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Hi everyone, I recently bought this tooth on a whim. It was described as Diplocynodon sp. from the Kimmeridge Clay and reworked into the Albian-age Faringdon Sponge Gravels at the Wicklesham Pit. However, this description is obviously wrong in either species attribution or locality, since Diplocynodon is an alligatoroid genus dating to the Paleocene to middle Miocene, and could therefore not possibly have been found in the Sponge Gravels as Wicklesham Pit. Going by the label that came with the tooth, however, the seller whom I bought the tooth from just copied the information on the label provided by the person they bought the tooth from (I think I recognize the labelling-style, which means I may have a lead to trace the provenance - although that would very much depend on how long records are kept by that other seller and on how long ago the tooth left them). As the tooth isn't rolled, as much of the material form the Sponge Gravels is, and in preservation also doesn't match the buff through orange to deep red colours of most other Kimmeridge Clay material I've seen - whether from Faringdon or elsewhere (mainly Abingdon) - I'm pretty confident this tooth doesn't come from the reworked deposits at Wicklesham Pit. Rather, the state of preservation reminds me of finds from the Oxford Clay. In fact, the root of the tooth has some black deposit on it, that I take to be oxidized pyrite - something I've learned from this thread to be a not uncommon feature of Oxford Clay fossils. Another option as to the tooth's origin is that the tooth could come from Hamstead on the Isle of Wight, where Diplocynodon is known to occur. The dark/black colouration of the tooth and traces of what appears to have been buff-coloured matrix - as opposed to the light grey one of the Oxford Clay - may point in that direction. Though I consider this possibility less likely than the Oxford Clay one for the reasons set out below. Turning to morphology, the tooth doesn't seem to quite match examples of Diplocynodon I've been able to find online. For, while my tooth is densely ornamented with strong striations and exhibits - as far as I can make out - only one possible carina ("possible", as it may just be an apicobasal ridge), other teeth I've seen are mostly smooth/unornamented with what look to be two carinae (although alligatoroid teeth can have anywhere from zero through two carinae and I've also been able to find at least one Diplocynodon-tooth specimen with striations). Moreover, my tooth is conical, which at least rules out the more robust "short but wide" Diplocynodon morphotype. Diplocynodon hantoniensis teeth, Lower Hamstead Beds , Hamstead, Isle of Wight (source) Diplocynodon sp. teeh from the Faluns of Touraine, region of Savigné (source) Diplocynodon hantoniensis from the Eocene deposits at Barton, Hampshire; note the striations This brings us to a closer examination of the features of the tooth's ornamentation, as seen under a microscope. Visible are not just the black deposit on the root and strong and dense striations referred to above, but also what I make out to be remnants of the fossil's original yellow matrix; reticulation of striae; striations stopping close to the base of the tooth, rather than reaching the full apicobasal height; the overall texture of the enamel in between of the striae; and partial cross-section through the tooth enamel. In particular with respect to the cross-section, it may be useful to have a look at the below illustration, figure 4 from McCurry et al. (2019). For, of course it could just be my imagination, but I see greatest similarity with specimen A - that is, the brachauchenine tooth marked as P. interruptus (but see here for a discussion on the validity of this species). Cross-sections through the teeth of A. Polyptycodon interruptus, B. Globidens alabamensis, C. Goniopholis crassidens, D. Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, E. Ichthyosaurus communis, F. Zygorhiza kochii Similarly, if I look at the below diagram of dental ornamentation amongst various clades of marine animal (figure 2, ibid.), I find greatest semblance with tooth D, sauopterygia, pliosauridae indet. (although an argument could be made for A, crocodylomorpha, Deinosuchus rugosus, could be made as well). Phylogenetic distribution and morphological similarity of apicobasal ridges: A. Deinosuchus rugosus; B. Spinosaurus; C. Ichthyosaurus; D. Pliosauridae indet.; E. Globidens alabamensis; F. Hydrurga leptonyx; G. Mammalodontidae indet. I see further comparability in ornamentation when looking at images of the below tooth: As such, I believe that the tooth under discussion here is, in fact, a pliosaur tooth from the Oxford Clay. Moreover, seeing as the density of the striae all round and smooth enamel surface in between, I'm thinking the tooth might belong to Simolestes vorax. However, the traces of yellow matrix make me wonder whether the tooth indeed derives from the Oxford Clay, whereas the few vermiculations visible at the base of the tooth - rare on S. vorax - and the tooth's overall colour make me hesitant whether this might not actually be a Liopleurodon ferox (although I'd think the density of striations would be quite high, in that case; but for comparison with another small L. ferox tooth, see here). As it stands, I guess my questions are: Are the traces of yellow I'm seeing on the tooth indeed remnants of matrix, or could they be dried up glue? Where was the tooth found, what deposits does it derive from? Did it indeed come out for the Kimmeridge Clay, or did it come from either Oxford Clay or Hamstead Beds? Does this correlate with the traces of matrix seen on the tooth? Considering the geological origin of the tooth, is it more likely to be crocodilian or pliosaurian? Is the species attribution correct? That is, if crocodilian, is this indeed a Diplocynodon tooth? And if it were pliosaurian, does it belong to S. vorax or L. ferox? Thanks for your help! @paulgdls @PointyKnight @DE&i @RuMert @Jesuslover340 @caterpillar

