Fossil Bonanza

Fossil of Tiny Enantiornithine Bird Unearthed in China | Sci.News A new genus and species of bohaiornithid enantiornithine bird has been identified from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton preserved with traces of feathers found in northeastern China.

Fossil of Tiny Enantiornithine Bird Unearthed in China | Sci.News search.app/DSWun9ksogHD...

Giant slab with Acutiramus fossil, one chelicera outstretched and head shield displaced during fossilization. Small Eurypterus also on the slab. Me for scale, it is taller than I am. I am in my early 20s in the photo, sigh

Can confirm actual size

Lagerstätten of the World by FossilBonanza · MapHub Lagerstätten of the World by FossilBonanza

There are over 150 known Fossil-Lagerstätten scattered throughout the world ranging from the very old to the very recent. More are described every year such as in South America and China. #LagerstätteWeek
maphub.net/FossilBonanz...

Fossil Reveals Oldest Known Tadpole That Grew to the Size of a Hot Dog A 161 million-year-old fossil, linked to a line of extinct frog-like amphibians, is the oldest tadpole ever found.

My latest! This one’s pretty fun. 🐸🧪

2 illustrated specimens of juvenile Coelophysis. one is above and behind the other. The back one is looking at a side profile to the left, while the other is looking down and to the left at 3/4 view.

A huge congratulations goes out to Jeb Bugos & Skye McDavid for their new paper on the "Immature skulls of the theropod dinosaur Coelophysis bauri from Ghost Ranch, New Mexico." I was commissioned to do the press art for this paper! app.pan.pl/article/item...

We can extend this one step further and recover whole soft-bodied animals like jellyfish, worms, and squids. This allows us to reconstruct ancient ecosystems. If the Burgess Shale was fossilized through ordinary means then 98% of the community wouldn't have fossilized. 2/2

Think of your favorite fossil, chances are that fossil has bones, shells, or other hard parts. Soft parts like cartilage, organs, or flowers easily break down before they fossilize. However, Fossil-Lagerstätten can preserve these parts allowing us to reconstruct their bodies. 1/2 #LagerstätteWeek

Konservat-Lagerstätten are fossil sites where the quality of preservation is exceptionally high. Perhaps burial conditions inhibited scavenger growth like a lack of oxygen or extreme saltiness. Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado is an example of one. 3/3

There are two kinds of Lagerstätten, Konzentrat-Lagerstätten are fossil sites that have a high abundance of fossils. Perhaps a community of organisms were buried over time without disturbance or a natural trap cave, like Naracoorte Caves in Australia, accumulated careless animals. 2/3

Triarthrus, a trilobite, preserved via pyritization which preserves its legs and antennae.

Fossils are normally preserved in bits and pieces with nice specimens rarely whole. Scavengers and rough waters can disrupt bodies and scatter bones and shells. Fossil-Lagerstätten's unusual burial conditions encourage high quality fossilization, sometimes with whole ecosystems. #LagerstätteWeek 1/3

Fossilized paper wasp from Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Image from https://www.nps.gov/flfo/index.htm

I got an influx of new followers so I figured I would do a week introducing Fossil-Lagerstätten. Lagerstätten are fossil sites that yield some of the most fantastic fossils in the world. We'll learn how they form, some examples, and their contribution to paleontology #LagerstätteWeek

A beautiful cicada from the Crato Formation in Brazil. This is in association with a recent article on the evolutionary race between early birds and cicadas. #fossils
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Fossils Reveal the Face of an Extinct Nine-Foot-Long 'Millipede,' the Largest Arthropod to Ever Live Scientists in France solved the evolutionary mystery of this prehistoric monster, which resembles both the centipedes and millipedes of today

Although missing for a long time, we finally have evidence of what Arthroplerua's head looked like from Montceau-les-Mines lagerstätte in France. Based on two juveniles, the giant millipede surprisingly had eyestalks like a crab. #fossils #paleontology
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/f...

Perfect timing for #TracksWeek, new article came out looking at deep-sea swimming and feeding traces of fish. These are some of the oldest (130 mya) examples of deep-sea fish in the fossil record. #Paleontology
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

One of the largest arthropods to ever exist, the millipede Arthropleura, left scuttling footprints at various sites across the world such as Scotland.
#TracksWeek #Paleontology

It may surprise you to learn that we can find swimming trace fossils! Bottom feeding fish, like this Notogoneus from Fossil Butte National Monument, created sinusoidal waves on the mud from the natural flexing of their tails.
#TracksWeek #Paleontology

Behavior like locomotion is rarely preserved in the fossil record. However, every now and then, we find stellar tracks of animals walking, running, crawling, and even swimming. This week we'll look at great examples of these trace fossils.
#TracksWeek #Paleontology

Revueltosaurus callenderi from the Chinle Formation in Arizona, US.
#ChinleWeek #Paleontology
anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Coelophysis is probably the most famous dinosaur from the Chinle Formation. It was originally thought to be a cannibal due to its stomach remains (but now thought to be unrelated digested-reptiles)
#ChinleWeek #FossilFriday

Lophionotus sanjuanensis, an ancient semionotiform fish from the Chinle Fm in Utah. Article by @gombessagirl
#ChinleWeek #Paleontology
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

An ancient phytosaur, Smilosuchus gregorii. This particular specimen had multiple infections on its bones. Their severity meant the animal died either from infection or nutrient deficiency from lack of hunting.
#ChinleWeek #Paleontology
palaeo-electronica.org/content/2021...

The petrified logs are one of the most prominent features of Petrified Forest National Park. Ancient trees were quickly buried in a river, slowing the decay process and allowing crystals to replace the original wood.
#ChinleWeek #Paleontology
www.nps.gov/pefo/learn/n...

Puercosuchus traverorum was an ancient predator from the Chinle Formation in southwestern US. The fossil was found during a guided Girl Scout trip hike!
#ChinleWeek #Paleontology
www.nps.gov/pefo/learn/n...

This week we're covering the Chinle Fm in SW United States for the first time! This is a late Triassic site preserving a warm and wet world featuring early dinosaurs, petrified wood, and crocodile relatives.
#ChinleWeek #Paleontology

Ancient fruit fossil, Melia santangensis, from the Santang Lagerstatte in China. These fruits are still alive today and these fossils are the oldest of their kind
#SantangWeek #Paleontology
journalofpalaeogeography.springeropen.com/articles/10....

Crocodile tooth from the Santang Lagerstatte in China
#SantangWeek #FossilFriday www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Fossilized cross-section of a tree, Tetradium nanningense from the Santang Lagerstatte in China. The fossilization is so good you can see growth rings!
#SantangWeek #paleontology onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Fossil of Schima kwangsiensis, left, next to its modern relative, Schima superba. This fossil was found in the Santang Lagerstatte in China.
#SantangWeek #paleontology www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fossil fruits of Choerospondias nanningensis. Known today as Nepali hog plum, these plants are found in modern day Nepal and Bhutan but were found as far west as England during the Eocene.
#SantangWeek #Paleontology
www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Fossilized acorn, Quercus paleodisciformis, from the Santang Lagerstatte in China.
#SantangWeek #Paleontology
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...