#fossil identification

[randomslasher]

My dad was in Canmore last week and visited the Burgess Shale. He found this fossil there (didn't take it obviously just took a picture of it) and I'm hoping someone on Tumblr might be able to help us ID it. He's thinking it might be a juvenile anomalocaris (I have doubts but I don't know enough to say for sure).

[echinoid-fossils-on-the-rocks]

Hope this rock is some part of an coral fossil.

Like rugosa coral.

[prasemvanguardgerman]

So to beginn the first speciemen of fossil for this post. Found today, not seen found before.

Likely some sort of porifea = sponge.

An with tiny silicat veins Astylospongia praemorsa.

After learning the name i got good reference pictures of it. My first find of this specimen!!

Findings of known deposits from astylospongia are in my area from belgium to middle germany poland to the baltic sea and goes up to north.

Brown like chert- flint near round bulb alike. Complete round underside without stem or breaks. Looking like an dry old fig fruit. 🤨

In wet condition its darker gray, with silica vein like struckture like some sponges have. Chestnut sized.

I leave the rugosa + horn coral species Id image here for the future, to lose quick compare.

# Ordovician sponge Astylospongia praemorsa

Prepare some warning for annoying ads from the Researchgate site of the article on the link.

[0luna123]

Found this cool-ass rock on a beach today.

Can someone explain what is this red circular part? Is it a fossil?

[lord-of-the-demons]

Anyone here good at IDing fossils?

[itsdappleagain]

science side of tumblr!!!

anyone know what this rock is?? i can't figure out from research what it might be/what formed it this way.

will send more pictures/answer more questions if needed 👍👍

even if you don't know i'd be really appreciative if you reblogged so i cna try to get this solved :D

[rosielindy]

I’ve handled a lot of Indiana river rock recently. These are a few I saved. I have a life long fascination with geology, Indiana has much to explore. The last two rocks give me comfort when I hold them. I don’t know why but I aim to find out!

[sasaranurude]

I only have 130 followers on this blog and obviously that's not a lot but I just looked at that number and thought "wait, that's enough to fill three of the classroom I normally teach in, and they're all reading my posts, what the fuck"

[meteorologistaustenlonek]

Bring us your good stuff! Monday, November 6th from 5-7 is our next public ID night. Bring your rocks, minerals, and fossils that you need identified and let us help you figure it out. We'll also have some information on 'Sinkholes and Caves in the Chattanooga area'. Enter through the open, gray double doors next to parking lot 10 where parking is free after 5:00. We hope to see you!" -

UTC Geology: The Geology Division in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science

[tokyogruel]

credit to artist and link to this piece’s etsy page. tumblr do you have any thoughts on the ID of this tooth? i just started looking into tooth classification tonight so i have no idea what im doing LOL i tried navigating it on my own, and came to Heptranchias howelli but i could also be entirely wrong, idk dentistry terms, lol

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: whale shark

So I may have committed a cardinal sin last week because I didn't realize it was shark week and instead of a shark, I covered hagfish. This was clearly a terrible oversight and to make up for it, I'm going to talk about the biggest shark of all: the mighty whale shark.

(Image: a whale shark seen from the side. It is a very large shark with a flattened head and three ridges running down its side. The skin in grey and covered in white spots. Smaller sharks and remoras are swimming alongside it. End ID)

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are carpet sharks, meaning they are members of the order Orectolobiformes. The carpet sharks most people are familiar with are the wobbegongs, who are ventrally flattened sharks they typically stick near the seafloor, but Orectolobiformes is a pretty diverse clade containing a large variety of sharks with diverse body plans. Whale sharks are the only living member of the family Rhinocodontidae, making them effectively cousins of the wobbegongs. While there is only one living species of whale shark, we know of another few in the fossil record and there were likely more extinct species and relatives that we don't know about. Because shark skeletons are made of cartilage, they rarely fossilize, leaving only their teeth as fossils. Whale sharks have very tiny teeth and smaller things are less likely to fossilize than large things. Add in that fossilization is very rare and it's very possible there were whale sharks and other similar things in the past we will never know about because they never fossilized.

