2017

Official postage stamps related to Paleontology or Paleoanthropology

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Undesired stamps are shown with a grey background.

28.12.2017 Armenia [12]	02.10.2017 Spain [10]	22.09.2017 Nepal [8]
08.09.2017 South Africa	17.08.2017 North Korea [9]	15.06.2017 Turkey [6]
14.06.2017 Jersey [5]	19.05.2017 China [2]	10.05.2017 Marshall Islands [7]
17.03.2017 Slovenia	20.01.2017 Ukraine	10.01.2017 Peru [1]

Paleontology related stamps of countries who issue too many stamps per year, stamps with prehistoric animals or their fossils without any relation to the issuing country or stamps with inaccurate reconstruction of prehistoric animals. These stamps are not recommended for serious collectors and are Undesired at serious philatelic exhibits.
Central African Republic	Chad	Djibouti [3]
Djibouti	Guinea [11]	Guinea Bisssau
Maldives	Niger [4]	Sao Tome and Principe
Solomon Islands	Sierra Leone	Togo

Notes:
[1] At the end of 2016, the Post Authority of Peru, Serpost, presented several new stamps on their Internet site.
Most of these stamps did not arrive in the Post offices of Peru until the beginning of 2017.
The postmark for the FDC cover is dated January 10^th 2017, as shown below:

Prehistoric animals, Pelagornis on stamp of Peru. According to Serpost it was issued in 2016, but the postmark from FDC dated 2017. MiNr.: 2754, Scott:

[2] First dinosaur stamps of China since 1958. All stamps show dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals whose fossils are found in China.
These stamps are special:

[3] Additional print of stamps from 2016, this time on individual Souvenir Sheets.

[4] Smilodon fatalis, best known saber-toothed cat and Megaloceros giganteus, also called the Giant Deer or Irish Giant Deer are depicted on "extinct animal" stamps issued by Stamperija on behalf of Niger.

[5] This stunning issue features the first Jersey stamp printed on wood.
Illustrated by Sara Menon, the animals and birds that feature on the stamps are subjects of conservation projects undertaken by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust with support from the Darwin Initiative, which this year celebrates its 25^th anniversary. The Miniature Sheet, which has been printed on FSC certified sycamore, features a portrait of Charles Darwin. The fact that the wood grain can be seen through the image means that each Miniature Sheet is unique.

[6] Some realistic dinosaurs are placed at the entrance of Ankapark park.
Ankapark: one of the largest theme park in the world with a total area of ​​1.200.000 square meters, opened in Ankara in 2017.
For more details, please go here.

[7] The second issue of "National Park" stamps (1st set issued in 2016), has one Paleontology related stamp.

Petrified wood on stamp of the Marshall Islands 2017. MiNr.: 3841, Scott:	Mammoth Cave on stamp of the Marshall Islands 2017. MiNr.:, Scott:

Petrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona, USA.
Named for its large deposits of petrified wood, the fee area of the park covers about 600 square kilometers, encompassing semi-desert shrub steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful badlands.
Another stamp shows a landscape from Mammoth cave.
Mammoth Cave National Park is a U.S. national park in central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system known in the world.
Mammoth in English is also used as an adjective meaning massive or very large. Mammoth Cave is one of the largest cave networks in the US – hence using the word mammoth in the name referring to the size. For more details, please go here.

[8] On September 22, post of Nepal issued the 3^rd set of "Prehistoric Mammals".
First two sets were issued in 2013 and 2015. Fossils of all animals depicted on the stamps were discovered in Nepal and are on display in the Natural History Museum.
The building of the museum was depicted on stamp of Nepal in 2014.
All 3 stamp sets were issued in cooperation with the museum staff, therefore logo of the museum shown on bottom-right corner of every stamp.

Aragosaurus dinosaur on Teruel stamp of Spain 2017, MiNr.: 5199, Scott: 4169.

[9] This set of souvenir blocks show the building and exhibit halls of the North Korean Natural History Museum.
One of the blocks shows the Paleontological Hall with some reconstructions of dinosaurs in the margin.

