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New Analysis Techniques Unearth a Trove of Unusual Minerals https://www.wired.com/story/geologists-discover-specks-new-minerals-earths-extremes/ Yours, Paul H.

hafa adai, I'd really like to buy one or two of those detailed trilobites with spines, appendages and all, either Russian or Moroccan. I see prices all over the map, and have observed a few really bad fakes. I'm sure that there are also a lot of really good fakes (hence the wild price differences). Can anyone recommend a checklist/things to look for and/or a reputable dealer (preferably one that doesn't charge mortgage-level prices)? I don't want to keep bothering folks with repeated queries of Is this one good?" "How about this one?" I've read a number of posts in this form, and they tend to refer to individual specimens. I"m looking more for something that I can save to my HD and refer to while I"m shopping online. thank you in advance, hemi

I don't buy many fossils and most that I have bought, or that have been bought for me, were from gift shops and the like when I first started collecting. However, for my birthday a couple of years back, my wife surprised me with this plate of a pair of Russian trilobites. They are Asaphus Intermedius and Asaphus Punctatus. I was overjoyed! From my meager knowledge at the time, I thought that they were completely real. I knew to look out for fakes (i.e. carvings, plaster/resin cast, etc.), or heavily composite specimens from other areas, and since these came from Russia, I thought I was in the clear. My wife also spoke to the seller, and from my understanding, they were very helpful and seemed sincere. They also disclosed that some of their specimens do have a little restoration/repair work, such as the crack on the back of my plate and had a money back guarantee. Fast forward a couple of years... With my birthday coming up and me working on setting up a new display cabinet I got to thinking about this plate of trilobites. Then I remembered that these were from Russia, and that I read somewhere that things coming from there tend to be heavily restored with resin and the like. I have also read that you can tell by using a UV light (black light) to shine on them and any resin used will glow. I don't have one handy, but will pick one up the next time I'm out to test with. So I wanted to poll the community and see what people thought. Are these real? Fake? Heavily restored? I just realized that I didn't include some form of measurement or something for scale in the pics... Each trilobite is roughly 3.5 inches long x 2 inches wide (9 cm x 5cm). The whole plate is 5 inches x 6 inches (12.5cm x 15cm). Front view: Back View: Notice the glued crack... Side Views: Possible restored area on pygidium? Appears to be a slightly different shade than rest of trilobite. Resin? I can provide more pics if needed. And include a scale.

