#bulk fossils

[atmdeth]

everything homemade

ᒎᗴᗪᗴᑎ ᗩᑎᖴᗩᑎǤ ᗯᗝᕼᑎ丅 ᗴᎥᑎ 乙ᗩᑌᗷᗴᖇ Ꭵᑎᑎᗴ…….♥️

[dancingbearrockandminerals]

Discover Nature's Marvels: Premium Shark Teeth Collection!

Get ready to explore the ocean's wonders with shark teeth bulk collection! Each pound contains an exciting mix of Grade A, B, and C teeth, averaging between 500 to 800 pieces. These unique fossils are perfect for collectors, teachers, or anyone who loves crafting. They make a fantastic addition to any collection and are sure to spark interesting conversations. Don’t miss out on the chance to own a piece of history, grab your bulk shark teeth today! For more details visit - Dancing Bear’s Rocks and Minerals

[amnhnyc]

This Fossil Friday, we bring you the beloved Apatosaurus: a long-necked dinosaur that could reach an impressive size of 73 ft (22 m) long! The Museum’s first Apatosaurus was discovered at Wyoming’s Bone Cabin Quarry in 1898. When it went on display in 1905, it was the first sauropod dinosaur ever mounted. It’s hard to believe, but this gigantic herbivore maintained its mind-boggling bulk on a diet of plants. A soup of microbes in its belly broke down otherwise hard-to-digest plants by fermentation. In fact, some birds, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, also have fermentation chambers in their guts.

The Museum is open daily from 10 am–5:30 pm. Plan your visit!

Photo: © AMNH

[drhoz]

#2829 - Psephophorus terryprachetti - Pterry's Giant Pturtle

A very large, extinct, leatherback turtle from the Eocene, named after beloved author Terry Pratchett. He was pleased about this, saying that anybody that wasn't delighted about getting a species named after them was clearly a Pod being from the Planet Zog.

The first fossils from the genus were discovered by German Paleontologist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1846, but all he had were the dermal plates (not that different from the fossil above, really). That's probably why even by 1879, they still weren't clear on what it actually was - British paleotologist Harry Govier Seeley thought they resembled the armour of an armadillo.

The Pturtle was discovered in New Zealand in the 1990s. It would have been 2.5m long, in life.

Sadly, there's only one Dermochelyid turtle left in the world - the Leatherback Dermochelys coriacea, which is critically endangered in some areas. Leatherbacks are unique compared to other modern sea turtles because they lack a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leathery skin. They're also the deepest-diving and fastest reptiles in the world, swimming down to over 1200m depth, at speeds of up to 35kph. Their constant activity and internal adaptations lets them run at a surprisingly high internal temperature - 18C above the surrounding water.

The biggest threat to leatherback survival is, unfortunately, humanity - hatchlings can be confused by artificial light and head inland instead of towards the water, older turtles are easily caught in fishing nets, and they can confuse plastic bags floating in the water for the jellyfish that form the bulk of their diet.

Otago Museum, Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand.

[femboycatofmystery]

Hey folks let me anti-doomscroll you for a quick second:

Batteries and Solar have been getting cheap very quickly for a long time now and not only is it not stopping, but even at the rates it's at the economics of energy are shifting rapidly. The costs of decarbonizing all forms of electric power are now more down to infrastructure and planning than bulk cost. Compare and contrast to the turn of the century when Solar was so prohibitively expensive that saying we'd meet any meaningful fraction of our needs with photovoltaics would have gotten you laughed out of the room.

Meanwhile, although there are lots of complicated moving parts and a surprising amount of gross politics attached, gas cars are now less good in most ways than electric. Again, at the turn of the century this would have sounded laughable.

Many industries have specific needs that prevent direct conversion to electric, but hydrocarbon fuels are not intrinsically fossil fuels and can be made as a storage medium for solar. Hydrocarbon fuels made in this way are intrinsically carbon neutral. The technology is relatively young, but from a basic math perspective looks very doable.

Inflation actually has more to do with the above than it does with whatever it is the federal reserve does, and pulling down a supply of energy from the sky that requires less infrastructure to get (which is true because that's why it's cheaper now) directly helps.

The current "business as usual" scenarios with global warming are lower than they used to be, because the solar transition is just sort of happening because of economics without a lot of government help. All of the above lower the amount of friction and pushback we face when trying to get the government to do something.

By the way, the Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Joe Biden a couple years back, is explicitly designed to accelerate these trends.

As disastrous as the current projections for global warming are, it's important to keep two things in perspective: first, that they are exactly that, disasters, not the end-of-the-world kind but more sort of the hurricanes and floods kind, and second, while they certainly will get worse before they get better, they can and will get better. What we do now from a policy perspective has an outsize impact on how much flooding, droughts, and other weather-related costs we will face in the decades to come, but "human civilization ends" is not actually particularly likely. It is much more realistic to say "we could have a huge number of climate-related disasters or a moderately increased number, and every little bit of policy work helps move the needle".

We can and we will solve global warming, the question is not if but when, and how many lives can we save or improve by acting as soon as possible. Imagining this as an almost-certain death sentence for the future of humanity and nature is not merely unrealistic, but wildly counterproductive. It is paralyzing and enervating when what will do the most good is planning, policy, and communication.

Remember, despair is not a tool for positive change. Hope is the real language of revolution.