[10] This stamp is dedicated to the Province of Teruel and shows various sightseeing locations and local foods of the area.
At the bottom-right corner of the stamp, one can see a dinosaur’s head. The head belongs to the dinosaur, Aragosaurus.
For more details, please go here.

[11] On October 10 2017, Stamperija on behalf of Guinea, issued a set of Souvenir and Mini Sheet with wrong title "80^th memorial anniversary of Charles Darwin (1809–1882)".
Moreover "Homo naledi" on margin of the Souvenir Sheet was called "Homo erectus".
Later on, Stamperija reprinted the set with corrected title "135^th memorial anniversary of Charles Darwin (1809–1882)" and corrected name of "Homo naledi" on the Souvenir Sheet margin, but made another mistake by renaming "Homo erectus" on stamp to "Homo naledi". For more details, please go here.

[12] The first prehistoric animal stamps of Armenia. International sales of Armenian post located in USA and sells Armenian stamps with about 50% overprice from face value.
FDC of this set appeared in online store of Armenian Post and post offices in the country in the middle of January 2018.

Official stamps of private post companies related to Paleontolgy and Paleoanthropology

01.02.2017 Germany [PP1]	26.07.2017 Germany [PP2]	01.08.2017 Germany [PP2]

Notes:
[PP1] On February 1^st 2017, private German post "Briefmarke und mehr" in cooperation with Natural History Museum in Muenster, issued a set of 6 stamps to commemorate the 125^th anniversary of the museum. Issued in three self-adhesive sheets, ten stamp each.
For more details, please go here.

[PP2] Self-adhesive stamp of "Suedwest Mail" private postal company of Germany. The stamp issued on self-adhesive sheet of 10 and shows a Mammoth figure carved from mammoth ivory of the Lonet Valley - 40,000 years of ice age It is only four centimeters in size and still a scientific and art-historical sensation - the ivory mammoth from the Vogelherdhöhle near Niederstotzingen in the Lonetal.

On August 1st, Suedwest Mail issued a folder with 4 stamps "40 000 years Ice age art, UNESCO heritage". This folder contains a mammoth figure stamp issued at the end of July and three new stamps: the Venus of the Hohle Fels cave, the horse of Vogelherd cave, the water bird of Hohle Fels cave. The lion man of the Hohlestein-Stadel cave is shown on the front page of the folder. All figurines are carved from of mammoth ivory.

Some personalized stamps related to Paleontology: fossils and reconstruction of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals

17.03.2017 Slovenia [SP1]	24.04.2017 Azerbaijan [SP2]	xx.05.2017 China [SP3]

Notes:
[SP1] On the occasion of the 40^th anniversity (1977-2017) of the Friends of Minerals and Fossils Association of Slovenia, two personalized stamps and two corresponding FDCs were issued.

Sphaeroschwagerina carniolica from fossil Dovžanova soteska site on personalized FDC of Slovenia 2017.

One of the stamps shows the foraminifer Sphaeroschwagerina carniolica. This species is a type of fusilinid foraminifera and is shown in transverse section. This fossil is found in Lower Permian beds of Dovžanova soteska (near Tržič).
One of the FDCs shows a photograph of a slab or rock with a brittle star fossil as the cachet. This fossil was found in the vicinity of the town of Maribor.
For more details, please go here.

[SP2] Personalized stamps issued by Stamperija.
These are actually the first personalized dinosaur stamps issued by the company, who is famous for the production of thousands of thematic stamps for approximately two dozen countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
Fossils of none of the dinosaurs depicted on the stamps have been found in Azerbaijan.

[SP3] Personalized stamps issued by Chinese Post (GTY2017-05). They were issued together with official "Chinese Dinosaurs" stamps and sold with some souvenir stuff.

