Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I visited Walton on the Naze yesterday, one of the only locations in England where you can find megalodon teeth. The fossils you can find are found between 53.7 million years of Earth’s history, and the fossils are found in several formations. There is the London Clay, Red Crag Basement and the Red Crag proper. Sitting on top of the London clay at Walton on the Naze is late Pliocene early Pleistocene material, the Red Crag. This is younger than the London clay at only 2.6 Million Years old. The Red crag is orange in colour as it is on top of the London Clay which is rich in Iron Pyrite. This turned the sand and shells found in the Crag the orange colour they are today. When I arrived the tide was in, so I had to wait for a while for it to go out and during that time I spotted a large shell next to the cliff. The tide was on its way out so I managed to pick it up. While waiting to go out and look for shark teeth I took it to Mike, a local expert who sits up top on the cliff and identifies finds for you. When I pulled it out he was astonished, he had not seen one this large for a long time. He told me that these are extremely rare, much rarer then megalodon teeth and they only turn up around once a year at this size! He took a photo of it to go on his website of peoples rare finds. I had only been at the location for a few minutes and I already had an ultra rare find. Once the tide went out I started looking for shark teeth and I found a total of 20 in the day along with lots of wood, a fish vertebra, a rare Pyritised gastropod, lots of red crag shells, two coprolites, a seed and some shells with boreholes in. These have been attacked by another shell which drilled a hole in it. I will upload more pictures later! Thanks for looking! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailsa Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Nice finds Thomas thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erose Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I visited Walton on the Naze yesterday, one of the only locations in England where you can find megalodon teeth. The fossils you can find are found between 53.7 million years of Earth’s history, and the fossils are found in several formations. There is the London Clay, Red Crag Basement and the Red Crag proper. You folks have the best location and formation names! "Walton on the Naze" gotta love it. That gastropod is quite nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 (edited) Thank you both for the comments! - Shark teeth - Ray teeth - Rare pyrite gastropod - Shark/fish coprolites Edited September 1, 2012 by Kosmoceras 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Some more finds. - Seed (Iodes eocenica?) - Fish vert - Coral (Sphenotrochus intermedius) - Red Crag shells Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH4ShotCaller Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Your reports, finds, pictures with collecting sites are always great! I agree, the names of the sites are cool! Thanks for letting us see your day. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. -Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 There is avian material at that site, you know... Your 'fish teeth' are pieces of dentition pavement from rays, BTW. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Thank you both! And yes, there is, I did not find any though, they are rare from here. I do have a red crag bird bone, just not from Walton on the Naze. Thanks for the ID. A few more fossils. - Gastropods - Pyritie wood - Shells with boreholes - Shell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 A large piece of derived Whale bone. - Megalodon feeding marks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 A WW2(?) find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THobern Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 A WW2(?) find. Possibly, possibly not. I found a couple of Enfield .303 casings there, but as this area was fortified for a long time after WWII, they could be much more recent. The markings says "G 27 VII"; I also have a couple of WII casings that have the 1939-45 date stamped on them, so I'm guessing that the Naze ones are probably from a later time. Either way, it's an incredible place to visit. My father's parents are from Walton, so I hunted there from the age of four. I've some very happy memories of Walton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Possibly, possibly not. I found a couple of Enfield .303 casings there, but as this area was fortified for a long time after WWII, they could be much more recent. The markings says "G 27 VII"; I also have a couple of WII casings that have the 1939-45 date stamped on them, so I'm guessing that the Naze ones are probably from a later time. Either way, it's an incredible place to visit. My father's parents are from Walton, so I hunted there from the age of four. I've some very happy memories of Walton. I send an ID to a local expert, but I have not had a reply yet. When I get the answer I will update. Did you find any megalodon teeth here when you were little? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THobern Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I found a rolled posterior when I was 15. However, I have a couple of thousand teeth from the Naze, so that doesn't represent a good ratio. 9 times out of 10, you're going to find a Striatolamia sp. I once found a green I. hastalis, but that was also a redeposited find. Megalodon teeth are incredibly rare, and I always found that the best stuff Walton had to offer was the less obvious finds. I've found crabs, seeds, a fish vertebra and scales in matrix, whale bones, brittle star legs etc. I spent a lot of time looking for megs, but you're better off settling for the other incredible stuff that's available. Some days, the beach is covered in thick layers of petrified wood, other days you will be able to pull out 100s of perfect gastropods from fresh crag. There's more to the Naze than megs, and, God, I miss it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THobern Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 (edited) I send an ID to a local expert, but I have not had a reply yet. When I get the answer I will update. Did you find any megalodon teeth here when you were little? It may actually be that the G on my casing stands for "gunpower", which would mean that it pre-dates cordite and WWII. The casings from that area, however, would still cover a long period of time. Edited September 1, 2012 by THobern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THobern Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 It's my understanding that what you are calling 'fish teeth' are actually ray teeth. I have some drum fish teeth from the crag that I'll upload later, but those seem much more like the ray bars from the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 I found a rolled posterior when I was 15. However, I have a couple of thousand teeth from the Naze, so that doesn't represent a good ratio. 9 times out of 10, you're going to find a Striatolamia sp. I once found a green I. hastalis, but that was also a redeposited find. Megalodon teeth are incredibly rare, and I always found that the best stuff Walton had to offer was the less obvious finds. I've found crabs, seeds, a fish vertebra and scales in matrix, whale bones, brittle star legs etc. I spent a lot of time looking for megs, but you're better off settling for the other incredible stuff that's available. Some days, the beach is covered in thick layers of petrified wood, other days you will be able to pull out 100s of perfect gastropods from fresh crag. There's more to the Naze than megs, and, God, I miss it. I am lucky to have it only about 2 hours away. I was very lucky to have found sevaral Isurolamna teeth. You have some great stuff it seems, do you have any pictures to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THobern Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 I am lucky to have it only about 2 hours away. I was very lucky to have found sevaral Isurolamna teeth. You have some great stuff it seems, do you have any pictures to share? I'll upload some some photos tomorrow if I get the chance. Have you seen a difference since they added more rocks to prevent erosion? My Grandfather had always hoped to see the Naze Tower fall into the sea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 I'll upload some some photos tomorrow if I get the chance. Have you seen a difference since they added more rocks to prevent erosion? My Grandfather had always hoped to see the Naze Tower fall into the sea! Thanks, I would love to see them. Less is being found now, but the rocks do help the Naze Tower.It is sad as there used to be homes in front of the Naze Tower, but they fell into the sea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 I got a reply: "... it is a 303 rifle cartridge from World War 2. The are quite common for the Naze, as there use to be a firing range here WW2 time..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Awesome finds! : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vordigern Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 great finds, love the Gastropods! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nala Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Very nice site and report! thanks to share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masonboro37 Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Thank you for sharing your wonderful excursion. Impressive finds and the gastro is remarkable! Process of identification "mistakes create wisdom". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted September 2, 2012 Author Share Posted September 2, 2012 Thank you all. Hopefully I will return later in the year to this location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glacialerratic Posted September 2, 2012 Share Posted September 2, 2012 Yes, those gastropods are super nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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