En constante mutation...
The ultimate outcome of research and the pride of any amateur paleontologist, a collection of fossils can be presented in extremely variable forms.
It will be available in various ways depending on the sensitivities and interests of its owner. It will be systematic for some or, on the contrary, centralized over certain geological periods, or even limited to a few animal species for others. Trilobites or ammonites for example. Embryonic for beginners to eventually become plethoric for the most experienced, it will depend on experiences, preferences and personal choices. In their development, we will obviously not neglect the opportunities for field trips, these prospecting windows favored by the ephemeral appearance of construction sites, such as road works, or the permanent accessibility subject to authorization of certain sites such as quarries. operating. In addition to the essential freedoms in terms of time spent on these leisure activities, we will also not forget an undeniable “luck factor”…
When it comes to highlighting the pieces, everyone will also have their own philosophy and means, opting for rigorous storage in obscure drawers or, on the contrary, seeking a spectacular visual effect, in a presentation that aims to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible. . For my part, the most beautiful specimens were given the luxury of a specific room, which is entirely dedicated to them. The concern in presentation ranges from a large number of display cases, arranged in rapid succession and carefully lit, to the systematic use of “noble” materials. No plastic then, but metal supports, glass laboratory boxes, bases made of shale plates and felt beds, which constitute as many cases for these jewels offered by Nature that are the teeth of fossil sharks and other rare specimens. Finally, some of these lasting memories were subsequently associated with photographic evidence of their discovery in situ.
Excerpt from the book "carchaDOrias. In search of the treasures of the Earth" (to be published)
Transitoire...
Due to lack of time, the management of a collection can seriously leave something to be desired. As proof, this very heterogeneous accumulation of specimens from the Antwerp Neogene, both Upper Pliocene (Oorderen sands) and Lower Pliocene (Kattendijk base gravel). It was only an intermediate step justified at the time, several years ago, by the purchase of a large quantity of conservation boxes. Useful clarification: the back of the said boxes has a label specifying the origin, and an imminent retirement (retirement) should eventually make it possible to carry out the laborious work of development, many times postponed to the Greek calendars.
Hastalis et carcharias : une (très) probable filiation ...
Collected on the same day, in the same place and in the same sediments, these two fossil teeth are in a remarkable state of preservation. Their "freshness" and the circumstances of their discovery reasonably allow them to be linked, although we are dealing with reworked layers, moved by dredging and transported by pipeline. Without being able to state it with certainty, they could therefore illustrate the lineage now recognized between the hastalis shark (previously Isurus then Cosmopolitodus, currently Carcharodon) and its descendant carcharias (here, a juvenile tooth with lateral cusps), but also suggest that the two species could have remained contemporary for a moment, one ending up disappearing in favor of the other.
Another even more intriguing example can be read in “carchaDOrias. In search of the treasures of the Earth” (to be published)
De coloribus...
Carcharodon carcharias (present)
Like most living beings and whatever their species or size, sharks have uniformly white teeth. It is only at the end of a very long process of fossilization that they acquire their definitive coloring, which depends on the nature of the sediments in which they rest and the mineral salts they contain. As the current Great White Shark is one of the threatened marine species, it benefits from such protection that the trade in its teeth is now prohibited. Distrust is required, although the two examples illustrated here were certified to me by their Dutch seller as coming from a “very old collection”...
Excerpt from “carchaDOrias, in search of the treasures of the Earth” (to be published)
Otodus megalodon
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