[edenspoem]

𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

summary: swept under your fossil gray wool blanket, a body deprived of slumber and living the effects of back-bending chores all around the farmhouse has you fatigued and yearning to supply the last ounce of energy with a bit of literature. eventually, ellie will set that book on rain check, and your fatigue, ..and her boredom. honestly, she'll definitely be the one to steal your energy instead of the book.  reader discretion advised: nsfw, mdni, usual playful bickering, one second of cuddiling, poetic ahh writing, very mild foreplay, hella dirty talk, lotsa swearing, oral (receiving) spitting, clit stim (receiving), petnames (babe, baby, good girl) footnotes: word count (2k), masterlist, palestine masterpost, read this, written circa 2023. (hence the writing style change)

radiance incarnate is what lies behind the glass pane just ahead of your bed-post. lunar light outstanding the dark night, never lacking a few stars that flecked the sky above the nocturnal forest, at least what you could perceive through a regular sized window. fusing with the comfortability of your mattress and cloaked in a warm wool blanket makes for a nice end-of-the-day reward while you immerse yourself in the realm of 'the odyssey'. ellie's not in bed. not in the room. she's presumably downstairs finishing up something, so not a clue of her coming is on your mind.

you wriggle around the soft bed altering your position to have one leg bent and the other draped over, the book upheld by the bulk of your thigh making it easier to flip through. page by page, word by word, space and time diminishes around you and is replaced by this entrancing world of mycenaean greece portraying the aegean sea. the room was dimly lit and still, minus the muted sounds of an owl and crickets chirping beyond the wooden walls. serenity lasts for a good half hour before an upsurge of hard rubber footsteps wake the floor by the bedroom door to the right of you.

"hey babe- ooh, what'cha reading?" ellie's voice grapples your focus to her profile, attired in her white shirt, grubby denim and converse that look like they've been dragged to hell.

"the odyssey." you respond as she begins to lurk closer, arms crossed.

she swipes her tongue across her lips, saying, "y'know.. savage starlight might be more.. fun to read?" in an obviously sarcastic note, creasing her brows together accompanying a brass smirk.

"to you, maybe. I actually enjoy this a lot." you cave the book over your chest, sitting like a roof, "you just don't have a mature taste."

"whadda'ya mean? comics are for everyone, and actually easy to understand." she clambers atop of your hips, descending her face upon you, "unlike the odyssey."

"pshh, the odyssey is a classic." you highlight.

"you're just mad that im right." 

you pucker a pout, slowly lifting the book between your noses till ellie knocks it down plumb on your collarbone.

"ah-uh," she intently strikes spires into your eyes with her persuasive peer, narrowing those lids in an undeniably tantalizing way, "can't ignore this now."

"you're right." you spat out and divided the space with your book again.

"c'mon.." she prys the book from your limp grasp, leaving it astray to the bed adjacent to you, "I'm here now, aren't I?" a humbly intimate whisper croaks from her toothy grin.

you banish your sight to the headboard above, pondering the words that would wisp from your lips, "I have a few pages left, babe, then we'll do whatever.."

"mmk, 'gonna lay on you though." she giggles and shuffles along the length of you, interlacing your limbs together and smushing her cheek on your stomach. her arms swathe your hips and tuck underneath your butt.

the book diverged from your fingertips finds its way back, cuddled between your thumbs and eclipses ellie's head from your vision. your pupils root back to the muster of sentences lining the page, with a certain breath gusting onto your mildly exposed midriff.

a scant minute survives before a husk is heard, "mmph- so warm.." the tip of her nose drags on your skin as she faces downward, marking an indulgent smooch to your abdomen. 

that brought a melliferous smile to draw out, instilled with admiration from her speckled kisses. it anchors your attention unwillingly when these kisses continue but you'd rather void it and tread on with reading as ellie treads on with a rampancy of taunting kisses. normally, this'd be blasé, but tonight, it's turning your tides.

ellie muffles, "wann' kiss every inch.." her nibbles subside in target of your navel, nuzzling on the pouch of your belly and biting your shorts' band, "fuck.."

"els."

"mhm?"

"what're up to?" the book slants down.

"you."

"elsies.." 

"just showin' my love.." her tone airs up and turns raspy. 

"I think it's more than that." you dig at her transparent peak in sensuality and prod her foot with yours.

ellie can't necessarily disprove this, she was blatantly horny but wanted to keep that 'under the covers' till you shared the feeling outwardly. a shameless smirk paints her mouth regardless, "y'know what I really wanna do?"

"what?"

a gnaw at her lower lip fracts the answer briefly, uttering, "I wanna eat your fucking pussy." and blunt she was, verdant eyes fastened to yours. she's so eager for you, clawing at your loins.

a shudder bolts the extent of your nerves and you clench around nothing but a throb at the contents of her question, visibly ruffled up by it, "babe.." 

"can I?"

nary a gloom of doubt inhabits your mind, the way she's laying on your body, patient to taste you revs you up like a torrent of arousal. oh my fucking goddess. it's making you go wild.

"yes.." 

"shit- m'kay, lemme just.." ellie wrinkles up the sheet in her fist, tossing it overhead till her head was obscured by it. the amber hue of her hair is subtle under the thin pearly sheet as she slithers down between the interstice of your thighs.

maybe the now carnal environment made it inconvenient to carry on with the perusal of your book, but you're elevating it back up from your sternum regardless. the vivid thought of her eating you out while you read is a bit elating, is it not?

ellie's cunning lips park at the epitome of your core, locking her biceps under your slack legs and dangling her still shoe-clad feet off the beds' brink.

