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Jurassic, Callovian, Oxford Clay, near Yaxley, Cambridgeshire. The first fossil I picked up thinking it was a new echinoid spine, but under the microscope its structure looks quite different to the others I've found, and I'm wondering if it might be part of a fish spine. Those are my two best candidates for this. I would appreciate any opinions or suggestions. The second I think is the mould of a belemnite phragmocone, with some of the aragonite still attached. Every second bar on the scale is a mm.

I'm trying to determine if these are echinoid. I found these two on an Oxford Clay trip yesterday, Jurassic, Callovian, Peterborough Member, near Yaxley in Cambridgeshire. The first is, I think, a partial echinoid spine. My only doubts are because it's quite different from the others I've found at the site, it's a very different pattern. I would appreciate another opinion. The second has completely confused me. It looks black, so I thought it was pyrite, but when I photographed it, it's clearly a completely different material. It's a very odd shape, like a tiny snowman, and the only thing I thought it might be is a mamelon from an echinoid tubercle. I don't have anything else like this, and the different material puzzles me. I would really appreciate opinions on this.

I visited my favorite spot in the Early Kimmeridgian the other day and along with the usual ammonites, I came up with something quite interesting. It's a block out of the sponge reef facies with a Laevaptychus obliquus Aptychus as the center piece along with a Streblites tenuilobatus ammonite and a couple of smaller ones, a rhychonelloid brachiopod and even a little echinoid spine all attached to pieces of sponges. Everything is strongly calcified, so it's quite stable. I just had to abrade away the soft clay matrix and there they were.

John and I headed out for a couple hours to our Washita Group site this afternoon. The water was still deep in some spots, but we were able to get around to a few new locations. We found three or four of the expected ammonites (Oxytropidoceras acutocarinatum), plus a couple things I have yet to id. By far MY find of the day was an echinoid spine that I spied (even though it was partially covered by leaves) in a Denton Clay exposure. This exposure also gave us a few irregular echinoids, and several Neithea sp., including the one shown below, which has exceptional preservation. I do have to say this, however, my favorite part of the day was later this evening at my daughter's high school parent/teacher conference while talking with her Biology II instructor. John was with us, and I mentioned we'd been out fossil hunting this afternoon. That started a little conversation between the teacher and John. John told him "You know, understanding geology is really important when you're looking for fossils. You have to understand the different layers of rock to know where to look for fossils, and the ages they represent to identify them properly." The instructor looked at him, shook his head and said, "You know, I don't think there's anyone in my classes, other than your sister, that would have any idea what you just said--and how true it is." It made me proud that he's soaking up important stuff while having a good time.