In addition to dinosaur egg fossils, there are also some more valuable paleontological fossils

1. Plant fossils

The earliest life in geological history belongs to the plant kingdom, and the most primitive fossils of cyanobacteria and fungi have been found in the archean strata dating back 3.5 billion years. The Archaic and early Proterozoic were the age of primitive algae, the middle Proterozoic to the Ordovician was the era of flourishing marine algae, the Silurian to Carboniferous period was the era of terrestrial sporozoite flourishing, the Permian to Jurassic was the era of gymnosperms, and the Cretaceous to Cenozoic was the era of angiosperm flourishing. In general, plant fossil ornamental stones are mainly from the Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic spores and gymnosperms, and a small number of Cenozoic angiosperms.

Since paleontology is associated with specific geological periods and produces different fossils from different geological epochs, the collection of paleontological fossils must be found in a certain stratum (sedimentary rock). After the fossil is harvested, it also needs to be properly processed, according to the ecological characteristics of the ancient organism, the fossil is stripped into a high relief shape on the bottom of the surrounding rock, and all the details of the fossil surface are maintained, but it must not be imitated, because the imitation sculpture is actually doing carvings, and has nothing to do with the fossils. Some people in the process of processing fossil viewing fossils (such as horn stones, shells, corals, etc.) completely stripped from the surrounding rock, into a single body, and even the surface is polished, which is really a snake painting to add footwork. The ornamental value of a single paleontological fossil is often greatly reduced.

Tree fossils

Tree fossils, also known as "wood stones", are the bulk of plant fossils. About 150 million years ago, under the flood, the trees were gradually buried by mud, sand and volcanic ash, and under sealed and high temperature conditions, after long-term silicification of silicon-containing groundwater, "silicified wood", which is what is called tree fossils today. Later, after several geological changes, the land rose, so that the fossil tree buried in the ground reappeared.

In Our country, there have been records of tree fossils for a long time. However, for various reasons, some of the records have been overshadowed with mystery. The "Stone Spectrum of Yunlin" written by the Song Dynasty scholar Du Xuan described the "pine fossils" as follows: In Dongyang County and Yongkang County in Zhejiang Province, "the pines and old people are turned into stones", "one night of heavy wind and rain, the pine forest suddenly turns into stone", "the big one is two or three feet in diameter", and there are also "small as a boxer". In practice, this situation is not possible.

Tree fossils belong to the silicified wood class, which can also be subdivided into opal silicified wood, agate silicified wood and ordinary silicified wood. Opal silicified wood is mainly composed of protein minerals, agate silicified wood is mainly based on agate, that is, "chalcedony" mineral components, and ordinary silicified wood is "confessed" by cryptocrystalline matter.

Tree fossils are widely distributed in China, and tree fossils have been found in many provinces and cities such as Xinjiang, Liaoning, Shandong, Yunnan, Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Gansu and so on. In 1984, on the north bank of the Baihe River in Yanqing County, Beijing, a "tree fossil group" was discovered. Most of the fossil trees are short stumps, with clearly visible rings and wood grains, and are distributed on the slopes of the mountains 400 meters wide and 1500 meters long. Among them, the largest short stumps are 2.5 meters in diameter, and the smallest is 0.8 meters, which at a glance looks like a freshly harvested primary forest. Subsequently, 32 fossil trees were found in the southern part of Changzi County, Shanxi Province, either lying on the hillside or lying upside down in a shrub, the longest 18 meters, the thickest 1.5 meters, with different postures and interesting.

amber

Amber is a fossil of pine resin, also known as "pine resin fossil".

Human understanding, development and utilization of amber is a long time ago. At that time, because I did not understand how amber was formed, I was overshadowed with many mysteries.

In ancient Greek legend, The son of the sun god Helios, Faeto, was executed after driving his father's sun car through space, and his sister was so grief-stricken that tears rolled down and solidified into amber. Why is amber so transparent and smooth? It is because of the crystal tears that become.

In our country, amber is recorded in many ancient texts. In the records of the "Unitary Yang Miscellaneous Tricks", the production of amber is quite magical, and it is said that "the blood of the dragon enters the earth for amber". In the records of the Guangzhi, there is also a bizarre scene, that is, "in the amber land, there is no grass on and around it". There is such a record in the "Benji of Emperor Wu of Song": "Ningzhou tasted the amber pillow, the light color is very beautiful, the price is more than a hundred gold, when the northern expedition, with amber to cure the golden sores, Emperor Wu ordered it to be given, and distributed to the generals." Here, amber actually became a good medicine for "healing golden sores". In some other records, the formation of amber is described as "the soul of the tiger dead soul into the ground as a stone", so amber is also called "tiger ray" and "beast ray".

