Fossil Collection (page 16)

Fossil Crinoid
Watercolour of a fossil crinoid by Sarah Stone (c. 1760-1844) from the collection of Sir Ashton Lever

Extinct jawless fossil fish. Specimen from the Natural History Museum, London

Megapezia footprints
Shown here are the fossilized footprints thought to have been made c. 340m yrs ago by Megapezia. Specimen originates from Yorkshire, England

Homo sapiens (Singa 1) cranium endocast
An endocast of a heavily mineralized cranium once belonging to that of Homo sapiens who lived about 130, 000 years ago. This specimen was discovered in Singa, Sudan by W.R.G. Bond in 1924

Mesohippus

Lower cheek teeth of fossil horse
Shown here are the lower cheek teeth of the extinxt horse, Equus. Equus was a high-crowned grazing species and lived about 200, 000 years ago

Calymene, trilobite
This specimen dates from the Middle Silurian, Worcestershire. Trilobites are among the earliest fossils known and ranged from the Lower Cambrian (540 million years ago)

Populus latior
A fossilized leaf (11 cms wide) of Populus latior, once a large flowering tree which shed many leaves during its life span

Nilssonia kendalli, frond of a cycad
A preserved frond of the cycad Nilssonia kendalli, from Yorkshire, England

Cryptoclidus
A fossil skeleton of Cryptoclidus, a plesiosaur that lived 165 to 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period. Fossils have beeen found in England, France, Russia and South America

Edmontosaurus skin
A specimen of fossilized skin that once belonged to the dinosaur, Edmontosaurus, a member of the Hadrosaur family. It was discovered in Wyoming, USA and dates back to around 67 million years ago

Tuojiangosaurus
A skeleton of the dinosaur Tuojiangosaurus on display in the Natural History Museum. This dinosaur lived around 157 to 154 million years ago and its fossils have been discovered in China

Aviculopecten planoradiatus, bivalve
Fossilised relics of this fan-shaped bivalve. Bivalves are shelled creatures and first appeared in the middle Cambrian, some 520 million years ago, they are still common in todays oceans

Coccoderma suevicum, fossil coelacanth
This fossil coelacanth originates from the Lithographic Limestone, Bavaria and is 150 million years old. Prepared by acid transfer. Polygonal block is glass fibre not original rock

Pholiodophorus bechei, fossil fish
A bony fish specimen preserved in the Jurassic rocks near Lyme Regis, Dorset

Iguanodon atherfieldensis
This is one of the most complete skeletons of an Iguanodon discovered in the British Isles. It was collected by R.W. Hardy in 1917 in the shales on the Isle of Wight

Fossilised Eocene crab
Unidentified fossilised specimen of an Eocene crab found in Southern England, France and the USA. This specimen is 58 million years old

Rana species, fossil frog
Specimen originates from soft Miocene shale from Spain. Skeletal anatomy preserved in its entirety with an outline of the soft parts clearly visible. This specimen measures 12 cms long

Crinoidal limestone

Edmontosaurus regalis skeleton
Fossil skeleton of Edmontosaurus regalis in its death position still half buried in sandstone rock. Dates back to the Upper Cretaceous perido, about 71 million years old. Discovered in Alberta, Canada

Jaw of Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, the narrow-nosed rhinocer
Lower jaw of a narrow-nosed rhinoceros, Stephanorhinus hemitoechus dating back to the Pleistocene, 1.8 million years to 10, 000 years ago. This specimen was unearthed in Ilford, Essex, England

Petrified conifer trunk
Containing precious opal, width approx. 10 cm, discovered at White Cliffs, New South Wales, Australia. Dates back to the Late Cretaceous period

Proceratosaurus fossil skull
A fossil skull that belonged to Proceratosaurus, a carnivorous, dinosaur from the suborder of Theropods that lived during the Middle Jurassic period around 169 - 164 mya

Psaronius, tree fern
Polished section through the trunk of the tree fern Psaronius, width approximately 15 cm, from Chemnitz, Garmany, dating back to the Permian period, 250 - 299 million years ago

Mesosaurus tenuidens fossil
Anterior portion of skeleton of the extinct reptile, Mesosaurus tenuidens gervais from the Karoo Formation, Griqualand West, South Africa. Cast of the type specimen

Pemmatites, lithistid sponge
This sponge originates from the Permian rocks of the Artic island of Spitzbergen

Pseudocrinites magnificus, cystoid
This specimen is a rare fossil Cystoid. They belonged to the echinoderms and diversified greatly in the Silurian, but became extinct by the Permian

Ankylosaur skin nodule
This nodule would have been attached to the dinosaurs back by its flat base with the broad ridge providing protection. The Ankylosaurs were a family of dinosaurs characterised by thick bony plated

Leonaspis coronata, trilobite
One of the smaller trilobites growing to a maximum length of 2cm. The spines have been well-preserved in this specimen

Polacanthus skin impression
Knobbly skin impression from the armoured dinosaur, Polacanthus. This dinosaur lived around 125 million years ago during the Lower Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in the Isle of Wight, UK

Iridomyrmex geinitzi, ants in amber
This specimen is Baltic amber with ants trapped and preserved inside. Ants frequently got caught in the pine resins that were destined to become amber

Paranthropus boisei (based on OH5)
Illustration by Maurice Wilson of a three-quarter view of Paranthropus boisei, a robust australopithecus which lived in Southern and Eastern Africa

Heterodontosaurus skull
The skull of a Heterodontosaurus dinosaur that lived around 105 million years ago. It was discovered in South Africa and measures 10 cms in length. The total body lengh would have been 90 cms

Lycoptera, bony fish fossil
Fossil of a bony fish found in jurassic China, 206-142 million years ago

Calamites sp. cast of trunk
Natural cast of trunk interior of Calamites sp. Approximately 40 cm in length. Curvature indicates that this specimen comes from near the base of the tree. Dates back to the late carboniferous period

Cheirolepis, fossil fish
A fossil fish from the Old Red Sandstone with minute square scales and a single dorsal fin

Marskea jurassica, conifer
A Middle Jurassic conifer shoot on a fallen block from the cliffs near Whitby, North Yorkshire

Collecting fossils on a field trip to Compton Bay on the Isle of Wight

Onychiopis mantelli, fossil fern
This fossil fern originates from Sussex, England

Kosmoceras acutistriatum, ammonite
This Jurassic ammonite from Wiltshire, England occurs in a fine-grained shale, but has been severely flattened. However, the original lustre of the shell has been retained

Palaeontologist at work
A palaeontologist unearths a fossil specimen using a geologists hammer

Cyclophthalmus senior, insect
A scorpion-like terrestrial insect dating from the Carboniferous to the present

Archaeopteris hibernica, fossilised tree
A fossilised early tree (Archaeopteris hibernica) from the Upper Devonian, first thought to have been a fern frond. The lower section of the branch bears looses cones. Specimen from Kilkenny, Ireland

The Palaeontology Wing at The Natural History Museum, London
The Palaeontology wing extending to the east of the main Museum frontage, was opened in May 1977 it provides 10, 000 square meters of floor area over seven floors for the study

Jet ornament is similar to amber in texture and to coal in appearance. Jet is fossilised timber of a variety of Araucaria - similar to todays monkey puzzle trees

Sauropod skin impression
Dinosaurs belonging to the suborder of Sauropods (Sauropoda) like diplodocus had a relatively smooth skin covered in scales of different sizes

Dizgocrinus mon, fossil crinoid
This fossil crinoid or sea-lily originates from the limestones of Keokuk, Lowa, USA

Neuropteris, seed fern
Shown here is the Carboniferous seed fern plant, Neuropteris

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