"can't wait to see that beautiful fucking pussy.." her veiled voice has strings of raw ardor plucking in her throttle rippling onto your clothed entrance with a muggy pant on every word.

an unheard gulp passes through to the trench of your chest, sending out a reflex of sweet sensations to your pelvis, whimpering, "mhh- ellie.."

"shhhshhh.. i got'chu.." 

she begins to pleat your panties over themselves and slip them off your legs, whizzing them away to some lifeless nook of the tucked-in sheets.

"fuck.. shit-" ellie heaves in awe, even day after day of seeing you bare, it's so titillating to her, drool is abandoning her lips.

the paragraphs living on the pages merge into an unintelligible blob as your vision drowses and the only sensation you can detect is her breath lathering your exposed slit. an open 'ptui' is heard prior to a wet glob landing on your clit and evoking a jolt from your body.

"so sensitive.." she pokes fun at your reaction, slapping her digits down on your sappy pussy and rubbing the spit through your folds, which to much avail, juts your body again.

"fck!" you hack out a swear at each writhe and prod.

"yeah, like that?" 

the grip on your book tightens, causing it to tremor in your shaky hold.

"gonna taste so fuckin' good, mmh.." she murmurs to herself but you catch the gist since immediately after her lips envelop your clit and enlist deft torpedo laps to it.

a heap of pleasurous pricks throb in your cunt and garner a gentle mewl from your chords, whining, "gh- mhhhn.." tenderly in growing bliss.

ellie laps your clit in brisk flicks while sucking it up with noises similar to kissing resounding through the sheer fabric cascading over her head.

you observe the cover moving with every mild thrust of her head, creasing and shuffling with the halo of her hair. a hand prowls from the sheets' hem and searches for anywhere to rest, to which you beckon it to your breast.

she realizes this and gives it duo squeezes for good measure and her unemployed fingers knead the squishy flesh of your ass, all while smirking.

"mmhh~ I wanna see you.." you mumble into the whafted-shut book, knocking off the already sliding sheet with your knee to reveal a flushed ellie with her nose buried in your crotch, her pretty face poised between your thighs, stuffed in your cunt.

her irises hark this newfound horizon before her and diffuse an intense glare that shudders your soul, sinking her lips deeper into those parted folds and drinking up your sticky deluge.

her mouth disconnects with threads of saliva and slick following, "this pussy tastes s'fucking divine, you know that right?"

"y-yeah.."

"could go down n'you for breakfast, lunch n' dinner.. fuck- baby.." 

ellie retreats her keen tongue, dipping into your entrance and soaking up the lewd coating of your walls. oral sounds of her mouth practically having a make-out sesh with your puffy lips overflow the room and bounce like an echo betwixt your ears.

"ohh my godd.." your moans enhance and amplify in the sea of ebbing relief and flowing pleasure.

her pecan speckled skin tinted with rose is glazed with a sinful slick from how far she pushed her face in, a terribly arousing sight to behold when she withdraws to praise her own work.

"how's m'pretty girl doing?"

"s-so.. closee.."

"want' you to moan my name when you do, yeah?"

"o-okay.."

"I wanna know how fuckin' good I make you feel." her sharp curses stay unyielding in her expression.

"mh-mhghmm.." your throat clogs up in anticipation.

ellie pours over your bare stature one last time before gripping the back of your knees and pushing them up till your feet meet the sky.

"that's better."

her lips smash into your cunt once again and prove to be frothing with a craving for you, clenched brows and grunting into your groin intently. she explores every attainable inch like she knows it, licking up your pre-cum like it's the last fucking meal on earth.

"oh- fuck!" you wail out, webbing your fingers in her frizzed up locks by habit.

her inhuman speeds catch you out of the blue, binding her tastebuds with your natural taste and delighted in every millisecond of it. she hoists onto her knees and hovers over your bottom half, wriggling her tongue over your entire opening and sending that abused clit into overdrive.

"el-ell.. ellie! i can't fucki- ah!" a high squeak blazes from your gullet.

she blurts out, "cum on m'fuckin' face." submerged in your folds.

"els.. mh!"

it's the end for you when she starts purposefully moaning on your bud, finally ushering your climax to dull your senses and numbfuck your consciousness. your reality is painted with a globe of starlight just by the heavenly feeling of it.

"good girl..-fck, there there..." ellies gingerly tone conflicts with her devilish play, drinking up the breach of cum gushing from your orgasm.

"oof.. jeez.." you recline your legs once her hands flee, huffing your way down from the celestial heavens.

ellie clambers up and collapses next to you, a smug and prideful visage staring back at your profile. 

"did ya finish those pages?"

"erm, no." 

she butts off a laugh, "eh, well.." her palm advances your bangs, hooking them behind the conch of your ear, "ended up having more fun, yeah?'

"i- yeah.. I guess.."

"you guess?"

"coulda been a lot better."

"whaaaat?" she mimicked an offended countenance.

"like it's nothing to write home about-"

"u're just trynna rile me up!"

"what if I am?" you boldy tease, tutting your skull side-to-side.

and that's ellie's one weakness, teasing. her brows hike, hollering "ohhh- I see how it is!" and rolls on top of you and thrusts her pelvis down with clear intention, "c'mere-"

"fhmm--" her willowy finger seals your lips, heeding the provocation you've cast into her mind.

"you're on."

