Runswick Bay to Kettleness find

[dhiggi]

Had a walk from Runswick Bay to Kettleness and back yesterday, found some nice ammonites, a few belemnites, bivalves etc. Not sure what this is, if anything. Is anyone able to identify it from the pictures? 

For those unfamiliar with the area it’s close to Whitby, an area known for Jurassic marine fossils

[TqB]

It's a somewhat squashed belemnite phragmocone in a nodule.

They're quite common in some layers of the Grey Shales (basal Toarcian) around there, usually of Passaloteuthis bisulcata, and sometimes crop up at other levels too with different species.

Here's a rather damaged complete Grey Shales Passaloteuthis bisulcata, with the chambers sliding over each other a bit as in yours.

 

[dhiggi]

Thanks again, have found plenty of belemnites and pieces of them but haven’t seen such a complete specimen. Was the part in the left hand side of your picture softer and less likely to fossilise?

[TqB]

13 minutes ago, dhiggi said:

Thanks again, have found plenty of belemnites and pieces of them but haven’t seen such a complete specimen. Was the part in the left hand side of your picture softer and less likely to fossilise?

I have a few from the area though it's a bit tricky to find ones with the rostrum attached! 

Yes, the phragmocone beyond the rostrum is more fragile - it was made from aragonite, unlike the calcite of the rostrum, and in fact rarely fossilises. The coast in that area is favoured with a lot more than average - the relatively abundant Grey Shales nodules containing them are a bit of a special occurrence. 

 

This is in better condition, with a harder nodule (some are softer, and some are barely nodules at all, incipient ones effectively) - it needs finish prepping but the chambers are less damaged:

 

 

[dhiggi]

Thanks for the info and pictures, up to now I have seen little more beyond the point at which the rostrum begins. 

Early days for my daughter and I though; we’re finding something new each time and learning a lot as we go.