The seabed from 240 million years ago. Visible is a nothosaurid tooth and a fragment of a gastralium.

SilesianTriassic

Tag: Gogolin Formation

  • Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, vertebra centrum, 14/LMK

    Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, vertebra centrum, 14/LMK

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    Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus Middle Triassic, Lower Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland An example of a Sauropterygian vertebra centrum (likely Nothosaurus sp.). This is a well-preserved, large specimen (for this region). The first photo shows the vertebra in lateral view. A nutrient foramen (vascular opening) through which blood vessels entered the bone is visible upon closer…

  • Palaeobates angustissimus, tooth, 13/LMK

    Palaeobates angustissimus, tooth, 13/LMK

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    Palaeobates angustissimus Middle Triassic, Lower Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland A tooth from another common shark from the Middle Triassic – Palaeobates angustissimus. These teeth measure usually no more than a few millimeters. This specimen is one of the largest in my collection. Palaeobates is another durophagous shark with dentition adapted for crushing hard prey.…

  • Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, rib, 12/LMK

    Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, rib, 12/LMK

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    Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, rib Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland A rib fragment from a marine reptile from the Sauropterygian group. It very likely belongs to Nothosaurus. Ribs are a common find in Silesian Muschelkalk deposits; complete finds are a completely different story. In this case, I was lucky – it…

  • Acrodus sp. lateral tooth, 11/LMK

    Acrodus sp. lateral tooth, 11/LMK

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    Acrodus sp. Middle Triassic, Lower Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland A beautiful specimen of a shark tooth from the genus Acrodus, with its crown and root preserved. The dentition of these durophagous sharks was heterodont—meaning the teeth varied in shape depending on their position in the jaw. This specimen is an example of a lateral…

  • Ptychoceratodus cf. madelungi tooth plate 9/LMK

    Ptychoceratodus cf. madelungi tooth plate 9/LMK

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    Ptychoceratodus sp. cf madelungi (Ceratodus sp. cf. madelungi) Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (anisian), Upper Silesia, Poland An extremely rare specimen from the Lower Muschelkalk. A dental plate of a lungfish (Dipnoi). Ptychoeratodus is an extinct genus of lungfish that occurred from the Early Triassic to the Late Cretacerous. The fossil record usualy preserves dental plates…

  • Sauropterygia indet., femur 8/LMK

    Sauropterygia indet., femur 8/LMK

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    Sauropterygia indet. Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland An isolated femur of Sauropterygia indet. The damaged (eroded) epiphysis reveals a spongy bone structure in this area (the shaft, in turn, is unusually dense). Those are characteristic features of Sauropterygia long bones. The specimen lacks features that would allow for a more…

  • Sauropterygia indet. cf. Nothosaurus vertebra centrum 7/LMK

    Sauropterygia indet. cf. Nothosaurus vertebra centrum 7/LMK

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    Sauropterygia indet. cf. Nothosaurus vertebra centrum Middle Triassic (Anisian), Lower Muschelkalk, Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland I must admit, this is one of the best prep of a Sauropterygian vertebra centrum I’ve ever made. Finally, the center “popped” out of the matrix without damage. I glued it in place with Palaroid B72. This allows it…

  • Acrodus sp. tooth 6/LMK

    Acrodus sp. tooth 6/LMK

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    Acrodus sp. Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Lower Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland The photo shows a complete tooth (crown with root) from a Triassic shark of the genus Acrodus. At first glance, the specimen shows signs of damage. But in my opinion, that’s what’s most interesting about it! These aren’t traces of modern erosion.…

  • Pachypleurosauridae indet. vertebra 5/LMK

    Pachypleurosauridae indet. vertebra 5/LMK

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    Pachypleurosauridae indet. Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland The vast majority of fossil vertebrate specimens in the Silesian Muschelkalk are single, isolated bones. As for the vertebrae themselves, I most often encounter vertebral centra, sometimes neural arches. Complete vertebrae, however, are truly rare – almost always separated into two parts. The…

  • Pachypleurosauridae indet. disarticulated elements 4/LMK

    Pachypleurosauridae indet. disarticulated elements 4/LMK

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    Sauropterygia ?Pachypleurosauridae indet. Disarticulated elements (tooth, neural arch, vertebral centrum) Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland Here, you can see three specimens in one. The rock fragment contains disarticulated parts of the skeleton of a small Sauropterygian – a tooth, a vertebra centrum, and a neural arch. Given their age and…