(Image: a whale shark seen from the front. Its mouth is open, very wide, and apparently toothless. End ID)

Whale sharks are the largest living sharks and the largest living animals that aren't whales. Whale sharks can reach an average adult size of 14.5 meters (48 ft) and 18,600 kg (41,000 lbs), with males being larger. The largest whale shark on record was measured to be 18.8 m (62 ft). Whale sharks have broad, flattened heads and unlike most sharks, their mouths are on the front of the head instead of beneath the snout. The mouth can be over 2 meters across in an adult and is lined with approximately 300 rows of tiny teeth. These teeth are vestigial and do not play a role in feeding. Instead, the shark uses a structure at the back of the mouth composed of 20 fleshy pads that are coated with a thin mesh and held in place with connective tissue. More on feeding below. Whale sharks are grey in color, with white bellies and white spots covering the body. Each whale shark has a unique pattern of spots that scientists can use for identification. The spots will reappear in areas where damaged skin has healed instead of being scarred over. Whale sharks also have some regenerative ability, being able to recover from major wounds and possibly regrow sections of lost fin. Each side of the body has three long ridges that may help with streamlining.

(Image: a whale shark seen form the front with its mouth closed. There are remoras attached to its underbelly and a group of small yellow fish with black stripes swimming near the mouth, possibly acting as cleaner fish. End ID)

Whale shark skin can be up to 15 cm thick and is covered with tiny, tooth-like scales called dermal denticles. Having tiny teeth where bony fish have scales is normal for sharks. What is not normal is having them on your eyes, but the whale shark does anyway. Let me repeat: whale sharks have teeth on their eyeballs. I like body horror and I'm creeped out by that. The eyes can be retracted into the head and these two adaptations are believed to protect the eyes from predators and parasites. Another adaptations the eyes (which, again, HAVE TEETH ON THEM) have is a mutated version of rhodopsin, the pigment the rod sells of the yes use to see. this mutation makes the eyes good at seeing blue light, but the rhodopsin becomes unstable in warm temperatures. In humans, this mutation leads to a degenerative eye condition that can result in blindness. Whale sharks have a solution, though. When in warm, shallow water, the pigment can be turned off to keep the eyes from degenerating. When the shark dives to deep water, the pigment is reactivated, granting the shark better vision as blue light is the most common in the deep sea.

(Image: a close-up of a whale shark eye. It is a small, black, lidless eyeball surrounded by gray skin. End ID)

While whale sharks are huge, they aren't hunters. They are one of three living species of filter-feeding shark, the others being the basking shark (which I covered previously) and the awesomely-named megamouth shark. The majority of a whale shark's diet consists of plankton: primarily copepods, krill, eggs and larvae, and small fish, squid, and jellyfish. The shark can feed either by ram feeding (swimming forward with the mouth open) or creating suction to draw water into the mouth. The mouth is shaped like a funnel and forces water through the filtration pads. The pads, which likely evolved from gill rakers, capture food particles, which are then swallowed as the water is forced out through the gills. The filtration pads are extremely efficient and resistant to being clogged up with debris, though whale sharks have been observed performing a coughing-like behavior that is speculated to help clean the pads. Whale sharks spend up to 8 hours a day near the surface of the ocean, feeding on an estimated 2.7 kg (6 lbs) of plankton per hour.

(Image: an artistic diagram of the feeding pads and gills of a whale shark and how water flows through the mouth and out the gills. Source: EmilyDamstra.com. End ID)

Whale sharks live in temperate and tropical oceans worldwide and can be found in both the open ocean and coastal regions. They are gentle giants who swim slowly and bask at the surface of the ocean, not threatening anything bigger than a sardine. While they spend a lot of time at the surface, whale sharks periodically dive in search of food. Most of these dives are less than 200 meters (660 ft) deep, but they will occasionally dive over 500 m (1,600 ft) deep. The deepest recorded dive reached 1,928 m (6,325 ft), the deepest recorded dive of any fish. Whale sharks are known to practice different feeding behavior based on available food in their region. There are two subpopulations of whale shark based on location: the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific populations. 75% of the whale shark population lives in the Indo-Pacific. Whale sharks seasonally migrate following warm waters and food and may also migrate to mate. Multiple places around the world host seasonal gatherings of whale shark, making them to best place to reliably see them.

(Image: a whale shark from the side, swimming with its mouth open. Other fish can be seen in the background. End ID)

Not much is known about Whale shark mating. It has only been seen a few times in Saint Helena Island in the Atlantic and off the coast of Australia. Mating likely occurs during the seasonal aggregations. Female whale sharks are believed to travel to regional pupping grounds to give birth, but where exactly these are is an open question as juvenile whale sharks are rarely seen. The youngest whale shark ever observed was discovered having been captured and tied to a stake on a beach in Pilar, the Philippines. It was measured at 38 cm (15 in) and was released after being measured. This discovery likely means there is a pupping ground in the area. Whale sharks are ovoviviparous, meaning their eggs hatch internally and the young are born live. Whale shark females are believed to be able to reserve sperm and impregnate themselves repeatedly between matings, rather than bearing all their young at once. It is not clear how long it takes whale sharks to mature or how long they can live, though some estimates put them at sexually mature at around 25 years old and with a maximum lifespan between 50 and 150 years. It is estimated that only 10% of whale sharks live long enough to reach sexual maturity. Adult whale sharks have no natural predators.

