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

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...

My latest! This one’s pretty fun. 🐸🧪

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...

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

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

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/...

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...

This week we're going vegetarian with the mummified plants of the Santang Lagerstätte. This fossil site yields amazing fossils of preserved nuts, fruits, stumps and leaves in China. #SantangWeek #paleontology www.researchgate.net/publication/...

Over 500 Glyptocrinus crinoids are found on this slab alone. The amazingly high percentage of complete specimens crammed together meant they were quickly buried by a turbidity current. From the Cincinnati Museum Center #Paleontology #CrinoidWeek

Perhaps the most amazing crinoid fossils in the world come from the Posidonia Shale. Fantastically dense colonies grew on driftwood and floated on the ocean for years. These crinoids grew up to 20 meters long! #CrinoidWeek #FossilFriday

A crinoid from the Cabeço da Ladeira Paleontological Site in Portugal. This was the first site to reveal trace fossils of crinoid trails! #CrinoidWeek #Paleontology www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/11...

A beautiful crinoid, Cactocrinus woosterensis, from the Wooster Shale Member in Ohio. #CrinoidWeek #Paleontology www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The crinoids in Germany's Hunsruck Slate are pyritized but are extremely fragile. As such, X-rays can be used to peel back the layers and observe these echinoderms without disturbing them. #Crinoidweek #Paleontology

Antedon pinnata was a free swimming, stem-less crinoid whose fossil remains can be found in the Late Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone. (Specimens YPM IP 525676 and 006468) #CrinoidWeek #Paleontology

This week, we're waving our arms and dominating the seas. That's right, it's that time of the year for #CrinoidWeek! We'll celebrate these sea lilies and their beautiful fossils #paleontology

The graptolite, Sphenoecium wheelerensis, from the Spence Shale site in Utah. KUMIP 514066 #SpenceWeek #Paleontology

Siphusauctum lloydguntheri is a problematic species from the Spence Shale. Although it was a stalked filter feeder, similar to crinoids, we are still unsure of its closest relatives. #SpenceShale #FossilFriday

Acinocricus stichus is the only species of lobopodians found at the Spence Shale. They are easily distinguished by their spines. KUMIP 491080 #SpenceWeek #Paleontology

This is the holotype of Meristosoma paradoxum (KUMIP 204511). It had a long, segmented body like a millipede with over 30 segments and was 17 cm long. #SpenceWeek #Paleontology

Over 70% of the Spence Shale species are trilobites such as this Zacanthoides liddelli. Most of the fossils are fragmented but every now and then whole exoskeletons can be found. KUMIP 491808 #SpenceWeek #TrilobiteTuesday https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/jgs/article/176/4/609/569244

An ancient worm, Utahscolex ratcliffei, from the Spence Shale Lagerstatte in Utah. Worms are rare at this site and what's more this one has its proboscis preserved. KUMIP 490902 from @KUNHM #SpenceWeek #Paleontology

This week we're looking at the Spence Shale in Utah. This is one of the best Cambrian sites in North America and yields many critters, most prominently, trilobites. #SpenceWeek #paleontology https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/jgs/article/176/4/609/569244

Borealosuchus was a crocodilian that lived in Wyoming during the Eocene. This amazing specimen is displayed at the Fossil Butte National Monument with its eco-partners housed near him. #CrocodileWeek #Paleontology

Macrospondylus was an ancient marine crocodylomorph that swam the Jurassic seas of Germany. This particular specimen was found in the Posidonia Shale. On a personal note, I was so struck by this specimen that I made it the logo for Fossil Bonanza. #CrocodileWeek #FossilFriday

Asiatosuchus, an extinct crocodile found throughout Europe that lived during the Eocene #CrocodileWeek #Paleontology https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/226559/1/03_Seghetti_et_alii_2022_BSPI_612_1_.pdf

The Strawberry Bank Lagerstätte is a Jurassic fossil site in the UK known for its 3D fossils. Juveniles of the marine crocodile Pelagosaurus are found here indicating that this site served as a nursery. #CrocodileWeek #Paleontology

One of the oldest crocodilian relatives comes from the Chinle Fm in SW United States. Hesperosuchus was a small (1.5 meters long), terrestrial reptile that was fast and agile and lived alongside early dinosaurs. CM 29894 #CrocodileWeek #Paleontology

This week we'll rip and roll our way into crocodile fossils! Their survival throughout millions of years of evolution means they pop up in all sorts of habitats-from aquatic to terrestrial. #CrocodileWeek #Paleontology

Belotelson magister is one of the most common crustaceans, and arthropods for that matter, in Mazon Creek. Many of the fossils are actually molted exoskeletons which likely contributes to their abundance. #MazonCreekWeek #Paleontology

Tullimonstrum gregarium, AKA, the Tully Monster, is probably Mazon Creek's most famous fossil. Since 1966, paleontologists have passionately debate its identity which ranged from nematodes to cephalopods to chordates. #MazonCreekWeek #FossilFriday #Paleontology