As you scroll down through the Category of Cenozoic Aquatic Fossils, you will find interesting information and identifications pertaining to six such fossil species from my collection, including: Porpoise Rib Fossil Hypural Tuna Fishtail Bone Fossil Softshell Turtle Fossil Knightia Fish Fossil Dermal Denticle Ray-Fish Fossil Billfish Bill Fossil Cenozoic Timescale SourceU.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain Geological Formations in Brief The Cenozoic Era aquatic fossils in my collection were unearthed along of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States (with one exception). The fossiliferous Mioc ..read more

Hypural Fishtail Fossil Bone (4.5 inches (11.4 cm) Hypural Bone Description, Body Location and Function The hypural is a fan-shaped series of bones constituting an important part of the framework of ray-finned fish. The hypural bones are sometimes fused into one or two plate-like bones, such as with the case from my fossil collection, shown above. The hypural boney-plates join the last few vertebrae of the fish’s spine to the slender bony rays of the fish’s caudal fin. Caudal fin is a fancy scientific term for the tailfin. The caudal fin is attached to the end of the fish’s caudal peduncle by ..read more

The two softshell turtle fossils from my collection (shown above) are broken-off pieces from the animal’s carapace (shell covering). The fossils were unearthed with other Miocene-Pliocene Epoch (23 – 2.6 mya) fossils from the rich fossiliferous east coast of the USA. Below is an excellent softshell fossil specimen from Florida! Brief Origin of Softshell Turtles The earliest known turtles date to the Late Permian Epoch around 260 million-years-ago. Whereas living turtles are toothless, many ancestral forms possessed teeth. Many of the oldest and most primitive forms lacked a shell, howeve ..read more

Fish Fossil Knightia Skeleton (3.5 inches (9 cm) long) This Knightia fish skeleton was preserved by sediments dating around 50 million-years-ago during the sub-tropical to temperate Eocene Epoch when a large inland lake located near Kemmer, Wyoming, part of the Green River Formation, dried up. It was discovered by splitting the sandy layers of shale to expose it, then trimming and preparing it. The final step was to darken the skeleton and put a preservative on it to keep the skeleton from flaking off. Extinct Knightia Fish Interesting Facts Thousands of specimens of the small 6 to 10 inch (15 ..read more

Ray Fish Dermal Denticle Fossil (2.5 inches (6.35 cm) LongWhat Are Dermal Denticles? Chondrichthyans (Class of Cartilage Fish) including sharks, rays and skates, interestingly enough, have tooth-like scales called dermal denticles embedded in the skin. But in older texts, the term, placoid scales, literally meaning (plate-like) is customarily used. Today, most scientists prefer the more descriptive expression, dermal denticles, meaning (tiny skin teeth). Denticles are similar to scales, but are actually just modified teeth with hard enamel coverings. These structures are often packed ..read more

Billfish Fossil (4.5 inches (11 cm) long) This fossil is the broken-off tip from the bill of a billfish, estimated in age from the Miocene Epoch (23 to 5.3 million-years-ago), possibly belonging to, Xiphiorhynchus, an extinct, giant, double-billed swordfish, or possibly belonging to Tetrapturus pfluegeri, an extant marlin billfish. I chose these two related species as possible matches to the billfish fossil because both species were abundant during the Miocene Epoch (fossil age) and because the fossil was discovered along the Eastern Atlantic Coast of United States where both species were and ..read more

Lemon Shark Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris) Fossil Teeth (3/4 inch (1.9 cm) long) Lemon Shark, Negaprion brevirostris, first appeared in the fossil record approximately 50 millions-years-ago beginning in the Eocene Epoch and are still here today, but are nearing the threatened list! Named for their yellowish-brown color, which helps to disguise the fish over a yellowish-gray seabed, Lemon Sharks prefers coastal waters, lagoons or mangroves, typically staying close to the water surface. Even though humans reside in these areas, they are of little threat. They are a large, heavy shark with ..read more

Snaggle Tooth Shark (Hemipristis, serra) Fossil Tooth (1.25 inch (3 cm) long and wide) Snaggle Tooth Shark It may seem obvious, but the Snaggle Tooth Shark inherited its name from the large serrated edges running along the crowns of its teeth. Hemipristis, serra is an extinct species whose fossil teeth are found worldwide. In 2014, a family in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland found an extremely rare fossilized skeleton of a 15-million-year-old, H. serra shark. The cartilage skeleton is the first one of this species ever found. This breed could reach an estimated length of 20 feet (6 meters), equivalen ..read more

Megalodon Vs. Great White Shark Comparison Pencil Drawing You can find plenty of information on the internet and in books about both of these fascinating creatures, but let’s face it, the magnitude of Megalodon’s girth is mind blowing, as you can see by the comparison drawing above. Keep in mind, these are not their average sizes, but their most exceptional sizes found in the fossil records. Thanks to the multitude of unearthed shark teeth, scientists are able to determine size, species and age of these amazing creatures and the fact that the largest Megalodons were female, as with the Great W ..read more

Lake Michigan Stromatolite Fossil (Same as sample below, wetted to bring out layers) Stromatolites Lake Michigan Beach Fossil You’re strolling along the shoreline of Lake Michigan combing the beach for interesting stones and driftwood or perhaps beach glass. You find a common gray beach stone and admire it for the smooth way it feels in your hand, ground down by the wind, wave and sand action of the big lake. It even smells of the fresh outdoors. But upon a closer look, you can see layers of striations interesting and beautiful. When wet, they suddenly pop out and there’s no mistaken this ..read more