** UPDATE: March 1, 2024 **


 
I really did intend to update my site more often.
But two things interfered. In October I did something I have been wanting to do for decades, I made a trip to Peru and Bolivia, and finally got to see Machu Picchu. I was just as magnificent as I have always imagined it. I also got to see a lot of geology, but very little paleontology.
The other thing was the really dreary, dark, grey, wet weather we have been having for the last four months. It made a recurring problem I have, depression, a lot worse.
As a result, I again have a large number of issues to add. Of course, a lot of them are just more colourful pictures. Exceptions are only the issues from Mongolia and from Peru.
My home country has added two more issues of personalized stamps with prehistoric animals from the Netherlands. One more will appear in March.
New genera: Anserimimus, Branisella, Dartmuthia, Nipponamia, Onychodictyon, Oxyaena, Pharingolepis, Platalearostrum, Potamotherium, Protypotherium, Struthio.
 
New Issues:
Bolivia (2018 overprints added)
Central African Republic (hominids)
Central African Republic (fossils)
Central African Republic (Darwin)
Central African Republic (Wallace)
Chad (Darwin)
Chad (extinct mammals)
Djibouti (extinct species)
Guinea ('flying dinosaurs')
Guinea (dinosaurs)
Guinea-Bissau (Darwin)
Mongolia (ice age animals)
Netherlands
Peru
Sierra Leone (flying dinosaurs)
Sierra Leone (aquatic animals)
Central African Republic (dinosaurs)
Central African Republic (aquatic animals)
Central African Republic (hominids)
Central African Republic (extinct fishes)
Chad (dinosaurs)
Chad meteorites and dinosaurs)
Djibouti (Darwin)
Djibouti (Wallace)
Guinea (Darwin)
Guinea (extinct species)
Guinea-Bissau (aquatic animals)
Netherlands
Niger (Darwin)
Sierra Leone (fossils)
Sierra Leone (elephants and Neanderthals)
Sierra Leone (Darwin)

** UPDATE: August 21, 2023 **


 
A smaller update this time, I want to update my site more frequently.
And this time there are a couple of more interesting issues to report.
The Dutch mail (post.nl) has issued the first part of a series of issues on prehistoric animals. The bad news is that they are personalized stamps, which in my opinion are about as much 'real stamps' as the Stamperija products. The good news is that they depict animals and fossils actually found in the Netherlands (or the Dutch part of the North Sea), and include some unusual and interesting species. In all, there will be 12 sheets, each containing five different stamps.
The Mexican issue also depicts unusual species discovered in the country.
The New Zealand issue deserves praise for not just depicting female scientists, but a paleontologist as well.
The ammonite on the Manx stamp is most likely Dactylioceras, both M. Kogan from paleophilately.eu and Gus Knapp passed me this information.
Andreas Franze informed me that the animal on the 2022 Peru sheet is NOT a Plesiosaurus, but an unidentified member of the plesiosauroidea.
Thanks guys!
New genera: Acantholipan, Aepycamelus, Altispinax, Aquilolamna, Daphoenus, Euhelopus, Gilmoreosaurus, Nehalaennia, Oreopithecus, Patriofelis, Stenopelix, Sthenurus, Tremacebus, Zephyrosaurus,
 
New Issues:
Central African Republic (cave paintings)
France
Jersey
Liberia (dinosaurs)
Madagascar
Netherlands
Central African Republic (flying dinosaurs)
Guinea-Bissau (dinosaurs)
Liberia (prehistoric humans)
Liberia (extinct mammals)
Mexico
New Zealand

** UPDATE: July 23, 2023 **


 
Michael Kogan of paleophilatelie.eu informed me that in my last update I had added the Spanish franking machine labels to the issue list, but had neglected to put them in the update. With some delay, here they are.
I also forgot to mention that Andreas Franze had kindly informed me that the theropod on the 2010 Swiss stamp now has a name. When the stamps were designed, scientists were still busy preparing and studying the then newly-found (2006-2008) theropod fossil. It was finally named Notatesseraeraptor frickensis in 2019.
The rest of this update has only two 'real' issues, for the Isle of Man and for the United Nations, the remainder being Stamperija again. And, again, with quite a number of new species. Which (also again) kept me busy for a while, looking for their correct names and classification. Regrettably I was unable to find the name of the ammonite on the Guinea fossil issue and the Isle of Man Wildlife Trust issue.
New genera: Acrophoca, Branchiosaurus, Cassiope, Ctenis, Emeus, Glyptotherium, Horodyskia, Imagotaria, Leptonectes, Neuquenornis, Oxynoticeras, Pachyornis, Paramys, Parvancorina, Plesiadapis, Pleurosaurus, Propliopithecus, Pycnodus, Sacabambaspis, Sardinioides, Sparnodus, Vulpavus.
 
