Isle of Sheppey hard work but worth it :-)

[gremlinshow]

After a long day hunting on the Isle of Sheppey I made it home with a few interesting little finds.

Some small bird bones and possibly a cuttlefish beak. Can anyone confirm if it is please.

Pictures to follow!

[gremlinshow]

Small bunch of bird bones...

[gremlinshow]

Crushed nautilus....

[Welsh Wizard]

Small bunch of bird bones...

Hi

You've got some interesting bones there. Are they from a bird?

Cheers

Nick

[Auspex]

Hi

You've got some interesting bones there. Are they from a bird?

Cheers

Nick

Indeed they are

[gremlinshow]

Thanks Auspex for confirming that they are bird bones. I thought they were. Just a shame I couldn't find any more. I dug the ones pictured from a clay slip after spotting the vert. Spent almost half hour getting covered in mud and clay trying to find more.

Any ideas whether my I.d of the cuttlefish beak is correct?

[JohnJ]

The first image is definitely not a cephalopod beak.

[jpc]

That many bird bones in one outing??!! Wow.

I have no ever seen bird bones from Sheppey free of matrix... could these be modern bones?

Hate to be the skeptic, but...

[gremlinshow]

I was as surprised as you are. However I did have to dig them out from the clay so I would be surprised if they are modern. Is there anyway I can test to be sure?

[gremlinshow]

The first image is definitely not a cephalopod beak.

Thanks for clearing this one up for me. I wasnt sure as I have only recently even found out they could be found on Sheppey and have only seen a couple of images of them.

[Auspex]

That many bird bones in one outing??!! Wow.

I have no ever seen bird bones from Sheppey free of matrix... could these be modern bones?

Hate to be the skeptic, but...

I was as surprised as you are. However I did have to dig them out from the clay so I would be surprised if they are modern. Is there anyway I can test to be sure?

Their appearance is completely consistent with some that I have from there: the clay preserves them well.

[Plax]

#1 looks like Belosepia or some such. It's an internal part though not a beak.

[gremlinshow]

#1 looks like Belosepia or some such. It's an internal part though not a beak.

Ah now that looks like the pictures I have seen before and is what made me pick it up in the first place. There was another piece to it but being the clumsy oaf that I am I dropped it and couldnt find it again. D'oh!

[JohnJ]

#1 looks like Belosepia or some such. It's an internal part though not a beak.

It is similar in general shape, but unlike any I've seen or collected. I don't think it is Belosepia.

[Plax]

That's where the "looks like" and "some such" comes in. I agree that most I have collected were a clearish yellow calcite but recall some with a frosted exterior rind also. If the specimen is bilaterally symmetrical I'd be more confident that it isn't just a suggestively shaped piece of limestone.

[Terry Dactyll]

Nice finds... well done.... I always wanted a nautilus beak.... I havent found one yet....

[ynot]

So it is not a beak-- the rest of the things You found are trip makers of their own right!!

Nice.

Tony

[gremlin]

Thanks for all you replies, I will keep searching for more interesting bits and pieces.

I found a few more today, tried a different site on the island on the southern side of the island where the cliffs are much smaller and there is an estuary instead of the sea, so not as much clay exposed and generally less fossils to be found, but I did not leave empty handed! Far from it! Slightly strange picking up familiar items but in different colours, most of the teeth I collected were much lighter in colour or even white and also found a nautilus chamber I yellow! To add to the finds was a nice pair of lobster claws which im hoping will prep out nicely.

[gremlin]

Nautilus chamber

[gremlin]

Lobster claws

[Peat Burns]

Nice finds!

[gremlin]

Thanks very much. Hopefully I will get chance to go out hunting again tomorrow after work if the weather is good and if I find anything else interesting I will post it.