Miocene Coral& Shells-Matheson's Bay

[NZ_Fossil_Collecta]

today i went fossil hunting at Matheson's bay, it's about an hour or so north of where i live, and the fossils found there are Miocene shells and coral predominantly. apparently it used to be a reef in Miocene times. the rock which yields fossils looks strikingly similar to concrete but on closer inspection is riddled with large shell fragments, plus some whole shells and coral pieces. it was beautiful weather, but high tide almost prevented us from getting any fossils at all. exploration paid off though, after we found a path leading from a field to the rock formations that meant we could access it regardless of tide. most of the fossils were solidly anchored to the rock, but some rocks were loose and had fossils on 'em, so we took those. on the rock i picked up, there is an oyster shell as well as a coral, clearly visible, which i need to separate from the rock.

Miocene coral----->

Matheson's bay---->

[xonenine]

Matheson's Bay turned out to be a pretty interesting area to read a little more about, thanks for the photos

　

FOSSIL COMMUNITIES IN AN EARLY MIOCENE TRANSGRESSIVE SEQUENCE, MATHESONS BAY, LEIGH, AUCKLAND