"All worthwhile fossils are found in an expensive to get to location or, if local, 10 miles past the end of a 4-wheel-drive road.¬ÝThe water will always make you sick.¬ÝIt will either be very hot or very cold and the wind will always blow.¬ÝThe fossil will be more than 100 feet up or down the face of a cliff. The rock will always be harder than concrete and everything in the area will bite (or sting)."

Return to Home Page

Thalassina anomala mangrove lobster Gunn River, Australia Cenozoic Era, Quaternary Period, Recent Epoch (about 4,000 years ago)	Too young to be an old fossil? These tropical lobsters (called 'yabbies') live in 1-m deep burrows in calcium-rich sediments. They are definitely not extinct, but are nocturnal and rarely seen alive. Yabbies are sometimes entombed in their burrows as a result of catastrophic storms. After burial, their exoskeleton is replaced (fossilized) primarily with calcium carbonate and traces of magnesium, strontium, and iron. Fossilization takes place with unusual speed due to the very high concentration of minerals in these sediments.
Bison hump vertebra* Ice Age Glaciation, Nebraska Cenozoic Era, Quaternary Period, Pleistocene Epoch about 100,000 years ago
Note: this tooth is actual size, from a 40+-foot shark! Carcharocles megalodon (extinct 'great white shark') River deposits, South Carolina Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Miocene Epoch About 2 Mya	Chesopectens sp. (scallop) and barnacles Richmond, Virginia Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Miocene Epoch About 10 Mya
Pinnixa galliheri "pea crabs" Monterey Formation (Aguajita Member), C armel, California Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Miocene Epoch About 10-12 Mya	Turritella terebralis and Eutriofusis burdigalensis Formation unknown, France Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, early Miocene Epoch About 20 Mya
Stylemys nebraskensis (tortoise) White River Badlands, Sioux Co., Nebraska Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Oligocene Epoch About 30 Mya	Terrapene sp. (box turtle) Formation unknown, Nebraska Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Oligocene Epoch About 30 Mya
Terrestrial isopod (pillbug) in amber Dominican Republic Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Oligocene Epoch  23-35 Mya	Brontops sp. (titanothere tooth) These mammals were larger than elephants! Cypress Hills Formation, Saskatchewan, Canada Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Oligocene Epoch 23-35 Mya
Jianghanicthys hubeiensis* Formation unknown, China Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Eocene Epoch 35-57 Mya	Palaeoperca multiformis One of the first percid fishes Messel, Germany This site is world famous for its fossils of early mammals Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Eocene Epoch 35-57 Mya
Amphiplaga brachyptera* Green River Formation, Kemmerer, Wyoming Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Eocene Epoch 35-57 Mya	Eohiodon falcatus* Green River Formation, Kemmerer, Wyoming Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Eocene Epoch 35-57 Mya
Diplomystus dentatus* Green River Formation, Kemmerer, Wyoming Cenozoic Era, Tertiary Period, Eocene Epoch 35-57 Mya	Exogyria sp. (bivalve) Tsunami Deposits, Braggs , Alabama This deposit was formed by the tidal wave that accompanied the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs Mesozoic Era, late Cretaceous Period 65 Mya
Plesiosaur phalanges Judith River Formation, Montana Mesozoic Era, late Cretaceous Period about 65-80 Mya	Carpopenaeus callirostris (shrimp) Cyclobatis longicaudatus (stingray skeletal elements)* Cenomanian Formation, Hjoula, (Hakel), Lebanon Mesozoic Era, late Cretaceous Period about 65-80 Mya
Armigatus brevissimus Cenomanian Formation, Hjoula, (Hakel), Lebanon Mesozoic Era, middle Cretaceous Period about 100 Mya	Meyeria sp. (lobster) Isle of Wight, Great Britain Mesozoic Era, Cretaceous Period 65-145 Mya
