Training Module 2 – Cretaceous Creatures

How would you describe your fossil?

1. Isolated teeth

2. Jaws and tooth plates

3. Vertebrae

4. Scales, shells, and plates

5. Bones and bone fragments

Try again! Isolated teeth usually have pointy tips or rounded ends.

Try again! Jaws and tooth plates usually have rows of repeating teeth or sockets for teeth that fell out.

Try again! Vertebrae usually have circular cups at their ends and struts that stick out along the side.

Try again! Bone fragments usually have broken cross sections that look like a hollow tube or like the end of a broken pencil.

ID Sheet 1

1. My fossil has a rough surface with small holes that look like shallow craters.

2. My fossil has a flat, smooth, and shiny surface with sharp corners.

ID Sheet 1-B

1. My fossil is shaped like a flattened diamond with rounded sides and a pointed end.

2. My fossil is shaped like a square or rectangle and has a triangular point extending off the end.

Try again! Your fossil should have a flat surface without any bumps or ridges.

You did it! You found a ray finned fish scale!

Fun Facts

1. Fish scales are shiny and hard because they are made of a substance called ganoin, which is similar to the enamel on our teeth, making them harder than steel.
2. Only a few living fish still have this kind of skin armor. These include gars, bichirs, and coelacanths.
3. The indigenous people of southeastern North America may have used the scales of modern alligator gars (a huge fish resembling an alligator) as tiny arrowheads.

Place your fossil in the correct box on the Fossil Training Sheet.

Click here to identify another microfossil.

Try again! Your fossil should be more square than diamond shaped. It should also have multiple tiny holes on the surface.