Labels for fossils

[Kane]

3 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

I don´t think that there is something incumbent in that way . Its mostly a nightmare. Some species have changed genus for up to 9 times:

 

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/86206-maximum-number-of-genera-for-a-species/&tab=comments#comment-931346

 

A friend and I are calling this "Playing chess with extinct species".

 

There is also a school that does not "believe" in genera, only in species. But this opens a can of worms, of course .

 

Franz Bernhard

It can be somewhat dizzying to see all those name changes when reading a formal description. But it provides a nice, chronologically layered history of study regarding the genus or species. For me, it helps anchor the context, so if I am reading a paper from 1915 that references Dalmanites anchiops, I know the reference is to Anchiopsis anchiops. This is just a quick illustrative example from Stumm 1954: 

 

 

[erose]

I often have to talk newbies down from the trees....  

 

They get so excited when they hear us old-timers rattling off species names as if we know them all by heart and never have any doubts.  The truth is that in my collection only maybe a quarter of my specimens are identified to species level with true confidence. A portion have question marks next to them and most just have the genus.  AND probably 20-25% are unidentified.  If I absolutely needed to know every species I have collected I wouldn't have the time to do all the research needed.  Be happy with knowing the genus if you can.

 

Also, don't get totally hung up on having all your genera up to date.  I still have some percentage of my Vinlandostrophia ponderosa specimens labeled as Platystrophia ponderosa.  Both are exactly the same species.  

 

As mentioned it is good to have the original author of the species and year attached as well.  Vinlandostrophia ponderosa (Foerste, 1909). I also always include in my catalog entry a field for "Identification Reference". It is where I take note of what book, paper or website I used to make the identification.  So for the species above I have Zuykov & Harper, 2007, in that field. I have all my references listed in another database so I can easily dig up the original if I need to go back and re-evaluate an identification.  And I am always getting better refernces.

 

 

 

[Jurassicz1]

Thanks for all the answers 

[Jurassicz1]

On 10/27/2021 at 3:04 PM, Troodon said:

Abelisaurid indet.

Age: Cenomanian-Turonian

Formation: Kem Kem Group

Location: Kem Kem Beds, Morocco

Is it not only Cenomanian? And if it is Cenomanian-Turonian. The two specifc beds Aoufous and Ifezouane of the Kem Kem Beds are they the same age? Is there an age difference? Are there more beds in Kem kem?

[Troodon]

1 hour ago, Jurassicz said:

Is it not only Cenomanian? And if it is Cenomanian-Turonian. The two specifc beds Aoufous and Ifezouane of the Kem Kem Beds are they the same age? Is there an age difference? Are there more beds in Kem kem?

Depends if you use the Akrabou Fm.  this is the latest from Nizar Ibrahim et al. / ZooKeys 928: 1–216 (2020) who is identifying the deposits as the Kem Kem Group

 

[erose]

On 11/12/2021 at 10:26 AM, Jurassicz said:

Is it not only Cenomanian? And if it is Cenomanian-Turonian. The two specifc beds Aoufous and Ifezouane of the Kem Kem Beds are they the same age? Is there an age difference? Are there more beds in Kem kem?

Another example would be the vertebrate-rich lag deposit at the base of the Navesink Formation in New Jersey. It has been described as a consolidated lag deposit that spans the end of the Campanian and the earliest Maastrichtian stages. Units of lithostratigraphy  do not always line up neatly with units of chronostratigraphy.

[Jurassicz1]

On 11/12/2021 at 7:00 PM, Troodon said:

Depends if you use the Akrabou Fm.  this is the latest from Nizar Ibrahim et al. / ZooKeys 928: 1–216 (2020) who is identifying the deposits as the Kem Kem Group

 

Alright thanks! And one last question when I write the common name as example crow shark. Is it correct to do Crow shark or Crow Shark? Or Bony fish tooth plate or Bony Fish Tooth Plate?

[Troodon]

45 minutes ago, Jurassicz said:

Alright thanks! And one last question when I write the common name as example crow shark. Is it correct to do Crow shark or Crow Shark? Or Bony fish tooth plate or Bony Fish Tooth Plate?

Either works with common names.  Just try to keep your nomenclature format consistent.  I capitalize my descriptions.

 

[cngodles]

I will write an ID number on the fossil is there is an area that doesn’t mess with the fossil.

 

If I do a small info card, I do something handwritten like:

 

Metacoceras sp.

CG-XXXX

Brush Creek ls.  Oct 2021

 

I should print these, but I’ve lacked a printer. I’m 270 specimens deep today, so it’s getting rough to hand write them.

 

But, I only find fossils from 2 primary areas. If I ever add more locations, then I may get more specific. I also keep a database with more information for each ID number.

 

Cards I’ve seen at the Carnegie Museum usually had 3X more information on them.