34/365 Beachcombing

03 Sunday Feb 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, geology, molluscs, nature, seaside

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#365DaysWild, beach fossick, beachcombing, fossilised seashell, fossils, Penarth Head, seashell

As part of this morning’s local meander, I went for a beachcomb at the base of the cliffs at Penarth Head – not too close to those cliffs as they’re continually shedding small stones and occasional larger boulders but it’s safe enough nearer the water’s edge when the tide’s going out. I didn’t linger long as people arrived to run their dogs, sending sand and stones everywhere. However, I did find this little beauty before they arrived – a fossilised seashell I think.

p.s. My fab Facebook friend Mark says that the only ‘Jurassic bivalve with that pattern in my books is something called Oxytoma inequivalvis’, so now we have a name. Thanks, Mark.

190203 fossil

Fossils from the Jurassic Coast

06 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by sconzani in geology, nature, seaside

≈ 2 Comments

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ammonite, beachcombing, belemnite, Charmouth, fossil hunting, fossils, Jurassic Coast, pyrite ammonite

Yesterday a living fossil fungus, today fossicking for fossils on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast – I’m on a roll with the old stuff!

180106 Charmouth fossils (1)

Part of one of my Christmas break days was spent at Charmouth, on England’s south coast, where my friend Sarah and I enjoyed a wonderful long beach walk, much of the time with our eyes down, searching the rocks and pebbles for fossils. Though you’re not allowed to chip away at the cliff face – and you’d be foolish to try, as it can be rather unstable and is subject to frequent mud slips, you are allowed to take fossils from the beach itself.

Sarah spotted one enormous fossil in a big boulder, but that was rather too big to pop in my pocket and bring home.

And, though it took a while to get my eye in, I did eventually find two small pieces of pyrite ammonite and another small rod-shaped rock, which looked very like the belemnite fossils being sold in the local shop. Result!

‘The everlasting charm of fossils’

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by sconzani in geology, molluscs, nature

≈ 15 Comments

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calcareous rock, cephalopods, Erfoud, fossils, Morocco, trilobites

I’ve always been fascinated by fossils and would love to find a little something special (I’m hoping my move to the south Wales coast will help fulfil this dream as there are fossils, and even dinosaur bones, in nearby cliffs) so imagine my delight when we visited a fossil exhibition, museum, factory and shop during a tour of Morocco back in 2014.

We were near the town of Erfoud, in southern Morocco, an area which is now extremely arid but 500 million years ago was under the ocean. Some of the creatures that inhabited that ocean – in particular, the cephalopod molluscs and trilobite anthropods – became stranded in muddy lagoons that gradually dried out and, over time, the mud and creatures were transformed into a fine-grained calcareous rock containing the perfectly preserved fossilised creatures.

The museum-come-shop had some wonderful specimens on display and for sale, including large items like tables and lamp bases, wash basins and fountains. I couldn’t quite fit a table-top in my backpack but I did buy a couple of small trinkets, shown in the last photo included here. And if I do manage to find anything more local, I’ll definitely be posting about it!