formation

Cast of a Scaphognathus crassirostris, a kind of pterosaur. On display as part of the exhibit "Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs" at the Cleveland Natural History Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. This animal lived about 150 million years ago. This fossil was found in the Solnhofen formation in Germany. This is a cast; the fossil itself is held by the Institute of Geology and Paleontology at the University of Bonn.

"Daspletosaurus torosus" skeleton cast, reconstructed and mounted by Triebold Paleontology based on a nearly complete specimen from Montana's Judith River Formation

Jian is a microraptorine dromaeosaur, and the only non-avian dinosaur so far discovered from the Xiagou Formation of what is now China. Typical of microraptorinae, Jian had long pennaceous feathers growing from its arms as well as its legs, and was small in size, growing to approximately 1 m in total body length.

Material of the dinosaur Bahariasaurus ingens (1-4, 7-18, 24-26) and indeterminate theropods (5-6, 19-23) from the Bahariya Formation of Egypt.

Comparison of cranial features between closely related southern Laramidian taxa; (A), Akainacephalus johnsoni (UMNH VP 20202) from the Late Cretaceous Kaiparowits Formation of Utah; and (B), Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis (SMP VP-900) from the Late Cretaceous Kirtland Formation of New Mexico, in left lateral views. Various synapomorphies are shared with N. kirtlandensis (highlighted in black and white arrows) and includes “flaring nostrils”; enlarged, laterally projecting, loreal osteoderms that are situated directly dorsal to the external nares. Other synapomorphies include pyramid-shaped nasal and frontal osteoderms positioned on the dorsal regions of the skull. A number of significant differences have been observed between both specimens; in A. johnsoni, the anterior, and posterior supraorbital bosses form an enlarged element that is somewhat backswept, whereas in N. kirtlandensis, the posterior and anterior supraorbital bosses are clearly defined as individual osteoderms, and are much smaller in size. Additionally, the squamosal horn in Akainacephalus is very small but is prominent and tetrahedrally shaped in Nodocephalosaurus. The quadratojugal horn in Akainacephalus is massive, has a subtriangular morphology in lateral view and projects almost entirely ventral, whereas in Nodocephalosaurus, the quadratojugal horn is smaller and has a typical fin-shaped morphology. Study sites: asob, anterior supraorbital boss; ext naris, external naris; laca, lacrimal caputegulum; loca, loreal caputegulum; naca, nasal caputegulae; orb, orbit; psob, posterior supraorbital boss; qjh, quadratojugal horn; sqh, squamosal horn.

Digital illustration of the Sauropod Dinosaur Isisaurus colberti from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of India (72.2-66 MYA). References include Jain & Bandyopadhyay (1997), several papers from Wilson et al. and skeletal reconstruction by Scott Hartman. Illustrated by Ansh Saxena. About Isisaurus– Isisaurus colberti (=Titanosaurus colberti) was a species of Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) age in the Indian Subcontinent. Isisaurus lived sympatrically with another Titanosaurian Sauropod Jainosaurus. It also lived alongside Theropods like Rajasaurus, Rahiolisaurus, Indosuchus etc. Remains of Isisaurus come from the Lameta formation of Central India.

Locality map and section diagram of Phu Noi Locality. The map of Thailand (a); The location of Phu Noi Locality and the distribution of Phu Kradung Formation, the northeastern region with the outline of Kalasin Province (edit by Kantanat Trakulveerayut) (b); the diagrammatic section of Phu Noi (applied from Chowchuvech et al.31) (c).

Chert & phosphorite in the Permian of Wyoming, USA. The Permian-aged Phosphoria Formation has a significant component of phosphorite, a scarce, phosphate-rich sedimentary rock. This material is mined in southern Idaho as a source of phosphorus for the fertilizer industry, the fireworks industry, and other uses. Phosphorites are generally considered to have >15-20% phosphate content. Texturally, phosphorites can be obviously granular, with fossil fragments or oolites or peloids or lithic fragments, or they can be composed of extremely fine-grained, phosphate-rich mud. Compositionally, the phosphate component in phosphorites is principally a mix of apatite minerals: chlorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3Cl), fluorapatite (Ca5(PO4)3F), hydroxyapatite (Ca5(PO4)3OH)), and carbonate fluorapatite (Ca10(PO4,CO3)6F2-3). Phosphorites are generally marine sedimentary rocks. They range in age from Precambrian to Holocene. In modern oceans, they tend to occur along the eastern margins of some ocean basins where deep-water upwelling occurs under areas of high biologic productivity. Stratigraphy: Rex Chert Member over Meade Peak Member, Phosphoria Formation, Roadian Stage to Wordian Stage, lower Guadalupian Series, mid-Permian Locality: roadcut on the northern side of Route 26/Route 89 at the town of Astoria Hot Springs, Snake River Canyon, southern Teton County, northwestern Wyoming, USA

Rebun Island lies in the Sea of Japan off the northwestern tip of Hokkaido and is part of the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park. Momoiwa ("Peach Rock") was created in a relatively new era of Rebun Island's strata when underground magma pushed the earth's surface upward where it cooled into a huge spherical rock formation. Spheroidal joints (plate-shaped joints on the surface) peeled away like the skin of an onion, revealing the scree, which cooled at a slower rate than the surface, creating the columnar jointing that can be seen.

