The Oldest Fossils in Grevena?

Possibly, the skeletons in this photo are the remains of the oldest fossils in Grevena that we can see with the naked eye. These are fossils of Belemnites, small sea creatures related to our modern kalamarakia. These belemnites swam in the ancient Tethyan Sea, about 170 million years ago. This was the same time when dinosaurs roamed the land, and possibly swam in the waters alongside these little creatures, and perhaps even ate them.

These rocks, found near the village of Langadakia, are not the oldest in Grevena. Older rocks in our area don’t seem to have large fossils, but contain abundant microfossils, the skeletons of plankton that lived in the seas, that we can only see using powerful microscopes.

The Tracks of Worms -- 35 million years ago!

My friend, Anna Merlini from the Univeristy of Milano, points to the tracks of ancient worms that lived in the muds of a shallow sea about 35 million years ago. These muds became rocks, and the rocks are now found alongside the road leading to the village of Dotsikos.

Worms have no skeletons, and thus cannot become fossils. Only their burrows and tracks are preserved. The muds of ancient Dotsikos must have been a paradise for the worms of the past!

My best model -- Terry the Tervuren. Sit, Terry! Now SMILE!!!  

Not the bee in the close up -- even at this reduced blog image, it's terrific clarity. 

MY NEW PENTAX istDs is THE BEST CAMERA IN THE UNIVERSE!