[star-cosmos]

I am SO GLAD that I decided to save up on nearly every single currency in CRK for the past month and a half

I have 40K Rainbow Cubes (over 100 pulls). Along with Over 100 monster menace chests and Emerald Fossils that I will be bulk opening tomorrow.

I am praying that this'll be enough. I NEED these costumes, absolutely NEED them.

Also Devsis I am on my hands and knees begging you to please give legendary costumes to the rest of the Beast-Ancient Pairs. It's not fair that Mystic Flour, Dark Cacao, Burning Spice and Golden Cheese didn't get them. (And I'm 100% expecting White Lilly and Silent Salt to get costumes now)

May everyone have good luck this month.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Participation Reward (Ending 5) (Shelly x Reader)

Poll under fic to determine next rounds winner as always! asides from bobette (and bassie for the side line line up) thats all the mains written and completed! wowza! shouldnt be surprised that they were going to have the most eyes on them but LORD!!! was thinking id write at least one or two non mains before doing the main 5!!/lh

Notes: gn toon reader, possible ooc, pre game, possible ooc thanks to me not writing much for shelly yet SOOOOOBS, shes definitely got a thing for you but she doesnt want to rush and ruin things, you come out the other side with a budding friendship at least, admin knows nothing about fossils you can tell i danced around that im sorry shelly if you were real id let you infodump and enlighten me

Word count: 2.2k

CWs: none

Everyone’s eyes glue onto you as you reach your hand into the opening of the sack and pull out…

Whatever your fingers wrapped around… it was soft and almost silky. The top was round, almost ruffled… your fingers close around the more firm top of whatever the item was before drawing it out; carefully, in case it were anything delicate. 

And for the first few seconds it wasn’t immediately obvious to you who it belonged to- and it would have remained that way if the golden medallion didn’t hold the image of a spiraled shell. 

In an instant your eyes snap to the crowd of toons around you to try to pinpoint exactly where the owner was. Whether you missed her or her shorter frame- which was partially made so thanks to the flattened top of her head- slipped from your line of sight… you didn’t immediately find Shelly in the crowd. 

Not until you held the ribbon higher in the air, only then did the main step forward. 

And she looked more than a little happy that her item was drawn. Coincidence or not, she was chosen for something and she was over the moon. 

“Ah-” the ammonite nearly tripped on her feet during her rush towards your side. “That’s mine-” 

Shelly offered a soft thanks as you passed her ribbon back. A part of you wondered if she was going to put it back in the sack to go for a second round… but it was tucked away into one of the side pockets of her skirt… you didn’t even know she had pockets. 

Neat.

“Right-” Dandy caught your attention again as the quick exchange died. His face was… hard to read. The crease of his brow looked out of place against the look in his eye and the smile on his face. It didn’t look right. 

“Well! I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how much time you’ve both got- better make it count!” Dandy straightened up a bit as his eyes bounced between you and Shelly. 

“R-right! Right come on-” Shelly perked up. Her hand reached for you- before stopping in the air. The split second tending of her fingers wasn’t lost on you as her hand fell to her side. “Come on-” She repeated in a more controlled and calmer tone. 

“Right… coming..” You take one last glance to the flower. “Gift shop?”

He hummed his confirmation, and so the two of you left the rest of the party behind to walk down the hall to the open gift shop. Fake snow barely caught your eye as you allowed Shelly to step through the open storage room door. 

“You think Dandy stole one of the staff’s keys to open this up?” Shelly asked as her eyes scanned across the room. She faltered at the sight of the sheer bulk of merchandise holding her face. Dust covered. 

“Hm?” 

You close the door behind you and squint against the darkness. Your eyes almost hurt trying to figure out what all was in front of you. A blind grab for the light switch revealed nothing. Either there wasn’t one in the room or it was elsewhere. You allow your hand to slide down awkwardly down the wall.

“Nevermind-! that doesn’t sound like something Dandy would do anyway-” Shelly spoke up again. A light frown couldn’t help but tug itself onto your face but you don’t push her to backtrack. A few clumsy steps are taken forward and you settle yourself into the nearest corner. At least the light creeping through the bottom of the door offered something for your eyes to work with. Just like Shelly’s plushes, the floor was absolutely caked in dust save for a track worked through. From the employees, most likely. 

“So…” 

A few seconds had passed before Shelly decided to break the silence. She pressed herself against a metal door somewhere a few feet in front of you; to your left. 

“Is this your first time playing?” 

A sort of awkward noise rumbled somewhere in the back of your throat. “It is, actually… is it… yours?”

The air tasted wrong. Regardless of it was the lack of life made visual in the form of particles or the way you both shuffled around in your own spaces… or a cringey combination of both… your tongue stuck uncomfortably to the roof of your mouth. 

In a weird way, Shelly seemed the most likely out of the mains to enter such a game. There wasn’t any real reasoning for your idea outside of her eagerness to try to join in on any group activities. 

It seemed too… much for Astro. Too time wasting for Vee, and too uncomfortable for Sprout. Dandy… also seemed like the type to enjoy such a game regardless of what intentions he had with it. He always tended to enjoy the games he played with friends. 

You didn’t even notice Shelly had begun to speak again until she dismissed whatever it was and asked you something.

“No- no wait repeat that.” your tone came out squeaked and more forced than you meant. Your throat seizes against the air and your muscles. “Sorry- I just… I mean…” 

Shelly stared expectantly at you… and for a second, there seemed to be something in her eyes that betrayed something. Hurt, maybe. 