Stamps of associated topics: fossil found places, contributors to Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

06.11.2017 Kazakhstan [A7]	10.08.2017 South Africa [A5]	02.05.2017 Australia [A4]
07.02.2017 Israel [A3]	20.01.2017 Czech [A6]	17.01.2017 Great Britain [A2]
16.01.2017 Canada [A1]

Notes:
[A1] "UNESCO World Heritage Sites" stamps issued as mint mini-sheet and self-adhesive booklet of 10 and 30 stamps.

Fossil site: Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta on stamp of Canada 2017 MiNr.: 3442, Scott: 2936a	Fossil site: Mistaken Point on stamp of Canada 2017 MiNr.: 3443, Scott: 2963b

The first stamp on the mini sheet shows Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta (the same design as in 2015).
Another stamp from the set shows Mistaken Point.
At Mistaken Point (the second stamp on the mini-sheet), the rugged coastal cliffs host fossils of the primitive animals of the Ediacaran fauna. The Ediacaran fauna includes the first large, biologically complex organisms that may be related to animals.
For more details, please go here.

[A2] Royal Mail starts its 2017 Stamp Program with a subject that has not previously been featured as a stand-alone topic: how people lived in prehistoric times.
This stamp set shows various scenes from the lives of early Britons – from a glimpse of Stone Age rituals (11,000 years ago) through the Bonze Age and into the Iron Age (around 300 BC).
The stamps show famous iconic sites and some of the most exceptional artefacts found across the UK, and overlays illustrations to show how people lived, worked and used the objects.
All humans depicted are of modern humans - Homo sapiens sapiens.

Flint tool on stamp of Israel 2017 MiNr.: 2553, Scott:

[A3] Three stamps showing UNESCO world heritage sites of Israel. One of them depicting a beautiful prehistoric stone tool from Nahal Mearot Caves in Israel.
Archeological excavations, in four caves (Tabun, Gamal Nahal and Es-Skhul Cave), conducted at the site from 1928 to the present have discovered evidence of human existence near and inside the caves over hundreds of thousands of years.
Neanderthals may have lived side by side with early humans and possibly interbred with them, according to new research.
Stone axes (shown on one of the stamps) and sharp flint arrowheads of both branches of the human race have been discovered in limestone caves in northern Israel.
For more details, please go here.

[A4] This stamp issue presents four highly significant caves from around Australia. Each stamp provides us with a glimpse into these spectacular underground environments.

Cliefden Cave on stamp of Australia 2017, MiNr. 4625

One of the stamps shows Cliefden Cave.
The Cliefden Caves Geoheritage Site is multifaceted, containing internationally significant Ordovician fossil localities, limestone caves of national significance, a warm spring and tufa dams of state significance and the historically significant site where limestone was first discovered in inland Australia.
For more details, please go here.

[A5] In August 2017 South Africa issued "National Partks III" stamps set. The five stamps depict the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Tsitsikamma at the Garden Route National Park, Camdeboo National Park, Table Mountain National Park and Bontebok National Park. The stamps are postage for registered letters, costing R27.50 each.
Three of these parks are also known as important fossil-found places.

Landscape of the Camdeboo National Park on stamp of South Africa 2017, MiNr.: 2495, Scott:	Landscape of Golden Gate Highlands National Park on stamp of South Africa 2017 MiNr.: 2493, Scott:	Landscape of Table Mountain National Park on stamp of South Africa 2017 MiNr.: 2497, Scott:

The Camdeboo National Park is located in the Karoo and almost completely surrounds the Eastern Cape town of Graaff-Reinet.
The Karoo is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. It include several National parks such as Karoo National Park and Camdeboo National Park.
The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils.
For more details, please go here.

The outstanding features of Golden Gate are the rocks, whose formation started as far back as 200 million years ago.
The glowing golden colour of the sandstone cliffs facing each other on either side of the road at sunset led to the name Golden Gate.
Numerous paleontology finds have been made in the park including dinosaur eggs and skeletons.
For more details, please go here.

Table Mountain National Park is part of the Cape Floral World Heritage Site. It is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and one of the most beautiful spots on the African continent.
The park is also home to penguins, birds one would normally expect to find near Antarctica.
These rocks are believed to have originated in shallow tidal flats, in which a few Ordovician fossils, and fossil tracks have been preserved.
For more details, please go here.