With the passage of history, people's understanding of amber has become more and more accurate, and they have gradually realized that amber is a fossil formed after the resin secreted by pine cypress enters the ground. Among them, some amber is also wrapped in bees, flies, mosquitoes, spiders, ants and other insects, because the resin secreted by pine cypress sticks them tightly and then becomes fossils. In terms of how amber is formed, some records in China's ancient texts are close to accurate. According to the "Naturalist Chronicle", pine resin "entered the ground for a thousand years" and "turned into amber". According to the "Museum Compendium", "Amber also has counterfeiters, or burned bees and eggs chickens", "no different from the truth". The "Guangzhi" further explains: "Chicken eggs can be made of amber", "take yellow and white mixtures, boil and still soft, carve at will, with bitter wine stains for several days and firm", "is chaotic and true". "Whatever is constantly used, nothing can be done." At the same time, the "Museum Essentials" also introduces the method of identifying true and false: "If you want to distinguish its authenticity, only amber is hot in the palm of the hand", which can "absorb the grass stem as true, the false one is not, the true one is hot and fragrant, and the false one is incenseless".

Amber is produced in many places, Poland, Romania, the former Soviet Union and the Baltic States, which are the main producers of amber in the world. Among them, Romania not only has many high-quality amber, but also designates amber as the "national stone" of its own country. In China, the main production areas of amber are Fushun in Liaoning and Nanyang in Henan, where amber is produced with the highest texture and the greatest reputation. In addition, amber has also been found in some areas of Yunnan, Sichuan, Hubei and Heilongjiang.

Amber is not only crystal round and lustrous, but also colorful and colorful. In terms of color, most of them are yellow, light yellow, sallow, orange, red, light red, reddish brown, brown, etc., and a few are light green, blue, lilac and so on. The texture of amber is also very attractive, some transparent, some translucent, called "beautiful" abnormalities. There are many types of amber, the color red like blood is called "blood perper", and the color like gold is called "perla". In addition, there are many varieties of "flower perch", "stone perper", "water perch", "wax perch", "champer", "ming per", etc. In particular, it should be pointed out that the amber that contains insects is the most eye-catching amber, known as "insect amber".

Amber is one of the most ornamental playing stones. Among them, "insect amber" can be directly viewed with distinctive features without any modification. Some amber of other varieties can also be selected for direct viewing as appropriate. In daily life, people also often use amber to make various pendants and ornaments, which are also very popular.

Second, brachiopod fossils

Brachiopods are monolithic marine benthic organisms with a luminous two-lobed hard shell that flourished most between the Silurian and Permian Periods of the Paleozoic 570 million to 230 million years ago; brachiopod fossils are mainly preserved in limestone, marl and calcareous shale. Brachiopod fossils produced in marlstone are often the easiest to weather to produce perfectly preserved fossil ornamental stones, especially when a large number of individuals gather on the same specimen. Brachiopod fossils are found in many provinces, including Hunan, Guangxi, Hubei, Yunnan and Guizhou. Among them, bow swallow stone, beaked swallow and owl head shell and fossil are the most ornamental.

Stone swallow

A brachiopod invertebrate that lived 300 million years ago, its outer shell is transversely square, and when extending to the left and right, it gradually rises and takes on an "open" shape, with thick radial folds floating on it, like the wings of a swallow. Therefore, after this invertebrate became a fossil, it has been called "stone swallow" since ancient times.

"Stone swallow" is an animal that inhabits the ocean. Later, fossils were formed with the change of the earth's crust, most of which were stored in rock formations of lofty mountains. Harvesting "stone swallows" is not an easy task, and it is often quite laborious and arduous.

The "majestic posture" displayed by "Shi Yan" not only has a certain ornamentality, but also produces a very obvious sense of movement. In view of this feature, there was a legend in ancient times that as long as there was an appropriate time, the "stone swallow" would "fly". In the famous "Notes on the Water Classics" written by Northern Wei Li Daoyuan, it is recorded: "Its stone is large or small, if the mother and child are yan." And the wind and thunder are bo, then the stone swallows fly in groups, and the jaws are like real swallows. At the time of the wind and thunder, suddenly "Shi Yan flew in groups", and the naughty scene of flying up and down was the same as that of "Real Yan", which showed how image Shi Yan was.

In the Qing Dynasty, the legend was even more elaborate. Qu Dajun, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, wrote in the "Lingwai Dai Answer": "Shi Yan, which is produced in Yongzhou, Hunan Province, is excellent. The color is yellow and the head, mouth, wings, and spine are gone. The Qing Dynasty's "Chronicle of Changhua County" has such a content: "The Stone Swallow Cave of Yungu Mountain, its unfathomable depth, when the stone swallow flew out." You see, "Shi Yan" actually took off from the cave that was "unfathomable."