(Image: a baby whale shark that was rescued from a gill net in India. It looks like a smaller version of the adult, but with a proportionately larger head. A human (out of frame) is holding it just above the water. ENd ID)

Whale sharks are classified as endangered by the IUCN. They are threatened by fishing, poaching, bycatch, and boat strikes. Whale sharks are hunted for their skin, liver oil, and meat, though countries worldwide are increasingly regulating or banning whale shark hunting. Whale sharks also ingest large quantities of microplastics. The health effects of this are not understood currently. Whale sharks are kept in captivity in less than 20 aquariums worldwide. They need very large tanks and have special feeding requirements that makes it difficult to keep them healthy. Wild whale sharks pose no threat to humans though there have been reports of them ramming sport fishing boats after being provoked. In places where whale sharks seasonally aggregate, snorkeling or SCUBA diving alongside them has become a major ecotourism industry. Touching the sharks can hurt them and is illegal in most places. Some tourism agencies have been known to lure in young whale sharks by feeding them shrimp, something which is discouraged by naturalists as it can foster dependence on humans and potentially introduce dangerous chemicals to the sharks' diets.

(Image: a person in a pink swimsuit wearing goggles and a snorkel swimming next to a whale shark just beneath the surface of the water. Two other whale sharks are in the background. End ID)

[stijlw]

fat baby hand spotted on the fossil identification subreddit

[echinoid-fossils-on-the-rocks]

So again I need some suggestion help of the rock - fossil identification on this specimen.

It has the pattern like the chambers from modern „unions cells“ or, some piece of an petrified coral or sponge.

Dark grey non tranculent. Lightly weight.

Found on the yesterdays fossil hunt on the search with other rocks, flint shards from surrounding field works. Flat surface of rock, not polished to feel more like an rub over an tortoise shell. 🐢 But of course it’s isn’t.

In the zoom you can seen the struckture. Found on the same location of finds like the previous sponge and echinoids near field tracks. With lot of chert flint pebbles and chunks.

Has the form vaguely of an oyster shell but it isn’t one, has no cracks or rims like an shell struckture. More like an onion cell chambers, under an microscope.

Can’t tell which rock it is but likely with silicate parts.

The Google image search and reading of porifea or coral finds in forums doesn’t helped.

Posting it again. Have no idea suggesting part of an coral or likely sponge struckture petrified. Found on dry field land in the middle range of Germany, no direction to the sea or large rivers.

[prasemvanguardgerman]

The last wednesday, i found the round urchin from before post, with this mold of an rare fossil in my area. I suggest it if, it is the case. ���👀

Absolutly rare to seen in the northern region of germany, myself not knowing these are also here to find.

I havent seen those before on the search for minor fossils and rocks on sand and land, without any local modern river or mountains in the near area.

Likely an trace fossil mold of an tiny trilobite, the form with an missing head piece probably are on the missing other side of the rock.

The rock is not flint, some other sediment stone in rusty brown color with little metallic spots held in light.

After washing, it retains moisture longer then other stones in drying.

The print mold has the size of an fingernail.

Identification where appreciate great to know of its an case for an trilobite family speciemen or some other suggestion what its belongs of pattern in rock.

It would be great to know & also for other rock fans with maybe have seen those pattern .

I know nothing about limestone or iron rock variations in my area, and seen not common these stones or fossils from them here myself.

Super lucky, and it does resembles the larger trilobite in contrast of an mold in the lining struckture.

[blueiscoool]

Teen Discovers 1800-Year-Old Ring Engraved with Goddess Athena on Mount Carmel

The artifact was examined with the assistance of Prof. Shua Amorai-Stark, an expert on ancient rings and amulets from the Kaye Academic College.

A Haifa teenager recently discovered an ancient engraved ring while hiking on Mount Carmel in northern Israel, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The ring, which is engraved with the image of Athena, the Greek goddess of war, has been handed over to the IAA and is set to be displayed in Jerusalem.

This July, 13-year-old Yair Whiteson's discovery will be displayed at the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel in Jerusalem.

