Fish in the Santana Formation of Brazil

Fish remains of remarkable state of preservation and beauty have been found in calcareous concretions in the Santana Formation of north-east Brazil. The fossil-bearing concretions occur in the Araripe Basin at various localities at the boundary between Ceara, Pernambuco, and Piaui provinces. The strata containing the fish concretions lie at the base of the Araripe Plateau and are of Cretaceous age (Aptina-Albain, about 100 million years). At that time, Africa and South America were starting to rift apart and the South Atlantic was opening up in a narrow shallow sea. It is thought that salinity changes may have been responsible for the mass deaths of the marine fish fauna. The fish shown here has a length of 43 cm. Photos by P.Stacher.

Ardi sheds light on the origin of man.

A research team headed by Tim White discovered in 1992 the first Ardipithecus ramidus fossils from the Afar Depression in the Middle Awash river valley of Ethiopia. More fragments, including mainly teeth, were recovered in the following years allowing the composition of 45 percent of the total skeleton. The lines that evolved into modern humans and living apes probably shared an ancestor 6 million to 7 million years ago, in the Late Miocene. The fossils were dated as 4.4 million years of age based on its interval between the volcanic strata of the Gaala Tuff Complex and the Daam Aatu Basaltic Tuff. Studies under way indicate the species lived in the woodlands and could climb on all fours along tree branches, but the development of their arms and legs indicates they didn’t spend much time in the trees. And they could walk upright, on two legs, when on the ground. In its 2 October 2009 issue, Science presents 11 papers, authored by a diverse international team, describing the early hominid species, Ardipithecus ramidus, and its environment. These 4.4 million year old hominid fossils sit within a critical early part of human evolution, and cast new and sometimes surprising light on the evolution of human limbs and locomotion, the habitats occupied by early hominids, and the nature of our last common ancestor with chimps.

- Watch a movie by msnbc.msn.com

Literature:
- Understanding Human Origins. Light on the Origin of Man.
- World’s oldest human-linked skeleton found.
- Meet Ardipithecus Ramidus - Early Hominid Common Ancestor Was Neither Chimp Nor Human, Says Study.
- Ardipithecus ramidus - An ancestor of humans and apes?
- Ardipithecus ramidus. Hominidae species overview in Archaeologyinfo.
- Humanity Has a New 4.4 Million-Year-Old Baby Mama.

Plateosaur Discoveries.

During the Late Triassic (about 210 million years ago) large sauropodomorphs dominated terrestrial environments.
In Europe Plateosaurs were widespread as heavy, long-necked, long-tailed herbivores up to 8 meters long.
There is a complete skeleton of a plateosaurus on display in the dinosaurs museum at Frick in Switzerland. Dinosaurs were discovered at Frick in the 1980's and 1990's at the clay quarry Gruhalde in a formation called "Bunten Mergel" (varicolored marl). In Late Triassic times the area of todays northern Switzerland was a vast, desertlike lowland with a tropical climate. Frick is one of the most important places of plateosaurs discoveries in Europe. Source: Sauriermuseum Frick.
Read more about plateosaurs:
The Anchisaur-Plateosaur Empire
The Norian Age
Dinosaurier Funde gesichert – weitere Grabungen in Frick geplant

International Fair of Minerals, Geneva

International Fair of Minerals, Fossils and Gems | Geneva Events | World Events Guide: "Dedicated to the wonderful world of fossils, gems and minerals, this annual event is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe and attracts scientists and enthusiasts from all over the world.
The 39th annual International Fair of Minerals, Fossils and Gems takes place in 2009.

Swiss unearth giant dinosaur bone - swissinfo

Swiss unearth giant dinosaur bone.

A Swiss palaeontologist sizes up the find (Saurier Museum Aathal)
Image caption: A Swiss palaeontologist sizes up the find (Saurier Museum Aathal)".
Swiss unearth giant dinosaur bone - swissinfo

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Solscape Wissenschaftsblog von AstroArts

Natural History, Dinosaurs, and Fossils