Can "Shi Yan" really fly? In fact, after the "stone swallow" formed a fossil, life has long been over, becoming a real stone, it will never fly, and some of the descriptions of the ancients are exaggerated. The Song Dynasty scholar Du Xuan made a field viewing and made a detailed account in the "Yunlin Stone Spectrum": He heard the legend of "flying in case of rain" in Lingling, Hunan, where "Shi Yan" was produced, and came to the endless mountains, found that there were many "stone swallows" on some rock walls, so he made marks with a pen. The rock wall was exposed to the scorching sun, and suddenly it rained heavily, and the marked "stone swallows" all "fell to the ground one by one". These "stone swallows" flew out on their own? Of course not. After some analysis, he found that it was the result of "cold and heat hitting and falling". It can be seen that Du Xuan did not believe that "Shi Yan" could fly.

In China, there are many production areas of "Shiyan", but most of them are in the south. Among them, the earliest and most famous in the records are Qiyang and Lingling in Hunan, which once enshrined "Shi Yan" as a tribute to the imperial court. In addition, Nanzhang and Yichang in Hubei, Gaoyao and Pingnan in Guangdong, Luliang in Yunnan, Yichun in Jiangxi, Longquan in Zhejiang, Lishui in Jiangsu, Baode and Taiyuan in Shanxi also produce "Shiyan". In many places, the place names of Shiyan Mountain and Shiyan Cave have been derived from this.

"Stone swallow" varies in size, the large one is more than ten centimeters, the small one is only four or five centimeters, and its upper product has a high ornamental value. If you can hide a few, you can enjoy it.

Owl head shell

The larger of the brachiopods. The shell of the owl head shell is oval in shape, the shell is very thick, the ventral beak is high and curved inward, and the center of the two-lobed hard shell has a solid partition. When the shell is well preserved, fine concentric lines are visible. The switch of the owl shell fossil resembles the head of the owl (i.e., eagle), hence the name. Because the owl head shell is the largest of the brachiopod fossils, and resembles the eagle's head to give people a sense of solidity, it has the highest collection value among the brachiopod fossils.

The fossil owl head shell is best produced in the marl rocks of eastern Yunnan and central Guangxi. Because the marl is easy to weather, easy to peel off, the owl shell produced in the marl rock, preserved in the marl rock is easy to weather, easy to peel off, the owl shell produced in the marl, the most complete preservation, so it is the most ornamental. In the fossil owl shell, the huge single body often gives people a sense of solidity, which makes people reverie; several or dozens of individual bodies are connected together, often making the viewer feel strange and emotional.

Nowadays, as an ornamental stone, the fossil owl head shell is increasingly favored by the majority of stone lovers. Among them, especially the "top product" in the fossil of the owl head shell, its shape not only makes people moved, but also produces endless charm aftertaste.

3. Sea lily fossils

A marine invertebrate echinoderm named after the body that resembles a blooming lily. This animal has been thriving in the ocean since the Paleozoic Ordovician 570 million years ago.

The whole sea lily is like a lifelike lily that lives on the seabed. The "root" of the sea lily, either "anchored" or "curled branches", is fixed to the seabed; the "stem" of the sea lily is elongated "tubular" with stem holes in the middle; the "crown" of the sea lily, composed of two parts, "calyx" and "wrist", is "calyx"-like, floating on the upper end of the "stem", and the sea lily filters the plankton in the sea water through the opening of the "crown". In the chain of biological evolution, the sea lily is an important species in a state of demarcation in the evolution of invertebrates to vertebrates, with both invertebrate characteristics and some characteristics of vertebrates. Due to the turbulent undercurrent in the depths of the ocean, it is difficult for the sea lily to survive in one place after death; and because the sea lily only has spiny skin and no hard bones, it is perishable after death and extremely difficult to preserve for a long time. Therefore, the fossil lily in Shanghai is extremely rare in the world.

Today's sea lily fossils in China, mostly produced in a small area in the north of Guizhou Province, are sea lilies from the Mesozoic Triassic period 230 million years ago, and eventually evolved into fossils. At that time, Guizhou Province was not only a vast ocean, but also a deep sea. Later, with the movement of the earth's crust, there was a huge change in the sudden uplift of the seabed, so that the sea lilies there were preserved and fossils were formed.

After hundreds of millions of years, the fossil sea lily in this small area of Qianbei has been silently hidden in a thin layer of limestone. The limestone is mostly iron ash or earth yellow, while the sea lily fossil itself is gray and white, and the contrast between the two is very large, so the "lily flower" is very clear, realistic, and has a strong three-dimensional sense.