Hi all! Here is a list of Russian paleontological museums with a short description, impressions and a single photo ( made by myself, later). I have not visited all of them, but hope to do so step by step in the future. Most museums hosting paleo exibitions are organised as "local history museums" - everything from minerals to folk costumes. They do sometimes have good paleontological material. If you are in a big city, why not visit the local history (краеведческий) museum - there's a chance to find a good collection. There's only a handful of dedicated paleontological museums. That's what I've found so far: Moscow: 5 museums. https://www.paleo.ru/museum The biggest museum with a good collection, but unfortunately many replicas and material from abroad. Emphasis on Permian reptiles, Gobi dinosaurs and big mammal skeletons:) http://www.darwinmuseum.ru/projects/constant-exp/razvitie-organicheskogo-mira?eng The museum concentrates on evolution concept, but (and that's why) features some good paleo material. The paleontolgical hall is situated on the top floor and thus not much visited after all the taxidermy. I advise you to begin with the top floor then descend. https://www.fmm.ru/Main_Page?setlang=en Fersman mineralogical museum (with atacamite pseudomorph after a mouse) http://mgri-rggru.ru/fondi/museum/mineral.php Mineralogical museum of Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State University for Geological Prospecting (MGRI) http://sgm.ru Vernadsky State Geological Museum Saint Petersburg: 3 museums, all of them free (at least for Russian citizens, so you'll need to enquire), limited access and have very few visitors. https://spmi.ru/gornyi-muzei Mining museum http://www.paleostratmuseum.ru Stratigraphic museum, home to the oldest Russian paleocollection (sold by K.Eichwald, also authentic XiX century displays). Situated in SPb university http://www.vsegei.com/ru/about/museum Very nice one-hall museum with countless mineral and fossil specimens from different Russian locations and the oldest dinosaur skeleton in Russian expositions (the only one in SPb) Kazan: http://kazan-kremlin.ru/museums/muzej-estestvennoj-istorii-tatarstana/ Good collection. Nice Jurassic marine life hall. Samara Oblast: http://alabin.ru/sobytiya/prirodnaya-ekspozitsiya Alabin museum - features a good Mezozoic marine hall (also trilos,mammals, etc). Toliyatti (Samara Oblast): https://sites.google.com/site/ievbmuseum/nasi A restricted access museum for professional geo/paleontologists, visits by appointment Nizhny Novgorod: http://www.turionn.nnov.ru/muzei_mineralogicheskiy.html The museum is now situated in State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (NNSAGU). Free, requires advance registration Ulyanovsk Oblast: http://www.uokm.ru Local history museum with a small paleontological hall on the ground floor. Still nice Jurassic marine material and a cave bear skeleton http://www.simbircit73.ru/salon-muzej Simbircite private museum, features some nice heteromorph ammonites, holotypes included Undory (Ulyanovsk Oblast): https://undor-muz.ru A small museum devoted to Jurassic-Cretaceous marine life Perm Oblast (Kray): http://museum.perm.ru/filiali/muzey-permskih-drevnostey Permian reptiles, etc. Looks good http://museum.psu.ru/museum/muzej-paleontologii-i-istoricheskoj-geologii/ Visits by appointment, probably small Volgograd: https://museionsajtyarkova.ru/katalog/katalog-muzeya-evolyuczionnoj-ekologii-i-arxeologii.html Yakutsk: https://www.s-vfu.ru/universitet/rukovodstvo-i-struktura/vspomogatelnye-podrazdeleniya/muzei/detail.php?SECTION_ID=162&ID=13263 Mammoths and associated fauna Yekaterinburg: http://ugm.ursmu.ru Mostly geological Ivanovo: http://www.ivmk.net Museum of stone (combines mineralogical and paleontological expositions) Kirov, Kotelnich (Kirov Oblast): http://suminia.com/ru/About_the_Museum.htm Kammenomostsky (Adygea Republic): http://worldroads.ru/muzey-ammonitov-adyigei Dedicated to ammos Stary Oskol (Belgorod Oblast) https://www.ammonit.ru/text/2257.htm Museum of the local mining plant - marine reptiles, etc Shestakovo (Kemerovo Oblast): http://brend.visit-kuzbass.ru/shestakovskii Not a museum in a proper sense, but some kind of tourist route around dinosaur excavation sites Nizhniye Chugli (Dagestan Republic): https://www.ammonit.ru/text/1691.htm A small private ammo museum

Very interesting ... if true. was on Yahoo so one never knows for sure. https://news.yahoo.com/head-32-000-old-wolf-found-russian-arctic-093857922.html

Extinct volcano has woken up and scientists say it could erupt 'at any moment' By Emily Dixon, CNN, June 7, 2019 https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/07/europe/russia-volcano-scli-intl-scn/index.html The Russian volcano Bolshaya Udina, a Vesuvius in power Intrenational news, June 7, 2019 https://www.tellerreport.com/post/2019-06-07---the-russian-volcano-bolshaya-udina--a-vesuvius-in-power-.ryqBRM_A4.html The paper is: Koulakov, I., Komzeleva, V., Abkadyrov, I., Kugaenko, Y., El Khrepy, S. and Al Arifi, N., 2019. Unrest of the Udina volcano in Kamchatka inferred from the analysis of seismicity and seismic tomography. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.379, pp. 45-50. http://www.ipgg.sbras.ru/ru/science/publications/publ-unrest-of-the-udina-volcano-in-kamchatka-2019 http://www.kcs.dvo.ru/ivs/publication/volc_day/2019/art22.pdf Yours, Paul H.