You didn’t mean to ignore her. 

“I just zoned out a little is all-” 

You nearly ask your own question, but the reminder that she had been talking before is enough to convince you to drop it for now. 

“-what did you say?”

Shelly continued to stare for a few more seconds- and then…

“It’s nothing, really- I just wanted to know if you had anything planned after this game,” her usual smile tugged back across her face, followed by a small shrug. The motion seemed weird coming from her. You’d usually see something like that from Sprout. 

Or maybe Shelly was a shrugger. 

Her shoulder stiffened midair and sank back down. “I heard you helped Sprout help with the cookies, that’s pretty neat… I didn’t know you were into baking,” 

You sucked in your cheek and ran the flesh over your clenched teeth. “I’m nowhere near as good as him and Cosmo, really- they were both hovering over my shoulder the whole time to make sure I didn’t mess anything up again-” 

Shelly leaned in slightly. “Again?”

The tight line that made your mouth cracked into a sheepish smile accompanied by a dull huff. “I… mixed up the salt and sugar the last time they let me help…” 

It was… a rather ugly mistake, too. You were nearly certain Sprout’s head would’ve dehydrated on the spot the moment he had bitten into your cookie. 

At least Shelly found some humor in it- her best attempts to suppress the laugh just barely failed her. 

“They look similar, okay! And it’s not my fault they put them in those new storage tubs. They should’ve labeled them if they didn’t want a mixup like that-” You lean into her amusement. 

“I’m sure you get your bones all mixed up too-”

“Fossils,” She corrected. 

You nearly lightheartedly rolled your eyes but something in the back of your mind made the motion come to a screeching halt. 

“Yeah, well… you mostly have bones and stuff- don’t think I’ve seen any…” your hand waves around in the air but the motion does nothing to jog your memory. “Those… what’s it called when like… plants and stuff get fossilized?”

“...I think it’s still just fossils… now if you mean fossilization, there’s loads of ways something can be preserved..!” 

Your hand fell back to your side. 

“Huh… neat.. Thought it was just like… getting buried and pressurized- you’ll have to tell me more about it sometime- maybe not… now…” 

Her smile seemed to freeze.

“...I’m sure you’re gonna want more than seven minutes to tell me all about it… I don’t think seven minutes could do any of it justice, anyway,” 

She perked up slightly.

“Yeah! Yeah- Maybe… whenever you’re free! I don’t have much going on- Tisha may come along, too if you’re alright with that,” 

And finally your smile becomes genuine to match hers. “I don’t see why not… speaking of Tisha… I’ve seriously gotta make it up to her, made a real mess of the kitchen earlier-” 

The mention of the kitchen brought you back to the cookies… and the cookies backtracked you to Shelly’s question.

“Aaaaaand to answer your question- that I totally didn’t get sidetracked from, I… actually don’t know. I mean of course there’s the party, but… so many toons. So many things going on and things to choose from.. And I’ve got no idea if Dandy’s gonna do some other games… you know?” 

Another nod from the shell. 

“I understand… well… if it gets too much you can come sit down with me and Tisha- Yatta might be joining us… she’s been asking me to show her some sewing tips- and Sprout said he tore his scarf, so…” She trailed off. Her hands busied themselves with the fabric of her skirt; swishing it gently in the air and adding wrinkles to it. 

“You can sew?” 

Shelly’s hands jolted to a stop… then resumed their movements. 

“Yeah- I’m no expert at it but it’s been nice having another hobby! Maybe I’ll pick another up soon, but… I’ve no idea which-”

You hum in response. 

“Maybe we could find one together? I’ve been wanting to find something extra to do… bakings fun and all but sometimes the kitchen can get packed with me, Sprout, and Boxten… and Ginger… running around-” 

“I heard Boxten’s taken up baking… how’s he doing with that?”

The corner of your mouth tugs to the side. Your hand waves.

So-so. 

“He wasn’t with us today but I heard from Cosmo that he’s… doing better-! Actually… now that I think about it- I think he mixed salt and sugar too…” You trailed off. 

“Yeah?” She tilted her head. A voice in the back of your head wondered how easy it would be to stack things on top of her head. You wondered if she’d let you if you asked. 

“Think so…” You shift around. “Maybe you could show me some sewing too,” 

“Or… I could sew everything up with you- only if you want me to, sewings not for everyone- not that I don’t think you’d be good at it if you tried-” 

“I might take you up on that offer if I don’t pick it up quick… not the best with my hands and between you and me… the needles are a little intimidating,” You snicker. The other toon relaxed. 

“I have a few thimbles on me if you need them… I don’t use them but… it’s always nice just in case,” 

Your eyes dart to the pockets on the sides of her skirts again. “Always handy huh?”

“Mhm! I always try to keep something just in case someone needs it- bandaids for cuts… candy for pick me ups…” she trailed off. 

…

“You got any candy to share right now?” 

You were only half joking. 

“I don’t… I gave the last to a visitor… they looked like they needed some,” 

You hum with a nod. “That’s alright! My sweet tooth can wait-”

And your vague craving for sweetness didn’t need to wait for much longer. 

Just as the conversation was about to continue to the next topic a series of knocks pulled you out of it. It felt like the time flew by and crawled agonizingly slow at the same time… but Dandy’s voice on the other side alerting you that time was up only cemented that this moment was over. 

“Guess that’s our cue to wrap this up-” Shelly pushed herself off of the wall.

