Fossil for Sale

Researchers in the Netherlands say they have confirmed a skull fragment dredged from the North Sea was that of a young adult male Neanderthal.

The 60,000-year-old Neanderthal is the first confirmed specimen to be found undersea anywhere in the world, the BBC reported Monday. The fossil was found by Luc Anthonis, a private collector from Belgium, among animal remains and stone artifacts recovered several miles off the coast of the Netherlands in 2001.

A chemical analysis revealed the humanoid probably was carnivorous, linking it to other Neanderthal specimens found, the British network said.

“Even with this rather limited fragment of skull, it is possible to securely identify this as Neanderthal,” said Jean-Jacques Hublin of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

Researchers note that sea levels are much higher now than they were during much of the past 500,000 years, meaning large swathes of the North Sea seabed were once dry land inhabited by many species of mammals.

About Neanderthal

The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus that is known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia.

Neanderthals are either classified as a subspecies of humans (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or as a separate species (Homo neanderthalensis).

The first proto-Neanderthal traits appeared in Europe as early as 600,000–350,000 years ago.

The youngest Neanderthal finds include Hyaena Den (UK), considered older than 30,000 years ago, while the Vindija (Croatia) Neanderthals have been re-dated to between 32,000 and 33,000 years ago.

Original News

About Neanderthal

Scientist has found a primate fossil from ancient time. This fossil calls Ida. This fossil is believed as missing link between our human race and animal kingdom evolution.

The 47m-year-old primate – named Ida – has been hailed as the fossil equivalent of a “Rosetta Stone” for understanding the critical early stages of primate evolution.

Ida will show us connection between human and animals like sheep, elephant, or cows. Above fossil picture will be in the textbooks for the next hundred years.

Ida was originally discovered by an amateur fossil hunter in the summer of 1983 at Messel pit, a world renowned fossil site near Darmstadt in Germany. He kept it under wraps for over 20 years before deciding to sell it via a German fossil dealer called Thomas Perner. It was Perner who approached Hurum two years ago.

Original News

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If there is anything that truly unites us to the past, it must be fossils.  They are a record of how life not only existed thousands and millions of years ago but there is a record of how that life was shaped and formed over those years.  Anyone interested in treasure hunting may have a particular interest in any type of antique or special find, but for some, there is no substituting the hunt for elusive fossil fish.  While you may assume that you need to travel to some far-off and exotic land and become a full-fledged Indiana Jones to find this type of treasure, in reality many have been able to come across these ancient fossils in whatever local area they live, including parts of the central United States, as well as in Germany, China, Italy, and other such areas.

To find fossil fish you of course need to get off the beaten path a bit.  Areas that are developed and suburbanized are probably not going to have many fossils readily found as the construction needed for a city or suburb is going to disturb the ground well below for the foundations of buildings.  Most of these ancient fossils are found in areas that are not quite civilized such as in deep caves and caverns or even the dessert.

For instance, the state of Wyoming has yielding some amazing finds recently when it comes to fossil fish.  Stingrays and mioplosus are common finds.  The Green River Formation in southwestern Wyoming seems to contain a treasure trove of these ancient fossils from many different geological times.  The city of Kemmerer welcomes fossil treasure hunters from around the world as they too search for their finds.  There are some three million acres of public lands at which you may do some digging, and of course when you get tired of treasure hunting there is a wealth of other activities available to you as well.  At Fossil Butte National Monument you can do some exploring on your own, or if you’re new to the hobby you can take a tour with a local ranger or guide.  Even children can get in on the action as they find and clean their own fossils and other treasures.

Some of the tools you will need are safety glasses, hammer, chisel and a crow bar.  The quarry area is littered with flat slabs or plates of sedentary rock that was formed on and ancient lake bed.  When the fish or plant life died they fell to the lake floor and were subsequently buried with mud and silt.  Pick up the slabs of rock and split them endwise to release the fossil treasures.

Some of the rarer fossil finds have commanded up to a quarter of a million dollars.  The fossil’s value is determined by its rarity of the specimen, the size, and the quality of the bone definition.  Wyoming is considered the fish fossil capital of the world.

Of course there really is no area of the world where you absolutely cannot find fossils.  Many have literally stumbled across very valuable finds when just out fishing or hiking or rock climbing.  While searching for fossil fish may be a bit difficult for those who are new to the activity, with the right guide and research manual you may find that this is a hobby that is well worth the pursuit.

Happy Treasure Hunting.

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David Cowley has created numerous articles on Treasure Hunting. He has also created a Web Site dedicated to Treasure Hunting. Visit Treasure Hunting

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How are fossils formed? For fossil formation to take place a series of fortunate events must occur. If any part of the series is missing, we will never see the fossil! In fact, fossilization is a rare occurrence. Nature tends toward recycling. That includes just about everything from plants and animals to rocks and minerals.

Let’s narrow it down to just animals for a minute. Animals, dead or alive, are food for other animals. From insects to dinosaurs, an animal could be someone’s lunch! Any part of the animal’s body that isn’t consumed is usually scattered about; leftovers! Just like those leftovers in your fridge, these leftovers make great food for bacteria. In addition, these leftovers are exposed to the elements: sun, rain, and even the soil itself all help to breakdown and decompose the sturdiest of bones, shells and wood.

