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Møns Klint Fossil Excavations (MKFE)
The Amateur Paleontologist posted a topic in Partners in Paleontology - Member Contributions to Science
This summer, as you probably know, I will be going for a week long expedition to Møns Klint. This expedition will be the first in a long series of digs in the Maastrichtian chalks of Møns Klint, the "Møns Klint Fossil Excavations" (MKFE). This is a project that I started a few weeks ago, and will last several decades. Here follow the reasons and the goals of the MKFE. In all literature on Danish fossils; the fossil location of Stevns Klint gets all the fame, while all the site Møns Klint gets is a short paragraph in a 50-page long article. This is due in part to the fact that more fossils have been found at Stevns Klint, but that is because extensive quarrying has been conducted at that locality, while most of the material from M. K. has just been surface collected. This series of digs strives to “repare” this scientific injustice. The goals of the MKFE are to make the palaeontology of Møns Klint better known and make it a world-famous fossil site, and to get that location promoted to Lagerstätte. All the fossils found during the MKFE shall be donated to the GeoCenter Møns Klint. Also, despite the fact that Møns Klint has produced fewer fossils then Stevns Klint, the meagre remains form that site point to a higher faunal diversity then Stevns Klint, making it “deserve” more attention. Actually, the number of species from M. K. is of approximately 115. Over this series of digs, various chalk pits will be opened across the island of Møn; and fossil collection will also take place beneath the water close to Møns Klint. This will increase the quantity of fossils found. New discoveries that I hope will result from the MKFE include the first Danish maastrichtian chalk plesiosaur; Møns Klint's first turtle; anisoceratid and nostoceratid Ancyloceratina ammonites; mammal remains; non-avian dinosaur remains and bird remains.