eBay

sonomabarn67 · ‎05-16-2020

I bought these 30 years ago and kept them. There was a box full, some large fish 18 inches which I sold. Any thoughts? I was reading about the discovery of the Wulong bohaiensis and said to myself "Hey, I've got one that sort of looks like that. About 9".

melda58 · ‎05-23-2020

@c*me*4*lefton*info wrote:
My initial advice remains unchanged. Take it (or photos of it) to a geology department and have the experts look at it.

Rather than a geologist, a paleontologist, such as Maxine's late husband, would be the expert to consult to identify the fossil itself.

Rita

sonomabarn67 · ‎05-23-2020

I went ahead and sent a letter to PBS and got a reply from someone named Barney who said he wasn't sure but it looked like it might be an uncle or great cousin.

c*me*4*lefton*info · ‎05-24-2020

Paleontology is a subset of Geology. A geology department can make the proper recommendations. I'm leaving it to the experts and trying not to let my own opinions bias this discussion or my advice. My initial advice remains the same - contact a geology department (which will likely know the local paleontology experts who may be interested).

argon38 · ‎05-24-2020

@c*me*4*lefton*info wrote:
My initial advice remains the same - contact a geology department

The thing is, aren't they closed?

c*me*4*lefton*info · ‎05-24-2020

Email is available and you can send pictures over the Internet. School classes may not be held but communications has not yet ground to a halt.

argon38 · ‎05-24-2020

I'm doubtful that responding to external requests from commercial dealers looking to have items identified is going to be a top priority for academic institutions at the moment.

c*me*4*lefton*info · ‎05-25-2020

You might be surprised then. But perhaps you have dealt with them more than I on geology concerns? Considering my past experience in such matters I would expect a reply in 24 hours or less. Educating whoever and whenever is the mission of my local such department.

I'm outta here after these comments. Take it or leave it, it does not matter to me.
1) The "death pose" (the downward bent neck) is indicative of this reptile ending its existence near water and/or in water.
2) Early marine reptile fossils (of this size) are practically unknown and very rare (if any are known to exist at all). Everhart wrote a very good book about marine reptiles, I would recommend purchasing it and reading it as I have done.
3) This does not appear to be an iguana relative due to its long neck, streamlined, and elongated snout. Iguana relatives are blunt snouted and ate plants (sea weed and other sea plants, kelp, algae, etc), some marine reptiles that later attained gargantuan size ate things such as megalodons. IF a marine creature a long neck suggests a fish eater.
4) The hind legs suggest they were used for propulsion in water.

But what do I know? Certainly not what an expert could tell you. Ta-ta.

argon38 · ‎05-26-2020

@c*me*4*lefton*info wrote:
You might be surprised then. But perhaps you have dealt with them more than I on geology concerns? Considering my past experience in such matters I would expect a reply in 24 hours or less. Educating whoever and whenever is the mission of my local such department.

In normal times, absolutely. I was simply pointing out that these are not normal times. People in academic institutions are facing other concerns, and it seems to me that it might be more considerate not to add to their workload right now. Of course if you have established personal contacts within a department, and you know they wouldn't be inconvenienced, that's another matter. I thought you were advising cold contact.

c*me*4*lefton*info · ‎05-26-2020

I am advising just such a thing.

argon38 · ‎05-26-2020

Then I think it 's not the best time. Why not wait a few months for things to (hopefully) settle down a bit? If an expert is interested enough to want to see it, it might be easier then. After all it has been sitting in a box for 30 years, so I'm not sure there's any urgency involved (unless there's a major fossil clearout currently underway in the Sonomabarn household).

carne.kay · ‎06-02-2020

I sent your post to a retired university geologist. He occasionally buys and sells on ebay. I hope he will be able to help.

argon38 · ‎06-02-2020

@carne.kay wrote:
I sent your post to a retired university geologist. He occasionally buys and sells on ebay. I hope he will be able to help.

That was a very thoughtful thing to do, and I hope it brings results. But just to avoid any confusion, the questioner with the fossil is sonomabarn67, not myself.

moonanchor · ‎06-02-2020

I think you have a Triassic fossil lizard, Keichousaurus hui, from China. These were very abundant a few years ago but I haven't seen many of them recently. They were apparently killed in a volcanic eruption 250million years ago.

sonomabarn67 · ‎06-02-2020

Thank you! So Maxine was right when she said lizard. I do have this one last set of the fish. Are these the same ID as the lizard? Entire block measures about 10" long. I'll be setting these (fish) into a custom bathroom mirror. Don't worry, no adhesives, I'll be using museum mounting techniques. I'll post a pic when done. Thanks again for your help.