Fossil Plant Stems from Germany

This image is of a grouping of calcium carbonate fossilized aquatic plant stems. They are identified as Chara or stonewort plants. The plants date to the Pleistocene epoch and were found in Weimar Germany.

Fossil on display at British Natural History Museum August 2016.

Sunday Stone - A Coal Mine Work Log?

This posting is not about a fossil but an interesting artifact I saw on display at the British Natural History Museum in London, England. It is called the Sunday Stone that formed in South Shields a Tyneside coal mine in the 1800s. A water trough in the mine used to relieve the thirst of work animals had the white mineral barium sulphate settle while container also had black coal dust accumulate during mining activity. It resulted in a banding and provides a visual representation of when the mining was going on (dark lines) and the white areas when it was Sunday (a day of rest) and larger gaps holidays or mine is idle.

Link to image of another one in the Oxford University collection:
https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geoscientist/Archive/August-2008/Never-on-a-Sunday

More information about Sunday Stones can be found in this book:
Curiosities of Natural History: Second Series by Francis T. Buckland 1903
https://archive.org/details/curiositiesnatu09buckgoog

Amaltheus margaritatus Ammonite Fossil

This image is of the Amaltheus margaritatus ammonite fossil. It was found in Middle Lias from Eype of Dorset England. Creature is from the Jurassic Period. Fossil on display at the Lyme Regis Museum in England as of August 2016.

Learn more at www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Cluster of Orthotetes Brachiopod Fossils

Fossil plate was found in the Edwardsville Formation of Floyd County, Indiana, USA. The fossils date to the lower Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period. The brachiopods on the plate appear to be Orthotetes keokuk. It is somewhat rare to find so many clustered together.

Thanks to Kenny for the image.

Unidentified Pyritized Ammonite Fossils

My favorite place to buy fossils in Lyme Regis, England was not really a dedicated fossil seller at all. The small out of the way shop was called Connie's Curios & Fossils which was next to the post office. I had visited 3 larger more prominent fossil stores and my main focus was finding fossils from the area. While the other shops had nicer more expensive fossils this store had small bags of mostly fossils in the rough from the area. Once I got back to the United States I started using a dental pick and engraver to remove matrix to show more of the ammonite fossils. I was also able to get the pyrite to shine more.

Image of ammonites before cleaning.

 

Image of ammonites after cleaning.

Magnified ammonite fossil detail.

Unidentified Ammonite Fossil

On my recent visit to Lyme Regis England I bought this ammonite fossil. It was identified as being from Ilminster, Somerset. The fossil dates to the Jurassic Period (170 million years ago).

The fossil was bought at the Old Forge Fossil Shop.

Phacops ferdinandi Trilobite Fossil

This prone trilobite fossil is a Phacops ferdinandi Kayser. The fossil was found in Bundenbach Germany. This creature existed in the Devonian Period seas.

It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée as of August 2016.

Harpes montagnei Trilobite Fossil

This trilobite cephalon fossil is an Harpes montagnei Corda. The fossil was found in the Konieprus Limestone of what is now Czech Republic (Bohemia). This creature roamed the sea floors in the Devonian Period.

It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée as of August 2016.

Harpes venulosus Trilobite Fossil

This trilobite cephalon fossil is an Harpes venulosus Corda. The fossil was found in the Konieprus Limestone of what is now Czech Republic (Bohemia). It dates to the Devonian Period.

It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée as of August 2016.

Encrinurus punctatus Trilobite Fossil

This fossil is an Encrinurus punctatus Brunnich trilobite. The fossil was found in Dudley England. It dates to the Silurian Period.

It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée as of August 2016.

Lyme Regis Gryphaea Oyster Fossil

On a recent visit to Lyme Regis, I was able to purchase the fossil oyster that appears to be a Gryphaea arcuata. It was found in the Blue Lias of Lyme Regis Dorset County England. The creature existed in the Lower Jurassic Period.

Learn more at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/15043130357

Pterotocrinus Crinoid Fossil

This fossil appears to be a Pterotocrinus rugosus crinoid. The genus Pterotocrinus was named by Sidney Lyon and S.A. Casseday in 1859. It was found in the Indian Springs Shale - Glen Dean Formation of Crawford County Indiana USA. The animal existed in the Mississippian Period.

Thanks to Kenny for letting me take a picture of it.

See more images of crinoids like this at Don R. Chesnut's web page on fossils of the Sloans Valley Member (Paragon Formation).

http://www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/KPS/stratigraphicfauna/sloansvalleymacrofauna/pages/sloansvalleyechinodermata.html

https://archive.org/details/mobot31753002152558/page/n241/mode/2up

Prone Flexicalymene Trilobite Fossil

This fossil was recently found in Trimble County Kentucky USA. It appears to be Flexicalymene meeki trilobite fossil. The fossil dates to the Ordovician Period and may be from the Drake Formation. How well it will prep up remains to be seen.

Thanks to Kenny for letting me take a picture of it.

Hippurites rudiosus Mollusc Fossil

The image is of a Rudist mollusc shell fossil Hippurites rudiosus Des Moulins on display at the British Natural History Museum in London. These creatures existed in the Late Cretaceous Period. It was found Charente France.

