Crinoid Plate Fossil 450-600 Million Years Old

Antique Pressed Botanicals, Grouping of (24) many more still available. The pressed botanical are roughly 125-Years Old and were found in an old French Monastery School that opened i...

Antique Italian Lantern Hand-Carved over 250-Years Ago and remarkably does not appear to have ever been restored, only electrified a very long time ago. We had this Antique hand-carv...

Antique French Louis XVI Commode restored with an Ebonized Finish over 200-years-old. Our French Louis XVI Ebonized Commode was hand-sanded to the bare wood and given an old Ebonized...

Classic Antique French Louis XIII Armoire or Cupboard over 300- years old and remarkably still intact and functions as intended. In collecting and purchasing Louis XIII furniture for...

This is the well preserved and fully intact fossilized femur of a Dryosaurus altus, found in Emery County, Utah within the famous fossil-rich Morrison Formation spanning much of the ...

This beautifully preserved Crinoid fossil showcases intricate arm structures radiating from a compact calyx, all naturally embedded in sandstone matrix. With distinct detail and orga...

This outstanding fossilised skeleton is that of the ancestral crocodile species Steneosaurus bollensis that lived during the early Jurassic period. The skeleton, complete with armoured plates, has been exquisitely preserved and recovered from the Holzmaden Oil Shale of south Germany. The crocodile was once buried in fine, muddy sediment 195 million years ago at the bottom of the Tethys Ocean, which once existed between Europe and Africa. The calm, deep water provided a rare anoxic (without oxygen) environment, which prevented the skeleton from any significant decomposition before burial. The mud has since been compressed into oil shale, leaving the immense skeleton completely in-tact. This specimen is one of the few skeletons of Steneosaurus bollensis ever to be discovered. We can deduce much about the life of this reptile from the size and perfect preservation of the piece. Similar to present-day crocodiles, we can see that the two front limbs of the Steneosaurus are much shorter than the back two. This indicates that crocodile ancestors were bipedal; indeed, we believe that crocodiles evolved from the same reptile species as the dinosaurs and airborne pterosaurs. Dinosaurs ruled the lands during the late Triassic and early Jurassic. This made terrestrial life increasingly difficult for ancestral crocodiles, as there were many predators and prey was scarce. However, the seas were rich in fish, shellfish, starfish, crabs, squid… You can even see fossil belemnite guards (bullet shells of squid-like organisms) and the beautiful spiral shells of ammonites preserved around the crocodile skeleton...

This unique fossil piece of scallops (also called Saint Jacques shells, or scientifically : gigantopecten restitutensis) is from around 20 millions years ago. It was found in the sou...