Jump to content

gigantoraptor

Recommended Posts

Hello all

 

Around April, May I'm going to the UK for a couple of days with my parents. They will visit some villages, while I'll be fossil hunting on the beach. I've done some research on the internet and thefossilforum, but sometimes the messages I get are contradictory. So I have some questions.

-Is it allowed to search fossils in Lyme Regis and Charmouth with a hamer? I know you can't hack in the cliffs.

-Is April and May a good period to search for fossils?

-I have some serious problems with my eyes and it's very difficult for me to find loose fossils lying on the beach. Are there nice finds in the rocks? I can see those a whole lot better.

-If you find an ichthyosaur or a big ammonite (I don't expect to find any) are you allowed to take them with you home?

-Does anyone of you know if a good place to stay in Lyme Regis or Charmouth? I found a lot of places and now I don't know which one I have to choose. Our dog is going with us.

-Any more tips?

 

Thanks already

Greetings

Thijs

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't know the area, but when I was touring England we always stayed at small B&B's on the fly. Good experiences and got to meet locals on a more personal level. You might even get some local insight on good places to hunt.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes, you can use a hammer on the beach, but not in the cliffs, as you knew.

April and May are excellent times to visit, after the spring storms much new rockfall is available, but be careful of the tides and keep clear of the cliffs as they may be dangerous and rockfalls are not unusual. Wrap up warm, cold winds and rain are more than likely. 

Splitting rocks and boulders to find fossils is possible but most are found in the shingle on the beach and in rock pools. Check with the local Charmouth heritage Coast centre for advice on which rocks are better to bash.  

Yes, you can take your finds home if you can carry them! 

Sorry, I don't know where to stay these days, haven't been for a few years but believe the rest of my info is correct.

Good luck and have a great adventure with lots of finds! :)

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the information. I will surely have to use a hammer, as I hardly see anything on the beach. I went shark tooth hunting for many times at good places but I never found something. I can see the fossils in the stone due the contrast. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

image.jpeg.1b66106c3ea584f521b43b41d399e79f.jpegThere is sometimes a very good contrast.

Image result for fossil lyme regisAnd many too heavy to take home.

You are almost certain to find something! 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Indeed very good contrast. Another question: How big is the chance to find something from a reptile? I'll be there for 3 or 4 days and I can spend as much hours on the beach if I want, what means they will have to drag me home to eat and to sleep. So I'll have time enough. I was planning to search 1 day at golden cap, one day at Lyme Regis, and 1 day at charmouth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I found Icthyosaur vertebra almost every time I went to the beach at both Lyme Regis and Charmouth. But they were always loose and in the shingle and rock pools. Other reptiles are far less common but can be found.

Splitting boulders I only ever found a few bits of reptile bone, one probable rib and once a partial rostrum and teeth of an icthyosaur. 

As always, you have to rely on luck to some extent.

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

I found Icthyosaur vertebra almost every time I went to the beach at both Lyme Regis and Charmouth. But they were always loose and in the shingle and rock pools. Other reptiles are far less common but can be found.

Splitting boulders I only ever found a few bits of reptile bone, one probable rib and once a partial rostrum and teeth of an icthyosaur. 

As always, you have to rely on luck to some extent.

@Tidgy's Dad Adam is that first ammonite you posted a Asteroceras Obtusum ? It is a beauty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not honestly sure. 

I do have a small ammonite or two in this type of preservation but it's upstairs and my fossil room is too cold for me just now. 

So I nicked these off the net! ;)

But I have found dozens and dozens like this in my time. 

Arnioceras, Promicroceras, Xipheroceras, Androgynoceras...............if i recall, amongst others and Asteroceras, yes. 

 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

 

I found Icthyosaur vertebra almost every time I went to the beach at both Lyme Regis and Charmouth.

 

So that's why I rarely find any, you’ve got them all! ;)

 

@gigantoraptor you should find a few reptile bits in the shingle on the foreshore. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, JohnBrewer said:

So that's why I rarely find any, you’ve got them all! ;)

 

@gigantoraptor you should find a few reptile bits in the shingle on the foreshore. :)

Not any more, sadly, well, only one or two. :(

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like the calcite ammonites you find in Charmouth.  The variegated colours always make a good looking fossil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Bobby Rico said:

I really like the calcite ammonites you find in Charmouth.  The variegated colours always make a good looking fossil.

And the pyrite ones are not too shoddy, either. 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

And the pyrite ones are not too shoddy, either. 

Your are not wrong but you would be Foolish to like them Gold ammonite over the calcite.:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, you kids take up this bout of fisticuffs outside before you break something!

Frankly, I too love the coloring on the Calcite ammos as well. UK has some very beautiful colorations on these cephalopods. :ammonite01:

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, caldigger said:

Ok, you kids take up this bout of fisticuffs outside before you break something!

