|
Black Ven
Black Ven is a cliff in Dorset, England between the towns of Charmouth and Lyme Regis. The cliffs reach a height of . It is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Nearby is an undercliff with an ammonite pavement. The area is popular with tourists due to a number of fossils being found in the area. History The Black Ven has been historically renowned for paleontology. Mary Anning found an ichthyosaurus in The Spittles, and James Harrison found the first fossil remains of a ''Scelidosaurus'' while quarrying Black Ven in 1858. In 2001, the Black Ven and the whole of Lyme Bay became part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Geology Black Ven has the largest mudslides in Europe, and this constantly brings new material (such as fossils) to the base of the cliff and beach. The reason for this is the types of stone found through the cliff. There is porous limestone, which lets the water on rough days flow through it, below which you will find clay, which lets water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black Ven
Black Ven is a cliff in Dorset, England between the towns of Charmouth and Lyme Regis. The cliffs reach a height of . It is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Nearby is an undercliff with an ammonite pavement. The area is popular with tourists due to a number of fossils being found in the area. History The Black Ven has been historically renowned for paleontology. Mary Anning found an ichthyosaurus in The Spittles, and James Harrison found the first fossil remains of a ''Scelidosaurus'' while quarrying Black Ven in 1858. In 2001, the Black Ven and the whole of Lyme Bay became part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Geology Black Ven has the largest mudslides in Europe, and this constantly brings new material (such as fossils) to the base of the cliff and beach. The reason for this is the types of stone found through the cliff. There is porous limestone, which lets the water on rough days flow through it, below which you will find clay, which lets water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleontology
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to classify organisms and study their interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term itself originates from Greek (, "old, ancient"), (, ( gen. ), "being, creature"), and (, "speech, thought, study"). Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology, but differs from archaeology in that it excludes the study of anatomically modern humans. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics, and engineering. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devil's Toenail
''Gryphaea'', one of the genera known as devil's toenails, is a genus of extinct oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Gryphaeidae. These fossils range from the Triassic period to the middle Paleogene period, but are mostly restricted to the Triassic and Jurassic. They are particularly common in many parts of Britain. These oysters lived on the sea bed in shallow waters, possibly in large colonies. The complete fossils consist of two articulated valves: a larger gnarly-shaped shell (the "toenail") and a smaller, flattened shell, the "lid". The soft parts of the animal occupied the cavity between the two shells, just like modern oysters. The shells also feature prominent growth bands. The larger, curved shell sat within the mud on the sea floor. These shells are sometimes found in fossil plates along with ''Turritella'', clams, and sometimes sharks' teeth and fossilized fish scales. Its distribution is common in areas of both Europe. A classic location to find these fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belemnitida
Belemnitida (or the belemnite) is an extinct order of squid-like cephalopods that existed from the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous. Unlike squid, belemnites had an internal skeleton that made up the cone. The parts are, from the arms-most to the tip: the tongue-shaped pro-ostracum, the conical phragmocone, and the pointy guard. The calcitic guard is the most common belemnite remain. Belemnites, in life, are thought to have had 10 hooked arms and a pair of fins on the guard. The chitinous hooks were usually no bigger than , though a belemnite could have had between 100 and 800 hooks in total, using them to stab and hold onto prey. Belemnites were an important food source for many Mesozoic marine creatures, both the adults and the planktonic juveniles, and likely played an important role in restructuring marine ecosystems after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event. They may have laid between 100 and 1,000 eggs. Some species may have been adapted to speed and swam in the tur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic, Mesozoic Era and is named after the Jura Mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified. The start of the Jurassic was marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, associated with the eruption of the Central Atlantic magmatic province, Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. The beginning of the Toarcian Stage started around 183 million years ago and is marked by an extinction event associated with widespread Anoxic event, oceanic anoxia, ocean acidification, and elevated temperatures likely caused by the eruption of the Karoo-Ferrar, Karoo-Ferrar large igneous provinces. The end of the Jurassic, however, has no clear boundary with the Cretaceous and i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Lias
The Blue Lias is a geological formation in southern, eastern and western England and parts of South Wales, part of the Lias Group. The Blue Lias consists of a sequence of limestone and shale layers, laid down in latest Triassic and early Jurassic times, between 195 and 200 million years ago. The Blue Lias is famous for its fossils, especially ammonites. Its age corresponds to the Rhaetian to lower Sinemurian stages of the geological timescale, thus fully including the Hettangian stage. It is the lowest of the three divisions of the Lower Jurassic period and, as such, is also given the name ''Lower Lias''. Stratigraphically it can be subdivided into three members: the Wilmcote Limestone, Saltford Shale and Rugby Limestone. Lithology and facies The Blue Lias comprises decimetre scale alternations of argillaceous limestone and mudstone. These alternations are caused by short-term climatic variations during the Early Jurassic attributed to orbital forcing (Milankovitch cycles). Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyme Bay
Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel off the south coast of England. The south western counties of Devon and Dorset front onto the bay. The exact definitions of the bay vary. The eastern boundary is usually taken to be Portland Bill on the Isle of Portland, but there is no consensus over the western boundary. The broadest definition places the boundary at Start Point, and therefore includes Tor Bay and Start Bay as areas within Lyme Bay. A narrow definition gives the eastern boundary as Hope's Nose headland, excluding Tor Bay and Start Bay, used for example by the Water Framework Directive definitions of waterbodies. Other definitions place the boundary somewhere between these two points, including at Dartmouth (used by the Lyme Bay West Marine Character Area) and Berry Head. Geology The east of the bay is part of a World Heritage Site, the Dorset and East Devon Coast, which is also known as the Jurassic Coast, named for its Jurassic geology. History Many of the earlies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scelidosaurus
''Scelidosaurus'' (; with the intended meaning of "limb lizard", from Greek / meaning 'rib of beef' and ''sauros''/ meaning 'lizard')Liddell & Scott (1980). Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. is a genus of herbivorous armoured ornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of the British Isles. ''Scelidosaurus'' lived during the Early Jurassic Period, during the Sinemurian to Pliensbachian stages around 191 million years ago. This genus and related genera at the time lived on the supercontinent Laurasia. Its fossils have been found in the Charmouth Mudstone Formation near Charmouth in Dorset, England, and these fossils are known for their excellent preservation. ''Scelidosaurus'' has been called the earliest complete dinosaur.Norman, David (2001). "''Scelidosaurus'', the earliest complete dinosaur" in ''The Armored Dinosaurs'', pp 3-24. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. . It is the most completely known dinosaur of the British Isle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spittles
The Spittles is an area of coastal cliff in the county of Dorset on the south coast of England. It is situated between the settlements of Lyme Regis to the west and Charmouth to the east. It forms part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site designated in 2001. The cliff contains layers of Blue Lias and clay; in wet seasons the clay causes the layers above to become saturated and hence landslips occur, exposing many fossils. Mary Anning famously found an Ichthyosaurus in the Spittles. The Spittles also lies just to the west of another popular fossiling location along the Jurassic Coastline at Black Ven. The base of the Black Ven mudslide is one of the best places to find fossils along the Jurassic Coastline. The sea washes the fossils out of the mud and leaves them to be found amongst the shingle between the boulders. It is possible to walk here from Lyme Regis, but care must be taken not to get cut off by the tide. The area is also prone to rock falls and mudslides, particu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ichthyosaurus
''Ichthyosaurus'' (derived from Greek ' () meaning 'fish' and ' () meaning 'lizard') is a genus of ichthyosaurs from the Early Jurassic ( Hettangian - Pliensbachian), with possible Late Triassic record, from Europe (Belgium, England, Germany, Switzerland, and Portugal). It is among the best known ichthyosaur genera, as it is the type genus of the order Ichthyosauria.Maisch MW, Matzke AT. 2000. The Ichthyosauria. ''Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie)'' 298: 1-159McGowan C, Motani R. 2003. Ichthyopterygia. – In: Sues, H.-D. (ed.): ''Handbook of Paleoherpetology, Part 8, Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil'', 175 pp., 101 figs., 19 plts; MünchenMaisch MW, Reisdorf AG, Schlatter R, Wetzel A. 2008. A large skull of Ichthyosaurus (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Lower Sinemurian (Lower Jurassic) of Frick (NW Switzerland). ''Swiss Journal of Geosciences'' 101: 617-627. History of discovery ''Ichthyosaurus'' was the first complete fossil to be discov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Anning
Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known around the world for the discoveries she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset in Southwest England. Anning's findings contributed to changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth. Anning searched for fossils in the area's Blue Lias and Charmouth Mudstone cliffs, particularly during the winter months when landslides exposed new fossils that had to be collected quickly before they were lost to the sea. Her discoveries included the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton when she was twelve years old; the first two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons; the first pterosaur skeleton located outside Germany; and fish fossils. Her observations played a key role in the discovery that coprolites, known as bezoar stones at the time, were foss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scelidosaurus Skeleton
''Scelidosaurus'' (; with the intended meaning of "limb lizard", from Greek / meaning 'rib of beef' and ''sauros''/ meaning 'lizard')Liddell & Scott (1980). Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. is a genus of herbivorous armoured ornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of the British Isles. ''Scelidosaurus'' lived during the Early Jurassic Period, during the Sinemurian to Pliensbachian stages around 191 million years ago. This genus and related genera at the time lived on the supercontinent Laurasia. Its fossils have been found in the Charmouth Mudstone Formation near Charmouth in Dorset, England, and these fossils are known for their excellent preservation. ''Scelidosaurus'' has been called the earliest complete dinosaur.Norman, David (2001). "''Scelidosaurus'', the earliest complete dinosaur" in ''The Armored Dinosaurs'', pp 3-24. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. . It is the most completely known dinosaur of the British Isle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
