Permian Period Limnoscelis

Here are some pictures of a reptile like amphibian that lived during the Permian Period. It is from the mobile phone game Jurassic World.

The creature is a Limnoscelis. It is thought to be a carnivore and grew to a length of about 1.5 meters.

The game is available for free for the Android phone in the Play Store.

Sources:

http://www.ludia.com/en/games/jurassic-worldtm-the-game

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limnoscelis

Elaeacrinus verneuili Blastoid Fossil

This is a picture of an intact blastoid. These types of fossils are somewhat rare. It appears to be an Elaeacrinus verneuili (Römer [aka Roemer], 1851). The fossil was found in the Jeffersonville Limestone of Clark County, Indiana, USA. It dates to the Eifelian, Middle Devonian Period.

Thanks to Kenny for the picture.

Agassizocrinus Floating Crinoid Calyx Fossil

These pictures are what appear to be dorsal calyx cups from an Agassizocrinus Troost 1850 (nomen nudum) Owen and Shumard 1852 fossil crinoid. The fossils were found in Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. They date to Mississippian Period (Chesterian Stage).

I have been wanting to find this type of fossil for a while and finally got a chance to collect some. They are small about the size of a marble and are in a distinctive cup shape with five segments.

My friend Dave talks about them on his fossil blog in a 2013 posting. He cites the this reference for more information: Index Fossils of North America, Shimer and Shrock, 1944 Edition on pages 175-176, plate 61.

A more complete one can be seen on Crinus's fossil web site: http://www.crinus.info/crinoids/data/agas.htm

Images take with a Moto G 2nd Generation phone.

Above image of figures 6 and 7 of species undetermined of Agassizocrinus crinoid fossil. Image from A Critical Summary of Troost's Unpublished Manuscript on the Crinoids of Tennessee by Elvira Wood (1865-1928) 1909 Plate 7 Troost's Crinoids of Tennessee. Troost in his 1850 manuscript referred to this genus as Agassizocrinites.

I believed he named these fossils after Dr. Louis Agassiz who presented a list of fossil crinoids of Tennessee at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on August 14, 1849. It was prelude to the publication of the fossils. Unfortunately, Dr. Troost died of cholera in 1850 four weeks after he sent the manuscript off the Smithsonian Institution for publication. It was not published till 1909 or 59 years later.

Bryozoan Holdfasts Anchored on Crinoid Fossil Stem

These pictures show a crinoid stem fossil partially covered by bryozoan. What makes it interesting are the small tube like holdfasts that the bryozoans used to anchor to the crinoid stem. It was found in the Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period.

Thanks to Kenny for the images.

Crinoid Stem Segment Fossil - Flower Power!

These pictures show a crinoid stem segment fossil. It was found in the Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period. It looks like a little flower or maybe an asterisk. I will probably end up using one of the stem pieces on my fossil Christmas tree at the end of the year.

Photos taken with Moto G 2nd generation phone camera.

Crinoid Stem Fossil

These pictures show a crinoid stem fossil. It was found in the Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period.

Photos taken with Moto G 2nd generation phone camera.

Jurassic World Game for Android Phone

As I write this, the movie Jurassic World has set all kinds of earnings records accord to the website boxofficemojo.com. It has over 1.5 billion dollars US in worldwide sales putting #3 all time behind Avatar and Titanic. As with most big special effect movies released today they have accompanying computer games. Jurassic World is no exception with a game that works on iPhone and Android devices.

I have been playing the Android version mostly to see what kind of animated dinosaurs there are. Some of the Jurassic dinosaurs I have seen so far are the: Stegosaurus, Tuojiangosaurus, Tyranosaurus and Cretaceous creatures: Bonitasaura, Argentinosaurus, Corythosaurus, Tapejara and Majungasaurus. I am far from an expert on dinosaur or reptile or amphibians but the animal animations are nice. As you progress you creature to more experienced levels it develops more color and features.

There are 4 classes of creatures in the game: amphibian, pterosaur, herbivore, and carnivore. They battle in an arena to gain more resources to use in the game to advance. Up to 3 creatures can battle up to 3 other creatures on an opposing side. The game does not contain graphic violence so the creatures roar at each other and them swipe with the tail or body to try and hit the other one. Each creature has a certain amount of hit points it can sustain and hit points it can damage with. Once its sustained hit points drops to zero or below it is eliminated from that arena competition. Once all the team members are eliminated the opposing team wins the match. The key is to make sure you balance your creature to the one on the opposing team that is at class disadvantage or at least its equal. In battle you have so many moves your creature can do each turn. You must decide how to distribute these, either attack, block, or defer to next turn. The most you can get each turn is 8 moves if you defer moves or 4 if you do not. I have not fully mastered the strategy of when when to block, attack and defer as there seems to be a point multiplier for more moves you attack with. You  can also swap to a different team member so if your carnivore is pitted against an amphibian, you can swap it out for a pterosaur (if you have one) though it costs you one move that turn to do that.

You have to have patience to play this game as you have to wait for food, DNA, coins, and money to accumulate so you can grow the creatures in the game. I found that it helps have multiple games going on at once so you can do something while waiting for some event to happen. All and all a neat game to see the different creature animations but one that needs to be played like chess where you make a move and wait and make a move and wait as opposed to action or first person shooter games which requires constant attention and input.

The game is available for free for the Android phone in the Play Store. In game purchases can help you advance your creatures faster through the game play.