“Golden spike” at the GSSP of the Selandian stage (lower Upper Paleocene) at Zumaia section, Spanish Basque Country. The spike sits on the top plane of the uppermost limestone bed of the Aitzgorri Limestone Formation which is identical to the basal plane of the overlying red marls of the lowest part of the Itzurun Formation (right-hand outside the picture).[1]

Information sign for the GSSP of the Seelandian stage (lower Upper Paleocene) at Zumaia section, Spanish Basque Country. The sign is mounted near the “golden spike” on the top plane of the uppermost limestone bed of the Aitzgorri Limestone Formation which is identical to the basal plane of the overlying red marls of the lowest part of the Itzurun Formation (right-hand outside the picture).[1]

The productive layer of the Estonian oil shale deposit as seen in the Põhja-Kiviõli II opencast mine. The productive layer is made up of oil shale layers A through F1 together with the limestone layers in between. However, in some cases, layers F2, G and H (visible in the image, but not labeled) are also mined. The oil shale beds are marked on the image with capital letters, limestone layers are labeled with a combination of two capital letters, indicating at their location within the productive layer. Dashed lines indicate layer boundaries, which are harder to distinguish and are thus approximations. Stratigraphy: the productive layer of the Estonian oil shale deposit is part of the Kiviõli Member of the Viivikonna Formation. The formation belongs to Upper-Ordovician Kukruse Regional Stage (global Sandbian Stage). (Source reference: Heikki Bauert and Olle Hints "XI Baltic Stratigraphical Conference. Abstracts and Field Guide", Stop 4: Põhja-Kiviõli II open-pit mine, page 85, figure 4.4).

Shetwemys, Plastral remains of the podocnemidid turtle S. fajumensis (Erymnochelyini). (a–b) NHMUK R3435, anterior plastral lobe, in ventral (a) and dorsal (b) views. (c–d) NHMUK R8441, plaster cast of the specimen CGM C8509, anterior plastral lobe, in ventral (c) and dorsal (d) views. (e–f) AMNH 5093, articulated epiplastra and entoplastron, in ventral (e) and dorsal (f) views. (g–h) SMNS 11233/6, anterior plastral lobe, in ventral (g) and dorsal (h) views. (i–j) NHMUK R3103, partial anterior plastral lobe, in ventral (i) and dorsal (j) views. (k–l) SMNS 11233/5, right hypoplastron, in ventral (k) and dorsal (l) views. (m–n) SMNS 11233/3, articulated left hypoplastron and xiphiplastron, in dorsal (m) and ventral (n) views, and detail of the outer ornamental pattern (o). Gebel Quatrani Formation, Fayum depression, Egypt, Lower Oligocene (Rupelian)

Shetwemys, Shell remains of the podocnemidid turtle S. fajumensis (Erymnochelyini). (a–c) SMNS 11233/2, partial carapace, in dorsal (a), ventral (b), and left lateral (c) views. (d) Ventral view of the anterior lobe the holotype of the species, currently lost, based on the fig. 2C in plate 8 of Andrews (1903). (e–g) SMNS 12647, plastron, in ventral (e), dorsal (f), and left lateral (g) views. (g’) corresponds to an enlarged photograph of the posterior plastral lobe, in left lateral view, in which the thickness in the regions close to the hypo-xiphiplastral suture (in blue), between the pelvic scars (in green), and at the level of the anal notch (in red), have been represented by arrows (h–i), SMNS 12646, plastron, in ventral (h) and dorsal (i) views. Gebel Quatrani Formation, Fayum depression, Egypt, Lower Oligocene (Rupelian)

Shetwemys, Shell remains of the podocnemidid turtle S. fajumensis (Erymnochelyini). (a–f) AMNH 5087, carapace and partial plastron, in dorsal (a), ventral (b), anterior (c), posterior (d), left lateral (e), and right lateral (f) views. (g–h) SMNS 11233/1, partial carapace, in dorsal (g) and ventral (h) views. Gebel Quatrani Formation, Fayum depression, Egypt, Lower Oligocene (Rupelian)

Close up of the Eulithomyrmex rugosus holotype head. Museum of Comparative Zoology specimen UCM17019. Priabonian; Florissant Formation, Colorado, USA