The teen's interest in fossils and rocks helped lead to this shocking discovery. When he made the discovery, Whiteson was hiking near the ancient quarry site below Khirbet Shalala with his father, who had recently returned from four months of army reserve duty. The teen noticed a small green object, initially mistaken for a rusty bolt. After closer inspection, he realized it was a corroded ring with an engraved image.

“At first glance, I thought it was a warrior,” Yair said.

The family contacted Nir Distelfeld, an inspector at the IAA’s Theft Prevention Unit, who quickly arranged for the object to be transferred to the National Treasures Department. The artifact was then examined with the assistance of Prof. Shua Amorai-Stark, an expert on ancient rings and amulets from the Kaye Academic College.

“On this beautifully preserved ring is the image of a helmeted naked figure holding a shield in one hand and a spear in the other,” explained Distelfeld and Dr. Eitan Klein from the IAA's Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery.

“Yair's identification of the figure as a warrior was close; it is likely the goddess Minerva from Roman mythology, known as Athena in Greek mythology. This goddess, popular during the Roman period in the Land of Israel, was considered the goddess of war and military strategy, as well as wisdom.”

Anicent archaeological discovery made by young teen

The bronze ring dates back to the 2nd-3rd Century CE - the Late Roman Period. It was believed to have belonged to a female, possibly a farmstead resident, a quarry worker, or even as a burial offering in a nearby cave.

Khirbet Shalala, the archaeological site near the discovery, is situated on a hilltop in the Carmel Mountains, surrounded by Nahal Oren and near the perennial water source Ein Alon. Various archaeologists have explored the site, including 19th-century Palestine Exploration Fund surveyor Prof. Ruth Miran and a Bar-Ilan University expedition led by Prof. Shimon Dar.

Visitors to the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel can revel in ancient history through IAA tours throughout the summer.

[anomalymon]

[Essay] MissingNo Therian: An Exploration in Identity, Labels, and the Fictotherian Experience

We've seen a few posts of people wanting more personal essays in the community, so I thought I would write this and crosspost it to Tumblr. -Rex

I am a MissingNo. My exact form is one that's been fluid throughout my life, with Kabutops and Aerodactyl fossil forms having preference, but occasionally switching to the Lavender Town Ghost. I identify as a Pokemon therian or Poketherian for my species - or fictotherian for a broad term. This identification is one which can confuse people - after all, therianthropy is more traditionally associated with animals, and I identify as Pokemon that isn't real. My species only exists in four games that are well over two decades old and is a failsafe the game spits out. Why should I identify as a therian? Despite how strange it can seem, I still prefer therian over other labels such as otherkin and fictionkin. My therian identity is deeply intertwined with my hyperempathy, created by a bias of my animality, comes from viewing a MissingNo as a type of animal, and from experiencing common therian traits.

Therian over otherkin, fictionkin, or fictive

Some may be saying "why don't you call yourself fictionkin?" or even "Isn't otherkin for mythical species, while therian is for earthen species?" To address the later point, there have been better written essays dispelling this. I would highly recommend Therian: Dispelling the Earthen Animal Myth by The River System for a well written and researched essay.

To address the former point, it is personal preference. I did use "otherkin" for years and still do identify as both otherkin and fictionkin, but the term "therian" is more in alignment to how I experience identity. I am an animal, I experience shifts, and I experience instincts.

I don't perceive MissingNo as sapient on the level of elves or some dragons. For me, being a MissingNo is also a "real" thing, as tangible as a dog, bird, or dragon. I don't consider myself glitchkin despite being a glitch, nor conceptkin. I am like the theriomythics who label themselves for being an animalstic gryphon or phoenix.

When it comes Fictionkin and fictive, to me they can be too focused on identifying yourself in the framework of being a character, which I'm not. I'm not a creepypasta character anymore than one of the Hypno species would be. I still do identify as fictional - I can comfortably identify as "fictherian" or my preference "fictotherian" (Which comes from "fictotype". I believe I started this term usage - since when I started using it, I could find no results to it, but I did use it in forum posts, Discord servers, and other methods).

Fictive falls under a similar problem - but with slightly more alienation. While the term is open to me, my identity history makes me feel out of place in a community of walk-ins and introjects when it was one that developed later in life.

How I became a MissingNo and the grip of hyperempathy

My identity as a MissingNo came later in life. I began existing in my system as a canine pup - which I know from behaviors and mannerisms that I later connected to me in the present, and genuinely expressing feeling like a dog as a child. Years later, I identified this species as a manned wolf.