“It doesn’t have to be, I don’t think I’m going to enter for another round… honestly I mostly went along with it because Dandy put me on the spot- can’t let him think I’m some scaredy cat you know?” You copy her and push yourself away from the corner. Her mouth worked itself for a few seconds. “Besides, I’m more than satisfied that I got you as my first taste of the game- I don’t know why we don’t talk more… I wanna change that,” 

Shelly’s mouth opened, but no sound came out aside from a single cut off syllable. Her second attempt wasn’t so fruitless… excitement thinly wrapped in casualness formed her tone. 

“Yeah-”

“Come on you two! There’s still other people who wanna play-” Dandy’s voice cut right through Shelly’s softer one. You scoff under your breath and swing the door open. The flower still faltered under the remains of the glare you tried to hide. Your brows still tensed together and admittedly, your grip on the door handle was rough. 

“We heard you the first time,” 

“Ah-” 

You try harder to force yourself to smooth your expression over. “Why don’t we grab some dessert and go chat somewhere, yeah? We can wait for Tish and Yatta if you’d like,” You shoot Shelly a glance over your shoulder.

The main remained silent for two seconds… before nodding. “You should show me what you made, I’ll be your unbiased judge,” 

The bounce in her step gave you the sense she wasn’t as unbiased as you thought she’d be… but you made no comment about it as the two of you slipped by the stunned flower to the dessert table… you could only hope you didn’t repeat your past kitchen mistake…

[alphynix]

Crystal Palace Field Trip Part 2: Walking With Victorian Dinosaurs

[Previously: the Permian and the Triassic]

The next part of the Crystal Palace Dinosaur trail depicts the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Most of the featured animals here are actually marine reptiles, but a few dinosaur species do make an appearance towards the end of this section.

Although there are supposed to be three Jurassic ichthyosaur statues here, only the big Temnodontosaurus platyodon could really be seen at the time of my visit. The two smaller Ichthyosaurus communis and Leptonectes tenuirostris were almost entirely hidden by the dense plant growth on the island.

Ichthyosaurs when fully visible vs currently obscured Left side image by Nick Richards (CC BY SA 2.0)

Head, flipper, and tail details of the Temnodontosaurus. A second ichthyosaur is just barely visible in the background.

Ichthyosaurs were already known from some very complete and well-preserved fossils in the 1850s, so a lot of the anatomy here still holds up fairly well even 170 years later. They even have an attempt at a tail fin despite no impressions of such a structure having been discovered yet! Some details are still noticeably wrong compared to modern knowledge, though, such as the unusual amount of shrinkwrapping on the sclerotic rings of the eyes and the bones of the flippers.

———

Arranged around the ichthyosaur, three different Jurassic plesiosaurs are also represented – “Plesiosaurus” macrocephalus with the especially sinuous neck on the left, Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus in the middle, and Thalassiodracon hawkinsi on the right.

They're all depicted here as amphibious and rather seal-like, hauling out onto the shore in the same manner as the ichthyosaurs. While good efforts for the time, we now know these animals were actually fully aquatic, that they had a lot more soft tissue bulking out their bodies, and that their necks were much less flexible.

———

The recently-installed new pivot bridge is also visible here behind some of the marine reptiles.

———

Positioned to the left of the other marine reptiles, this partly-obscured pair of croc-like animals are teleosaurs (Teleosaurus cadomensis), a group of Jurassic semi-aquatic marine crocodylomorphs.

A better view of the two teleosaurs by MrsEllacott (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Crystal Palace statues have the general proportions right, with long thin gharial-like snouts and fairly small limbs. But some things like the shape of the back of the head and the pattern of armored scutes are wrong, which is odd considering that those details were already well-known in the 1850s.

———

Finally we reach the first actual dinosaur, and one of the most iconic statues in the park: the Jurassic Megalosaurus!

Megalosaurus bucklandi was the very first non-avian dinosaur known to science, discovered in the 1820s almost twenty years before the term "dinosaur" was even coined.

At a time when only fragments of the full skeleton were known, and before any evidence of bipedalism had been found, the Crystal Palace rendition of Megalosaurus is a bulky quadrupedal reptile with a humped back and upright bear-like limbs. It's a surprisingly progressive interpretation for the period, giving the impression of an active mammal-like predator.

This statue suffered extensive damage to its snout in 2020, which was repaired a year later with a fiberglass "prosthesis".

———

Reaching the Cretaceous period now, we find Hylaeosaurus (and one of the upcoming Iguanodon peeking in from the side).

Hylaeosaurus armatus was the first known ankylosaur, although much like the other dinosaurs here its life appearance was very poorly understood in the early days of paleontology. Considering how weird ankylosaurs would later turn out to be, the Crystal Palace depiction is a pretty good guess, showing a large heavy iguana-like quadruped with hoof-like claws and armored spiky scaly skin.

It's positioned facing away from viewers, so its face isn't very visible – but due to the head needing to be replaced with a fiberglass replica some years ago, the original can now be seen (and touched!) up close near the start of the trail.

———

Two pterosaurs (or "pterodactyles" according to the park signs) were also supposed to be just beyond the Hylaeosaurus, but plant growth had completely blocked any view of them.

Although these two statues are supposed to represent a Cretaceous species now known as Cimoliopterus cuvieri, they were probably actually modeled based on the much better known Jurassic-aged Pterodactylus antiquus.

