Jump to content

Visit to Katwijk beach (Netherlands)


Mart1980

Recommended Posts

Last weekend after a windy week I decided to go to the beach of Katwijk aan Zee (Netherlands) to see what fossils had washed up. It was a lovely walk along the North Sea.

 

20221001_164003.jpg

 

Mammal remains from the Pleistocene (part of the Neogene period) sometimes wash up on the Dutch coast. The bone material comes from layers that are eroded below the sea surface.

 

In the Pleistocene the North Sea was a kind of tundra plain where various animals lived such as woolly mammoth and rhinoceros, the giant deer, eland, wild horses, red deer, musk oxen, steppe bison, cave bear, cave lion, a kind of hyena and the wolf. It is best to search between the somewhat coarser material washed up on the beach, especially after stormy weather like the week before I went looking.

 

20221001_164537.jpg

 

20221001_170329.jpg

 

20221001_170458.jpg

 

The find frequency on the coast is generally quite low. Unfortunately, this time too the yield turned out to be low. But still it was a fantastic afternoon, where I found a fossil Bovidae molar and some fossilized bryozoan colonies. Due to the stormy weather, a lot of material from the sea had been left behind on the beach. There were also many egg cases of rays (especially Raja brachyura) and sharks (Scyliorhinus stellaris). Also found some sea urchins, of the common species the little sea apple, also called common sea apple (Psammechinus miliaris). In addition, we enjoyed the typical 'Dutch skies' with beautiful clouds.

 

20221001_172335.jpg

 

20221001_172831.jpg

 

20220504_131128.jpg

 

20220504_131134.jpg

 

 

 

 

20221001_191908.jpg.79f5fd914579dde7e477d8ce5f06d147.jpg

 

 

20221007_145228.jpg

 

20221007_145156.jpg

 

All in all, a very pleasant afternoon, with a beautiful sunset. An afternoon to repeat.

 

20221001_190117.jpg

 

20221001_185714.jpg

  • Enjoyed 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Mart1980 changed the title to Visit to Katwijk beach (Netherlands)

Wonderful skate purses. I've always wondered, if you dry them, will they keep? Or will they just start to rot over time?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Neanderthal Shaman said:

Wonderful skate purses. I've always wondered, if you dry them, will they keep? Or will they just start to rot over time?

 

If you let the egg cases dry well and store them in a display, you can store them very well. I gave them to my daughter for her 'nature collection'.

 

20221008_002845.jpg

Edited by Mart1980
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is the size of the S. stellaris egg (right on the last photo) ?

 

Between S. stellaris and S. canicula (the most common of the two in the East Atlantic - French coasts), only the size differs. My dry S. stellaris egg is 8 cm long without the beards, and those of S. canicula 5.5 cm.

 

 

11 hours ago, Neanderthal Shaman said:

Wonderful skate purses. I've always wondered, if you dry them, will they keep? Or will they just start to rot over time?

Shark eggs are made from the same material as our nails. To keep them there is no need of anything except to wash them well and let them dry. By drying they reduce a little size, which is why often to identify dry eggs they are re-soaked. They are imputrescible.

 

I once found a skate egg with the baby skate coming out of its egg. I put it so neatly after treatment that I can’t find it... :headscratch:

 

Coco

Edited by Coco

----------------------
OUTIL POUR MESURER VOS FOSSILES : ici

Ma bibliothèque PDF 1 (Poissons et sélaciens récents & fossiles) : ici
Ma bibliothèque PDF 2 (Animaux vivants - sans poissons ni sélaciens) : ici
Mâchoires sélaciennes récentes : ici
Hétérodontiques et sélaciens : ici
Oeufs sélaciens récents : ici
Otolithes de poissons récents ! ici

Un Greg...

Badges-IPFOTH.jpg.f4a8635cda47a3cc506743a8aabce700.jpg Badges-MOTM.jpg.461001e1a9db5dc29ca1c07a041a1a86.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice report. Katwijk beach does not have many fossils, unlike Maasvlakte 2 or Zandmotor because of the sediments they used to enforce the beach. But sometimes you can find interesting Pleistocene fossils, even hippo has been found. Right now they are hosing up new sand so who knows what you will find in future! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...