It wasn't until the late 1950s that geologists discovered the presence of marine lilies here. Later, many high-grade sea lily fossils were developed successively, including many fine products and treasures, which won a high reputation at home and abroad. It is understood that a giant sea lily fossil produced here, named "Tianjiaotu", is 2.2 meters long and 1.4 meters wide, with 18 blooming "lilies" scattered in a staggered manner, and a branch "flower stem" is vigorous and powerful, and its complexity, its variability, and its harmony are amazing. For the majority of stone lovers, whenever they look at the different styles of sea lily fossils, the taste of endless charm, can't help but think of the distant ancient and modern underwater world. After hundreds of millions of years of geological changes, there are still a series of delicate "lily pictures" like Chinese paintings, and this moving scene can not give people a mysterious beauty.

Fourth, trilobite fossils

There is such a fossil: the lifelike "bat" on the stone surface, or dense, or three or five groups, or a single shadow... In the play stone market, there are not only many such fossils, but also brick platforms, town rulers, printing boxes, pen holders and so on made of this fossil. The "bats" on this fossil are much smaller than modern bats, but they are not the ancestors of modern bats, but a trilobite fossil.

Trilobites are arthropods that flourished in cambrianism and the Ordovician period and became extinct by the end of the Permian. The back of the trilobite is composed of carapace, because the carapace is divided into two grooves longitudinally into axial and left and right symmetrical two ribs, from front to back can be divided into three parts: head, thorax and tail, so it is called trilobite. The common "bat" is actually a fossil of its tail. The large spines on both sides of the tail of the trilobite spread out backwards, resembling the wings of a bat, and the tail axis is just like the body of a bat, and it has to shed its shell several times in a lifetime, so after becoming a fossil, it takes on the shape of a "bat" that spreads its wings and flies. Trilobites mostly live a wandering benthic life, living on the slurry or plastery seafloor, so trilobites fossils are often found in limestone and silty limestone. The main species of trilobites with ornamental value are bat worms, Sichuan worms, crown worms, Xiangxi worms and so on.

Trilobites prefer to live in groups, and when the natural environment changes drastically, their habits are difficult to adapt to changes, so it is reasonable to die in large numbers and until they become extinct. In this long process, trilobites also accumulate in large quantities, gradually forming fossils. In the limestone rocks of the Tai'an area of Shandong Province, China, many trilobite fossils with "bat" flying scenes have been found.

In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the scholar Wang Shichen recorded such an event in the "Chibei Even": During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, the famous Confucian Zhang Yandeng swam in Mount Taishan, stayed overnight at Dawenkou, and later went to the bank of the Dawen River after dinner and found that the water was shining with light. He felt very strange, and when he looked up, he found that it was a stone, about a foot long, and a "little bat" embedded in the ridge. Zhang Yandeng took the stone out of the water, turned it over, and saw that there were nearly a hundred "small bats" embedded in it, or "shaped like a fly", or "shaped like a volt", "vivid". There are also small recesses in the stone that can accumulate water. So Zhang Yandeng made a yantai according to its shape, borrowed the harmonic sound of the word "bat" in "bat", and named it "Duofu Yan". Subsequently, he specially wrote a famous "Duofu Yanming", expressing his inner feelings: "Taishan is bell, Wenshui is bathed", "Strong as iron, Wen Ying is like jade", "No false carving, natural ancient green", "The auspiciousness of words, self-seeking blessings". Suddenly, his literary friends Ma Shiqi and Xia Yunyi followed suit and wrote inscriptions for them one after another. As soon as this example was opened, "Duofu Yan" became famous for a while and became a particularly important variety among Lu Yan. Nowadays, Shandong Province still introduces "Duofu Yan" as a specialty to domestic and foreign products, and is deeply favored.

Trilobite fossils, generally due to the small size of the trilobite, are easy to obtain a complete form. However, in special cases, there will also be a pattern with only the head or tail. From the complete morphological trilobite fossils, it is possible to distinguish between various types of trilobite fossils and analyze the climate, geography and environment of their living ages. Such trilobite fossils not only have ornamental value, but also have high scientific research value.

5. Aurora Horn stone

Aurora horn stone, commonly known as "pagoda stone", is a fossil of an ancient invertebrate. The head and feet of this animal form a whole and are difficult to distinguish, so it is called "cephalopods". They lived in the ocean about 500 million years ago, with a strong conical shell with wavy horizontal stripes on the shell surface, and many horizontal plates in the shell, the longest of which can reach more than 2 meters, the shortest is several centimeters, and most of them are between tens of centimeters and one meter. If the pointed and thick conical shell that forms the fossil is erected, it looks like a towering pagoda, so it has the elegant name of "pagoda stone".