A second set of pterosaur sculptures once stood near the teleosaurs, also based on Pterodactylus but supposed to represent a Jurassic species now known as Dolicorhamphus bucklandii. These statues went missing in the 1930s, and were eventually replaced with new fiberglass replicas in the early 2000s… only to be destroyed by vandalism just a few years later.

(The surviving pair near the Hylaeosaurus are apparently in a bit of disrepair these days, too, with the right one currently missing most of its jaws.)

Image by Ben Sutherland (CC BY 2.0)

The Crystal Palace pterosaurs weren't especially accurate even for the time, with heads much too small, swan-like necks, and bird-like wings that don't attach the membranes to the hindlimbs. Hair-like fuzz had been observed in pterosaur fossils in the 1830s, but these depictions are covered in large overlapping diamond-shaped scales due to Richard Owen's opinion that they should be scaly because they were reptiles.

But some details still hold up – the individual with folded wings is in a quadrupedal pose quite similar to modern interpretations, and the bird-like features give an overall impression of something more active and alert than the later barely-able-to-fly sluggish reptilian pterosaur depictions that would become common by the mid-20th century.

(Much like the statues themselves, the "modern" reconstruction above is based on Pterodactylus rather than Cimoliopterus)

———

The last actual dinosaurs on this dinosaur trail are the two Cretaceous Iguanodon sculptures. At the time of my visit they weren't easy to make out behind the overgrown trees, and only the back end of the standing individual was clearly visible.

Named only a year after Megalosaurus, Iguanodon was the second dinosaur ever discovered, and early reconstructions depicted it as a giant iguana-like lizard.

The Crystal Palace statues depict large bulky animals, one in an upright mammal-like stance and another reclining with one hand raised up. (This hand is usually resting on a cycad trunk, but that element appeared to be either missing or fallen over when I was there.)

Famously a New Year's dinner party was held in the body of the standing Iguanodon during its construction, although the accounts of how many people could actually fit inside it at once are probably slightly exaggerated.

A clearer view by Jim Linwood (CC BY 2.0)

Considering that the skull of Iguanodon wasn't actually known at the time of these sculpture's creation, the head shape with a beak at the front of the jaws is actually an excellent guess. The only major issue was the nose horn, which was an understandable mistake when something as strange as a giant thumb spike had never been seen in any known animal before.

(The fossils the Crystal Palace statues are based on are actually now classified as Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis, but the "modern" reconstruction above depicts the chunkier Iguanodon bernissartensis.)

———

Image by Doyle of London (CC BY-SA 4.0)

I also wasn't able to spot the Cretaceous mosasaur on the other side of the island due to heavy foliage obscuring the view.

Depicting Mosasaurus hoffmannii, this model consists of only the front half of the animal lurking at the water's edge. It's unclear whether this partial reconstruction is due to uncertainty about the full appearance, or just a result of money and time running out during its creation.

The head is boxier than modern depictions, and the scales are too large, but the monitor-lizard like features and paddle-shaped flippers are still pretty close to our current understanding of these marine reptiles. It even apparently has the correct palatal teeth!

Next time: the final Cenozoic section!

[mineralsrocksandfossiltalks]

Damn, why are you so popular?

I 100% guarantee that if you were to ask random people on the street, adult and child alike, to name a dinosaur, Tyrannosaurus rex will be in the top 5. To not know about this dinosaur would imply you grew up in a hole behind a rock in a cave.

Tyrannosaurus, why are you so popular? You're like a pumpkin spice latte; the basic bitch of the dinosaur world and yet you are beloved by pretty much everyone. WHY?!?!?!?!?

Is it because you have one of the most badass names in scientific literature? I mean, Tyrant Lizard King has a nice ring to it.

Maybe it has to do with the sheer size and bulk of this animal. There aren't many terrestrial predators that could compare (yes there are other dinosaurs but we are focusing on this one this month). Tyrannosaurus could reach upwards of 40ft long (12 m), with a skull a little over 5 ft long (1.5 m) and teeth the size of bananas (around 12 in). It had a bite force strong enough to penetrate concrete.

It could simply be that it has been featured in films since post WWI. I mean, in 1933 King Kong famously fought one and has done so in many remakes.

This is a horrible rendition of a Tyrannosaurus too. I mean, come on, why do modern movies keep showing theropods with their teeth like that? It's so stupid! Anyway, there are other less horrendous tyrannosaurus depictions in film.

Three-year-old me would not have included Barney though. I couldn't stand him. However, he technically is a Tyrannosaurus and he has probably instilled the love of dinosaurs in many children so I can't be too upset with him.

There is, of course, the famous Sharp Tooth from The Land Before Time which was a boss movie that I grew up on.

The most famous is probably this girl from Jurassic Park though. The roar is easily recognizable, she was a beautiful puppet, and let's face it, she had some of the best scenes in that movie.

It's also turned up in many other TV shows like Doctor Who (a few times), Primeval, Power Rangers and Transformers.

You can also find it in a few novels including The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, We're Back! A Dinosaur Story by Hudson Talbott and the Dinosaur Lords series by Victor Milan.

Whatever the reasons, everyone knows this dinosaur and this month we're going to delve into Tyrannosaurus and it's family members. Fair warning, there are some VERY strong biases when it comes to tyrannosaurs and while I don't study them for that very reason (and let's face it, T.rex really is just a basic bitch), I don't totally dislike them and there are some pretty cool ones, so look forward to that.

