Fossil Friday – softshell turtle

Turtles have a long and amazing fossil record, appearing around 260 million years ago, even before the earliest-known dinosaurs.

Fossil Friday – champsosaur vertebrae

Driven by a surge in volcanic activity and a devastating asteroid impact, the mass extinction 66 million years ago was one of the most cataclysmic events in Earth’s long history.

Fossil Friday -crocodilian teeth

Tyrannosaurs were not the only large reptilian predators prowling through North America in the Late Cretaceous Epoch. Crocodilians made rivers and lakes dangerous places to linger, even for small dinosaurs. Unlike today, with American alligators and crocodiles found only in the Southeast, during the Late Cretaceous crocodilians lived all over North America.

Fossil Friday – lizard vertebra

Although the name Dinosauria means “terrible lizards”, the dinosaurs are not lizards at all, but instead are their own separate group of reptiles (the “terrible” part depends on whom you ask). Even so, there were actual big lizards living alongside the dinosaurs during the Cretaceous Period.

Fossil Friday – crocodile jaw

A few months ago, WSC hired Dr. Andrew McDonald as our paleontology Curator. Going forward, Andrew and I are going to split responsibility for writing Fossil Friday posts. Today is Andrew’s first post. – ACD

Fossil Friday – whiptail jaw fragment

At many sites, screening sediment is among the most effective means of recovering fossils, particularly small bones. Fossils recovered through screening are actually the most common remains from Diamond Valley Lake, and are the source of most of our information about the small animal fauna.

Fossil Friday – horned lizard spike

One of the things I find most intriguing about the Pleistocene is how, in spite of the impressive megafauna, it was so similar to the modern world. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, as with many other Pleistocene sites the fauna at Diamond Valley Lake is in many ways a lot like what we see in southern California today.

Fossil Friday – fence lizard jaw

Lizards are a common site today across southern California, and that was true in the Pleistocene as well. Large numbers of lizard bones were recovered from Diamond Valley Lake sediments, including the one shown here.

Fossil Friday – collared lizard vertebra

From a geological standpoint the Ice Age was not very long ago. Almost all the plant and animal species around today are survivors of the extinction that took place at the end of the Pleistocene. In many Ice Age deposits, while extinct megafauna get the most attention, the most widespread fossils are from species that are still with us today.

Fossil Friday – colubrids snake vertebra

In recognition of World Snake Day (which was yesterday), for today’s Fossil Friday we have a Pleistocene snake from Diamond Valley Lake.