lungfish concretion Formation unknown, China Mesozoic Era, Cretaceous Period (?) 65-145 Mya	Hemiaster whitei (sea urchins)* Goodland Formation, Lake Texoma, TX Mesozoic Era, Cretaceous Period 65-145 Mya
Heptagenia sp. (mayfly nymphs) Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China Mesozoic Era, Cretaceous Period 65-145 Mya	Scaphites sp. (cephalopod) Bearpaw Shale Formation, Rosebud Co., MT Mesozoic Era, Cretaceous Period 65-145 Mya
Hyphalosaurus lingyuanensis Jiulongsong Member, Chaomidianzi Formation (Jehol), Sihetun,Beipiao City, Liaoning Province, China Mesozoic Era, early Cretaceous Period about 140 Mya	Peipiaosteus pani (a relative of modern sturgeons) Pani Lake Formation, Liaoning Province, China Mesozoic Era, late Jurassic or early Cretaceous Period about 140-150 Mya
Enchodus sp. (tooth of a 3-m 'saber-toothed' fish) Formation unknown, Morocco Mesozoic Era, Cretaceous Period 65-145 Mya	Saccocoma perctinate (floating crinoids) Plattenkalk Formation, Solnhofen, Germany Mesozoic Era, late Jurassic Period about 150 Mya
Lycoptera davidi (bony-tongued fish) Dinosaur beds, Rehe Formation, Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, China Mesozoic Era, late Jurassic Period about 150 Mya	Ophiopetra sp. (brittle starfish)* Malm Zeta (Solnhofen) Formation, Heinheim, Germany Mesozoic Era, Jurassic Period 145-208 Mya
Dactyloceras sp. (ammonite cephalopods) Formation unknown, Germany Mesozoic Era, Jurassic Period 145-208 Mya	Promicoceras sp. (ammonite cephalopod)* Lias Beds, Lyme Regis, England Mesozoic Era, Jurassic Period 145-208 Mya
Parasemionotus labordie (holostean fish) (Order: Amiiformes Family: Parasemionotidae) A relative of the modern bowfin Madagascar Mesozoic Era, early Triassic Period about 240 Mya	Aeduella blainvillei Muse Pres d'Atun, France Paleozoic Era, Permian Period 245-286 Mya
Coprinoscolex illogimus (echiuran)	Mazoglossus ramsdelli (hemichordate 'acorn worm')
Pit 11, Mazon Creek, Francis Creek Shale, Carbondale Formation, Braidwodd. IL This site is world-famous for its well-preserved fossils of soft-bodied animals Paleozoic Era, Carboniferous (middle Pennsylvanian) Period about 300 Mya
Archimedes wortheni (bryozoan)* Edwardsville Formation, Crawfordsville, Indiana Paleozoic Era, Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period 330-360 Mya	Crinoid, blastoid (echinoderms), and brachiopod* Ridenhower Formation, Floraville, IL Paleozoic Era, Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period 330-360 Mya
Macrocrinus mundulus crinoid* Edwardsville Formation, Crawford, IN Paleozoic Era, Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period 330-360 Mya	Evactoporina bryozoans and horn coral* Reeds Spring Formation, Taney County, MO    Taxocrinus sp. (crinoid) County Antrim, Ireland Paleozoic Era, Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period 330-360 Mya
Unidentified nautilloid cepalopod* Bear Gulch Formation, MT Paleozoic Era, Mississippian Period 330-360 Mya	Pentremites sp. (blastoid echinoderms)* Ridenhower Formation, Millstadt, Illinois Paleozoic Era, Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period 330-360 Mya
Chotecops sp.* Rare view of the underside of a trilobite! Hunsruckschiefer Formation, Bundenbach, Germany Paleozoic Era, Devonian Period 360-409 Mya	lobe-finned fish The oldest fish in my collection (so far) Gaspe region, eastern Canada. This site was recently featured in National Geographic as one of the "nurseries" for the development of amphibians Paleozoic Era, Devonian Period 360-409 Mya
Lepidocolus sp. (a machaeridian or 'armored worm') Formation unknown, Oklahoma Paleozoic Era, early Devonian Period about 400 Mya	Reedops deckeri  (trilobite)* Haragan Formation, Coal County, OK Paleozoic Era, early Devonian Period About 400 Mya
