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Hi everyone, looking for some help in identifying some corals from the two beds in the Scottish Lower Limestone Formation, the Hurlet Limestone and the Blackhall Limestone. Both are Visean, Brigantian in age. Any help much appreciated! @TqB I'm hoping you might recognise them right away First these smaller specimens, all are from various outcrops across Scotland of the Blackhall Limestone. The largest 34mm long. Another from the Blackhall Limestone, this ones a bit larger at 85mm. Another from the slightly older Hurlet Limestone this time, 55mm long.

Hey folks... Here is a question that came up today at work. Did anyone find fossils in all the rock that was brought to the surface when the Chunnel was being built? Did any of you folks in southern UK and northern France get to have a look at these rocks? Thanks

Does anyone recognise this? I noticed it when scanning photos of a recently cut and polished piece of Frosterley "Marble" from Weardale, Co. Durham, UK. (upper Mississippian, Pendleian). It shows in section as a rod about 5mm long, with perforations, central ridge and a fine reticulate pattern. My first thought was a Fenestella fragment but it doesn't look regular enough and I can find no mention of the reticulate structure. Also, I've never seen bryozoans in this part of the limestone though they occur at other levels. Now I'm wondering about a dasycladacean alga - some look vaguely similar but all the Carboniferous ones I can find references to look simpler and fuzzier. Scale bar is 1cm, divisions are 1mm Contrast enhanced In context, showing ghostly appearance amongst the corals

Here are some fish vertebrae from the Isle of Sheppey, UK, which I would like to trade. They are from the London clay (Eocene aged). I have collected on the Isle of Sheppey a few times and have never found any fish fossils anywhere near as good as this. I am interested in anything from the upper Carboniferous of the UK or the USA, or Dinosaur teeth from any location. Thanks, Daniel

2 verts that I purchased a few years ago and would like an accurate ID. I will provide as many photos as possible. This first vert was sold to me as Cetiosaurus. Is this sauropod, or plesiosaur? Location: Oxford Clay, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England Age: Upper Jurassic - Oxfordian

A recent find from the stretch of beach between Chilton Chine and Grange Chine on the Isle of Wight, England. It is from the Wessex Formation, about 130 million years old (Early Cretaceous). The bone is quite rolled by the sea but there are still some features remaining and so i was hoping it could still be identified, at least perhaps the type of bone that it is (either the end of some kind of long bone or a metapodial. Length= 4.4 cm; width= 3.8 cm; height= 1.9 cm). I was leaning towards a proximal radius or metatarsal but i would like a second opinion. The shape of the shaft cross section, in the fifth photo, is roughly triangular (where the bone would continue). The most common dinosaurs from this deposit are ornithopods such as Iguanodon and Hypsilophodon, so these would provide the best comparison. Thanks all!

Oxford University Museum of Natural History (May take some time for me to upload all of the pics, so give or take 30 min) My thing is if I’m traveling to another country, I love seeing a varied collection of fossils at the museum found in that same country. This was exactly that. Stunning and one of my favorites. Positives: If you are looking for Mesozoic everything, this museum is for you - much important paleontology history here Many fossils on display from many eras Organized, convenient More actual fossils than replicas Some curve ball specimens (more impressive, less known ones on display that I did not anticipate on seeing prior) You leave telling yourself you would like to go back. Negatives: No complaints that I can think of really, just tough taking pics with the glare from the glass, but that’s always the case. My vote is 9/10 for dinosaur lovers considering quality, not quantity...anyhow there is definitely your fair share, with jaw dropping displays, literally. My favorite two were Megalosaurus bucklandii and a gigantic Pliosaur jaw that you will find in the pics. Enjoy the mini tour, tried to cover as much as I could.

