Paleontology

Devonian Fish Of The Eescuminac Formation

An exquisite fossil specimen of an Eusthenopteron Fordi from the upper Devonian (Frasnian), Eescuminac Formation, Miguasha Park, Bay of Heat, Gaspé, Quebec, Canadian Museum of Natural History, Miguasha Collection. If you look closely at this specimen, you ...

Article - Heidi Henderson - Aug 18 2019 - 7:29pm

Cretaceous Cohabitation: Anapholites Planus

A beautiful specimen of the ammonite, Anahoplites planus (Mantell, 1822) from Albian deposits in Courcelles-sur-Voire, Aube, north-central France. Anahoplites (Sowerby, 1815) is a genus of compressed hoplitid ammonites with flat sides, narrow, flat or gro ...

Blog Post - Heidi Henderson - Aug 18 2019 - 3:24pm

Pre-Historic Air Conditioning- Inside The Head Of T. Rex?

Scientists believe two large holes in the roof of a T. rex's skull, called the dorsotemporal fenestra, were filled with muscles that assist with jaw movements.  But Casey Holliday, a professor of anatomy at University of Missouri-Columbia, didn't ...

Article - News Staff - Sep 5 2019 - 9:02am

Ostracoderms To Anglerfish

The festive lassie you see here is an Anglerfish. They always look to be celebrating a birthday of some kind, albeit solo. This party is happening deep in our oceans right now.  The wee candle you see on her forehead is a photophore, a tiny bit of luminou ...

Article - Heidi Henderson - Sep 17 2019 - 12:29pm

Triassic-Jurassic Boundary at Ferguson Hill, Nevada

Ferguson Hill contains the most complete macrofossil record spanning the Triassic-Jurassic boundary in North America. The ammonoids from the uppermost Triassic can be traced to the boundary and the earliest ammonites (Psiloceratids) can be seen right at t ...

Blog Post - Heidi Henderson - Oct 31 2019 - 3:05pm

Oldest Crinoid From The Iberian Peninsula

This exceptionally well-preserved crinoid, Delgadocrinus oportovinum, was found on October 11, 1905, by Nery Delgado during his work mapping the geology and paleontology of Portugal.  Crinoids are marine animals in the class Crinoidea. They are echinoderm ...

Article - Heidi Henderson - Nov 27 2019 - 3:02pm

Pleistocene Fossil Salmon From The Olympic Peninsula

This lovely specimen of Oncorhynchus nerka, a Pleistocene Sockeye Salmon, is from outcrops along the South Fork Skokomish River, Olympic Peninsula, Washington State, USA. I'd expected to learn that the locality contained a single or just a few partia ...

Article - Heidi Henderson - Dec 29 2019 - 1:52pm

Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis: 60-Million-Year-Old Tumor In A Dinosaur Tail

Beliefs that tumors are caused by the modern world's food and chemicals have suffered a setback. A 60-million-year setback. The fossilized tail of a young dinosaur from in southern Alberta, Canada had the benign tumor as part of the pathology of LCH ( ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 11 2020 - 4:09pm

Discoscapa Apicula: Oldest Record Of Primitive Bee With Pollen Dates Back 100 Million Years

A primitive bee from 100 million years ago has two things in common with bees of today; pollen and a parasite that caused its demise, much like varroa mites cause periodic colony collapse disorder today. The mid-Cretaceous fossil from Myanmar provides the ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 13 2020 - 9:00am

The Stegosaurs Of Scotland

Stegosaurs are among the most recognizable dinosaurs because they left a lasting impression, including on a Scottish island. Analysis of footprints show stegosaur roamed the Isle of Skye about 170 million years ago. it wasn't an isle then, it was a lo ...

Article - News Staff - Mar 17 2020 - 7:30am