Mystery Fossil Archives#1–9 | #10–18 | #19–27 | #28–36 | #37–45 | #46–54
Click on the image for a closer look at each Mystery Fossil. Can you guess
them all correctly? |
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#37—November, 2003 |
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Is it an ammonite? Graptolites? Nope. Click on the image and look more closely. It may not be so clear in this particular fossil but those coarse serrations are teeth! But what sort of creature could have had such a bizarre jaw? |
#38—December, 2003 |
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If you didn’t know these were fossils, what would you say they looked like? Click on the image for a closer look. Your guess may not be as nutty as you think. |
#39—January, 2004 |
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On first glance, this month’s Mystery Fossil might seem tough, but trust me, you know what this is (click the image for a close-up). Here are a couple tips: (1) this is only a portion of the complete organism and (2) try looking at the image upside-down. |
#40—February, 2004 |
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This fossil is fairly common in rocks dating from the Silurian to the Pennsylvanian and can be found in many states across the country. Each “tube” you see housed an individual organism (oh, what a giveaway!). |
#41—March, 2004 |
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A pine cone? A segmented worm perhaps? Nope. This is a member of a group of marine organisms that existed for a “brief” (about 15 million years) period in the Early Cambrian. |
#42—June, 2004 |
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If you’re thinking that this is a turtle skull, think again. This critter represents a group of animals that was very successful during the Permian but was gone by the end of the Triassic. Note the short tusk protruding from the upper jaw... |
#43—July, 2004 |
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Is it a component of someone’s Chex Party Mix? Unlikely, as that scale bar is only a tenth of a millimeter wide! This particular organism is from Miocene marine sediments in southern California. Any ideas on what it is? |
#44—August–September, 2004 |
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This fossil organism looks very much like its modern descendants, which is somewhat surprising, as it comes from rocks about 540 million years old! The living “versions” of this organism are not found in North America, Europe, or Asia so many people may not be familiar with them. This is a tough one but can you guess what kind of organism this is? |
#45—October, 2004 |
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This fossil organism may not exhibit exceptional preservation, but then we don’t want the Mystery Fossil to be too easy, now do we. Click on the image for a better look. If you can name this organism, you are a true expert! |
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#1–9 | #10–18 | #19–27 | #28–36 | #37–45 | #46–54 Home | What's new | About UCMP | History of life | Collections | Other resources |
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