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As promised, your #ThePaleoCommunityOrganizer update for March 31. (See previous thread here.) After a 12-year(!) hiatus, the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) has finally rebooted American Paleontologist, the old avocational paleontology standby, as a community newsletter. To do what I can to support this effort, I've signed on as a columnist, with a column called The PaleoCommunity Organizer. It centers the community aspect of our shared avocation and looks at all the ways in which acting as a community can inspire and save avocational paleontology and help it thrive in the 21st century. And, well, it wouldn't be much of a column about community if it were just me talking. A crucial aspect is hearing from y'all, whether that means calling me out on something I missed, or naming a powerful example of something I only just touched on, or reframing the conversation as you see it. The community always knows more than I do. So, community, bring your feedback here to The Fossil Forum, where we can build on each other's ideas and craft a better avocational paleontology world for all of us. Action item for you: In the comments below, I'd love to hear your feedback on the first PaleoCommunity Organizer column, which starts on page 10 of this first issue of the American Paleontologist newsletter. This first installment of the column is called How Fossil Community Got Lost—and How We Get It Back, Part I. So, where to find this first issue, hot off the virtual presses? Right here: https://www.priweb.org/research-and-collections/american-paleontologist My thanks again. You can continue to find links to all these Fossil Forum discussions of PaleoCommunity Organizer columns at the following homepage for The PaleoCommunity Organizer: https://www.priweb.org/research-and-collections/american-paleontologist/pco

News flash and request for near-future feedback! After a 12-year(!) hiatus, the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) is about to reboot American Paleontologist, the old avocational paleontology standby, as a community newsletter. To do what I can to support this effort, I've signed on as a columnist, with a column called "The PaleoCommunity Organizer." It centers the community aspect of our shared avocation and looks at all the ways in which acting as a community can inspire and save avocational paleontology and help it thrive in the 21st century. And, well, it wouldn't be much of a column about community if it were just me talking. A crucial aspect is hearing from y'all, whether that means calling me out on something I missed, or naming a powerful example of something I only just touched on, or reframing the conversation as you see it. The community always knows more than I do. So, community, bring your feedback here to The Fossil Forum, where we can build on each other's ideas and craft a better avocational paleontology world for all of us. Action item: Look out for a followup post here on March 31, 2024, when American Paleontologist's first newsletter drops. That's when I'll ask y'all to get the discussion rolling on my column's first entry: "How Fossil Community Got Lost—and How We Get It Back." Stay tuned.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/09/220920211225.htm

Hi everyone! A couple of weeks ago I aqcuired some microfossil samples, one of which was a sample from the Lede Zand, Lede Formation, Oosterzele, Belgium (Eocene, Lutetian, 44 mya). The sample is very rich in Foraminifera & shell fragments, but I also managed to find a tiny shark tooth. While I already searched at belgiansharkteeth.be I can't seem to find a match, perhaps due to it being so small. So I was wondering if anyone here might be able to help me out, I would be very gratefull. Thank you in advance!

I’ve just recently sifted through some permian micro matrix from Oklahoma and I came across this and wasn’t sure if it was anything at all, it was very uniform and sleek so I didn’t immediately assume it was a pebble, it also had that strange split on one end. I’m not even sure if it’s a fossil.

Hi again from West KY. Hope these photos are OK. I've wrestled with them for a couple hours now. (LOL) This was found with some others while I was walking a creek in the Jackson Purchase area of KY, Graves County to be exact. This was on the surface, as were the others, all near each other. They look to have been washed out, as the banks of the creek are, in some places, as high as 15 - 20 ft. The other side was cut out in the 1800's to make a railroad track. The ruler didn't come out clearly, but, this measures about 9mm x 7mm x 5mm, weighs 552g. This area is known to have been under water, but most of the fossils I find are the small ones. When I saw this, I wondered if it was possible to have had a creature this large swimming HERE? That led to learning about the Western Interior Seaway, and yes, it DID reach here, (very exciting!). After researching this and another bone found with it, I came to think that it was a possible cetacean with signs of Osedax, during the Cretaceous perhaps. (?) After reading about Osedax, I found that now, the various species usually are separate from each other, but that in the W.I.S., many species would feed off of the same bones. *I added a photo of one of the others found with it. Just the one. I've second-guessed myself 1000 times about this and the other "bones", looked for other things that seemed more plausible, and been through tons of photos, websites, & scientific papers. The University of KY website didn't help to squash my excitement - here's a quote from them: "Cretaceous sediments are almost completely absent in Kentucky; only small areas of Cretaceous deposits occur in and near the Jackson Purchase Region in extreme western Kentucky. During most of the Cretaceous, Kentucky was land. If Cretaceous sediments covered any of this land, they have since been eroded away. However, during latest Cretaceous times, sea level rise coupled with subsidence in the Jackson Purchase Region led to deposition of coastal sediments in environments that included coastal plain, river, delta, and shallow sea. Because of the limited outcrops in the flat Jackson Purchase Region, very little in the way of fossils have been found in the Cretaceous sediments there. The most common fossils are coalified tree limbs. The potential exists for dinosaur fossils to be found in these sediments in Kentucky. Much more new research needs to be done on the Cretaceous in this region." I know some of you all can help, and it's very much appreciated! Even if it IS nothing more than a coral or whatever, at least I will know!

I recently created this set of micropaleontology themed drink coasters. When stacked, the coaster set resembles a geological core sample, containing fossils ranging from the present day to 1500 Ma. For anyone with access to a 3d printer, the cad files can be freely downloaded here: https://sketchfab.com/taylorcustom/collections If anyone has requests for other such projects, I welcome suggestions!

Hi everyone! I'm looking to buy a Stereo Microscope in Europe for microfossil observation and was wondering if anyone can point out recommended brands. The price range for me is <400 Euros. Thanks!