New Issues:
Djibouti (aquatic animals)
Djibouti (extinct mammals)
Djibouti (hominids)
Guinea-Bissau (cave paintings)
Guinea (extinct mammals)
Guinea (hominids)
Guinea (aquatic animals)
Niger (extinct mammals)
Sierra Leone (Wallace)
Djibouti (fossils)
Djibouti (extinct birds)
Djibouti (dinosaurs)
Guinea (dinosaurs)
Guinea (fossils)
Guinea (Nobel prize)
Man, Isle of (wildlife trust)
Sierra Leone (extinct birds)
United Nations

** UPDATE: May 22, 2023 **


 
A mega update due to me having been busy with other things and Stampera having been very busy printing more stamps. Only a few items are worth noting, such as the Liopleurodon franking machine labels issued by Spain.
I have also added the expected Australian stamp booklets, plus a couple of nice postcards from Colombia, Hong Kong and Spain.
The list of new genera is particularly long this time. It has taken me quite a bit of time to find data on some of the more obscure ones, and I have not been successful for all of them. I did like the graptolite, the first one to appear on a stamp (there was already one on a Czech label).
New genera: Adjiderebos, Alvarezsaurus, Araucaria, Archaeornithomimus, Arthropleura, Ateleaspis, Aysheaia, Baeomorpha, Berycopsis, Breviceratops, Calamites, Campyloprion, Cathayornis, Cheirolepis, Claosaurus, Crocuta, Cyrtograptus, Dicrocerus, Dunyu, Equisetum, Eucnemesaurus, Fuxianhuia, Guiyu, Hesperosaurus, Hibernaspis, Holacanthus, Laccognathus, Loganellia, Megamastax, Mesohippus, Olenellus, Palaeoxyris, Parapeytoia, Patagonykus, Patagopteryx, Pentasteria, Pigaeus, Rhizodus, Saurichthys, Stratodus, Titanis, Wannanosaurus, Xenosmilus,
 
New Issues:
Benin
Central African Republic (aquatic animals)
Central African Republic (mammoths)
Central African Republic (dinosaurs)
Central African Republic (dinosaurs)
Central African Republic (extinct birds)
Chad (hominids)
Chad (aquatic animals)
China
Djibouti (fossils)
Djibouti (dinosaurs)
Guinea-Bissau (Darwin)
Guinea-Bissau (dinosaurs)
Guinea-Bissau (fossils)
Guinea-Bissau (aquatic animals)
Liberia (extinct mammals)
Liberia (dinosaurs)
Liberia (hominids)
Liberia (aquatic animals)
Liberia (extinct birds)
Niger (dinosaurs)
Peru
Sierra Leone (extinct mammals)
Sierra Leone (Nobel prize)
Sierra Leone (extinct birds)
Spain (Liopleurodon)
Togo (Darwin)
Togo (extinct species)
Bulgaria
Central African Republic (extinct insects)
Central African Republic (extinct fishes)
Central African Republic (extinct mammals)
Central African Republic (extinct mammals)
Chad (Nobel prize)
Chad ('flying dinosaurs')
Chad (extinct birds)
Colombia
Djibouti ('flying dinosaurs')
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau (Nobel prize)
Guinea-Bissau (hominids)
Guinea-Bissau ('flying dinosaurs')
Hong Kong
Liberia (Darwin)
Liberia (meteorites)
Liberia (Nobel prize)
Liberia (fossils)
Monaco
Niger (extinct animals)
Russia
Sierra Leone (aquatic animals)
Sierra Leone (Neanderthal man)
Sierra Leone (dinosaurs)
Spain (Aragosaurus)
Surinam (dinosaurs)
Togo (aquatic animals)

** UPDATE: November 15, 2022 **


 
History repeats itself: another long, long list of undesirable issues, and another long, long list of new species in paleophilately.
Some of these are quite nice, I will admit, others took a lot of reseach to get the name and taxonomy more or less right, yet others are of rather dubious value, being based on very poor and / or incomplete remains.
Fortunately, there are a couple of 'real' issues as well. I like the one from Slovakia best, with fossils actually found in the country. Fossil Vexillum snails can be found in the Netherlands as well, I have specimens of Vexillum gliberti that I dug up myself.
Australia has a nice new Australian dinosaurs (and pterosaur) issue. I have not seen the stamp booklets for sale yet, but I suspect these will become available soon.
New genera: Acanthonemus, Adasaurus, Aegasteroceras, Albertia, Anadara, Argillochelys, Chasmaporthetes, Datousaurus, Devinophoca, Dicropteris, Dracopelta, Emausaurus, Ferrodraco, Hippochrenes, Indosuchus, Kunbarrasaurus, Labrax, Machaeroides, Mammalodon, Metriacanthosaurus, Miracinonyx, Notharctus, Ohmdenosaurus, Ornithopsis, Osmeroides, Osteodontornis, Pagellus, Paroodectes, Phyllothallus, Rhodymenites, Sinopa, Thylacosmilus, Todites, Vexillum, Voluta, Xenosmilus,
 
