Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Eonaso deani Fish Fossil


Eonaso deani "dawn big nose" fish fossil cast displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, USA. This fish relates to modern surgeonfish genus Naso. It was found on the Caribbean island of Antigua, West Indies by O. Nugent. The fossil dates to the Pliocene Epoch (5-1.8 mya) of the Neogene Period. Image taken July 2018.

Monday, March 30, 2020

Eoholocentrum macrocephalum Fish Fossil


Eoholocentrum macrocephalum fossil displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, USA. This fish was a primitive acanthomorph and relates to modern squirrelfish. The large eye sockets on this fossil point to it being nocturnal. It was found in Monte Bolca, Italy. The fossil dates to the Late Eocene Epoch (40 mya) of the Paleogene Period. Image taken July 2018.

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Notogoneus osculus Fish Fossil


Notogoneus osculus (Cope, 1885) sandfish (family Gonorhynchidae) fossil displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, USA. It was found in Wyoming, USA. The fossil appears to be from the Green River Formation and dates to the Middle Eocene Epoch (50 mya) of the Paleogene Period. Image taken July 2018.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Mary Anning's Grave


On a sunny and windy August day in 2016, I visited a coastal town called Lyme Regis in the county Dorset, England. This area is part of what is known as the Jurassic Coast which stretches approximately 150 km from Exmouth to Studland Bay.


An area well known for its Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Period fossils. From 1799 till her death in 1847 Lyme Regis was home to fossil hunter/palaeontologist Mary Anning. Her remains now buried in the graveyard of St. Michael the Archangel church along with that of her brother Joseph and three Anning children who died in infancy. She is known for finding Ichthyosaurs and Plesiosaurs along with flying reptiles, fish, ammonites, and other marine fossils.


I include closeup pictures from the base of the tombstone where visitors have left ammonite and belemnite fossils.


A short walk from the grave one can look out over coast line and see the cliffs that still bear fossils like the ones she used to venture out to collect.

Portrait of Mary Anning at British Museum
Source is Wikipedia Commons
It is possible later in 2020, a drama entitled Ammonite starring Kate Winslet as Mary Anning will be released. See IMDB page link below:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7983894/

If you visit the Find A Grave web site page for Mary Anning photo section you can see an April 2019 image. The stone has cleaned and the engraved text enhanced. The contrast is amazing.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34949489/mary-anning/photo

Sunday, March 22, 2020

Siphonophrentis elongata Horn Coral Fossil


This fossil is a horn coral called Siphonophrentis elongata (Rafenesque & Clifford, 1820). It was found in the Jeffersonville Limestone of Jefferson County Kentucky USA. The creature lived in the Middle Devonian Period. This species of horn coral was one of the largest that ever existed. Since it is, the fossil is pretty easy to identify when it is found. They are hard to find fully intact though. The maximum length can get to 60-80 cm and its largest diameter 8-10 cm.



This fossil was first described as Turbinolia buceros var. elongata by C.S. Rafinesque and J.D. Clifford in the 1820 article, Prodrome d' une monographie des Turbinolies fossils du Kentucky (dans l' Amerique Septentrionale) found in Annales Generales des Scinces Physiques [Bruxelles] Tome V, pages 231-235. The fossil was renamed by Erwin C. Stumm in the 1949 paper Revision of the families and genera of the Devonian tetracorals in Geological Society of America Memoir 40, 92 p., 25 Pls.

Below is a digitally altered image of Rafinesque taken from the book The Life and Writings of Rafinesque by Richard Ellsworth Call, Filson Club Publications No. 19, Louisville Kentucky printed by John P. Morton and Company 1895. The image was from a painting by Jouett in the Wisconsin Historical Society collection courtesy of Honorable R. G. Thwaites, the Secretary. The portrait painter Matthew Harris Jouett (1788-1827) was born and died in Kentucky.

This fossil has a special significance in relation to the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first described by one of Kentucky's first scientist/naturalist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque (1783-1840). He was born and self-educated in Europe. Between 1819-1826 he taught at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. While there, he published a number of works with a local merchant John D. Clifford (1778-1820). Using the book about Rafinesque mentioned above as source, Clifford was responsible for Rafinesque teaching in Kentucky and if he had not died suddenly would have more than likely continued to co-author more works on natural science.

Their 1820 article was the first to describe some of the coral fossils from the Falls of the Ohio in which they described over 34 species. The descriptions are incomplete and without illustrations though. None of their types were located by Erwin C. Stumm in the 1964 definitive work on Louisville area corals entitled Silurian and Devonian Corals of the Falls of the Ohio published in The Geological Society of American Memoir 93 page 5. He did note that the coral fossil now known as Siphonophrentis elongata was referred by them as "petrified Buffalo horns" and was also named by the French naturalist Charles-Alexandre Lesueur as Zaphrentis gigantea.

