Museum Fossils

 

These are some of our favorite fossils, based on some combination of scientific interest, rarity, photography, or simply their beauty. We try to select one each month to post on the home page, as well as achnowledge those who took the time to share them with science.

Mayomyzon pieckoensis Lamprey Pennsylvanian Mazon Creek Fossils from John Adamek	Enigmatic Hallucigenia Cambrian Spence Shale, Utah Fossils from John Adamek	Leanchoilia superlata Early Cambrian Burgess Shale, Stephen Formation, British Columbia Fossil from John Adamek	Marella splendens Early Cambrian Burgess Shale, Stephen Formation, British Columbia Fossil from John Adamek
Hesslerella shermani (oldest isopod in fossil record) Pennsylvanian Pit 11, Mazon Creek, Illinois Courtesy Bill Kephart	Protecticus ambulans Protorthopteran Insect Fossil Mazon Creek, Francis Creek Shale, Illinois Fossils from John Adamek	Luolishania longicruris Lower Cambrian Rarest Lobopodian of the Chengiang Biota Fossil from John Adamek	Triacrinus sp. Crinoid Death Assemblage Lower Devonian Bundenbach, Germany Fossils from John Adamek
Haikouella lanceolata Primitive Chordate with Xidazoon stephanus Phylum Vetulicolia (?) Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Biota Fossils from John Adamek	Pseudocidaris mammosa Echinoid Jurassic LaRochelle, France Courtesy Mary Lou Browning	Crustacean: Isopoda in Fossil Amber Pliocene to Pleistocene Colombia, South America Fossil Amber from John Adamek	Eoentantiornis buhleri Fossil Bird with Feathers Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation, Liaoning Province, China Courtesy Fan Qian
Urasterella verruculosa Brittlestar Lower Devonian Bundenbach, Germany Fossils from John Adamek	Phyllograptus archaios Graptolites Lower Ordovician Fillmore Formation, Utah Courtesy Robert Drachuk	Paratriakis curtirostris Fossil Shark Middle Cretaceous Lebanon Fish Fossils from John Adamek	Coccoderma Coelacanth Late Jurassic Solnhofen, Germany Fossil Coutesy Heiko Sonntag
Perchoerus Fossil Pecarry Oligocene White River Badlands, South Dakota Fossil Curtesy Steve Lancellotti	Caridosuctor populosum Coelacanth Mississippian Bear Gulch Lagerstätte Fossils from John Adamek	Paleoctopus newboldi Octopus Fossil Middle Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstatte Fossils from John Adamek	Paratriakis Fossil Shark in Shark Cretaceous Sublithographic limestone deposits in Lebanon Fish Fossils from John Adamek
Kuamaia lata Phylum Arthropoda Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Biota Fossils from John Adamek	Misszhouia longicaudata Phylum Arthropoda Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Biota Fossils from John Adamek	Palaeolagus Fossil Rabbits Oligocene White River Badlands, South Dakota Fossil Curtesy Steve Lancellotti	Rhinobatos hakelensis Guitarfish Fossil Middle Cretaceous Lebanese Lagerstatte Fossils from John Adamek
Sparnodus Bolca Fish Fossil Eocene Monte Bolca Quarry, Italy Fossil Coutesy Richie Kurkewicz	Mesolimulus walchi Horseshoe Crab Late Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone, Germany Fossils from John Adamek	Enigmatic Animal Cambrian Weeks Formation, Utah Courtesy Peter Watson	Rare Acanthopyge Devonian Trilobite Bois d' Arc Formation, Oklahoma Provided by Stonerelic
Burgessia bella Arthropoda Early Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, Canada Fossils from John Adamek	Eurypholis boissieri (viper fish) with two eaten fish Cretaceous Sublithographic limestone deposits in Lebanon Courtesy Michael Allen	Caridosuctor populosum Coelacanth Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone Fossils from John Adamek	Hippocampus ramulosus Fossil Seahorse Pliocene Marecchia River Formation, Italy Fossil from Fossil Mall
Waptia ovata Phylum Arthropoda Lower Cambrian Maotianshan Shales Fossils from John Adamek	Naraoia compacta Arthropoda Early Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, Canada Fossils from John Adamek	Cordulagomphus tuberculatus Dragonfly Fossil Cretaceous Crato Formation, Brazil Courtesy John Adamek	Canadaspis perfecta Arthropoda Early Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, Canada Fossils from John Adamek
Lepidasterella montanensis Starfish Fossil Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone Fossil from John Adamek	Discoserra pectinodon Paleozoic Fish Fossil Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone Fossil from John Adamek	Male Echinochimaera Paleozoic Fish Fossil Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone Fossil from John Adamek	Female Echinochimaera Paleozoic Fish Fossil Mississippian Bear Gulch Limestone Fossil from John Adamek