Kosmoceras Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Hi all, Just came home from a trip to Scotland where I was collecting fossils mainly from the Palaeozoic era. Scotland has a vast geological history but I was focusing on some of the older epochs in contrast to my usual, the Mesozoic. I visited a few locations for Carboniferous plants, Devonian fish and one location for Jurassic corals as it was on route to the most northerly point of mainland Britain. - Fish before preparation Though drenched in rain for the majority of the past two weeks camping with nothing but the Scotch to lift the weather it was fascinating to have had the ability to visit and collect at some renowned locations I have wanted to visit for years. I have a few crates of specimens still in the car which I am unloading and I will post pictures as I go along. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CH4ShotCaller Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Very nice report! You collected in some very nice locations. Planning a trip there some day to collect and visit family I've never seen. The fish looks like a juvenile coelacanth. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. -Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 (edited) My first stop along the way was Crail. This coastal location is famous for large tree trunk sections on the foreshore and giant trackways from Arthropleura. I did not have long at this location, only enough time to split a few rocks and take some photos. The sediments were laid down during the Carboniferous era when plants were thriving in the humid conditions. Above is a view over the foreshore and a few of the large tree turnks and below a few bits of plant debris from the Fife coast. Nothing amazing but it would be nice to spend some more time looking in nicer weather. Regards, Edited August 6, 2013 by Kosmoceras Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 "...camping with nothing but the Scotch to lift the weather..." One of the nuances of a great adventure! "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...
Fossildude19 Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Thomas, Looking forward to seeing more of your finds - that fish looks great already! Thanks for the virtual field trip. Regards, Tim - VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER VFOTM --- APRIL - 2015 __________________________________________________ "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir ~ ~ ~ ~ ><))))( *> About Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 such diametrically opposed conditions to the 104F texas drought experience...thanks for sharing! Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DE&i Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Great looking field trip Thomas...with some really nice finds ( perhaps a refreshing break from the intense heat we have had lately ) ! Darren. Regards.....D&E&i The only certainty with fossil hunting is the uncertainty. https://lnk.bio/Darren.Withers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the comments so far. One of my favourite locations was littered with plant debris and I managed to collect a nice range of specimens - a few of my favourites posted. The fossiliferious rocks are being washed out from an old (now closed) spoil heap, Michaels Coal Pit. I got cut off by the tide a little but managed to climb up a section before it was too late. I believe most of these are Neuopteris sp but I need to look into it more. Regards, Edited August 6, 2013 by Kosmoceras Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 (edited) I think some of these are Calamites, Cordaites and Lepidodendron. The spoil also contains bricks, pottery and other rubbish which litters the beach so it is not a very attractive site - however the rewards are rich and plentiful. Regards, Edited August 6, 2013 by Kosmoceras Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMNH Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Wow nice finds Thomas! Those look like awesome sites to collect at! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Congratulations on fulfilling your long-planned wish and also on the very nice finds. I'd trade for an umbrella any day for such an experience. Just wondering. Fife is on the east side of Scotland, right? Could it nevertheless have any direct relationship to the sites in Nova Scotia (New Scotland, even) which Redleaf has been showing us? Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hi Roger, they do show similarities and I have done a few searches. Here we have some brief information of the whereabouts of Scotland during the Carboniferous and they do not seem to match (N. America on the north-westerly side and Fife on the east) but on the other hand it is unclear as to how the shape of Scotland was back then so there might still a good chance of some sort of link. Maybe someone who is more familiar with the Carboniferous era than me might be able to tap in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nala Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Great Thomas!,Scotland is on my wish list! Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ammojoe Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Lovely report Thomas, you found many beautiful fossils, thanks for sharing. Joe Kind regards, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 Glad you are enjoying the material so far, I assure you the best is still to come. Sections of Lepidodendron - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Well Thomas, even just with what I've seen so far it looks like a successful trip! I like the line about the Scotch too.. Never been there but rain and Scotch fit my image of Scotland.. I hope you will post the results if you manage to expose the rest of that fish. The ferns do look like Neuropteris to me, but the orange one might be Mariopteris (? I've been wrong before, Wait for the experts to chime in) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach Boy Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Hi Thomas Scotch and fantastic collecting, my kind of holiday . Brilliant post with great photographs. Thanks for sharing your holiday with us. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plantguy Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 Glad you are enjoying the material so far, I assure you the best is still to come. Sections of Lepidodendron - 006 (5).JPG Hi Thomas, I'm really enjoying seeing all your great plant finds. I especially like seeing these Stigmaria pieces and their parallel rootlets. Were all of these beach finds or perhaps found still in their buried original growth positions?. And you have more stuff? Quite a trip without seeing anything else! Regards, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwigia Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 Hi Roger, they do show similarities and I have done a few searches. Here we have some brief information of the whereabouts of Scotland during the Carboniferous and they do not seem to match (N. America on the north-westerly side and Fife on the east) but on the other hand it is unclear as to how the shape of Scotland was back then so there might still a good chance of some sort of link. Maybe someone who is more familiar with the Carboniferous era than me might be able to tap in. It's an interesting subject. I just found something quite helpful. Scotland and N.S. belonged to the same "Maritime-West-European paleogeographic province of tropical Euramerica" , and although they were separated by an intervening Carboniferous sea, both areas shared many attributes, "including elements of tectonic history and fossil fauna". http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/143/1/261.full.pdf Greetings from the Lake of Constance. Roger http://www.steinkern.de/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 8, 2013 Author Share Posted August 8, 2013 Hi Thomas, I'm really enjoying seeing all your great plant finds. I especially like seeing these Stigmaria pieces and their parallel rootlets. Were all of these beach finds or perhaps found still in their buried original growth positions?. And you have more stuff? Quite a trip without seeing anything else! Regards, Chris These were all found on the beach but the material is not in situ, the cliffs form an old coal spoil heap which is where the fossil material is coming from. There are still some large boulders which are breaking down by weathering which large sections can be found in. The majority of the rocks are highly fossiliferous so it is really just a matter of picking up the better specimens. It's an interesting subject. I just found something quite helpful. Scotland and N.S. belonged to the same "Maritime-West-European paleogeographic province of tropical Euramerica" , and although they were separated by an intervening Carboniferous sea, both areas shared many attributes, "including elements of tectonic history and fossil fauna". http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/143/1/261.full.pdf Thanks for the PDF, a great read. I think that that practically solves the question about relationship between the sites. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Thomas.... Great excursion.... something i would like to do myself one day.... Nice finds.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 (edited) I have been trimming down some of the fish slabs on the angle grinder so sorry for the delay in updates. Steve, I would really recommend a trip up there, worth the fuel needed. Here is a nice fronto-ethmoidal skull plate from a Devonian osteolepid fish. Gyroptychius or maybe Thursius? It is a bit worn but a textbook example. Regards, Edited August 11, 2013 by Kosmoceras Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 Here are a few fish scales. The fish were collected seriously by Robert Dick, a baker of the town in the 1840s and were made famous by Hugh Miller in his book "Footsteps of the Creator" 1849, which he wrote to combat the idea of evolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welsh Wizard Posted August 11, 2013 Share Posted August 11, 2013 Thomas Very interesting. Thanks for the report. All the best Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosmoceras Posted August 11, 2013 Author Share Posted August 11, 2013 Thanks Nick. The rocks around here were laid down in a series of freshwater lakes. The fish beds represent periods when the bottom waters of the lakes became stagnant and free from scavengers and when fish were abundant in the surface waters. Water levels in the lakes fluctuated, and at times huge areas dried up, killing the fish. Here are a few more fish scales - Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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