I recently spent a week on the Isle of Wight, mostly to find fossils. To be honest, the fossils were pretty much a washout for me in many respects. My inexperience, combined with very mild weather and calm seas, meant that I didn't find the dinosaur bone I'd been hoping for. I made much better finds in the local book and charity shops! I did recover some huge pieces of lignite, which seemed to litter every beach I found. This even included some huge logs. I have successfully preserved lignite from other locations, but this stuff is quite pyritic. However, I'm happy to say that I was quite fortunate when hunting in the Oligocene beds of Hamstead. This beach is not easy to access - it's difficult to find a means down to the beach, and when you find it, you have to jump down a bank, walk over loads of broken glass, climb over fallen trees and crawl beneath others, and walk in worryingly sticky mud. However, it is worth it! I didn't find a huge amount, but I was fortunate enough to come across these two associated scutes from the alligator Diplocynodon (identified by the very helpful people at Dinosaur Isle). I also found about a dozen pieces of emys turtle shell, these are three of the best. This piece of bone was identified by a chap at Dinosaur Isle as most likely a piece of mammal skull. I didn't get an ID on this - any suggestions would be welcome. It's 1.5cm tall. This is also unidentified, and I'm not certain whether it's a fossil or not. It's 2.5cm long.

Hi, I've just got back from a collecting trip up to Hamstead Ledge this afternoon and came across a fairly rare find that I was hoping someone may be able to help with. It's the distal tarsometatarsus of bird found ex-situ on the foreshore. Bird material from the Bouldnor Fm. tends to be quite rare and this is the first piece I've actually ever come across so was really excited to find it! I was wondering if there were any diagnostic features on the specimen that would be able to take the ID further than "Aves indet.". If anyone has any knowledge of bird material then I'd really appreciate their help (what I have noticed is the trochlea are fairly evenly spaced but didn't know if that indicated anything). Thank you, Theo The specimen measures 1.9cm in length and 1.5cm across at it's widest point.

