The upper Miocene-Pliocene Purisima Formation near Capitola, California, is well known among avid fossil collectors and popular with beachcombers. While this seaside shallow marine deposit contains rich assemblages of clams, snails and other invertebrates, fossil vertebrates such as whales, fishes, and birds are the most prized. Happily this is a case in which amateurs and scientists have often partnered to exchange fossils and report findings. Fossil hunters Frank Perry, Stan Jarocki, and Bobby Boessenecker recently donated several important fossils from the Purisima Formation to the UCMP: a five-million-year-old whale skull and two ear bones from dolphin-like marine mammals. Descriptions of these fossils were published in the journal Acta Paleontologica Polonica as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
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