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Paleo Discoveries E-Newsletter   Winter 2009
 
  Happy holidays to everyone! Thanks for taking a look at our newsletter. As always , we have some updates for you and we'll fill you in on what's new. It's getting to be that time of year when returning faces from the great north begin to make their appearance once again. Welcome back to the fossils  and warm sunshine!
 By request, we're now offering fossils for sale on our store. There's megalodon teeth, mammal fossils, sand dollars and more. BTW, if you're interested in something special and don't see it for sale, let us know. If we can make it available to you, we will. OK, lets go.... 
News- The Peace River Times
  All good news to report here, the dry season started early and the water at the river went down. Collecting conditions are great right now, and should stay that way. We're ready to go when you are!
   If you haven't seen our store, take a look! We've got holiday deals, stocking stuffer ideas and new products. Fossils for sale, Fossil Gravel, the soon to be famous Cup 'O Gravel, fossil ID books and new gift certificates good for tours, programs or anything on our store. We've also reorganized our shipping and brought charges down significantly so now's the time to grab a deal!
   Also new- check out Paleo Discoveries on VIDEO in High Def.!

  If you know someone you think may be interested in our newsletter, use the "Forward Email" link at the bottom.
    
 
Fossil Animal of the Quarter-
The Alligator
giant armadillo
  Alligators are one of the few animals we find fossils of that are still living. Call them extant instead of extinct. In fact, alligators may be here after we're gone- despite nearly being driven to extinction by humans nearly 40 years ago.
  Scientists call alligators generalists, which means they'll eat whatever animals are available in their area that they can overpower.  This gives them a distinct advantage which has served them well over the last 30 million years or so. Their ancestors outlived their dinosaur cousins because of their ability to survive almost anything the environment threw at them.
    These days, we find fossil teeth, scutes (the bony bumps on their backs) jaw sections and vertebrae from alligators. In the Peace River, alligators  are scarce; they likely were hunted or relocated out of most areas.
  While alligators rarely are larger than 15 feet today, in the Pleistocene epoch of Fla. from 10,000 yrs. ago back to 2 million years ago there is ample evidence that they grew much larger, probably over 20 ft.
   It's fair to call alligators living fossils; they're the ultimate survivors. 
Megalodon of the Quarter


This is one of my favorite teeth; not because of it's size (2-1/2") but  because it's almost perfect and it's from my all-time favorite section of the river. I'm all about the condition of fossils these days. We still get 'em like this, come out and get your own! 

 Fossil Alligator teeth- various sizes and shapes. 3/4" to 1-1/2"


 Fossil Alligator scutes- These are the bumps you see on an alligators's back; they are actually separate sections  from the main skeleton imbedded in the alligator's hide. Fairly common as fossils in Fla.