Hi, It's been a while since I've put anything up on here so it figured it would a good time to share some of my finds from this spring so far. With such a productive winter the start of this spring on the Bouldnor Fm. coast was a bit slow with several trips in which little was found (odd for what is usually a heavily productive site) but as March and April came round the finds started coming in faster and better. Access at Bouldnor is now very dangerous and pretty much impassable due to thick and deep silt and mud which has covered part of the beach (which I found out the hard way trying to get through), along with two recent cliff falls which have brought several oak trees down onto the beach. Hamstead and Cranmore are as good as ever with a lot of the winter's mudflows now eroding away and making the foreshore a lot easier. (Hamstead Ledge on a spring low tide) Mammal finds have been pretty nice so far this spring, as usual all Bothriodon, and alongside them I've also made some nice alligator and turtle finds including two partial Emys in-situ in the Upper Hamstead Mbr. Here are some of the highlights: 1. More pieces of the large Bothriodon mandible I first found in January have turned up scattered over the same area. I now have part of the hinge, two sections with P2 - M3 and a part of the underside of the mandible from further forward. I regularly check the site on my collecting trips so hopefully yet more of the jaw will turn up. (The positions of the fragments may be slightly off in the image below but it gives a general idea) 2. Bothriodon caudal vertebra. This is one of my favourite finds from this spring. I was originally excavating a small micro-vertebrate site when I felt the tool make contact with a large bone, I dug a bit deeper into the clay and found this vertebra with the processes fragmented around it. Luckily with a bit of super glue the processes were easily reunited with the vertebral body, after 33 million years apart. Unfortunately I couldn't locate the other transverse process or neural spine in the matrix nearby so I think they may have been broken off on the Oligocene coastal plain. 3. Bothriodon upper molar in a fragment of maxilla 4. Section of Bothriodon mandible with a nice mental foramen. Unfortunately no in-situ teeth with this one. 5. Section of mammalian limb bone with evidence of rodent gnawing. This was an in-situ find eroding out of the Upper Hamstead Mbr. on the foreshore. Gnaw marks like these are really common on in-situ material especially on limb bones. I don't think the rodents were scavenging the flesh off the bones, more likely they were extracting calcium and phosphate or were simply using it to grind down their continually growing incisors. Either way it shows that for at least a period a lot of these bones were exposed to the elements and accessible to the variety of rodents present on the coastal plain. 6. Nice quality Bothriodon intermedial phalange 7. Large Diplocynodon alligator frontal bone Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the finds! Theo

Hi, I thought I'd share some of my finds from what was a pretty good trip up to Bouldnor Cliff on Tuesday morning. This was my first collecting trip in over a month due to tides, being ill over Christmas and being generally busy, so I missed out on most of December. But hopefully I can start getting back into going twice a week again as usual. Low tide was at 09:48 so I decided to head for Bouldnor instead of Hamstead, as it's a lot easier to quickly access. My hope was that the prolonged stormy weather we've had for a couple of weeks now would have brought up some nice finds, and I wasn't disappointed. Walking along the shingle I quickly spotted a worn mammal vertebra sticking out of the sand, then a couple of metres away in an area of mud was the distal end of an anthracothere humerus. Pieces like these can be pretty rare finds so I was really pleased with them. They both seem likely to be from Bothriodon based off their larger size. Moving further along the coast the productivity dropped and the finds were the usual fish vertebrae, alligator scutes, and Emys fragments punctuated by the occasional piece of rolled bone. I checked the surface of the log bed and any shelly horizon for bones or teeth that may be weathering out, but unfortunately no luck there. An interesting sight though was the log bed's huge tree trunks. Usually obscured by sand the log bed marks the boundary between the Upper and Lower Hamstead Members. It correlates with a eustatic lowstand attributed to the onset of antarctic glaciation and rapid global cooling. Around this bed is where the mammal fauna at Bouldnor passes through the famous Grande Coupure, marking the extinction of earlier endemic Eocene mammals like palaeotheres and anoplotheres, who are replaced with rhinocerotids, carnivorans, and a wide range of artiodactyls and rodents, including entelodonts and anthracotheres. The log bed represents a large log jam in fluvial swampy conditions, intermixed with the trees were the carcasses of mammals (a nearly intact Anoplotherium skeleton eroded out of the bed between the 1960's and 2002). Large tree trunks of pines and redwoods can be seen weathering out on the foreshore, and look pretty impressive. There's a long hiatus after the log bed, before the deposition of the Upper Hamstead Member above. Having passed the log bed, productivity picked up again and within the space of around 20 metres I made some pretty nice finds, including teeth from Bothriodont anthacotheres, an alligator tooth, a large section of trionychid costal plate, alligator jaw fragments, and a large cervical vertebra from an alligator (Diplocynodon sp.). Despite missing the neural arch and cervical ribs on one side the vertebra is quite well preserved and unworn, and is definitely one of the best bones I've collected from the Bouldnor Fm. I walked on a bit further towards Cranmore but decided to turn back as the tide has begun to turn. Overall, it was a great trip with some really nice finds. I'm planning on heading up to Hamstead for a full day of collecting on Saturday so I'll post on how that trip goes. Thank you, Theo 1. Worn Bothriodon vertebra 2. Distal anthracothere humerus, most likely Bothriodon 3. Diplocynodon cervical vertebra 4. Front view of the Diplocynodon vertebra