New Issues:
Australia
Central African Republic (dinosaurs)
Central African Republic (extinct animals)
Central African Republic (fossils)
Djibouti (fossils)
Djibouti (aquatic animals)
Djibouti (extinct mammals)
Guinea-Bissau (extinct animals)
Guinea (aquatic animals)
Guinea ('flying dinosaurs')
Korea, North
Mozambique ('flying dinosaurs')
Niger (fossils)
Niger (aquatic animals)
Sierra Leone ('flying dinosaurs')
Sierra Leone (small dinosaurs)
Togo (dinosaurs)
Togo (hominids)
Togo (sharks)
Togo (fossils)
Central African Republic (prehistoric mammals)
Central African Republic (extinct birds)
Central African Republic ('flying dinosaurs')
Chad (fossils)
Djibouti (hominids)
Djibouti (meteorites)
Djibouti (extinct birds)
Guinea-Bissau (dinosaurs)
Guinea (meteorites and dinosaurs)
Japan (Toy Story)
Liberia ('flying dinosaurs')
Mozambique (dinosaurs)
Niger ('flying dinosaurs')
Sierra Leone (ammonites)
Sierra Leone (big dinosaurs)
Slovakia (fossils)
Togo (meteorites)
Togo ('flying dinosaurs')
Togo (extinct birds)

** UPDATE: July 17, 2022 **


 
Again, a long list of objectionable issues with many bad pictures, but also some nice ones of fossils. These fossils contribute heavily to the list of new genera.
Fortunately, there are also some very legitimate issues by Japan, Mongolia, and Portugal. With the help of a countryman in Ulan Bataar, I received two beautiful covers with the Mongolian issue as franking.
By the way, Petra is wonderful, I can recommend a visit to Jordan.
New genera: Aegoceras, Callipteryx, Copepteryx, Cycadopteris, Cyclopoma, Eoscatophagus, Ephippus, Gobihadros, Hallucigenia, Lates, Lepterpeton, Microbrachis, Myripristis, Naseus, Perca, Serranus, Sinornis, Ultrasaurus.
 
New Issues:
Central African Republic (dinosaurs)
Central African Republic (fossils)
Central African Republic (Darwin)
Central African Republic (hominids)
Djibouti ('flying dinosaurs')
Guinea (dinosaurs)
Guinea (birds)
Japan
Liberia (fossils)
Mongolia (dinosaurs)
Niger (hominids)
Russia
Sierra Leone (aquatic animals)
Sierra Leone (Darwin)
Togo (fossils)
Central African Republic ('flying dinosaurs')
Central African Republic (meteorites)
Central African Republic (aquatic animals)
Djibouti (fossils)
Djibouti (dinosaurs)
Guinea (Darwin)
Guinea-Bissau (meteorites)
Liberia (dinosaurs)
Mongolia (centenary)
Niger (dinosaurs)
Portugal
Sierra Leone (dinosaurs)
Sierra Leone (hominids)
Sierra Leone (fossils)
Togo (aquatic animals)

** UPDATE: May 2, 2022 **


 
History repeats itself. Another way-too-long list of Stamperija issues.
And it is not even complete, the first issues for 2022 have hit the market. I will present these in the next update.
Again, I will admit that some of the 'fossils' issues show nice images of intersting and / or unusual fossil species.
On the 'plus' side: not buying these things has already saved me almost 1000 Euros - in a few days I will be off to Jordan to see Petra!
New genera: Aepyornis, Amaltheus, Aulacopleura, Beryx, Chondrosteosaurus, Euclastes, Euskelosaurus, Gryposaurus, Haidingera, Haplocanthosaurus, Hemipristis, Hyloplesion, Hymenophyllites, Mantellisaurus, Nanchangosaurus, Omosaurus, Pecopteris, Puppigerus, Sinornithoides, Smerdis, Sparus, Trionyx, Utatsusaurus, Voltzia, Zhuchengtyrannus.
 