In our country, some people have long used aurora horn stones as interior ornaments. According to the "Qing Barnyard Banknotes", this stone is "sharp and towering, like a seven-level floating tu, so it is also known as the Tower Shadow Stone", and "some people think that it is an interstitial screen". The Japanese paleontologist Ya nagatoshi, who came to China to investigate in the early 20th century, also said that aurora horn stones are "called pagoda stones" and Chinese "used as interior decorations".

According to another record, the Northern Song Dynasty poet and great calligrapher Huang Tingjian obtained a Aurora Horn Stone in the third year of the Song Dynasty (1080) and carved a five-word poem on it with great interest: "The South Cliff Bride Stone, the thunderbolt presses the bamboo shoots out; the spoon moistens its roots, and the bamboo knows when?" At that time, aurora horn stones were once mistaken for "bamboo shoot fossils". Therefore, the Aurora Horn Stone is not only called "pagoda stone", but also called "bamboo shoot stone".

What is the meaning of the "Aurora" of aurora horn stones? In the Buddhist scriptures of ancient India, China was once called "Aurora", so some people named this fossil "Aurora".

Aurora horn stone is widely distributed in China, and the most famous production area is in the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River. Among the layers of exposed rocks on both sides of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, there are many Aurora horn stones "lurking", of which Yichang County is the most numerous. In addition, Tongshan County, Xianning County, Xingshan County in Hubei Province, and Qijiang County and Aurora Horn Rock in Sichuan Province are also rich in reserves. As an ornamental Aurora horn stone, it is generally not suitable to peel off all the rocks, and only after being finely carved to make it appear semi-relief, it looks simple and interesting.

6. Coral stone

Coral stone is a fossil of ancient polyps and has always been favored by stone lovers. Polyps are coelenterates that live in the ocean. Juvenile polyps, often swimming freely in the ocean, but when they reach adulthood, they are fixed on rocks or on the calcareous bones of "ancestors". Only at night do these adults extend their tentacles to prey on plankton, digest and secrete calcareous matter to shape their shells. In addition, polyps take the method of splitting and proliferating to carry out the series, so that the more they multiply, the more "grow" and the larger, over time, gradually form coral stones.

Coral stone is beautiful and colorful, which attracts people's love. From the shape point of view, coral stone has a variety of shapes such as dendritic, fan-shaped, honeycomb-like; from the color point of view, there are red, white, gray, purple, green, blue, black and other colorful colors. According to statistics, there are about 25,000 varieties of coral stone, which can be divided into Taiwan corals, Mediterranean corals, Japanese corals, Malaysian corals and Cameroonian corals according to different origins. The most precious coral stone is the red coral, many of which are produced on the seabed at a depth of 100 meters, it is very difficult for people to mine, once it is excavated, it will become a precious play stone, and even become a "priceless treasure". The best red corals are concentrated in the Mediterranean Sea and the deep seabed of the Atlantic Ocean, which is a world-famous source. China's Taiwan, Fujian area of the sea, there are also a lot of output.

When it comes to red coral, it also reminds me of a moving legend. According to legend, an ancient Greek hero named Perseus had the ability to slay monsters. One day, after killing Medusa, one of the three "snake-haired monsters", he hung her head on a tree by the sea, and the blood dripped into the Mediterranean Sea, and then turned into red coral. As a result, people named the red coral "Snake Haired Monster". The English name of red coral comes from the Greek word for "snake-haired woman".

Red coral is a formidable coral with its colourful colours, graceful colours and charm, making it one of the most popular coral stones.

In China's ancient books, there are many records about coral stones. Lin Youlin, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in the "Stone Spectrum of Suyuan": "Under the sea, Feng Yide's three plants of 'Stone Lianli', all of which are white stones. "Linhai County made Wu Yao a 'stone tree' in the sea, more than three meters high, with purple branches." "There is a dead tree peak in Kanazawa-ji Temple, which looks like an ancient tree, which is about the same as a stone tree." Judging from the shape drawn in the "Suyuan Stone Spectrum", this kind of "stone lianli" and "stone tree" are undoubtedly coral stones.

According to the Qing Dynasty scholar Gu Yingtai in the book "Outline of Natural History", "Corals are born on the seabed, made of branches, bright as red jade, there are many holes in the middle, there are also those without holes, branches are more rare." "Those who are high and bright red are valuable, and those who are oily red and danish and have marrow eyes are low in price, and there are also broken parts that are bonded with red wax, so it is advisable to look at them carefully." It can be seen that coral stone was not uncommon in the market at that time.