G'day all! After three years since my last visit to the UK, i finally returned in December 2017 for another massive collecting trip across England. This was my most ambitious tour of the UK's Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertebrate deposits thus far, with 20 days of collecting across ten different locations. These were (in chronological order from first visit): Abbey Wood in East London Beltinge in Kent Bouldnor on the Isle of Wight Compton Bay to Grange Chine on the Isle of Wight Lyme Regis to Charmouth in Dorset Aust Cliff in Gloucestershire Saltwick Bay in Yorkshire Kings dyke in Cambridgeshire Minster in Kent Tankerton in Kent. If you went collecting at any of these places in the last month, there's probably a 25.6975% chance you saw me looking very intimidating hunched over in my hooded rain jacket and muddy pants 14 of those collecting days were back-to-back, a new record for me, though it was very tiring! Having just come from the hot Australian summer, winter collecting in England was certainly a challenge at times and my fingers and toes froze to the point i could barely feel them on multiple occasions. Temperatures for many of the days reached 0 degrees celcius or below, with ice on the ground around me and even snow falling while i was trying to collect! I also went out during the middle of the night to collect using a head torch on some occasions (mainly at Bouldnor) due to the tidal conditions and bad weather which prevented collecting during the day. All in all i am certainly pleased with how the trip went, i was successful at all locations with the exception of Tankerton. For some of the locations (Aust Cliff, Kings dyke, Saltwick Bay) it was also my first and only visit, so i'm glad i still managed to do well with no prior experience at these sites and with such limited time at each. I have tried to write this trip report not only as a means of showing you guys my finds but also to provide an informative overview of some of the better locations for Mesozoic and Cenozoic vertebrates across England for others who might be planning similar trips. Anyway, here are the results! Pictures will be spread across the next 12 posts due to file size restrictions. Abbey Wood - East London (6/12/17, 30/12/17 and 31/12/17) Formation: Blackheath ('Lesnes Shell Bed') Deposit Age: 54.5 million years (Eocene) Fossil Diversity: Sharks, bony fish, chimaeroids, bivalves, gastropods, rare mammals, turtles and crocodiles This was one of only two inland locations i visited (the other being Kings dyke). As i have found, the majority of the UK's easily accessible fossil collecting locations are coastal! Abbey Wood is an excellent location just 45 minutes on the tube from central London. It is situated in a park called the Lesnes Abbey Woods and there is a small collecting area that is open to the public for shallow digging (see my first two pictures below). You definitely need a sifter, shovel and basin of water at this location to have any real success. Be warned though that once you combine the fine Blackheath sediments with water during sifting you get some pretty gnarly mud so expect to come away from this site looking like you've just been rolling around in the dirt. I'm sure i got some interesting looks from people on the tube going back to London it was all worth it though, as every single sift load produced at least one shark tooth across the three days i visited. Very impressive considering the number of obvious holes dotted around the ground from years