Search the Community

Hi all, A handful of days ago there was a sand pile right in my neighborhood. Not sure why it was there, probably someone was making constructions to their house, but in any case I was happy. That's because that kind of sand comes straight from the North Sea, which is full of Eemian fossil sediments! So I took a little plastic bag and spent an hour or two looking in that pile of sand for fossils. The very common Eemian bivalves came up abundantly (so species like Mactra plistoneerlandica, Cerastoderma edule, C. glaucum, Macoma balthica, etc), but that is not what I was too excited about. Seeing that the sand pile was rather small, it forced me to focus on just that little pile. Which is great, because therefore I actually started looking much more closely, and hereby also collecting tiny micro-fossils! Lots of gastropods, which is awesome because these are not as common as bivalves in these sediments. I namely found a complete yet puny Anomia ephippium, some very small Cerastoderma's, and also the ones attached. I would love to be able to bring these down to species level. So I am asking for your help! The Hague, Netherlands (from North Sea sediments) Eem Formation Eemian, Pleistocene; 120'000 y Thanks in advance, Max #1: Looks a little bit like Macoma balthica, but still a bit different... Very likely from the Tellinidae

Hi all, So on Tuesday afternoon, I was lucky enough to only have a half day of school. Seeing that the weather was nice, and that I had nothing else to do except go home, I decided to take the bus in the other direction, so to Kijkduin, in order to do some fossil hunting! I bought a sandwich and a chocolate bar at the Shell gas station, and set out on the beach. From the beach of Kijkduin I walked south, so towards the Zandmotor, while of course looking for fossils. View of the beach (mind that the sea is on the right side, on the left side it's just a small lagoon), with the haven of Rotterdam in the background. View of the beach with Kijkduin, and then Scheveningen, in the background. (Sorry for the blurriness...)

Hey everyone, So today, after my second day of exams, which is why I finished earlier, I had to take the tram home instead of the schoolbus (that I usually take). On my way to the tram station, I noticed that there was some sand on the sidewalk. I looked closer, and saw that there were quite some shells all along the sidewalk. My passion for conchology (which I also have, though it's less strong than my love of fossils) took over and I began hunting for seashells. I only found bivalves, but was still quite surprised with what I got. When I got home, I looked more closely at the shells, and realized some of them were fossils!!! Here is my (unexpected, I should say) haul: 1) Mactra plistoneerlandica (fossil and modern) 2) Cerastoderma edule (fossil) 3) Limecola balthica (fossil and modern) --> I'm really happy that I found some more fossil ones of those, because nearly all of mine were already gone in trades! 4) Donax vittatus (modern) The fossils, found in the streets of The Hague (NL), are probably from the Pleistocene period (they are identical to those that I find on the Zandmotor, which is very closeby). It's really surprising how much you can find, even when you're not looking for fossils. Sometimes you find them in the most unexpected places, and you always get a very weird feeling of surprise and happiness when you do. It's often fun to try and figure out how those fossils got there, and I know the answer to this one: --> Sand is one of the most used resources in the world, and therefore often sought after for (even if it's extremely common). It's useful to build a support for things, such as sidewalks, or to make glass, and many other things. And where is the most sand found? On the bottom of the sea. And in that sand (especially the sand of the North Sea) lie many fossils. So when that sand is pumped upon land, the fossils are brought with it. This is how the fossils came here onto the sidewalk of a street of The Hague. In fact, it's that same sand that composes the Zandmotor, which was built as a natural dam against the floods (which have a bad history with the NL) from the sand of the sea, which is why it is so rich in fossils. I hope that this little report has pleased you, and that you've learned things! Therefore remember to always keep your eyes open for fossils, even if you're in normally non-fossil places! Best regards, Max