Saber Tooth Squirrel Fossil

The November 3rd, 2011 issue of Nature highlights a new mammal species Cronopio dentiacutus researched by the University of Louisville's Dr. Guillermo Rougier. The animal is a squirrel with large fangs that lived in the times of the dinosaurs (Triassic).  The fossil in matrix was found in 2002 in northern Argentina with prep work finished in 2008. The fossil is named characters in the books of Julio Cortázar

It has been compared to a computer animation character Scrat in the Ice Age movie. See pictures in article at Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2056715/Fossil-sabre-toothed-squirrel-fills-60million-year-void-knowledge-South-American-mammals.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

National Geographic has an artist rendering of what the squirrels might have looked like: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/10/101102-saber-toothed-squirrel-fossils-paleontology-dinosaurs-science/

Find the Nature article here: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v479/n7371/full/nature10591.html

Learn more about Dr. Rougier who teaches in the University of Louisville's School of Medicine: https://louisville.edu/medschool/anatomy/faculty/faculty/professors/guillermo-rougier-ph-d.html

Link Update 4/12/2017:
https://louisville.edu/medicine/departments/anatomy/facultylist/guillermo-rougier-phd

Charophyte Fossil - Tibet

In my continuing adventure of trying to photograph charophyte (small green aquatic plant) fossils, here is the latest picture. This fossil is quite large compared to the others and is from Tibet, China.  All the container is labeled is Tibet so I have no other information to provide. 

Thanks to Dr. James Conkin of Louisville, Kentucky for letting me photograph it.

He and his wife have published a booklet about some of their charophyte research.  It is entitled Orientation of North American Paleozoic Primitive Charophyte Gyrogonites - Updated (2010).

I believe it is $12 US with shipping included.  Contact the publishers to purchase a copy.

Hycliffe Publishing, LLC
P.O. Box 7434
Louisville, KY 40207-0434
TELEPHONE: (502) 895-4658

E-mail me at louisvillefossils@gmail.com if you need help getting in contact with them

Isle of Wight Charophyte

These pictures represent my first attempt at photographing a charophyte fossil.  The microscope is using a mixture of Celestron lens for a telescope to get different magnifications.  The one used for these pictures is 46x.  This specimen is from the Isle of Wight off the coast of England.  It is probably from the Eocene or Oligocene.

Looking at a paper by Monique Feist-Castel entitled Evolution of the Charophyte Floras in the Upper Eocene and Lower Oligocene of the Isle of Wight (1976), this fossil might be some sort of Harrisichara sp.

 Read the paper on-line:  http://palaeontology.palass-pubs.org/pdf/Vol%2020/Pages%20143-157.pdf

Thanks to Dr. James Conkin of Louisville, Kentucky for letting me take pictures of this specimen.




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