Termnodontosaurus platyodon Fossil

 

Termnodontosaurus platyodon (Conybeare, 1822) ichthyosaur fossil was found in 1811 by Joseph Anning (older brother to Mary Anning). She would find the rest of this creature in November 1812 (length 17 feet). The skull fossil was illustrated by Professor Everard Home of the Royal College of Surgeons in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in 1814 (he called it Proteosaurus).  At first it was thought to be a fossil crocodile. The Annings sold it to Henry Hoste Henley for £23. The genus was named by Richard Lydekker and the  species by William Daniel Conybeare. 

The fossil was found on a beach between Charmouth and Church Cliffs Lyme Regis, Dorset, England and dates to the Lower Jurassic Period (203-194 million years ago).

It was on display at the Natural History Museum of London England in August 2016. They acquired it from Bullock's Museum in Piccadilly in 1819 by Charles Konig for £47. I got to see this fossil in person in August 2016.

Learn more at this informative blog called Incertae Sedis:

https://incertaesedisblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/goodbye-temnodontosaurus-hello-proteosaurus/

Reference:

Home, E. (1814). Some account of the fossil remains of an animal more nearly allied to fishes than any of the other classes of animals. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 104(2), 571-577.

Conybeare, W.D. (1822). Additional notices on the fossil genera Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus. Transactions of the Geological Society of London, Series 2, 1, 103-123.

Nicholson, H.A., & Lydekker, R. (1889). A Manual of Palaeontology for the Use of Students with a General Introduction on the Principles of Palaeontology (3rd ed.). Volume II. William Blackwood and Sons.

Eocene Leaf Fossil with Insect Holes

 

Unidentified leaf fossil found in the Florisant formation of Teller County Colorado USA. This fossil is special in that it has three places on the leaf where there is predation. The darker areas show signs of the leaf repairing itself. The fossil dates to the Eocene Epoch. The leaf is about 3.5 cm in length.

Thanks to Kenny for the image.

Calymene Trilobite Imprints

 

Over ten years ago while digging the footers for a sun room addition to the house, I found large rock about the size of a volleyball.  I believe this is rock is Brassfield dolomite while Osgood Shale is found in the area as well.

The imprint of the fossil appears to be a Calymene trilobite that is about 6 cm long. It dates to the Middle Silurian Period. It was found in Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA.

 

To save space it occurred to me to cut the fossil out but on the other side of rock is a fragment of a smaller Calymene. It is possible there are more imprints hidden in the rock that could be destroyed by cutting. All these years I wait till maybe a technology will emerge that will scan through the rock to reveal more fossils.