Wang Kai and Shi Chongdoufu of the Western Jin Dynasty took out a "coral tree, two feet high", "the world's rare ratio". Shi Chong, however, "smashed it with iron ruyi", and Wang Kai "thought that it was a treasure of jealousy, and his voice was strong". Shi Chong believes that "there is not enough to hate", "it is the fate of the left and right to take the coral, there are six or seven plants of three or four tall, the strips are absolutely vulgar, and the brilliance is shining.". According to another record: "There are corals in the lake, one and two feet high, a book of three kes, there are four hundred and sixty-three on it, and the cloud is offered by Zhao Tuo, the king of South Vietnam, and the beacon tree." "It is not difficult to see from this that in the ancient coral stones, there is really no shortage of fine products and exquisite products.

7. Fish fossils

Fish is a lower and more diverse aquatic vertebrate. Before the Devonian, other vertebrates had not yet emerged, and fish had risen and flourished. By the Devonian Period, the types of fish had become quite diverse, becoming the dominant animal species, so people also called the Devonian Period the "Age of Fish".

Many fish fossils in China's inland areas are freshwater fish fossils, such as wolffin fish and Jianghan fish that lived in the late Mesozoic Era 150 million years ago. Regarding the formation of fish fossils, the Song Dynasty scholar Du Xie has made a scientific explanation in his book "Yunlin Stone Spectrum": "The ancient Pi Ze, the fish were born in it, because the mountains were decadent, and the soil was condensed into stone for a long time. The "mountain congestion" mentioned here is actually a volcanic eruption, and the "soil" is volcanic ash. When the volcano erupted, the fish that were comfortable in the lake were suddenly pressed into the bottom of the lake by the overwhelming volcanic ash and suffocated to death. Because the fish body is isolated from the air and does not decay, it is "engraved" in the cooling volcanic ash and gradually forms fish fossils. Subsequently, after the change of the mulberry field, the fish fossils were exposed to the ground and were collected by people. In addition, there are some fish fossils, which are after the fish were buried by the silt of lakes and rivers, after a long history, the bones gradually carbonized and finally became fish fossils.

Fish fossils are highly ornamental. On the bluestone slabs, some of them are lying still, some are chasing and playing, some are more than a dozen fish wandering... As a result, a natural and interesting "fish music map" is formed! The ancients have long had a fondness for fish fossils.

In the "Yunlin Stone Genealogy", it is recorded: "At the top of the mountain in Huxiang County, Tanzhou, there are stones lying in the soil, where the cave is several feet, see the blue stone, that is, unveiled, called the cover fish stone." From under the bluestone, the color is slightly blue or gray, and it is heavily uncovered, and the stone surface on both sides has a fish shape. "The cave is two or three meters deep and sees the bluestone again, which is called the fish stone." There is sand under the stone, so choose and swim with the tails." "The place name of Longxi is Ichthyosaurus, digging up the ground to get stones, breaking and getting stones, which is no different from the products produced in Xiangxiang." Du Xuan also specifically quoted two poems by du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, praising the fossils of longxi fish: "The water falls on the night of the fish and the dragon, and the birds and rats in the mountains and the sky are in autumn." ”

Shen Xin, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, introduced in the "Strange Stone Record" that in the Laiyang area, some people made fish fossils into screens to sell, which was quite popular. The Literati of the Qing Dynasty also wrote "Fish Stone Poems", admiring the magic of offering fish fossils to several cases: "A volcano is a stone, chasing and seeing fish." The pictures are in the shape of a picture, and the scales are not lost. Lazy at the bottom of the ice, when the fish come. Good to offer with Shiba, but also chanted Jade Bureau poems. "There are many types of fish fossils produced in China, and the more common ones are wolf fin fish and Jianghan fish fossils.

Wolffin fish fossils

Wolffin fish fossils are mainly produced in some areas of Liaoning, Shandong and Henan. The wolffin is small, about 5 to 12 cm long, with a head height similar to the height of the body, large eyes, and a dorsal fin behind. The fish are often kept alone or in groups on the same slate in the rock formations, looking natural, clear and realistic, and fascinating.

Jianghan fish fossils

The fossils of the Jianghan fish are mainly produced in Songzi, Hubei Province, with a length of about 6 to 8 cm, a small head, a raised back, and a dorsal fin in the middle of the body. Preserved on dark green-gray or gray stone slabs, the Jianghan fish is similar to today's Wuchang fish, and can also vividly reproduce the leisurely appearance of the Jianghan fish in that year.

There are some places in China that are well-known for their fish fossil production areas.

About 3 kilometers south of the Zhoukoudian Chinese Ape Man Site in Beijing, it is a fish fossil production area, and after many excavations since the 1930s, more than 2,000 fish fossils have been found, most of which retain their original shapes. In this place, there is a bath-like accumulation composed of small gravel, thin layers of reddish-brown sand and yellow fine sandstone, and a large number of fish fossils are produced in the fine sandstone in the middle and lower parts. Some of the fish fossils unearthed have become extinct, while others still exist.

