of the Potomac Group. I have returned to this locality on occasion when I am in the area. It is very unproductive nowadays. Even back when I found that track, I got very lucky. The site has a limited exposure along a creek that has been reduced due to development. The stream has also significantly changed, covering the beaches where slabs of rock could be found, often bearing tracks. Nevertheless, it was the first Mesozoic locality I ever searched on my own and the site of one of my proudest finds. I occasionally visit it to have lunch after volunteering at Dinosaur Park, where I enjoy some time in a pretty location, as well as beside a memorable locality of sorts. On this day in June, I did just that. However, old habits die hard, and despite not planning to collect, I couldn't help but look around a bit on the limited beach as I enjoyed my sandwich. It was a beautiful early summer day, one of the last ones before it got really hot here on the East Coast. We are finally getting some storms today, though! After just a few minutes of looking around, I identified three possible specimens. One was the cycadeoid fossil I posted in Fossil ID a while back. I will take a minute to mention that I finally got my items IDed by Dr. Rob Weems last week (he helped me with my old track). I meet with him on occasion and I brought the items from this day with me when I met with him. He confirmed this specimen to be a cycadeoid bark cast. Anyway, I found two other items nearby the plant fossil. Both looked like possible tracks, but I was honestly unsure. The track-collecting game is very difficult, I must say, at least in the Patuxent. So much of the rocks are very vague and difficult to interpret, but very frequently are indeed tracks as the depositional environment was fantastic for the preservation of tracks. You need a lot of imagination to agree you have found a track, at the risk of much pareidolia. The best thing you can do is to show it to a scientist who has more experience reading tracks. In fact, because of the difficulty of track identification at this site, I rarely attempt at explicitly searching for tracks on rocks. I also never attempt to ID them in the field. Instead, I search for anomalous structures on rocks. With experience, you can begin to differentiate geologic sedimentary structures from those that may be created by organisms. Honestly, I use this technique in much of my collecting. Don't look for fossils, look for things that are odd or cannot be explained from an elementary understanding of geology. You notice a lot more when you're not narrowing your vision to one specific area. I find strange specimens that match this description and bag them for later. When I get home, I clean them and complete a more investigative analysis, eventually sending photos to others to get additional opinions. Because so much is left to imagination with track interpretation, I don't like posting them for ID or in a trip report right away. Either I lose myself to pareidolia, or sometimes real tracks could be voted geologic because it's hard to see from a few photos. I digress. I collected the two possible tracks and thought about returning to my car. However, the weather was nice and the water was cool. I mentally debated for a moment before throwing caution to the wind, taking off my shoes, rolling up my pant legs and wading in. The water was fantastic. I was able to access rocks at the bottom of the creek which provide the greatest selection of large, flat sandstone slabs that typically have tracks. One such rock was quite strange, with an obvious extrusion that looked not at all geologic and definitely the result of a track, at least to me. I thought the extruded portion of this slab was a raised track cast, the negative of an actual track. I carried the heavy rock back through the creek, hunched over and maneuvering through the sharp, rough creek bottom. It was quite a feat of fortitude, staving off mosquitoes and unstable footing while cradling a very heavy rock like a caveman all while muttering to myself, trying to remember how I charted my course through the shallower regions of the creek. Some random guy walked in on me looking very strange like this. All of a sudden, I looked up and locked eyes with a guy who had just witnessed a crazy person ambling through a creek, clutching a rock to his chest, and mumbling intermittently. I made it back to the shore safely, and contemplated my possible finds as I dried off and put my shoes back on. I had a very interesting set of possible footprint preservation mediums. One was a classic sandstone slab with a footprint-like structure. I have seen many rocks like this, including my previous track find. The next one was a small blob of ironstone, akin to a cowpatty. It had much lumpy layering around the possible track. I have only seen these occasionally, they sometime preserve the cast of tracks. The third item was a classic Patuxent rock. It consisted of a pottery-like shard or siderite, one side preserving the ground from 115 million years ago, the other side retaining a more-granulated concretionized surface, with a few flecks of lignite. I'm not sure why there are so many lithologies that allow for tracks to be preserved, but they are interesting. Anyway, I took all