Sources:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=jurassicpark4.htm

http://www.ludia.com/en/games/jurassic-worldtm-the-game

Mississippian Period Bryozoan Fossil with Holdfasts

This picture shows what appears to be a Fenestella bryozoan fossil. While a common fossil to find in the Louisville area when looking a Mississippian age rock, finding one with narrow tube like holdfasts is somewhat rare. It was found in the Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period.

Thanks to Kenny for the image.

Unidentified Horn Coral Fossil

This picture shows an unidentified horn coral fossil. The small bumps on across the fossil might be the remains of some type of holdfast the creature used to anchor itself to the seabed. It was found in the Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period. It is small about 1.7 cm tall.

Thanks to Kenny for the image.

Zeacrinites wortheni Crinoid Calyx Fossil with Arms

These pictures appear to show a Zeacrinites wortheni (Hall, 1858) crinoid calyx fossil. What is nice about this fossil is that most of its arms are intact. One side has the remains of Fenestella bryozoan. It was found in the Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period. It is small about 3 cm tall.

Thanks to Kenny for the pictures.

Zeacrinites wortheni Crinoid Calyx Fossil

These pictures appear to show a Zeacrinites wortheni (Hall, 1858) crinoid calyx fossil. If you look close at the top of the calyx image is a small point that appears to be part of the anal tube. It was found in the Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period. It is small about 1.5 cm tall.

Thanks to Kenny for the pictures.

Dr. James Hall named this species on page 69 in the 1858 Geological Survey of Iowa Part 2. He wrote "This is apparently a species distinct from Z. magnoliaformis, with shorter first radials extending little above the plane of the base , and arms much shorter and less robust;

for which I propose the name Zeacrinus worteni" He also describes the fossil on pages 683-684.

Triceratops Tibia Bone Cast with Signs of Teeth Marks

This fossil cast of the dinosaur Triceratops tibia bone. It shows evidence of gnaw marks from some type of predator or scavenger.

Fossil cast was on display at Children's Museum of Indianapolis Dinosphere exhibit as of July 2015.

The museum was founded in 1925 and consists of an approximate 44,000 square meter facility on a 29 acre area site. Their natural science collection contains more than 10,000 items. Some of the items in the collection are the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, fossil of teenage T.rex, Christensen Mastodon, 3.5-4 billion year old Acasta Gneiss, and the Geisler geological collection. Learn more at this link.

Cast of Sarcosuchus imperator Fossil

This picture shows the cast of a Sarcosuchus imperator crocodyliform aka SuperCroc. This distant relative of the crocodile lived during the Creteaceous Period. Their fossils are found in South America and Africa. The cast is based off a fossil found sub-Saharan Niger Africa by University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno.

Fossil cast was on display at Children's Museum of Indianapolis Dinosphere exhibit as of July 2015. Gift of Richard and Donna Deer.

The museum was founded in 1925 and consists of an approximate 44,000 square meter facility on a 29 acre area site. Their natural science collection contains more than 10,000 items. Some of the items in the collection are the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, fossil of teenage T.rex, Christensen Mastodon, 3.5-4 billion year old Acasta Gneiss, and the Geisler geological collection. Learn more at this link.

Learn more about the Sarcosuchus crocodyliform on Wikipedia.

National Geographic site: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/events/01/supercroc/

Chinese Dinosaur Egg Fossils

These pictures show dinosaur fossil eggs and a cast of one. These fossils were found in China.

Fossils were on display at Children's Museum of Indianapolis Dinosphere exhibit as of July 2015.

The museum was founded in 1925 and consists of an approximate 44,000 square meter facility on a 29 acre area site. Their natural science collection contains more than 10,000 items. Some of the items in the collection are the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, fossil of teenage T.rex, Christensen Mastodon, 3.5-4 billion year old Acasta Gneiss, and the Geisler geological collection. Learn more at this link.

Mummified Brachylophosaurus Dinosaur Tail Fossil

These pictures show the mummified remains of a duck billed dinosaur's tail. The dinosaur is known as Brachylophosaurus canadensis. It was found in the Judith River Formation of Phillips County Montana USA. The fossil dates to the late Cretaceous Period.

Fossils were on display at Children's Museum of Indianapolis Dinosphere exhibit as of July 2015. The museum has named this fossil creature Leonardo.

The museum was founded in 1925 and consists of an approximate 44,000 square meter facility on a 29 acre area site. Their natural science collection contains more than 10,000 items. Some of the items in the collection are the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, fossil of teenage T.rex, Christensen Mastodon, 3.5-4 billion year old Acasta Gneiss, and the Geisler geological collection. Learn more at this link.

Dinosaur Fossil Egg Clutches

These pictures show dinosaur fossil egg clutches. It is thought more spherical or circular eggs belong to plant eating dinosaurs while narrow and long eggs belonged to carnivore dinosaurs.

Fossils were on display at Children's Museum of Indianapolis Dinosphere exhibit as of July 2015. They are on loan from John and Jack Hankla.

The museum was founded in 1925 and consists of an approximate 44,000 square meter facility on a 29 acre area site. Their natural science collection contains more than 10,000 items. Some of the items in the collection are the dinosaur Dracorex hogwartsia, fossil of teenage T.rex, Christensen Mastodon, 3.5-4 billion year old Acasta Gneiss, and the Geisler geological collection. Learn more at this link.