Frankly, I too love the coloring on the Calcite ammos as well. UK has some very beautiful colorations on these cephalopods. :ammonite01:

I'm not fighting! 

i'm too fragile.

I think I've got pyrite disease! :( 

Life's Good!

Tortoise Friend.

MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png.a47e14d65deb3f8b242019b3a81d8160-1.png.60b8b8c07f6fa194511f8b7cfb7cc190.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

I'm not fighting! 

i'm too fragile.

I think I've got pyrite disease! :( 

Take two desicant packets and call me in the morning.

 

I'm not fooled by that delicate passive wise owl persona you put on. You probably have a body of Arnold Schwarzenegger hiding behind that Fes.

Of course it might be his eight year old body, but its there none the less.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reptile bones are most often going to be loose in the shingle i'm afraid, you probably won't find one by hammering rocks. Sometimes the shape of the bone is obvious but other times you have to rely on textural difference only if they are highly rolled. I was there last month and picked up a number of bony bits, these pictures show you how they look lying on the beach amongst the pebbles. All you can really do is give it your best shot. Also for bones you are better off going to the stretch of beach between Lyme Regis and Charmouth, while Seatown (Golden Cap) is better for the loose pyritised ammonites. For the nice calcite ammonites i think the best spot is actually Monmouth Beach, to the west of Lyme Regis. 

 

Here are those Lyme Regis bone shots, use them as practice!:

 

 

Plesiosaur vertebra

5a5c01d93e0f4_Lyme2.thumb.JPG.1378e411048a599a25586031415d74aa.JPG

 

 

Ichthyosaur jaw fragment

5a5c01e6acad2_Lyme3.thumb.JPG.fb6fc13b9cbf97f72ebe88d5f11c9641.JPG

 

 

Small ichthyosaur vertebrae

5a5c01f4079d8_Lyme4.thumb.JPG.9ee31fd4db5daf299fbf8a30f94661b2.JPG

5a5c020113c58_Lyme5.thumb.JPG.1778b2ddf16985f7d4df69d74869ddf2.JPG

"In Africa, one can't help becoming caught up in the spine-chilling excitement of the hunt. Perhaps, it has something to do with a memory of a time gone by, when we were the prey, and our nights were filled with darkness..."

-Eternal Enemies: Lions And Hyenas

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like quite a bit of sea glass in that last pic. I know some ladies around here that would spend their time picking up the glass instead of fossils.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Paleoworld-101 said:

Plesiosaur vertebra

Ichthyosaur jaw fragment

small ichthyosaur vertebrae

Thanks for the pictures, beautifel finds. The plesiosaur vertebra wouldn't be a problem for me either I think.

The vertebrae and the jaw fragment would be very very hard for me.

 

 

Everybody else, thanks for the information.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To find things by bashing rocks there, or most places,you really have to know which rocks to bash.  The Charmouth museum does offer guided trips fr a nomoinal fee.  Otherwise Io think the best way to learn which rocks to bash is by trying a lot of different ones, or looking for bits sticking out of the rocks.  These are easy enough to find at Charmouth, but I would also learn how to see things in the shingle.  Sit down in one spot and check out every pebble/cobble.  You will have three days.  After three days I think you may have more shingle hunting skill than before, and you will have found a few really good fossils.  Shingle-hunitng skills are useful in thousands of other fossil spots, too.  

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, jpc said:

To find things by bashing rocks there, or most places,you really have to know which rocks to bash.  The Charmouth museum does offer guided trips fr a nomoinal fee.  Otherwise Io think the best way to learn which rocks to bash is by trying a lot of different ones, or looking for bits sticking out of the rocks.  These are easy enough to find at Charmouth, but I would also learn how to see things in the shingle.  Sit down in one spot and check out every pebble/cobble.  You will have three days.  After three days I think you may have more shingle hunting skill than before, and you will have found a few really good fossils.  Shingle-hunitng skills are useful in thousands of other fossil spots, too.  

 

 

The problem isn't not recognizing fossils, I have some problems with my eyes so I have trouble seeing things. I just have bad eyes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You MUST visit the new Etches Museum too.On an English website there is a fossil addict that does B & B,I'll try and find you the link.Can someone be your eyes so you can inspect them?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You MUST visit the new Etches Museum too.On an English website there is a fossil addict that does B & B,I'll try and find you the link.Can someone be your eyes so you can inspect them?Hensleigh House at Charnmouth.Private fossil walks can be booked from:-

Screenshot_2018-01-15-20-14-32.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, gigantoraptor said:

The problem isn't not recognizing fossils, I have some problems with my eyes so I have trouble seeing things. I just have bad eyes.

Oh.  That is a bit different.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...