#{ fossils }

[elljayvee]

I assume it is a kind of fossil called a “cast”. Lots of footprint fossils are casts!

What happens is that first the impression fills in, like filling a mold. Lots of fossils are mold fossils, but sometimes due to things like water seepage, whatever is in the mold mineralizes differently than the exterior of the mold, and then it’s a cast fossil.

Oldest human footprint discovered, made 153,000 years ago in South Africa.

Oldest human footprint in North America, made 21,000 years ago in New Mexico, USA.

Oldest human footprint on the Moon, made July 20, 1969 on the Sea of Tranquility, Earth's moon.

[typhlonectes]

Ancient Shell-Less Turtle Species Identified From 228-Million-Year-Old Triassic Era Fossil

Eorhynchochelys

(2018)

Scientists have discovered remains of a rare kind of turtle, one that lived over 228 million years ago in the Triassic era and had no shell – the most common feature of present-day turtles. The nearly complete skeleton of the ancient turtle was found by researchers from China's Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in the Asian country’s Guizhou province. The animal had a toothless beak and Frisbee-shaped body just like present-day turtles, but there were no signs of growing bones that form the shell. Modern turtles use the feature to enclose their vital organs, including the head in some cases, and protect themselves "This creature was over six feet long, it had a strange disc-like body and a long tail, and the anterior part of its jaws developed into this strange beak," Olivier Rieppel, one of the researchers involved in the work, said in a statement. "It probably lived in shallow water and dug in the mud for food." As no such turtle has been described in the books of science, the animal has been classified as a completely new species. It has been named Eorhynchochelys sinensis, which means the ‘Dawn turtle with a beak from China’...

Read more: Ancient Shell-Less Turtle Species Identified From 228-Million-Year-Old Triassic Era Fossil | IBTimes

[transparentfossil]

trilobite

[fly-the-pattern]

The dino benches are super cute. The angle is a little weird, though. And there's other seating if you're scared of dinosaurs. Looks like there's non-dino flat benches in the back on the right and a raised stone bench / retaining wall area on the left with grass and trees. I'm a little worried that there's no arm rests on any of the seating areas, though. It might be difficult for people with mobility issues to stand back up. Super cute for in front of a dino museum, though! And I totally want one.

[originalleftist]

Amber fossils are some of my favourites, along with trackways.

My all-time favourite is this glorious specimen from Myanmar, which preserves a tiny dinosaur's tail, complete with feathers, nearly as perfectly preserved as though it were still alive (along with what appear to be some insect and plant remains):

Frozen in Time: A 30-Million-Year-Old Marvel!

This 'praying' mantis is perfectly preserved within a flawless piece of Dominican amber from the Oligocene period—dating back an astonishing 23 to 33.9 million years.

The amber itself derives from the extinct Hymenaea protera, a prehistoric leguminous tree. Most amber found in Central and South America comes from its resin.

Amber from the Dominican Republic is known as Dominican resin, which is noted for its clarity.

Locked in nature's time capsule, every delicate detail from its slender legs to its fragile antennae remains intact, as if it were paused mid-movement all those millions of years ago.

Discovered in the Dominican Republic and auctioned by Heritage Auctions.

[hbystuff]

Habitat - 32 colours

[srlgemstone]

Potamon sp. Crab Fossil; Pleistocene Epoch (2.58 - 0.012 MYA)

[maggotmuncher0]

i have exams in a week

[casualcarpetshark]

BOW DOWN TO THE ANCIENT ONE

[cleverbunnycompany]

Mammoth Cube Mammoth Cube Mammoth Cube

Known as the Jarkov Mammoth, this specimen was found in Siberia. The 23 tonne block of mud and ice was lifted to an ice cave where the mammoth inside was recovered and studied.

[geologyin-blog]

Stunning polished slab of fossiliferous limestone! Check out the amazing detail of these ancient creatures.

Photo Gelerypetriefiedwood

[kaijutegu]

My students are never as impressed as I am when I show them my Necrolemur fossil but like that's your grandma! Those are primate teeth! From before primates were really a thing!

Surely y'all can appreciate your grandma, right??

[palaeosinensis]

"Lord of Plains" - faux woodblock/linocut style art of a heavily stylized Przewalski's horse. The Przewalski's horse is the nearest living relative to the modern horse and strongly resembles what ancestral horses likely looked like. Intended as part of a series with the Lord of Meadows piece.

[razzberrysheep]

a thief

[snailspng]

Random PNGs, part 217

(1. Spiral of shells, 2. Janus head from whale vertebrae, 3. Crinoid fossils, 4. Ceramic art by Dominique Mercadal, 5. Glass model of amoebae by Leopold & Rudolf Blaschka, 6. Slime mold (Stemonitis), 7. Hakutaku by Miyagi Gengyo (1958), 8. Slime mold (Ceratiomyxa fruticulosa), 9. Yup'ik seal float (?))