the items back and left for home, where I placed the specimens on a shelf, out of mind until my meeting with Dr. Weems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have rambled on too long without showing any of the fossils! I just felt this specific report fit into two "episodes" since the collecting was very separate from the study and IDing of the specimens. I am trying to be more descriptive with my reports, providing more of a story along with the fossils. I have taken much inspiration from members like @SPrice, @Mikrogeophagus, and @Jared C, whose reports I greatly admire. Let me know if I'm being too wordy, or if I have glossed over details that require more explanation. Now, into the fossils! First up, we have the sandstone slab: Can you see it? Here, the black lines represent the extruded portion that I thought was part of a track. But instead, it's the red outline, with the blue lines representing the impression! Never even saw this shape at first. Ornithopod Track cf. Caririchnium kortmeyeri Patuxent Fm., Aptian/Albian Prince George's County, MD This track likely belongs to an ornithopod dinosaur. Similar tracks can be found by googling the genus Caririchnium, including some at the famous Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison, CO, like this one: The ichnospecies I listed above was created by an Iguanodontid dinosaur, one of the last few which were dying out right as the basal hadrosaurs were starting to emerge. On to the next track! Possible Turtle Track cf. Emydhippus ichsp. Patuxent Fm., Aptian/Albian Prince George's County, MD This is a very small track created by a small creature like an early mammal, lizard, or turtle. The rock may have other residual scratch marks, but this is the main one, though the heel is cut off. Based on the size and morphology (spacing of the claw marks), we think the track belongs to a turtle. I should mention that the ichnospecies that I am "cf."ing are the reported ichnospecies that match the trackmaker closest based on our analysis. Please let me know if I'm using my taxonomic vocabulary incorrectly. Lastly, we have my personal favorite! Palm-sized, rather uncommon, and adorable... Please meet (drumroll, please): Juvenile (!!!) Basal Tyrannosauroid Track cf. Tyrannosauripus bachmani Patuxent Fm., Aptian/Albian Prince George's County, MD This one is quite cute, but you need a few lighting angles to see all the toes just right. This likely belongs to a baby theropod, and not just any theropod, a basal tyrannosauroid! You can see the little toes, though the leftmost digit is not fully preserved. You can see it branch off before it stops. The middle toe is most clear, complete with knuckle marks and a pointed claw mark, but not as sharp as older theropods and the tyrannosaurs that would come later on in time. I was incredulous that a track so small could be preserved like this, but it really is unmistakable when you get the light on it. It's so satisfying that I've been carrying around the little guy in my pocket all week, pretending I have a baby pet dinosaur. Until I find my first osteological theropod fossils, I will be quite content with this track. And unlike most tracks which are hard to distinguish for non-paleo people and quite large and heavy, I can carry this one around and brag to my friends . Anyway, that is all for now. I don't know when I will have another chance to go looking in the Patuxent again as I am quite busy with the Culpeper Basin in VA, where I am slowly making progress I can hopefully share soon. I hope everyone enjoyed reading and looking at these tracks as much as I have! Let me know if I have made any egregious errors. Have a good night. References (used for ID purposes): Weems, Robert. (2021). ADDITIONS AND A TAXONOMIC UPDATE TO THE DINOSAUR ICHNOFAUNA FROM THE PATUXENT FORMATION IN VIRGINIA, USA. 82. 475-485.

some of the fossils i find within the lusitan Basin and other deposits. hope you enjoy

A little over a week ago I flew to Memphis and then drove down to Tupelo, Mississippi to spend two days collecting at the nearby Blue Springs fossil site, Upper Cretaceous, Ripley Formation, Coon Creek Member. It was my fourth trip there in the past two years. Weather was decent- 65 degrees the first day, 55 the second., a mix of sun and clouds both days. The site was very mucky the first day there, but it dried up for the most part by the second. The first time I visited there, the surface collecting was excellent. Not so much the last three times and this time was exceptionally poor. So, as you can see from the photo, I did a lot of digging. The softer material near the top did have fossils, but normally they crumpled as soon as they were exposed. One particular small nautiloid that was original shell material and mostly gold color was especially heart breaking. As I dug deeper, more intact fossils appeared in the now tougher marl, mostly mollusks with at least some shell material though much of it came off when the rock split.

The seller thought they are Xiphactinus audax tooth. And it’s really cool for me but I am not an expert about these kind of fish. So I look for some help here. Plz share your ideas and help me. Thank you! Formation: Eutaw Formation Location: Monroe County, Mississippi Age: 85-81 mya, Cretaceous