Picture taken August 2016.

Stylemys nebrascensis Tortoise Fossil

This image is of a tortoise carapace fossil Stylemys nebrascensis on display at the British Natural History Museum in London. This creature existed in the Oligocene epoch of the Paleogene Period. It was found in the western United States.

Picture taken August 2016.

Cephalopod Fossil Almost as Tall as Door

While on a recent visit to the Musée de Mineralogie (Mineralogy Museum) located at the MINES ParisTech, 60 Boulevard Saint-Michel 75006 Paris France, a saw the most amazing fossil. It was a straight shelled cephalopod fossil that was over a meter long. I think the label listed in French read Orthoceras Paleozoic.

The fossil reminds me of the Ordovician cephalopod fossils we find in Kentucky but on a so much larger scale. I was surprised to find it in a mineral museum and not one on paleontology.

If you get a chance visit the museum in Paris and see this specimen for yourself. The museum appeared to be located on the 2nd floor of a university building and it appeared to be staffed by students and professors. There was a small admission fee. The brochure describes it as the cases and architecture as being from the middle 19th century (no A/C). Over 4,000 specimens are on display that belong to a collection of over 100,000 with some added to the collection over 250 years ago.

Learn more at their web site: www.musee.mines-paristech.fr

The Anning Ichthyosaur Skull Fossil

The Natural History Museum in London England has a special hall for the marine reptiles found along the country's south western coast. One the country's most famous paleontologists is credited with finding a number of these intact skeletons, Mary Anning. Her story starts off with her brother Joseph finding a relatively intact head of an ichthyosaur (Temnodontosaurus platyodon) in 1810 or 1811. The above picture is of this skull. The rest of the body was found by Mary a few months later in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. The creature existed in the Lower Jurassic Period. It is specimen R1158 purchased from Bullock's Museum Piccadilly in 1819.

The fossil was documented in 1814 in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society entitled "Some Account of the Fossil Remains of an Animal More Nearly Allied to Fishes Than Any of the Other Classes of Animals" by Everard Home. Read June 23, 1814. The fossil was illustrated in publication as well. See image below.

Learn more at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning

http://rstl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/104/571.full.pdf+html

Stegosaurus Fossil at British Museum

These pictures are of a Stegosaurus stenops fossil on display at the British Natural History Museum in London. The display lists this as the most complete Stegosaurus fossil ever found. It was found at the Red Canyon Ranch, Wyoming, USA in 2003. The animal lived in the Late Jurassic Period (155-150 mya).

Images taken August 2016.

Learn more about acquisition here:
http://www.culture24.org.uk/science-and-nature/dinosaurs-and-fossils/art506464-natural-history-museum-acquires-worlds-most-complete-stegosaurus-fossil-skeleton

British Natural History Museum Dinosaur Directory:
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/dino-directory/index.html

Kodonophyllum truncatum Coral Fossil

The picture is of a colonial coral fossil Kodonophyllum truncatum (Linné) on display at the British Natural History Museum in London. These creatures existed in the Silurian Period. It was found Dudley, West Midlands, England.

Image taken August 2016.

Dapedium politum Fossil Fish

This image is of the Dapedium politum fish fossil. It was found in the lower Liassic of Lyme Regis England. Creature is from the Lower Jurassic Period. Fossil on display at the Lyme Regis Museum in England as of August 2016.

This specimen was probably collected by Mary Anning. It was described in the Transactions of the Geological Society of 1821, in "Remarks on the Geology of South Coast of England, from Birdport Harbour, Dorset, to Babbacombe Bay, Devon." by H.T. De La Beche [read March 5, 1819].

Learn more at www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Pholidophorus Fish Fossil

This image is of the Pholidophorus sp. fish fossil. It was found in the Lower Lias of Lyme Regis England. Creature is from the Lower Jurassic Period. Fossil on display at the Lyme Regis Museum in England as of August 2016.

Learn more at www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Coroniceras rotifome Ammonite Fossil

This image is of the Coroniceras rotifome ammonite fossil. It was found on the Somerset coast of Dorset England. Creature is from the Lower Jurassic Period. Fossil on display at the Lyme Regis Museum in England as of August 2016.

Learn more at www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Caloceras johnstoni Ammonite Fossil

These images are of the Caloceras johnstoni ammonite fossil. It was found on the Somerset coast of Dorset England. Creatures are from the Lower Jurassic Period in the Blue Lias strata. Fossils on display at the Lyme Regis Museum in England as of August 2016. Fossils are composed of aragonite.

Learn more at www.lymeregismuseum.co.uk

Sphenodiscus Aragonite Ammonite Fossil

Picture of aragonite ammonite shell fossil of a Sphenodiscus sp. The creature existed the late Cretaceous Period Upper Maastrichtian stage. Fossil was found in Fox Hills Formation of South Dakota USA. Specimen was on display at the Muséum National D'Histoire Naturelle Minéralogie et Géologie in Paris France (August 2016).

Learn more here:
http://www.mnhn.fr/fr/visitez/lieux/galerie-mineralogie-geologie