If we are ever going to see a fossil, some very specialized events must intervene to ward off the natural process of decomposition. The following is the most common scenario for fossil formation:

How Are Fossils Formed? Death Is The First Step
To start with, an animal or plant must die in water or near enough to fall in shortly after death. The water insulates the remains from many of the elements that contribute to decomposition. An example may be helpful. Let’s say that a trilobite has died of old age on the bottom of the sea. Bacteria consume the soft body parts but leave the hard exoskeleton intact.

How are fossils formed? Step two is Sedimentation
As time passes, sediments bury the exoskeleton. The faster this happens the more likely fossilization will occur. Land and mudslides definitely help. River deltas are also good for quick accumulation of sediments. This further insulates our trilobite from decomposition.

The sediments themselves have a huge influence on how well our trilobite fossil turns out. Very fine-grained particles, like clays, allow more detail in the future fossil. Course sediments, like sand, allow less detail to show. The chemical make up of the sediments also contributes to the future fossil. If iron is present, it may give the rock a reddish color. Phosphates may darken the rock to gray or black. The possibilities are truly endless.

Permineralization
As the sediments continue to pile on, the lower layers become compacted by the weight of the layers on top. Over time, this pressure turns the sediments into rock. If mineral-rich water percolates down through the sediments, the fossilization process has an even better chance of preserving our ancient animal. Some of the minerals stick to the particles of sediment, effectively gluing them together into a solid mass. These minerals make an impact on our original trilobite as well. Over the course of millions of years, they dissolve away the outer shell, sometimes replacing the molecules of exoskeleton with molecules of calcite or other minerals. In time, the entire shell is replaced leaving rock in the exact shape of the trilobite.

Uplift
As the continental plates move around the earth, crashing into each other, mountains are formed. Former sea floors are lifted up and become dry land. This is exactly what has happened to our trilobite. Now a fully formed fossil, our trilobite is buried under hundreds or even thousands of feet of rock! Thanks to the movement of the plates, our trilobite will come closer to the surface and nearer to discovery by some fortunate fossil hunter. Luckily, nothing stays the same.

Erosion at work
Rain, wind, earthquakes, freeze and thaw all work toward erosion. The mountains that were built up are worn away over time. Our fossil trilobite once again sees the light of day! With a little wisdom about where to look and some luck, you may be the first one to find him!

This is the fossilization process known as Permineralization. It is not the only answer to the question: “How Are Fossils Formed?” There are many other ways that fossils can be formed. You can read about them using the links below.

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Claudia Mann is a teacher, and a contributor to http://www.fossils-facts-and-finds.com Claudia and her husband own http://www.fossilicious.com, a place to find great fossils at great prices.

Picture taken from wikipedia.

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Welcome to the enchanting world of fossils. Fossils help you to discover and know more about the species of creatures existed much before the existence of humans. Generally, fossils are the remains of creatures that existed thousands or even millions of years ago. Many of the fossils sound in different parts of the world range from thousands of years to millions of years in age. On the records, the first fossils date from around 600 million years ago. Moreover, there are also reports suggesting that the bacteria may have existed up to 3 billion years earlier. The most talked about fossils are of dinosaurs that have become extinct over 65 million years ago. But all this doesn’t mean that all former life was preserved as fossils. In fact there are a large number of species that simply vanished without trace. The most likely materials to survive the hard times of fossilisation are the hard parts such as shells or bones and objects that were constructed from resistant materials, such as Coral. In most of the cases where the softer materials have survived, it is considered that the conditions must be extremely favourable.

Fossils have been discovered in a variety of sizes, for instance, from very small traces to large skeletons. Fossils are clues to former life; they result from the activities or presence of creatures and plants. The topics of interest for many fossil excavators or researchers are the fossilized eggs.

Fossil eggs have come as answers to the many questions that were unanswered and were hunting the scientists. For instance, until very recently, scientists wondered if the reptiles that roamed freely in most of the terrains of the world, in the age of the dinosaurs laid eggs or gave birth to live young like mammals do. With the fossils found of dinosaur eggs, this question has found an answer and has let us have a new insight in the lives of such pre-historic creatures. Presently, the dinosaur egg fossils are not particularly rare have been known to be found from over 220 sites world-wide. Dinosaur eggs have been found in North America, France, Mongolia and China. It is thought that some of the species of dinosaur, like some living reptiles, buried their eggs in the ground. This has been seen as a possibility for the eggs to become fossilized.

Many research projects have been going on aiming to unearth the remains or egg fossils. For sure, the egg fossils give us a chance to learn more about the lost species. For some, finding the fossil eggs has been a passion and they have dedicated their lives for the task. Researchers have been successful in understanding closely the life of the prehistoric species from the remains of their eggs.

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Looking for more information on Fossil Eggs check out www.fossils-rocks-minerals.com your guide to Fossil Eggs.

Picture taken from here.