worth of other collectors visiting. It should be noted though that the mammalian material from this location is of high scientific importance, and collecting here is allowed on the condition that any mammalian finds be brought to the attention of and handed in to specialists like Dr Jerry hooker at the Natural History Museum in London. I didn't find any such material on my trips unfortunately. Here is the designated collecting area. The statue at the front is of Coryphodon, one of the rare Eocene mammals that has been found at the site. The full haul of shark teeth from three days of sifting in the collecting area. Most are from Striatolamia and Sylvestrilamia. I gave up trying to count them once i got past 100 Some of the other fishy bits that often turn up during sifting, including guitar fish teeth on the far left and two dermal denticles (Hypolophodon sylvestris), one gar pike fish tooth in the middle (Lepisosteus suessionensis), one shark vertebra down the bottom and unidentified bony fish vertebrae on the right. I don't typically collect shells, but i picked these up for the sake of adding a bit more diversity to my Abbey Wood collection. These are bivalves and gastropods of various species. The molluscan diversity from this one location is actually quite impressive. Beltinge - Kent (7/12/17 and 29/12/17) Formation: Upnor ('Beltinge Fish Bed') Deposit Age: 56.5 million years old (Paleocene) Fossil Diversity: Sharks, chimaeroids, bony fish, rays, turtles, crocodiles, bivalves, wood This is my favourite shark tooth collecting location in the UK and probably my favourite that i have visited anywhere so far. The shoreline directly opposite the access point at the end of Reculver Drive in Beltinge is loaded with teeth and dare i say it's impossible to come here and walk away empty handed. The shore however is very flat so there is generally only about a two hour window of time that collecting can be carried out here, one hour either side of low tide. Conditions can also vary depending on how sanded over the shore is, whether the Beltinge Fish Bed itself is exposed and how low the tide drops. However even on a poor day you will still find teeth here, just not as many! I experienced this first hand as the first day i visited on December 7th the conditions were excellent. The tide dropped quite low, there wasn't too much sand covering the clay and the Beltinge Fish Bed was exposed. This allowed direct in-situ collecting of teeth from this rich layer and i ended up with something like 240 teeth from just a couple of hours of looking. The second visit i made on December 29 of the same month was almost the exact opposite. It's amazing how quickly these coastal locations can change! The shore was largely sanded over, the fish bed was covered and the tide didn't drop anywhere near as much. I was out about the same amount of time as the first but only managed 69 teeth (only ). Keep these things in mind if you are planning a visit. Luckily though i didn't just find shark teeth, i also managed to locate some of the other less common finds as you will see below! Here is the area of shoreline that produces teeth, photographed on December 7th. It was quite cold and rainy! Three teeth sitting next to each other as found. More as-found shark teeth. This one made me quite excited when i saw it. It's a large piece of chimaeroid fish jaw and mouthplate coming straight from the Beltinge Fish Bed itself (the darker, dull-green sandy clay in this picture). Beltinge is continued in the next post.

