The Ediacaran fossils of Charnwood

[Pleuromya]

I recently visited the New Walk Museum in Leicester, specifically to see their Ediacaran fossils from Charnwood.

 

Firstly, the famous Charnia masoni type specimen. This was significant as it was one of the first fossils to be described from Precambrian rocks. 

 

 

 

They had several type specimens, including this Charniodiscus concentricus type specimen.

 

 

Sorry, this photo came out quite badly, but on the left is the Cyclomedusa cliffi type specimen.

 

 

This is the Pseudovendia charnwoodensis type specimen 

 

 

As well as a discoid fossil.

 

 

They also had a large cast of some other fossils of Charnwood, I think this is a more recent addition to their display. 

 

 

This is Auroralumina, a cnidarian and the current oldest known predator. Unfortunately there was no information about this, not even a sign to note it as Auroralumina.

 

 

Bradgatia.

 

 

A cast of Charnia masoni.

 

 

And lastly another disc. 

 

 

Aside from Ediacaran fossils, they also have Mesozoic fossils from Leicestershire and Rutland, but I will save these for another time. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Pleuromya

[PR0GRAM]

Beautiful photos thank you for sharing!

[Pleuromya]

3 hours ago, PR0GRAM said:

Beautiful photos thank you for sharing!

 

Thank you.  

[PR0GRAM]

5 hours ago, Pleuromya said:

Thank you.  

I don’t supposed they had any extra Charnia fossil for sale in the gift shop did they??

I still need one of those for my collection!

[Pleuromya]

53 minutes ago, PR0GRAM said:

I don’t supposed they had any extra Charnia fossil for sale in the gift shop did they??

I still need one of those for my collection!

I would have one in my collection too if they did. 

[Wrangellian]

Thanks for showing this. Glad to see they have some of the actual fossils in the museum, not all being left out in the weather... The cast is pretty spectacular, though, and I guess the original would be kind of hard to recover intact!

[Pleuromya]

1 minute ago, Wrangellian said:

Thanks for showing this. Glad to see they have some of the actual fossils in the museum, not all being left out in the weather... The cast is pretty spectacular, though, and I guess the original would be kind of hard to recover intact!

I was surprised at how large the cast was, apparently the original material is still in the field. 

[Wrangellian]

Here is a shot my aunt took of a cast they have on display at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, a few years ago. Looks pretty big also...

I don't know if they have any real fossils conserved indoors, but I think she said there were none, at this location at least. I've always thought they should recover at least some of the fossils (esp. the type specimens of course), rather than leaving them out in the field as if they were some kind of wild plant or animal that should be left in their native habitat. But I don't know what would be involved in recovering a whole bedding plane like this. Getting a cast is obviously much easier, but how long a cast will last I don't know.

 

[Pleuromya]

12 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

Here is a shot my aunt took of a cast they have on display at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, a few years ago. Looks pretty big also...

I don't know if they have any real fossils conserved indoors, but I think she said there were none, at this location at least. I've always thought they should recover at least some of the fossils (esp. the type specimens of course), rather than leaving them out in the field as if they were some kind of wild plant or animal that should be left in their native habitat. But I don't know what would be involved in recovering a whole bedding plane like this. Getting a cast is obviously much easier, but how long a cast will last I don't know.

 

That's quite impressive. I definitely agree with you that some of the fossils should be recovered, it seems a shame to leave them out where they can possibly get damaged. 

[Wrangellian]

23 hours ago, Pleuromya said:

That's quite impressive. I definitely agree with you that some of the fossils should be recovered, it seems a shame to leave them out where they can possibly get damaged. 

...where they WILL get damaged over time in the weather, if not by poachers!

[Tidgy's Dad]

Very interesting 

Sir David Attenborough went to school locally, but never thought to explore the rocks in Charnwood as everyone supposed they were barren of fossils

Charnia masoni was discovered a little after David's time by another schoolboy from the local school A schoolgirl had found the same fossil a year earlier but nobody took her seriously.

Edited October 28, 2022 by Tidgy's Dad

[Pleuromya]

26 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

Very interesting 

Sir David Attenborough wen to school locally, but never thought to explore the rocks in Charnwood as everyone supposed they were barren fossils

Charnia masoni was discovered a little after David's rime by another schoolboy from the local school A schoolgirl had found the same fossil a year earlier but nobody took her seriously 

One of the signs briefly mentioned about that, and apparently they were also discovered by a museum curator in 1848, but was dismissed as being a feature of the rock. 

[Wrangellian]

Makes you wonder what else is out there, unrecognized but staring us in the face (or just hidden a few feet from where we've been looking).

[Pleuromya]

56 minutes ago, Wrangellian said:

Makes you wonder what else is out there, unrecognized but staring us in the face (or just hidden a few feet from where we've been looking).

Definitely, it would be very interesting to be able to see the fossils in situ.