I've spent a fair amount of time now combing the beaches around Lyme Regis and Charmouth in Dorset, England, and thought i would put together a topic that presents all of my marine reptile bone finds (so far) in one place. The fossils here are Early Jurassic in age, approx. 195-190 million years old and come predominantly from the Blue Lias and Charmouth Mudstone formations. I first visited this area in 2013 with the simple goal of finding at least one ichthyosaur vertebra, and now after three subsequent trips in 2014, 2017 and 2019, i've put together a far better assortment of finds than i could have possibly hoped for! I think i have been quite lucky along this coastline, although it has taken many hours to amass this collection. Across all four of my England trips i have spent a total of 18 days looking for bones in the Lyme Regis area, most often on the stretch of beach between Lyme Regis and Charmouth but sometimes at Monmouth Beach as well. This coastline also produces a large quantity and diversity of ammonites, belemnites, crinoids, bivalves, brachiopods, gastropods, and even rare insects. However i've always been most interested in fossil vertebrates, and so the ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs that are found here have been my primary target for collecting. There are also some impressive articulated fish to be found, but as yet i have had no luck in finding any! Ichthyosaur bones are the most common type of vertebrate fossil in the area, particularly their bi-concave vertebrae. Less commonly you can also find pieces of the jaw, sometimes with teeth. If you are extra lucky though you may also find plesiosaur bones, which for whatever reason are much rarer than those of ichthyosaurs. The best way to find any type of marine reptile bone around Lyme Regis is to closely examine the shingle on the beach, and i've spent seemingly countless hours bent over and slowly walking along the shore looking for them. If you have a bad back it's even more difficult! I've learnt that bones can be found pretty much anywhere on the beach: in the slumping clays, at the top of the beach in the 'high and dry' shingle, along the middle of the beach, at the low tide line, and also underwater amongst the rocky pools and ledges. And just when i start to think that the beach has already been heavily searched and there isn't much left to find, there always seems to be another bone that turns up, often lying in plain sight. The truth is that most people who visit here to collect are not experts and will probably walk past a lot of these bones, as the texture is the most important thing that gives them away and learning to recognise it takes a bit of time. For the sorts of articulated skeletons that sometimes make news headlines and are beautifully intact, searching the shingle is not the way to go, but for a short term visitor like me i think it is the best way of maximising the chances of finding any sort of reptile bone in the shortest amount of time (and something i can take back with me on the plane too!). Without further ado, here are the pics (spread across multiple posts due to file size limits). I've also included as-found pictures for some of these finds to provide a sense of what they look like and how they are found when they are on the beach. The collection so far. Starting first with my favourite Lyme Regis fossil, this is a very nice plesiosaur vertebra that is in great condition! A very rare find! I have been very fortunate to find two plesiosaur vertebrae at Lyme Regis so far, although this one is smaller and more beach-worn than the previous example. Continued below.

Hi Here’s another fossil I found over Christmas. These bones are pretty rare and are the articulated ischium and pubis from an ichthyosaur. No prep involved apart from cutting the block to size and applying a thin coat of varnish to increase the contrast between the bone and matrix. The fossil is from the Hettangian of Penarth. The block before:

Probably Mako, right?

I recently obtained this plant fossil in a trade. It comes from the Kent coal measures (UK), upper Carboniferous. I suspect it is Alethopteris sp, though the pinnules are smaller than any species of Alethopteris I can find. Any ideas what it may be? Thanks, Daniel

This fossil is present on a block containing what seem to be Elonichthys scales. I found it in the coal measures of Fife (Scotland). Am I correct to think this is a fish jaw? Thanks, Daniel

Found this in Essex uk I believe it’s a fossil 11cm long 8cm wide egg like shape I’ve never seen pimples on a stone like this before many thanks for all help

Will be making another trip to London at the end of the month and wanted to know if anyone has recommendations for dinosaur related museums, things to see, etc. Fossil hunting may be out of the question due to the cold weather, unless there is a convenient option outside of the city nearby, or train ride away then I’m all ears (can be any material). May have to wait for a warmer holiday to go out for dinosaur hunting, Isle of Wight, etc., which I believe is 2-3 hours from London if I’m not mistaken. Anyhow any bit of advice would help. I have been to the Natural History Museum in London, but will be stopping by there again because of how much I enjoyed it the first time. One new stop will the be the museum in Oxford to see the beautiful Megalosaurus bucklandii, so definitely looking forward to that.

Will be making another trip to London at the end of the month and wanted to know if anyone has recommendations for dinosaur related museums, things to see, etc. Fossil hunting may be out of the question due to the cold weather, unless there is a convenient option outside of the city nearby, or train ride away then I’m all ears (can be any material). May have to wait for a warmer holiday to go out for dinosaur hunting, Isle of Wight, etc., which I believe is 2-3 hours from London if I’m not mistaken. Anyhow any bit of advice would help. I have been to the Natural History Museum in London, but will be stopping by there again because of how much I enjoyed it the first time. One new stop will the be the museum in Oxford to see the beautiful Megalosaurus bucklandii, so definitely looking forward to that.

Ello' all! I found this funky thing and originally thought it might be a peice of pot or some humanite of some kind. But on getting it home and drying it out, it feels too dense for that. It's been pretty heavily sea polished, but the ridge on it looks unusual to me. And the entire peice has a slight curvature which seems odd for a natural formation. It comes from ice age clay, so the context is dubious. What are your expert thoughts? Thank you!