Collected recently from Bouldnor on the Isle of Wight. It is about 33 million years old (earliest Oligocene). Fossils of turtles, a small alligatorid (Diplocynodon) and land mammals (most commonly anthracotheres) are the usual finds. This is the first ungual i have ever found from this location, and i am having trouble finding images of other examples to compare with. It measures 18mm long. I first thought crocodile when i collected it, but i would like other opinions. I'm now tossing up between mammalian and crocodilian. I understand going further than that will probably not be possible. Cheers!

Hi, I haven't posted in a while on here so I thought I'd show some of my best Bouldnor Fm. finds from this autumn (so far). As winter comes in the productivity on the coast has noticeably increased since the summer. We've had a lot of wet and windy weather through October and November, especially with Hurricane Ophelia and Storm Brian which has triggered a lot of falls and slips especially at Bouldnor and Hamstead Cliffs producing new material. I've also recently started as a lab volunteer at Dinosaur Isle (mostly accessioning Insect fossils from the Bembridge Insect Beds etc.) which has inspired me to get out on the coast a lot more often, meaning I'm now out collecting at least once a week. So here are my bests from the last few weeks: 1) A large piece of Emys plastron from Bouldnor. 2) A distal piece of an anthracothere humerus, most likely from Bothriodon

Hi, I was out collecting from the Bouldnor Formation on Tuesday as usual and came across this piece of bone on the foreshore west of Cranmore. I initially thought it may have been part of a vertebra, but from what I can tell after looking at it further I think it may be part of the occipital bone/nuchal ridge (not sure on the proper name for this region of the skull so please correct me if I'm wrong) from the back of a mammal skull, as I can see an area that may be the beginning of a sagittal crest. The specimen is damaged in some areas and has clearly been broken off from a larger specimen at some point and worn by the elements. I was wondering if anyone would be able to confirm if this is a piece of occipital bone, and if it would be possible to ID it further based on its morphology etc. Thank you, Theo

Hi, Sorry I haven't been that active on here recently for the last few weeks, I've been incredibly busy. I've made a few trips to Hamstead over the past few weeks (I'll post some of the highlights later) and have just got back from a very wet and windy trip today, which as usual did not disappoint. The most interesting find of the day, along with a snake vertebra and an anthracothere premolar, was this fairly intact vertebra. My initial thoughts were perhaps crocodilian or mammalian but it looks very different from any Diplocynodon vertebra I've ever found, and I can't find a match to any mammals. The spinous process is nearly intact and it has a very narrow neural canal. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Theo

Hi, I officially finished school forever on Monday so to celebrate my new fangled freedom I decided to spend an afternoon and evening collecting along the Hamstead to Bouldnor coast, so I thought I'd show some of the highlights from the trip. We had very strong winds and some rain here last week so I figured that the beach conditions would be good for collecting, and the Bouldnor Fm. didn't disappoint. I reached the beach at Hamstead point around 1:30pm, and the spring tide was the highest I'd ever seen it. The tide was technically going out but along this coast the tide doesn't actually fall until two hours prior to low tide, which meant that only a small area of beach was exposed and I'd have to wait a few hours until I was able to make a lot of progress along the coast. I decided to sift through the small patches of shingle exposed to kill the time, which can often produce a lot of smaller bone fragments and teeth, especially those of crocodiles. After a few minutes I'd collected a handful of fish vertebrae from Bowfins and Unidentifiable teleosts, turtle limb bones, some sections of crocodilian or mammalian ribs, and a worn centrum from a crocodilian cervical vertebra (most likely Diplocynodon, the genus to which crocodilian material from the Bouldnor Fm. is referred). I moved on to a new patch further along the still very narrow beach and again turned up fish vertebrae, mammalian tooth roots, small fragments of crocodilian scutes, and excitingly a large distal portion of a mammal phalanx (presumably Bothriodon). The tide still hadn't moved so I hedged by bets and moved as far as I possibly could hugging the cliff edge. The base of the cliff at Hamstead Point exposes the boundary between the Bembridge Limestone Fm. and Bembridge Marls Mbr. of the Bouldnor Fm. Just above the junction are the Insect Limestone (world famous for it's insect fossils) and the Oyster Bed (a marine in-raid deposit that can produce fish remains) so I gave these beds a look over but unfortunately nothing was weathering out (Hamstead is an SSSI therefore hammering into the cliff is illegal). Finally the tide started to move out, and when it does it moves out very quick, so there was soon a large area of beach to survey and I could begin making my way down the coast. The finds started coming in thick and fast after that, scores of turtle carapace and plastron fragments (more than 100 in total), crocodilian scutes, mammal teeth, fragments of mammal bones, and much more. The best finds of the trip were by far a large crocodilian cervical vertebra, pre-molars from the anthracothere Bothriodon, and a fragment of crocodilian jaw, again Diplocynodon. But the best by far was a large distal portion of a mammal tibia found lying in the mud a few metres along from the 'Black Band'. As of yet I don't have an ID for the tibia as it is larger than would be expected for Bothriodon. There are numerous other candidates it could be, so I'll research further (if anyone has any suggestions, even if just to an order level, then that would appreciated). It also seems to have provided quite a nice home for a lot marine colonial species and plants which are currently being removed. I wrapped up the trip at 7pm and headed home, with a nice haul of finds. Now I've got a few months off before I start university I should be hunting much more regularly, all over the Island, so hopefully the summer will turn up some good finds! I'll attach images below, including of the tibia fragment. Thanks, Theo The distal portion of mammal tibia, covered in seaweeds etc. A large cervical vertebra from a crocodilian (Diplocynodon s.p) A section of trionychid turtle carapace (Trionyx s.p)