Huntonia sp. cephalon and Paciphacops campbelli* (there are also two brachiopods on the Huntonia) Haragan Formation, Coal County, OK Paleozoic Era, early Devonian Period about 400 Mya	Kainops raymondi (trilobite) and unidentified nautiloid* Haragan Formation, Coal County, OK Paleozoic Era, early Devonian Period About 400 Mya
Platystoma sp. (gastropod) Eucalyptocrinites sp. (crinoid) Calymene breviceps (trilobite)* Waldron Shale Formation, Waldron, Indiana Paleozoic Era, Silurian Period 409-439 Mya	Encrinurus sp. (trilobites) Trilobite beds, China Paleozoic Era, Silurian Period 409-439 Mya
Eurypterus remipes (sea scorpion) Fiddler's Green Formation, Herkimer County, New York Paleozoic Era, Silurian Period about410 Mya	Graptolites (colonial hemichordates) Rochester Formation, Orland, County, NY Paleozoic Era, Silurian Period 409-439 Mya
Dalmanites limulurus (trilobite) Rochester Formation, Middleport, NY Paleozoic Era, Silurian Period 409-439 Mya	Lituites (Trilacinoceras) hunanense nautiloid cephalopod Baota Formation, Yongshun, Hunan Province, China Paleozoic Era, middle Ordovician Period about 450-470 Mya
Isotelus mafritzae (trilobite) Cobourg Formation of Ontario, Canada Paleozoic Era, late Ordovician Period 4bout 440-450 Mya	Asaphus cornutus (trilobites) Asery Level Formation, Wolchow River, St. Petersburg, Russia Paleozoic Era, Ordovician Period 439-510 Mya
Isorophusella incondita edrioasteroid echinoderm* Bobcaygeon Formation, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada Paleozoic Era, Ordovician Period 439-510 Mya	Homotelus bromidensis (trilobites) Pooleville Member, Bromide Formation Criner Hills, Carter County, Oklahoma Paleozoic Era, Ordovician Period 439-510 Mya
Ogygiocaris sarsi trilobite "Totenprinsessen", Norway Paleozoic Era, Ordovician Period 439-510 Mya	Discoceras sp. nautiloid cephalopod Oslofeltet, Norway Paleozoic Era, Ordovician Period 439-510 Mya
Didymograptus and Tetragraptus (graptolite hemichordates) Bendigo, Victoria, Australia Paleozoic Era, early Ordovician Period (Yapeenian stage) about 500 Mya	Proplina cornutaformis (monoplacophoran mollusc)* Gasconade Formation, Washington County, Missouri Paleozoic Era, early Ordovician Period about 500 Mya
Angelina sedgwicki * Named for the Revd. Adam Sedgwick (the 19th Century Cambridge geologist who coined the term "Cambrian") Note the deformation of the rock and trilobite! Tremadoc Formation (Garth Hill Slate) Garth Hill, Y Garth, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, Wales Paleozoic Era, early Ordovician Period about 500 Mya	Ellipsocephalus hoffi (trilobite) Jince, Czech Republic Paleozoic Era, Cambrian Period 470-570 Mya
Cambropallas (formerly Andalusiana) telesto* Paradoxides beds, Morocco   Paleozoic Era, middle Cambrian Period about 540 Mya	Chancelloria eros* Once thought to be a glass sponge, now considered to belong to a different phylum (Coeloscleritophora). This animal is also similar to species found in the Burgess Shale formation Wheeler Formation, Millard County, UT Paleozoic Era, middle Cambrian Period about 540 Mya
Hunanolenus genalatus* (formerly Redlichlia chinensis) Trilobite beds, Hunan Province, China Paleozoic Era, Cambrian Period 470-570 Mya	Peronopsis intersticta (blind pelagic trilobites) Wheeler Shale Formation, Millard Co., Utah Paleozoic Era, middle Cambrian Period About 540 Mya
Hyolithes crecops* SoSome researchers consider these animals to be mollusks, while other consider them to be members of another phylum This animal is similar to ones found in the Burgess Shale formation Spence Shale Formation, Spence Gulch Liberty, Idaho Paleozoic Era, middle Cambrian Period About 540 Mya	Maotianshania cylindrica (priapulid) The oldest animal in my collection (so far) This is from the Chinese equivalent of the Burgess Shale Formation Maotienshan Shale, Chengjiang, Yunnan Province, China Paleozoic Era, early Cambrian Period about 570 Mya

*Photo and/or specimen from: www.extinctions.com

Return to Home Page

Last Updated: Thursday, 4 August 2005, 3:00 PM