The genus Siphonophrentis was named by Majorie O'Connell in the Revision of the Genus Zaphrentis in Annuals of New York Academy Science Volume XXIII. pp. 177-192, February 25, 1914. [LINK]

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Elaeacrinus verneuili Blastoid Fossil


Pictures are of an Elaeacrinus verneuili (Römer [aka Roemer], 1851) blastoid fossil. It was found in the Jeffersonville Limestone Clark County, Indiana USA. The fossil dates to the Devonian Period. This fossil was part of the Dr. James Conkin (1924-2017) collection.



Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Pyrite Snail with Worm Tubes Fossils


This snail fossil is quite a find but so much more with encrusted worm tubes, bryozoans and pyrite cubic shapes. The snail appears to be a Platystoma niagarense with four visible Cornulites propius worm tubes and maybe a encrusting trepostome bryozoan. The end of the largest worm tube is a golden colored pyrite. The snail shell appears to be composed pyrite as well. It was found in the Waldron Shale of Shelby County Indiana USA. The fossils date to the Middle Silurian Period.




Friday, March 13, 2020

Syrian Propeamussium eocenicum Fossil


This image is of a Propeamussium eocenicum (Sacco) pelecypod fossil. It was found near Damascus Syria. The fossil dates to the Eocene Epoch. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2016.

Thursday, March 12, 2020

Inoceramus pictus Bivalve Fossil


This image is of an Inoceramus pictus (Sowerby) pelecypod fossil. It was found in St. Parres (Yonne), France. The fossil dates to the Late Creteous Period (Cenomanian). It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2016.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Spiropora elegans Bryozoan Fossil


This image is of a Spiropora elegans (LAMOUROUX 1821) bryzoan fossil. It was found in Ranville, Calvados, France. The fossil dates to the Jurassic Period (Bathonien). It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

Monday, March 9, 2020

Fenestella subantiqua Bryozoan Fossil


This image is of a Fenestella subantiqua (d'ORBIGNY 1850) fossil. It was found in Konieprus, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia. The fossil dates to the Devonian Period. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

Sunday, March 8, 2020

Constellaria constellata Bryozoan Fossil


This image is of a Constellaria constellata (VAN CLEVE 1846) fossil. It was found in Newport Kentucky. The fossil dates to the Ordovician Period. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Dactylioceras tenuicostatum Ammonite Fossil


This image is of a Dactylioceras tenuicostatum (YOUNG et BIRD, 1822) fossil. When collected, the fossil was originally labeled Ammonites annulatus (J. SOWERBY, 1819). It was found in England. The fossil dates to the Jurassic Period. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Only Known Dinosaur Fossil Found in Italy as of 1981

This picture is of a very special fossil called Scipionyx samniticus. It was found in the Le Cavere quarry at the edge of the village of Pietraroja, Italy. The theropod dinosaur would have lived in the Early Cretaceous Period (113 million years ago).

It was found by an amateur collector in 1981, by Italian law the find belonged to the state. The specimen was turned over to a museum in 1993. Fossil was on display at The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano (Milan Natural History Museum), Italy as of August 2019.

UPDATE (December 2021):  In an article just published documents a fossilized herd of 11 Cretaceous aged dinosaurs have been found at Villaggio del Pescatore quarry outside the city of Trieste, Italy. The species has been identified as Tethyshadros insularis. The first dinosaur fossil found there was in 1996 so the fossil documented in this post as being the only one found is not correct. I have changed the wording to reflect this. The article can be found here: https://rdcu.be/cCzWN or https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02490-x

 Citation:

Chiarenza, A.A., Fabbri, M., Consorti, L. et al. An Italian dinosaur Lagerstätte reveals the tempo and mode of hadrosauriform body size evolution. Sci Rep 11, 23295 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02490-x

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Anapaite Bivalve Fossil


Here is an image of an unidentified bivalve fossil with anapaite crystals. It was found in the Ukraine. The pelecypod would have lived in the Pliocene Epoch (3.5 mya) Neogene Period. Fossil was on display at The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano (Milan Natural History Museum), Italy as of August 2019.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Arm Detail of an Onychocrinus Crinoid Fossil


These images are of the inside detail of an Onychocrinus crinoid arm fossil. Fossil found in the Glen Dean Member of Grayson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period.

Thanks to Kenny for the images.