Hi, I thought I'd share some of my best finds from my trip to Hamstead earlier today. Today was my first collecting trip there in almost a month due to the living hell most British 18 year olds have to endure, commonly called, A level exams. As my exams are starting to wind down and finish next week, along with my entire school career (I'm nearly free!) I thought I'd head up there and do some collecting to get back into the swing of things for the summer. We've had a long period of very hot, calm, and still weather here in southern England, and that coupled with the recent influx of eager tourists during the early June school holidays, has meant that on many parts of the Hamstead - Bouldnor coast decent finds other than turtle carapace and plastron fragments are pretty thin on the ground. Nevertheless I hit the beach at about 8am this morning and over the course of the morning/early afternoon found some fairly nice specimens, although the reduced productivity was quite noticeable. The best find of the day was a large section of Diplocynodon s.p jaw, seemingly from the left mandible, lying out on the Bembridge Marls on the foreshore (although it's most likely from the Lower Hamstead Mbr). Another really interesting and nice find was a fragment of mammal mandible, with a molar still in situ within it's alveolus. Unfortunately the tooth itself has been heavily worn so the crown is missing, although the roots can be seen within the mandible. Based off of the shape of the alveoli and the size it's likely its from an Anthracothere such as Elomeryx or Bothriodon although without the crown it'll be difficult to properly ID it. Other finds included a small section of mammal rib, a worn proximal end of a femur, various fish vertebrae from Amia s.p (Bowfin) and from unidentified teleosts, a worn crocodilian vertebral centrum, and about 50-60 small to medium sized fragments of turtle carapace (from Emys and Trionyx) and crocodilian scutes, including posterior marginal, marginal, and neural plates. I'll attach images below. Thanks, Theo 1. Large section of Diplocynodon s.p mandible. 2. A section of mammalian rib 3. Mammalian mandible fragment with molar roots in situ.

Hi, I thought I'd share some of my nicest finds from recent trips up to Hamstead in the past two or so weeks. The tides have changed now in the western solent so I wasn't able to get out for as long as I usually am able to this weekend, (only 10am - 1pm instead of 7am to 4pm) so I didn't manage to find as much as usual. However, we've had a lot of periods of wet and windy conditions followed by warm and dry weather, which has brought down some areas of the cliffs and really churned up the sediments and seabed bringing a fair amount of material (the other week I came back with nearly 1kg of finds!), so conditions are currently pretty good. Turtle remains, most from Emys and occasionally Trionyx are still massively dominant over any other type of material followed by fragments of crocodilian scutes and vertebrae, fish remains, and fragments of bones. Mammal and crocodilian mandibles have been occasionally popping up here and there though along with loose teeth. Below are some pictures of the highlights from the last 2 weeks of collecting (may be in more than one post). 1. A very large (for Hamstead at least), nearly intact crocodilian scute, likely Diplocynodon s.p