I am in the process of creating a micropaleontology themed artwork., and even after having received a good amount of expert help, I feel overwhelmed by the subject and would like to get more opinions on my composition. The piece will consist of a series of disc-shaped layers, each of which will bear microfossils from a different geologic time period. These layers will be stacked like a roll of coins, so as to look like a drill core. The attached image shows a part of my research spreadsheet, including images and descriptions of each layer. If anyone here has any thoughts on the organisms I have chosen, or how I have portrayed them, I would love to hear! Am I missing any perennial favorites? Is my selection skewed too much in one direction or another? Thanks for taking the time to look, and thanks in advance for your comments!

A Suggestion for Making Thin Sections for Bryozoan Slides Free download

In 1911, near the Egyptian village of El Nakhla El Baharia was recovered a meteorite of martian origin. It belongs to a class of martian meteorites (called "nakhlites") that are derived from a ~1.3 billion year old sill or lava flow. They are mainly composed of magnesium, silica and iron. The Nakhla meteorite showed traces of a very particular form of silica, hydrated and amorphous: opal. This opal was the first in a few traces of martian opal. However, the hydrated silica in the Nakhla meteorite showed showed something rather special: it was very similar to the sort of opal that, on Earth, forms around hydrothermal vents. Around these vents, microbial life thrives and prospers. Could this suggest opalised microbial fossils on Mars? Are we this close to finding fossil life elsewhere in the universe? Further research will tell...

Hi friends. Im from Iran and currently working on thesis for my masters. I also have bachelor in software engineering and have good experiences in image processing and neural networks and programing. so I hope can do good tasks on paleontology using computer. actually we mostly have microfossils. my interests are mostly benthic foraminifera and palynomorphs. I know TFF for a long time but just started activities here. _________________ Edit: Attachment is a photo of a cretaceous thin section which I make by stitching few microscopic images together to get larger picture. BTW It seems no body here works on thin sections, microfacies and ...

Hi, I am new on this forum and very happy I found it. My main interests are micropaleontology and the study of foraminifera. I studied geology so I have a reasonably good background into micropaleontology but I’ve never owned a microscope before or done anything at home. My experience is reduced to what laboratory work I’ve done in university. At the moment I am mostly interested in cretaceous foraminifera as I’ve started to work on a project for my master studies. The title of my project is “The importance of Cretaceous foraminifers in wellsite geology”. As a case study, I am analysing samples from wells drilled in Central North Sea. I have a full job at the moment (not micropaleo related) so I’m treating my project as a hobby, meaning that I work on it whenever I find time. I’ve just ordered a microscope and some other tools I need for home processing of my samples. Looking forward to chat with you all and share experience. Angela

I would like to share some pictures with you from my first hunt on microfossils. Hope, that you will help me to identify some of the fossils. Description: Gray clay with foraminifers. Bed of the river Losis, 100m from river Venta. J2 Callovian Sample taken in year 2005 Processing of the sample: First, I cut a small amount of clay from the sample (~35-50 gr.). This piece was then desintegrated with hydrogen peroxide(3%). Then I washed this sample, using 2 sieves (100 microns and 63 microns) for about half an hour. Both fractures (>100 and >63 microns) were separated between two envelopes for drying. Then sample dried for 2 days within the room temperature. Looking for fossils: I don't know, what I did incorrect, but after drying, sample solidified a bit, and I needed to grind it a bit with my hands. It seems, that not all clay went away from the sample. The color of remains still was dark grey. I am using a simple 20x-40x scope, and I saw, that sample is full of something, that reminded me fish scale. A lot of small, blinking pieces. For now, I have searched through only >100 micron fracture. A lot of interesting stuff was found there. I need to apologise for the quality of the pictures. I don't have a special scope camera, so I took some pictures with my phone through the scope. Some pics(pictures are large, so I include only links to them): 1) http://i.imgur.com/5rfKmss.jpg Here I separated those shells in two groups, because the group on the left is more yellowish. I think, this can be another species. I was trying to identify this using foraminifera.eu and it seems for me, that these can be some Lenticulina ? 2) http://i.imgur.com/u4ljqJv.jpg Could not find any one similar. Looks like what I see on the top of the shell are chambers without a top layer? Or this is some kind of special ornament? 3) http://i.imgur.com/MQw5BOb.jpg These looks like Discorbida ? 4) http://i.imgur.com/pOP6QWy.jpg Have not found any similar in "Key to species". 5) http://i.imgur.com/TzPH3OJ.jpg Also no idea. 6) http://i.imgur.com/7niz8hW.jpg Same story Some other photos of microfossils, that are only in 1 sample : http://i.imgur.com/LgTMDPR.jpg http://i.imgur.com/IRHw12P.jpg Thank you for your time reading this post. I hope to see some answers. If you have any tips or you see something, what I did wrong, please, advise me! I am just starting, but I really like micropalentology and I want to study!

Dear FFers: For the last few weeks, I've been researching suppliers of micropaleo slide sets. I haven't had to buy them since 2003 (!!), and I'm a little shocked to find how much the prices have soared. In any case, the most economical place I've found in the states (at least so far) is Lakeside (http://www.lakeside-products.com/html/paleontologic.html), which sells in lots of 100. I certainly don't need 100, so I was wondering if anyone would like to split an order with me. What I need are the 18-60s shown on the link (2mm thick with a ruled, numbered rectangular field). I could go for the 3mm-thick ones, if that makes a difference to anyone. It would come to about $60 (which would include shipping w/in the US) for 50 cardboard slides & 50 aluminum holders. You're on your own for the glass slides, but there are lots of options on eBay for as low as around $9/gross. All best, Wendell