I recently bought these two ammonites from a seller who listed them as Kosmoceras sp from Khakassia, Russia, Jurassic period. Based on shape and size, I think these are likely the same species, but the white one has had more shell material removed; what's remaining looks super chalky with a lot of calcium in it. The more intact fossil has curvy ribbing and a slightly braided look to the keel, which has a distinct bevel. I haven't ever seen a Kosmoceras that looks like this - my other Kosmoceras specimens are pyritized fossils from near the Volga River and look much spinier. Can anyone confirm the ID or suggest a different one? Thank you!

The deepest hole we have ever dug. During the Cold War, the US and Soviets both created ambitious projects to drill By Mark Piesing, BBC, May 6, 2019 http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190503-the-deepest-hole-we-have-ever-dug Kola Superdeep Borehole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_Superdeep_Borehole Yours, Paul H.

Hi! I´m not very familiar with Russian dinosaur teeth, But I saw this tooth for sale and its labeled as Kileskus from Itat formation Russia. Is it possible that it is the correct id or could it be something else? The photos isnt very good though

Hi! Previous weekend me and my friend (paleozoic echinoderms researcher) spent in the quarry near Kasimov (Ryazan region, Russia) where upper carboniferous (pennsylvanian) deposits are exposed. This was an opening of the new fossil hunting season. The main target were echinoderms and especially crinoids. The weather was not very comfortable (+6 C and some rain) but perfect for echinoderm hunting. They become contrast and much more visible when wet. Here is some pictures.

Hi there folks. I got this Kosmoceras from Russia but I have no species ID. Judging by the pictures posted in the ammonid page I was thinking about K. spinosum but have no idea if it's possible to determine the species with the specimen I have. Any help woould be much appreciated. Best regards and thanks in advance. =)

This tooth is labelled as ^Unidentified Reptile/Fish Tooth - Albian, Russia^ any ideas a s to what it is considering it is quite cheap

Hey guys. I have recently acquired rare shark teeth from Ryazan, Russia. I could offer some for trade. They are Cretaceous teeth: - Squalicorax - Archeolamna - Cretalamna - Ptychodus - Cretoxyrhina - Polyacrodus Here is what I am interested In: Rare shark material, Common shark material but good quality (meg,gw,ric,chub,big hastalis,...), dinosaur material, Other vertebrate fossils like reptiles or other, invertebrate fossils like big crinoids,trilos,... I may be interested by any unusual fossil. PM me if you are interested, show me what you have got and I will show you what I have. Kind regards.

A person doe not see this too often. Giant snowballs appear on Russian beach in Siberia BBC News, November 5, 2016 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37883003 Thousands of Giant snowballs appear on Russian beach in Siberia. A strange and beautiful sight greeted locals in the Gulf of Ob, in northwest Siberia, after thousands of natural snowballs formed on the beach. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcenQnJ6dG4 Yours, Paul H.

Hello guys! I saw these shark teeth from Ryazan, Russia. The first 6 ( you can put numbers to the teeth according to the order of the pictures ) are identified as Archeolamna. The second 4 are identified as Cretalamna. I am very sure some are not IDed correctly, some swapped btw Cretalamna and Archeolamna and some are completely different species. I really appreciate the help, and if someone could tell me the complete specie name from that location, that would be awesome. Kind regards. Ps : tell me if you need extra pics of the back of the teeth if needed.

Hi everyone, Please can you let me know your thoughts on this Peloneustes portentificus pliosaur tooth, it is from Ural Mountains in Russia and is just above an inch in size? I am not sure if anyone has some nice ones in their collection but it would be cool to see if anyone does for comparison purposes. Thanks! Jai

Hey guys! I acquired 7 teeth from Russia as plesiosaur teeth. But now I am seeing more pliosaur than plesiosaur in some. A clear ID on the teeth when possible would be really appreciated. You can use the ordre I posted the pics and associate them as numbers . They are all more or less 1cm. Thanks a lot!

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-12/arsc-sfn120618.php

Hello, everyone! Here is another preparation sequence. This is a Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) piece containing ammonites Acanthoplites nolani Seunes, 1887, Diadochoceras nodosocostatum D'Orbigny, 1841 and small Euphylloceras sp. from the North Caucasus of Russia (Krasnodar region, bank of the river Hokodz).