A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the South Dorset Coast – Fossil Collecting Guide Due Out in Early 2020

Exciting news for fossil collectors and fans of the “Jurassic Coast”, authors and fossil hunters extraordinaire Craig Chivers and Steve Snowball will publish another book on fossil collecting on the south coast of England in early 2020.  Entitled “A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the South Dorset Coast”, this new publication takes the reader further east, exploring the fossil treasure trove of the Weymouth area and the Purbeck limestone, strata that is associated with a plethora of invertebrate fossils, as well as marine reptiles and of course, the Dinosauria!

“A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the South Dorset Coast”

Due Out in Early 2020 – “A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the South Dorset Coast“

Picture credit: Siri Scientific Press with kind permission by Steve Snowball and Craig Chivers

In Collaboration with Siri Scientific Press

This is the second book that the pair of produced, once again, it will be published by Siri Scientific Press and available via the company’s website.  The first book – “A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast”, focused on the Blue Lias Formation along with the Charmouth Mudstone and took the reader to the West Bay area culminating in an exploration of the Bridport Sands Formation.

To read Everything Dinosaur’s review of this book: A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast – A Review.

The second volume in this series follows a very similar format to the first.  Purchasers can expect fantastic full-colour photographs of the coastal landscape plus beautiful images of many of the fossils to be found in the vicinitiy.  Hints and tips about successful hunting abound and at 224 pages long, this is going to make a fabulous companion guide to this part of the UNESCO World Heritage site.  As with the previous publication, all author profits will be donated to the Charmouth Coast Heritage Centre, who do so much to promote the safe collection of fossils from the area and run a great educational programme too.

In Search of Dinosaurs

Whilst Lyme Regis and the surrounding environs are associated with ichthyosaurs and other marine reptiles, when moving east towards the Purbeck peninsula, it is possible to find terrestrial vertebrate fossils including dinosaurs and pterosaurs, many of which are unique to this part of the world.

Author Steve Snowball commented:

” The Middle to Late Jurassic was an important time in the evolution of both dinosaurs and plant life, which flourished under the favourable climatic conditions.  The area that became Britain was a crucial land bridge for creatures moving between North America and Eurasia, this has given our paleoartist, Andreas Kurpisz, a great opportunity to provide, once again, some superb reconstructions of prehistoric life, which have been exclusively produced for this book.”

Southern Britain in the Late Jurassic (Tithonian Stage- Kimmeridge Clay Formation)

Picture credit: Andreas Kurpisz

The image above shows the tyrannosauroid theropod Juratyrant (J. langhami), stalking a large herd of sauropods, whilst various pterosaurs circle overhead.  Titanosauriformes such as Duriatitan are associated with the Lower Kimmeridge Clay Formation of Dorset, whilst the southern Dorset coast is synonymus with a variety of different types of flying reptile.  In the image (above), the dsungaripteroid Germandactylus, the tentative wukongopterid Cuspicephalus scarfi and rhamphorhynchids all feature.

To visit the Siri Scientific Press website: Siri Scientific Press.

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“This is exciting news, we look forward to reviewing this new fossil collecting guide when it comes out in early 2020.”

Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.