[A6] Oldřich Pošmurný (1942-2010) was artist and stamps engraver.
He co-designed the series Zdeněk Burian’s Ancient Dinosaurs and designed Dinosaur's stamps of Czech Republic in 1994.
For more details, please go here.

[A7] Karatau Nature Reserve is a wildlife refuge in the mid-part of the Karatau Mountains, near Kyzylkum, Betpak-Dala and Moiynkum deserts in the South Kazakhstan Region of Kazakhstan, in Central Asia.
The park is also known as fossil-found place of plant and animals from Cambrian to Miocene ages.
For more details, please go here.

Attention: Fake / Illegal stamps!

An illegal stamp is defined by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) as a stamp that carries the name of a legitimate country or territory but was not produced or printed by the postal administration of that country and is not valid for postage anywhere in the world.

2017 - Guacimo, Costa Rica [F1]	2017 - Municipality of Famy, Philippines [F2]

Notes:
[F1] In the middle of 2017 these stamps of prehistoric animal appeared on the Internet as local stamps of Guácimo.
Guácimo is the capital of Guácimo, Limón Province in Costa Rica, similar to the rest of the country only official stamps can be used there.

[F2] These "Artist stamps" of Philippines's appeared on the Internet in 2017.
Famy, officially the Municipality of Famy, (Tagalog: Bayan ng Famy), is a 5^th class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. These stamps are not official and they do not represent any official postal entity.
According to the seller they are "Artist stamps" - original "Art" items shaped like a stamp created by an artist or group of artists.

Commemorative Postmarks directly related to Paleontology and Paleoanthropology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, fossils, human ancestors, paleontologists

Legend is here

28.12.2017 Armenia [FDC]	29.11.2017 Russia [FDC] [P2]
17.11.17 Germany	08.09.2017 South Africa [FDC]	20.07.2017 Monaco [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]
19.05.2017 China [Sp]/[FDC]
30.03.2017 Italy [Sp] [C1]	17.03.2017 Slovenia [FDC]	10.01.2017 Peru [FDC]

Notes:
[C1] commemorative postmark of "Altamura Man", shows reconstruction of its famous find made by Kennis & Kennis.

[C2] Postmark from "Dinosaur Eggs" station.

[C3] Two postmarks with the same design, one from Moscow, another one from St. Petersburg, commemorate the 175^th anniversary of the scientist and philosopher P.A. Kropotkin.
A Post stationery, postcard with imprinted stamp, dedicated to Kropotkin's anniversary was issued a month before.
He was one of the people who came up with the hypothesis that the continents had been glaciated during the Pleistocene based on the paleogeographic reconstructions that he developed.
He also developed alternative theories of evolution based on embryology.
For more details, please go here.

Post stationary and special covers related to Paleontolgy: fossils, contributors to Paleontology

02.11.2017 Germany [PS1]	30.10.2017 Russia [C3]	xx.xx.2017 Romania [P23]

Notes:
[P1] Postal stationery "200^th anniversary of The Senckenberg Natural Research Society". The Museum building, the skull of Triceratops and reconstruction of 'Lucy' (Australopithecus afarensis) are shown on left side of the cover.
The imprinted stamp is a reproduction of a mint stamp from 2007.
For more details, please go here.

[P2] 150^th anniversary of Grigore Antipa, who was director of the Museum of Natural History in Bucharest, where he made important contributions to the organization of the phylogenetic and ecological collections.
Imprinted stamp on the postal stationery shows the logo of the museum with silhouette of Mammoth.
The mammoth and Dinotherium giganteum (depicted for the first time on Romanian stamp in 1967) are most impressive and popular fossil of the museum.
For more details, please go here.

Notes

• If you are aware of any other philatelic items related to Paleontology or Paleoanthropology issued in 2017 that are not listed on this page, please inform the author of the website.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his very valuable comments.