New Issues:
Armenia
Central African Republic (dinosaurs)
Central African Republic (extinct birds)
Chad (fossils)
Chad (dinosaurs)
Djibouti (aquatic animals)
Guinea-Bissau (aquatic animals)
Guinea-Bissau (extinct species)
Guinea-Bissau (extinct birds)
Guinea-Bissau (hominids)
Guinea-Bissau ('flying dinosaurs')
Mozambique (dinosaurs)
Sao Tome e Principe ('flying dinosaurs')
Sao Tome e Principe (fossils)
Sao Tome e Principe (aquatic animals)
Togo (dinosaurs)
Togo ('flying dinosaurs')
Central African Republic (aquatic animals)
Central African Republic (dinosaurs)
Chad (hominids)
Chad (fossils)
Chad ('flying dinosaurs')
Djibouti (dinosaurs)
Guinea-Bissau (hominids)
Guinea-Bissau (dinosaurs)
Guinea-Bissau (fossils)
Guinea-Bissau (dinosaurs)
Mozambique (aquatic animals)
Mozambique (fossils)
Sao Tome e Principe (extinct birds)
Sao Tome e Principe (dinosaurs)
Sao Tome e Principe (hominids)
Togo (prehistoric man)
Ukraine

** UPDATE: December 14, 2021 **


 
What a surprise. Another huge lot of Stamperija issues.
But I'll be honest, I do feel a few have something going for them. The 'fossils' issues for the Central African Republic, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Niger, and Sao Tome e Principe depict interesting species and have nice images.
For the fossil fishes issues, the designer elected to use illustrations from the classic work by Louis Agassiz 'Recherches sur les poissons fossiles' (1833-1843). This was a good decision, in my opinion, it gave him wonderful images to work with. Of course, he also copied the names that Agassiz used. And thát has caused me hours of work. Over the years, most of the species have been assiged to other genera as taxonomic knowledge grew. Finding my way through the resulting maze of obsolete names was quite hard, especially because my favourite taxonomy website (www.fossilworks.org) seemed to be offline for a while. But I do think I finally got them all sorted.
Some of the other issues feature little (and sometimes poorly) known species. As a result, the list of new genera is impressively long.
There is only one non-Stamperija issue, from the Czech Republic. And even that is a bit of a borderline case, it shows the aurochs as re-bred from old breeds of cattle and now living in the Milovice nature reserve.
On the 'cinderella' page, I have added a 'real' aurochs, a skeleton as depicted on an issue by a German private mail company.
New genera: Amia, Anguilla, Arctotherium, Astraspis, Carangopsis, Crossognathus, Cyclurus, Dinailurictis, Ekorus, Elimia, Gasteronemus, Iniopteryx, Kentisuchus, Leptocleidus, Leuciscus, Noasaurus, Pachycrocuta, Palaeoloxodon, Palimphyes, Platinx, Polyptychodon, Sphyraenodus, Szechuanosaurus, Thalassiodracon, Tullimonstrum, Tupuxuara, Viverra, Vomer.
 
New Issues:
Central African Republic (aquatic animals)
Central African Republic ('flying dinosaurs')
Central African Republic (hominids)
Chad (Turritella agate)
Chad (aquatic animals)
Chad (meteorites)
Djibouti (dinosaurs)
Djibouti (fossil fishes)
Guinea-Bissau (fossil fishes)
Guinea-Bissau (dinosaurs)
Niger (aquatic animals)
Niger (extinct species)
Niger ('flying dinosaurs')
Sao Tome e Principe (extinct animals)
Sao Tome e Principe (fossils)
Togo (dinosaurs)
Central African Republic (extint animals)
Central African Republic (fossils)
Chad ('flying dinosaurs')
Chad (extinct species)
Chad (dinosaurs)
Czech Republic
Djibouti (hominids)
Djibouti (extinct species)
Guinea-Bissau ('flying dinosaurs')
Liberia (Lascaux)
Niger (dinosaurs)
Niger (fossils)
Sao Tome e Principe (aquatic animals)
Sao Tome e Principe (dinosaurs)
Togo (extinct species)

** UPDATE: August 25, 2021 **


 
Another update dominated by Stamperija issues. And the Penrhyn issue is no better.
Fortunately, there are a couple of 'real' issues as well. The Italian issue is interesting, featuring both dinosaur trackways and a hominid skull.
But the most remarkable is a 1989 Hungarian issue that had escaped my attention - it features a Neanderthal skull!
New genera: Chilantaisaurus, Cobitis, Cybium, Hurdia, Istieus, Istiophorus, Nanshiungosaurus, Neuquensaurus, Phenacodus, Pterygotus, Tetheopsis.
 
New Issues:
Armenia
Central African Republic (dinosaurs)
Chad (dinosaurs)
Guinea ('flying dinosaurs')
Guinea (fossils)
Guinea (extinct species)
Italy
Mozambique
Penrhyn
Togo (aquatic animals)
Central African Republic (Lascaux)
Chad (hominids)
Djibouti ('flying dinosaurs')
Guinea (hominids)
Guinea (Spielberg)
Hungary (a new find from 1989!)
Kazakhstan
Niger (hominids)
Sao Tome e Principe (dinosaurs).