Hi, A few weeks back I posted in the ID section about a fragment of mammal molar I had found whilst collecting at Hamstead. The Hamstead to Bouldnor coast is an Eocene/Oligocene locality and one the best sites in the UK for tertiary vertebrate remains from crocodiles, turtles, fish, and quite frequently mammals too, and was deposited in a paludal environment in the Hampshire Basin. I was aware it was a fragment of a rhinoceros tooth but couldn't be sure if it was from a more modern Pleistocene type like Stephanorhinus or a much more older rhinocerotid like Ronzotherium, an early hornless rhinoceros which is a a very rare part of the post Grande Coupre mammal fauna found in the Bouldnor Fm. Only 6 finds attributed to Ronzotherium have been discovered here since the late-19th century, the last record I can find is from 1999, all have been referred to the species romani. After the suggestions of some users on this forum and further research online I excitingly noticed some similarities to the molars of Ronzotherium. Straight away I contacted Dr Martin Munt, the curator at the Isle Of Wight's paleontological museum 'Dinosaur Isle' to bring the find to his attention in case it was from Ronzotherium. He passed the images on to colleagues at the Natural History Museum in London, who confirmed the molar as being from Ronzotherium. This was really exciting news to hear considering the rarity of material like this in the Bouldnor fm. The museum staff were really excited too and asked if it would be possible for me to bring the specimen in for them to borrow for a period and look at it in further detail. Suffice to say the molar is on it's way to the museum tomorrow afternoon to be dropped off and spend some time the laboratories there, and if needs be I'm more than happy to make a permanent donation to help learn more about the species and the UK's tertiary past. It's a really exciting find that I feel really lucky to have discovered, and definitely makes 6am starts and Saturday mornings scrambling through fallen trees and mudslides worth it! (I've attached a picture of the specimen below along with a reconstruction of the species, the proto and metaloph are present and so is an intact lingual valley, the enamel is also really well preserved)

Hi, Haven't been on here for a while as I've been quite busy lately but I managed to get out collecting yesterday at my usual spot along the coast at Hamstead. Whilst I was collecting I came across this fragment of a fossil molar washed up on the beach. From the look of it I'd tentatively say that it's from the Pleistocene gravels (which can be found along most of the cliff tops and offshore), however a lot of the Eocene/Oligocene material can also appear to be quite young and in good condition. To me it resembles a fragment of rhinoceros or elephant tooth, but at the same time it also looks similar to Paleotherium molars I have seen, whose remains have been found in the tertiary clays here. The enamel has been worn down to the dentine and the growth pattern can also be seen in the enamel. Any opinions or help as to what it could be would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, I thought I'd share some of my best finds from yesterday's trip to Hamstead. It was definitely one of the best trips I've had in terms of the sheer number and variety of fossils I picked up. Tide was going out slowly so had to spend a lot of time climbing over and through the fallen trees that litter the beach from the landslides, but it was definitely worth it. As usual fragments of Emys carapace were by far the most common find along with loads of worn pieces of crocodile scute and fish vertebrae. I also found quite a few of the nicer pieces that come out of the Bouldnor formation including a diplocynodon tooth, mammal teeth and bones (which seem to be quite common at the moment), 3 diplocynodon vertebrae, a large section of diplocynodon mandible, and the largest fragment of Trionychid carapace/plastron I've ever found! The coast is always very productive but the strong winds and rain we had here for much of last week seem to have exposed/brought in lots of new material. I'll attach images of the highlights from the trip below (will have to do it in multiple posts because of size limits). (Below) The best Emys fragments of the day, a large plastron piece, a neural plate, and a peripheral piece.

Hi, I'm Theo I'm new to the forum (I'll properly introduce myself on the introductions pages) and I've been collecting from the Oligocene beds on the north east coast of the Isle Of Wight for some years now. Yesterday afternoon whist collecting on the coast at Hamstead I came across this bone on the foreshore. I can tell it's a calcaneus bone and my initial thought was a mammal but I'm not sure. (I also stumbled upon some quite nice Bothriodon? incisors). Any help in identifying the calcaneus would be much appreciated. Thanks, Theo