In the northeast of Shanwang Village in Linqu County, Shandong Province, there is a small mountain, Jiaoyan Mountain, which is surrounded by rich fossils of ancient organisms. According to the results of scientists' considerations, this place was a lake more than 10 million years ago, with a dense forest growing on the shore, a large number of algae and other organisms in the lake, and various wild animals in the forest. Later, after the change of the earth's crust, the original lake became a hill, and the creatures were buried underneath to form various paleontological fossils, including rich fish fossils. Today, it has been designated a nature reserve by the state.

8. Fossils of reptiles

Reptiles are large groups of taxa that once flourished during the geological period, and are truly terrestrial tetrapods, passed down from generation to generation in the form of oviparous, and the juveniles are no longer perverted. Primitive reptiles first appeared at the end of the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic Era flourished, once spread throughout the land, air, ocean and river swamps and other living environments, the end of the Mesozoic Period declined sharply, its representative species of dinosaur extinction, has become a mystery of nature that is difficult to solve for eternity. Common fossils include tortoises, shieldless turtles, Guizhou dragons, and Nanzhang dragons.

Guizhou dragon fossil

Guizhou dragon is the most primitive reptile on earth, amphibians in coastal environments, and belongs to the clearfin of marine reptiles in taxonomy. Guizhou dragon once lived in the middle of the Mesozoic Triassic, about 243 million to 231 million years ago, which can be described as very old.

The fossil of Guizhou dragon was found in Guizhou Province in the 1950s, hence the name. Guizhou dragon is characterized by a protruding neck, a head like a long triangle, large and rounded orbits, slender limbs, forelimbs slightly thicker than the hind limbs, short claws but not fully turned into fins, and a body shape similar to that of modern reptile lizards. The body length of the Guizhou dragon, the white head to the tail end, the longest is more than thirty centimeters, the shortest is about ten centimeters. Compared with the pet dinosaurs, the Guizhou dragon is really small and "pitiful". However, it is the ancestor of the "dragon" family, which can be called "a hegemon" during the prosperity of the Mesozoic Triassic reptiles.

After the guizhou dragon fossils were discovered in large quantities, it aroused the deep interest of many stone lovers and became an "important object" for collection. If you carefully appreciate the pieces of Guizhou dragon fossils, you will suddenly have a strong feeling: the "dragons" of different shapes jumped on the soil of the plate-like thin layer of limestone, vividly reproducing the scene of death caused by sudden geological events, some of them shrank into a clump of panic, some rose up to resist the teeth and claws, some were unwilling to die and struggle, some were dazed and did not know how to die, and some had no choice but to wait for the fall... In the face of the irresistible disaster of nature, it truly shows the various manifestations of the Guizhou dragon, its scene is spectacular, and its image is compassionate, thus arousing people's reverie.

Most of the Guizhou dragon fossils are relatively well preserved. Ancient organisms form relatively complete fossils, generally have their own conditions and external environment and other factors. In terms of its own conditions, for organisms to form fossils, they generally have an organism structure that is conducive to preservation, mainly the hard bodies in the organisms. As far as the external environment is concerned, there must be a covered substance to quickly bury the organism and protect it from biological, mechanical and chemical damage. Thus, over time, after a period of geological history, as sediments consolidated into rocks, organisms underwent various petrifications that gradually became hard as stone, thus forming fossils. Guizhou dragon fossils are relatively well preserved due to their own conditions and external environment; they show a well-behaved, realistic and colorful, especially the four claws are sharper, which is a treasure of prehistoric reptile fossils, which is breathtaking.

Guizhou dragon fossils can only be produced in certain rock layers in individual sites, so they are very rare and precious. At present, there are many hand-carved fake Guizhou dragon fossils on the market, which should arouse the high attention of the majority of stone lovers. The obvious feature of this fake Guizhou dragon fossil is the use of stone carving tools to imitate the image of Guizhou dragon on the stone slab to achieve the purpose of fake and real. A geological department once collected a "Guizhou dragon fossil" with a complete head, neck, torso, tail and limbs, with a total length of about 20 centimeters, and the image was vivid, preserved on a rectangular dark gray clay siltstone. But as long as you carefully identify, you will find that the protruding bone part and the attached dark gray clay siltstone, is the same composition, did not see any petrified bone traces, with a magnifying glass to observe can not find the slightest bone gap and section, but saw the knife notch. From this, it can be concluded that this "Guizhou dragon fossil" is a forgery. It is said that the fossils of the fake Guizhou dragon not only appeared in China, but also spread to Japan and some countries in Europe and the United States. It is best to ask the relevant departments to conduct an appraisal to prevent being deceived.