(Like this one from New Mexico with a super badass name but I will save that for a later post.)

If Tyrannosaurus is your favorite dinosaur, maybe you can sway me to think they aren't so bad...but good luck. My dad has been trying to sway me for 30 years to no avail. Tune in tomorrow for some bone-crunching trivia! Fossilize you later!

[dougdimmadodo]

November's Fossil of the Month: Deinogalerix (Deinogalerix spp.)

Family: Hedgehog Family (Erinaceidae)

Time Period: 10-5 Million Years Ago (Late Miocene)

Native to what is now the Gargano region of southeastern Italy (which, as a result of higher sea levels, was an isolated island at the time,) the members of the genus Deinogalerix were relatives of modern hedgehogs comparable in size to small dogs. Lacking defensive spines but possessing long legs and proportionally enormous jaws, it is believed that, in the absence of large carnivores on their home island, the ancestors of this genus' members developed into fast-moving carnivores that may have fed on smaller vertebrates in addition to the invertebrates that make up the bulk of their smaller relatives' diets. The evolutionary phenomenon by which small carnivores isolated on islands gradually become larger, known as insular gigantism, is fairly well documented (being seen in both modern animals such as the Komodo Dragon and numerous extinct species known from fossils found on islands or in areas that were once islands, including a species of eagle-owl sized barn owl, Tyto gigantea, which coexisted with Deinogalerix on what is now Gargano) and is thought to occur in response to a lack of established large predators compared to nearby mainlands. The assumption that Deinogalerix species developed to exploit a lack of competition from similarly-sized predators would also explain their eventual extinction; the Miocene period ended in a major ice age, and as an increase in ocean freezing caused sea levels to fall the island on which Deionogalerix developed would have become more easily accessible from the mainland, possibly allowing for other similarly-sized or larger predators to colonise the former island and outcompete its unique inhabitants - a theory supported by the fact that Tyto gigantea also seems to have gone extinct around this time.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Image Sources: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Deinogalerix_koenigswaldi-Naturalis-PeterMaas.JPG

and

https://www.sci.news/paleontology/science-deinogalerix-masinii-new-giant-fossil-hedgehog-italy-01535.html

[santae-salt]

really wish we could turn all the little animations off. watching the xyren telescope was neat the first time but now just hurry up and let me see what colors are available god. and let me skip the animation for the pheros fossil locking into place. just give me the item please. i don't want to have to wait when i have a few sets ready to be made at once. or having to make the roseweaver roses one by one and wait for the little animation to be done. blease... i have 30+ of each petal... why can't i bulk make roses

☁️

[amnhnyc]

This Fossil Friday, we bring you the beloved Apatosaurus: a long-necked dinosaur that could reach an impressive size of 73 feet (22 meters) long! The Museum’s first Apatosaurus was discovered at Wyoming’s Bone Cabin Quarry in 1898. When it went on display in 1905, it was the first sauropod dinosaur ever mounted. It’s hard to believe, but this gigantic herbivore maintained its mind-boggling bulk on a diet of plants. A soup of microbes in its belly broke down otherwise hard-to-digest plants by fermentation. In fact, some birds, the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, also have fermentation chambers in their guts.

Photo: D. Finnin / ©AMNH

[unclefard]

A groggy pair of the currently undescribed/named giant Kenyan abelisaurids wake up on a hot afternoon to find a more shaded spot to nap. To be honest I think it's a bit odd how this thing was found several years ago and still has not been properly described, considering it is not only a giant theropod but the largest? of its respective group. You would think they would jump all over describing the next "bigger than t. rex". Then again, I do not know how the process works, and I assume properly describing a species involves a lot of collaboration/review with different paleontologists and other bureaucratic-esque things that take forever.

An odd thing about abelisaurids is how they are found in basically every cretaceous/south american fossil bed. if there's a new dinosaur from one of these beds it is either a weirdly small sauropod, a bird thing, or an abelisaurid.

i based the reconstruction off of Rajasaurus, albeit with added bulk, as its skull is relatively similar to the Titanovenator reconstruction. The little twin snout horns are speculative and meant to be more like the bigger scales on an iguana's face than proper horns. To be honest I hope they give this thing a cool African name or name it after some kind of monster or god as Titanovenator is just a little eh. With big meat-eating dinosaurs the names can get a little too edgy sometimes (cough cough Tyrannotitan). The perfect name in my opinion is Carcharodontosaurus, as it sounds formidable without any basis in pop culture or being obviously and overly edgy.

[estavionpira]

There's a pretty big market for authentic amber fossils to be sold as souvenirs and stuff like that, so I started my own business selling custom amber accessories. Lot of business from gift shops, and they just want mosquitos, stuff they can claim is thousands of years old, yknow? Yeah. Tree sap's pretty expensive with the tariffs, but because I'm bulk-buying insects to encase, I can actually mark myself down as a farm for tax purposes, so that covers a lot of it. Had a few weird orders so far, can't say much for customer confidentiality, but it's- yeah, they got me to sign an NDA, what about it? Anyway, can't say who it is, but there's this one customer who's paying me to seal one of every animal species in amber. Started out with the easy ones - bugs, farm animals, local wildlife, but it's pretty difficult to get a hold of new stuff by now. Animal import laws and all that. Plus the cops have been breathing down my neck since I tried to get a hold of homo sapiens. Haven't been able to pin anything on me, but I've had to lay low. Anyway. How's your yarn shop been going?