Then at around the age of ten, my identity shifted to a glitch Pokemon. What at least contributed to it was developing a special interest in Glitch Pokemon around this time. This combined with our natural hyper-empathy and perhaps being conceptum to subconsciously alter my identity over time.

These interpretations can cause me to be out of place. While I still love glitch Pokemon and I am fascinated by them, I rarely find anyone who also has an intense interest and fascination while having this level of hyperempathy - even if I encounter others who have some alterhuman or even gender or sexuality connection to glitch Pokemon. Almost uncontrollably do I see glitch Pokemon as genuine Pokemon. I might grow attached to certain Pokemon in the way I would a pet.

The overall psychological influence means that this identity comes down to personal interpretations and personification. I'm not a natural animal and you cannot read about me in a textbook or find any bits of lore within the games, but rather, I am an animal that came from the mind of a mentally ill person.

MissingNo the animal

What defines "animal" varies. Humans are biologically animals and primates, but not all humans identify with those terms, with some taking offense to it. To someone with hyperempathy, a stuffed animal may be as much of an animal as a living one, or even a car might be a type of animal to certain minds. This connection is what makes me feel a MissingNo can be a type of animal.

Additionally, Pokemon are their world's equivalent of animals, and this is how most of my system views Pokemon due to one of our deepest parallel life connections being a humanlike Mewtwo. This sentiment is also one I've seen many Poketherians have. In the world of our origin, we are animals. For another essay on a similar experience, I'd highly recommend "The Fire Burns Bright" by Jasper, an Alolan Marrowak therian.

Within the contexts of the games and many interpretations - including my own - MissingNo is also a bird. It is one of few Pokemon which use this glitch beta typing. Being a bird can be equally as much a part of it and I'd consider birds as a paralleltype and one where I may confidently call myself a bird. Albeit a very odd bird.

The wolf and animal bias in my core

In addition to the bird of the MissingNo, the manned wolf at my heart is still important to my identity. It's in between otherhearted and therian on a sliding scale, and I identify it more as manned wolf-hearted for convenience, but it's closer to "kinth". I don't know why I am or was a manned wolf, but it doesn't quite matter to me either way. What matters is that there is the manned wolf.

To me it feels as if despite my core being or "soul", my mind became a MissingNo while the core remained the same. To my soul, a MissingNo is a type of dog. Then, to my mind, a manned wolf is a type of Pokemon. Both of these identities came about and exist in harmony rather than opposition.

Another comparison that the heart and soul makes is being "feral". Glitch entities in video games to me are almost like an animal which can't be domesticated. They may act fine, but every so often you'll encounter something that reminds you that at their core, they're wild. MissingNo still scrambles sprites and Hall of Fame data - and you can't have a "normal" experience with it. MissingNo is to Pokemon as a wolf is to a dog.

The instincts that made me tear apart playsets when playing house pretending to be a dog are still present in the instincts that make me want to tear apart meat when I eat it.

The Experience of a MissingNo Animal

I fit into many traditional therianthropy experiences and unto a hybrid canine/avian experience - just perhaps with more twists towards the bizarre.

I am a contherian when it comes to mental shifting and almost always feeling like an animal. However, I do experience phantom shifts. I get the sensations of skeletal fangs, claws, and a body that's far heavier and taller than my tiny, human form. Though the bizarre comes when during these shifts, I don't feel like I have skin and much of my body feels transparent, I feel like I should be able to stick my hand through my lower jaw.

I feel the sense of freedom and flight when I ride a bike downhill. For a few minutes when I bike, I can imagine myself flying. I sit in rivers and ponds among the wading birds feeling like I belong. I treat the chicks and chickens we raise like a part of my flock.

I still want to hunt. Sometimes I need to fight my instincts to recognize chicks as flockmates and not food. I like to eat wildly and I like to taste blood and fat in my food. When I eat, I feel like like the blood should dribble through my skinless jaw bone. Skeletal claws should be typing this essay instead of fleshy human fingers.

Conclusion

I am an animal, and despite doubts, I am a therian.

This label fits my experiences better than the alternatives. I don't feel as much alienation or out of place compared to other communities even though my species isn't an "animal" in the traditional sense. Hyperempathy has created this experience for me in that I feel more comfortable saying I am an animal than I am from fiction.

My center being is animal and always has been, it's just how its presented through my life has shifted. The animal instincts have only developed as my species has.

It is my hope that more unusual therians might come forth and be encouraged to examine their experiences - and for both earthen therians and potential theriomythics or fictotherians to explore what exactly "animal" means to them. I want others to also examine where their mind's biases may lead them, how that can impact their identity, and use it to feel more at peace in what the heart wants.