Dinosaur egg fossils

Dinosaurs were terrestrial reptiles that flourished in the Mesozoic Era, about 230 million to 67 million years ago, and suddenly became extinct in the Mesozoic Cretaceous Period, about 67 million years ago. This is a major extinction event in earth's history, and about 70% of species have been wiped out like dinosaurs. As for why this situation occurs, scientists have put forward various hypotheses, the most important of which is the "planet impact on the earth", that is, at the end of the Cretaceous Period, a planet or comet with a diameter of 10-30 kilometers and emitting more than 10 trillion tons of dust and particles collided with the earth, causing drastic changes in the earth's environment, resulting in the extinction of a large number of organisms, including dinosaurs. But this is only a hypothesis, for such an age-old mystery, it has not yet been truly solved.

Dinosaur egg fossil is a very precious ancient egg fossil, which has both scientific research, collection and ornamental value. Since the first dinosaur egg fossil was first discovered in southern France in 1869, more than 100 dinosaur egg fossils have been found around the world. China is one of the countries with the largest number of dinosaur egg fossils, covering 17 provinces and autonomous regions, including Henan, Guangdong, Hubei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Jiangxi and other places.

In recent years, da dan dinosaur egg fossils have been found in Henan Province, especially in Xixia County, the province, which is famous for dinosaur egg fossils. In the southwest of Henan Province, Xinyang, Zhenping, Neixiang, Xixia, Zhechuan, Luanchuan, Lingbao and other counties are almost all over the dinosaur egg fossils, which are not only preserved in the original state, but also have a large number and type. Among them, there are both round eggs and flat round eggs, as well as long eggs, olive-shaped eggs, oval eggs and so on. Chinese scientists have also found a nest of the world's largest egg nest so far, the most individual olive-shaped, oval dinosaur egg fossils, each with a length of 47 cm and a horizontal diameter of 16 cm.

The discovery of dinosaur egg fossils in Yuancheng District, Heyuan City, Guangdong Province, is quite accidental. On December 6, 1995, when several children were playing at the construction site of Nanhu Mountain Villa, there were several round "stone eggs" and out of curiosity, they wanted to smash open the "stone eggs" to see what was going on. At this time, the middle school teacher Zou Huorong rushed over, signaled for the children to stop, and took a camera to take a few photos of the "stone eggs", and also took two complete stone eggs home. On March 6, 1996, after the identification of archaeologists in Guangdong Province, it was determined that the "stone egg" was a dinosaur egg fossil. Thus, the prelude to the excavation of dinosaur egg fossils in Heyuan City was unveiled. In addition, in the town of Yuanyuan in Heyuan City, when the local people dug up bricks and soil, dozens of fossil tree roots were found at a distance of 1 meter from the ground. As it happens, not far from the excavation of tree root fossils, a large number of dinosaur egg fossils have been unearthed in recent years.

Turtle fossils

Turtles are reptiles, so they were more common in the Mesozoic Era. The turtles are flattened, oval in shape, about 10-100 cm long, and some are even larger. The turtle has a hard carapace, in different shapes of quadrilateral, hexagonal and octagonal, the soft body of the turtle, wrapped in the carapace on the back and the carapace on the abdomen, the head, neck, tail and limbs, can be indented into the carapace. At the end of the Mesozoic Era, more than 70% of the creatures were wiped out. However, because the turtle's body was protected by a hard carapace, it escaped the fate of being safely destroyed and survived.

The turtle fossils unearthed so far are basically "products" left over from the Mesozoic Era. The surviving turtle fossils usually have only the northern carapace and the abdominal shell, the northern carapace is raised, and the abdominal carapace is relatively flat. Complete fossils of turtles that have been preserved from the head, neck, tail and limbs can be said to be extremely rare.

Turtle fossils have collection and ornamental value, and their main species are: snake-necked turtles produced in Sichuan, shieldless turtles and Nanxiong turtles produced in Maoming, Guangdong, round-necked Chinese turtles and Chinese turtles produced in Mengyin, Shandong, Shaanxi tortoises produced in Shaanxi Fugu and Inner Mongolia, and Manchurian turtles produced in Jinxi, Liaoning.

In turtle fossils, the treasure is the body is complete, and the upper product is the back carapace and the abdomen carapace are well preserved and clearly decorated. In Shixing, Guangdong, a giant fossil of nanxiong turtle weighing about 200 kilograms was excavated, with a body length of 1.1 meters, a maximum width of 0.78 meters, a thickness of 0.3 meters between the back and abdomen, the whole body was purple-red, the carapace was very clear, the body was well preserved, but unfortunately the head had been destroyed. This is the "leader" in the turtle fossils found in China at present, and it is a rare treasure.

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