Vascoceras Ammonite Fossil

This image is of a Vascoceras (Paravascoceras) cauvini Chudeau ammonite fossil.  Animal existed in Cretaceous Period. The fossil was found in Damergou Niger Africa.

Displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée in Paris, France (August 2016).

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/

Nigersaurus taqueti Skull Fossil Cast

Here is the cast of a dinosaur skull fossil called Nigersaurus tauqueti. It is a cast of specimen MNN GAD512 at the Musée National du Niger, Niamey, Niger, Africa. This cast is from the holotype specimen found in "niveau des innocents" of the Gadoufaoua region of Republique du Niger. The species is named for French paleontologist Phillippe Taquet who explored the area from 1965-1972.

The head of this dinosaur with its neat rows of teeth reminds me of a wire crimping pliers tool.

Learn more about this type of dinosaur in this research article at PLOS One called Structural Extremes in a Cretaceous Dinosaur.

Dinosaur was named in the journal SCIENCE published 12 November 1999 in article entitled: Cretaceous Sauropods from the Sahara and the Uneven Rate of Skeletal Evolution Among Dinosaurs.

This cast was part of the Ultimate Dinosaurs: Giants from Gondwana exhibit at the Museum of Natural History and Science in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was photographed in August 2013. The dinosaur exhibit was created by the Royal Ontario Museum of Toronto Canada.

The exhibit was supported by Associate Exhibit Sponsor Frisch's restaurant and Promotional Partners Cincinnati Reds baseball, newspaper The Enquirer and TV channel Local 12 WKRO Cincinnati.