Auspex Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Among the fossil feathers from the Green River Formation, down and contour feathers are pretty common, but flight feathers are not. Flight feathers have a tightly formed vane that is asymmetric to the shaft (the trailing edge is wider than the leading edge); this provides aerodynamic lift, and allows them to overlap for collective stiffness. The primaries are the flight feathers attached to the bird's "hand" (outside the wrist), and the secondaries attach to the ulna. This one is an inner primary or an outer secondary, judging from the bluntness of the tip, and came from a bird about the size of a Starling. The fine detail is beyond the ability of my cheap hand-held digital microscope to resolve; this is unfortunate, because the individual barbules can be seen with a good lens. The area about 3/4 the way out that appears to be missing is actually underneath a bit of adhering matrix (I might decide to attempt to clean it off some day...). There are also a couple partly obscured insects on the plate (which might also be cleaned off some day). Another point of interest to me is that this one came from the Late-Middle Eocene of N.W. Colorado (U-2, Lake Uinta deposit); a time when both Fossil Lake and Lake Gosiute had both disappeared, and Lake Uinta was all but gone too. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted December 5, 2009 Share Posted December 5, 2009 Love the detail Now with all these pieces, how soon till you build your bird? Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 That's a really nice piece. the detail is fantastic! If you believe everything you read, perhaps it's time for you to stop reading... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Man, to think something so delicate could have fossilized so perfectly..... Great addition Chas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefootgirl Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Very nice ! In formal logic, a contradiction is the signal of defeat: but in the evolution of real knowledge, it marks the first step in progress toward victory. Alfred North Whithead 'Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig rocks Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Now there's something that would definitely tickle your fancy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Beautiful feather Auspex. Your bird fossils are quire fascinating to me, although I'm not much for birds since speaking with you and reading your posts I've become much more interested in them. Share more of your collection! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 Beautiful feather Auspex. Your bird fossils are quire fascinating to me, although I'm not much for birds since speaking with you and reading your posts I've become much more interested in them. Share more of your collection! Sooner, or later, I'm going to find a nice bird fossil; and I know who will ID it first... The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bone digger Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 very nice Auspex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Auspex.... Very nice..... 'as crisp as they come'.... I would imagine... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted December 7, 2009 Share Posted December 7, 2009 Now that is a feather mr. auspex. I dont think I could let that go if I found it. I wonder if I can find two like that? I really like the detail on that specimen and it would be neato to see it with a loup. RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted December 9, 2009 Share Posted December 9, 2009 Auspex, very nice specimen. That 2nd photo and its detail is pretty amazing...my eyes are old but it looks like it has a bluish tint to it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted December 9, 2009 Author Share Posted December 9, 2009 Auspex, very nice specimen. That 2nd photo and its detail is pretty amazing...my eyes are old but it looks like it has a bluish tint to it.. The tint is an artifact of the LED lights in my digi-scope. The color in the first pic is closer to true. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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