Actor Dan Aykroyd Digging for Fossils

Here is an embedded video from 2011 showing Canadian comedian/actor Dan Aykroyd digging for fossils in the Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Bonebed of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. He uncovers a skull though not quite of a dinosaur. It also shows Dan's daughters participating in the uncovering of dinosaur fossils in support of the future Phillip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum. The museum is slated to be opened in December 2014.

Learn more from the next video showing a 2011 fundraiser for this museum. What is interesting is the statement that they are finding 200-300 dinosaur fossils per square meter. The fossils are estimated to be about 70 million years old from the Late Cretaceous Period. They are exploring the Wapiti Formation which spans about 12 million years of earth history.


Here is a link to a very nice web site for Phillip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.

Duncanella Horn Coral Fossil

This horn coral fossil appears to be a Duncanella sp. It was found in the Waldron Shale of Indiana. The fossil dates to the Silurian Period (425-419 million years ago).

My experience while collecting in the Waldron Shale that there are maybe 2-3 varieties of horn corals found there. The one in this posting is more elongated and not so stubby like the other variety found. I used this web page to identify the fossil.

Mammuthus primigenius Tooth

A Mammuthus primigenius tooth found on display at the geology department at Indiana University Southeast (IUS) of New Albany, Indiana. It is from the Rollen Brandt Collection. The creature existed in the Pleistocene Epoch.

The tooth is on display as of August 2013.