Mart1980 Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 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. 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. 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. All in all, a very pleasant afternoon, with a beautiful sunset. An afternoon to repeat. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidgy's Dad Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 Beautiful photographs. 1 2 Life's Good! Tortoise Friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neanderthal Shaman Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 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 More sharing options...
Mart1980 Posted October 7, 2022 Author Share Posted October 7, 2022 (edited) 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'. Edited October 7, 2022 by Mart1980 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) 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... Coco Edited October 8, 2022 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjaak Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 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 More sharing options...
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