I have some phosphate crab nodules from the Isle of Sheppey that I've had for years. Haven't found a good way of prepping them yet. Tried various air tools (ME9300 and microjack) and air abrasive with limited success. Do any of you UK guys have any secrets you could share with me. Have one of the rarer spiney crabs that I would like to turn out good. Thanks for any help you can provide

I found these Goniatites in the British coal measures. Would anyone like to prepare these for me in return for some fossils? I have many fossil types available. Please note, the inner whorls of these Goniatites are almost impossible to prep, so it would be best just to expose the outer whorl. I am not sure how well these will prep, but I have decided it’s worth a try to see how they will turn out. Thanks, Daniel

I realized how much I enjoy seeing the posts of "virtual trips to the museum" and rock shops and shows. I thought I'd do a more thorough post on my recent trip to the UK and the Natural History Musuem in London. It was so huge and amazing and wonderful, that although I did not quite get to explore it as much as i would have liked, I am thrilled i got to go. So here's a little tour to whet your appetite for travel (or just armchair travel, if that's your thing!) . Believe me, there is MUCH MUCH more to see than this little bit! First of all - it IS a catheral! To science! Where the saints and angel figures would be are all animals, mythological, extinct and extant: And then the grand Hallway: And yes, it feels like you are in a Harry Potter movie: with whales: Aside from the imposing whale, there are also these amazing creatures on the main floor: Turn into the first hallway and you enter the Hall of Marine Repties: With the first articulated plesiosaur found by Mary Anning: More marine reptiles: SO many!! And these were just a FEW! And then off a side hallway was a great fossil specimen display, I only took pics of a few, but here are some UK fossils Then we wound our way down another maze like corridor and ran into these creatures (plus a few others not pictured here...): And then on to the Hall of Dinosaurs! : What is interesting is the dino skeletons are mostly elevated, so you are looking up at them, the lighting throwing interesting shadows. It's an odd choice for display, but I guess it means they don't have to put glass around each dino since it is out of reach of curious hands..... A few were ground level: My favorite dino has always been Parasaurolophus (partly because it's just fun to say Parasaurolophus...) And I was happy to see this little guy ( Coelophysis) - one of the dinosarus found out at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico (if you are out there, go to the little museum onsite...it's very nice) The next Hall was their "best of the best" treasury, in which was something I've wanted to see for a long time: the London Specimen Archaeopteryx: Last but not least was the Hall of Minerals - a massive hall full of cases of every mineral and rock in every from from all over the world. You could spend days in there alone: Just a few lovely items from there : And this is one of only 7 Mars meteorites found on earth : And thus concludes our visit to the musuem, I recommend a hot chocolate from the shop just down the street ( you can see the copper dome from their upstairs window)

I recently did a bad thing and took a spontaneous punt on a claw without much info. I'm wondering if anyone could tell me anything at all about the look of it? Does it even look dinosaurian? Due to the size & condition, I wouldn't be shocked if it was a replica of some sort, even though I can't find anything close online. I just can't make a decent judgement call on it being fake from eyeballing these photos. The seller was obviously not the collector of the specimen (they couldn't even positively identify it as a claw) and was open about having no knowledge of the details surrounding it; all I have to go on, is that the seller was on the South coast of England and other fossils they had for sale included mostly British ammonites, Ichthy and Plesiosaur verts. They also described it as "quite heavy". The photos aren't particularly clear, as they're from the seller; I will update with better when it arrives. I've brightened/enhanced them the best I could, so there are distortions in the detail, and the colours/sheen might not be quite true to life:

Hi, I wondered if anyone could please help with the identification of this bone. It was found on St Anne's Beach in the UK. It has a claw like prominence midway down the shaft. The bone on approx 10.5cm long. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

I recently found this large vertebra lying in the silt at the edge of a recently excavated lake near Cambridge, UK. I thought it might be from an ichthyosaur, but am unsure because I am very new to this, and it seems far larger than others I have seen at 11cm/4.5inch diameter. Could anyone tell me for sure what this is? Many thanks P.S. the images are too large so I will upload in different posts

I found this in South Yorkshire, UK today in the coal measures (upper Carboniferous). I suspect it may be an arachnid though I am not sure. Please can anyone confirm if it is or isn’t an arachnid? Plant fossils are abundant at the site where this was found. Thanks, Daniel

Could anyone help me identify these fossils i found them on kilve beach somerset hoe do i upload pics

Hi I would really appreciate some of your opinions on what this fossil is. I found it in my garden when cutting stones to make a pond. All of the boulders came from this area. I have done a little research on the local geology here and it seems the bedrock is from the triassic. many thanks