Experts Fear for Fossils and Safety of Fossil Hunters

Scientists at the Norfolk Museums Service along with British palaeontologists and geology societies have expressed concern over the rise in unscrupulous fossil hunting activities being reported from parts of the Norfolk coast.  These famous Pleistocene age deposits have yielded an extensive array of vertebrate fossils including many large mammals such as rhino and elephant.

The West Runton Elephant

One of England’s most important fossil finds, the spectacular West Runton elephant (more correctly termed a Steppe Mammoth – Mammuthus trogontherii), was found in the cliffs.  The discovery, the first bones were found in 1990, represents the largest and oldest nearly complete fossil mammoth from the UK.  Bones and teeth can still be found on the foreshore but sadly, there has been a rise in reports of fossil hunters digging into the cliffs in a bid to find more specimens.

A Model of a Steppe Mammoth

The beautiful Eofauna Scientific Research Steppe Mammoth model.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The model (above) is an Eofauna Steppe Mammoth.

To view the Eofauna model range: Eofauna Scientific Research Models.

Concern for Norfolk’s Fossil Sites

A spokesperson for the Norfolk Museums Service advised against such excavation, not only would the digging potentially damage any fossil material but as the cliffs were unstable, working so close to the cliffs was very dangerous.  He expressed grave concern following reports of a rise in the number of fossil hunters “hacking into the cliff tops”

The Foreshore and Cliffs of Many Locations Require Protection

Fossil hunting can be fun but beware of the cliffs.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Important Fossil Sites

The freshwater Pleistocene deposits and associated Cretaceous chalks yield a large number of different types of fossil.  As well as freshwater molluscs and mammal remains from the freshwater beds, the chalk is highly fossiliferous and different types sea urchin and fossil sponges can be found.  The picture above shows a typical UK coastal site with fossils.  As the cliffs are eroded fossils are exposed.

A team member from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“This part of the Norfolk coast is subject to high levels of erosion, we would urge all fossil collectors to stay on the beach and look for fossils at low tide along the foreshore, the rapidly eroding cliffs are delivering lots of fossil material onto the beach area and this is a wonderful location for a family fossil hunt.  However, please don’t dig into the cliffs and we urge all visitors to follow the fossil collecting code.”

For an article on the fossil collecting code and a guide to safe collecting: Everything Dinosaur’s Guide to Fossil Collecting Safely.

Register Fossil Finds with the Norfolk Museums Service

A partial Mammoth tooth was found nearby last month and no doubt other finds will be reported over the summer at this popular tourist attraction.  Palaeontologist Dr. Waterhouse of the Norfolk Museums Service and the leader of the Cromer Forest-bed Fossil Project reminded fossil hunters that it was good practice to report finds to the Norfolk Museum Service, the museum at Cromer just a few miles from West Runton, was a good place to take any fossil finds and team members from the Norfolk Museums Service would be happy to assist with identification.  As Mammoth fossils, especially tusks and teeth are very popular with collectors, it is likely that many of the overzealous fossil hunting activities have been driven by the high prices such fossils make on auction sites.

A Model of a Woolly Mammoth (M. primigenius)

A model of a Woolly Mammoth.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Dr Waterhouse said:

“Norfolk is the best place in the country and probably Europe to find Mammoth remains because they went through about six sets of teeth in their lifetime, so there is a lot more teeth than there were Mammoths.  Something that I think needs highlighting is poor and even dangerous fossil collecting by people hacking into the cliffs at places like West Runton.  Ethical collecting is high on my agenda, and also recording fossil finds as part of the Cromer Forest-bed Fossil Project, so that important scientific information isn’t lost forever.”

At Everything Dinosaur we echo the views of Dr Waterhouse and we urge fossil hunters to take care and to abide by the fossil collecting code as well as local bye laws and regulations.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Visit Everything Dinosaur.

Fossilised Birds, Ammonites and Giant Marine Reptiles

A team of international scientists including researchers from the University of Queensland and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, have been showing off their vast collection of fossils after a very successful expedition to Antarctica earlier this year.  The fossils, estimated to weigh over 1,000 lbs, provide evidence of life in a shallow sea close to land some 71 million-years-ago (Late Cretaceous).

Late Cretaceous Fossils

The specimens were collected from James Ross Island, a forty mile long island on the south-eastern side of the Antarctic peninsula, a long finger of land that points towards South America, although the island itself is more than six hundred miles from the Chilean mainland.

Some of the Fossils Found During the Two-Month Long Antarctic Expedition

Spectacular fossils preserved in nodules found in Antarctica.

Picture credit: University of Queensland

Fossils Found in Nodules (Concretions)

The picture above shows a number of split nodules that contain invertebrate fossils of various kinds including a number of ammonite specimens.  The geological hammer, probably the one used to split the nodules provides scale.  Over two hundred different fossils have been collected by the scientists.

An Illustration of a Typical Ammonite

CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Size Pleuroceras ammonite model.

To view replica ammonites and other models of prehistoric creatures: CollectA Age of Dinosaurs Popular Range.

Marine Reptiles and Dinosaurs

One of the main objectives of the research team over the two month period of the expedition (February to March) was to search for vertebrate fossils to provide information on the marine and terrestrial fauna that existed in this part of Gondwana towards the end of the Cretaceous.

Giant shark vertebrae the size of saucers, as well as plesiosaur and mosasaur remains along with bird fossils were discovered, these fossils along with the other specimens are currently being stored in Chile prior to onward transport to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) for preparation and study.  It is likely that a number of new species will be identified.

Palaeontologists Working on a Plesiosaur Shoulder Girdle

Palaeontologists carefully excavate the shoulder girdle of a plesiosaur (James Ross Island).

Picture credit: Dr  Matthew Lamanna (Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

The picture above shows graduate student Abby West (American Museum of Natural History) working alongside Dr Steve Salisbury (University of Queensland) and marine technician Julia Carlton as they carefully prepare the shoulder girdle of a plesiosaur for extraction by helicopter.  The location of the fossil sites are so inaccessible that they only way such large specimens could be removed was by helicopter.

The choppers used to support the field team were called “raptors” – very Jurassic Park as one expedition member quipped.

The photograph was taken by Dr Lamanna (Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology), an expert on the terrestrial fauna of Gondwana, a few days ago, Everything Dinosaur reported on the naming of a new giant titanosaur from Argentina that had been named based on the extensive study of a beautifully preserved skull and neck elements that had been found some years before (Sarmientosaurus musacchioi).

To read more about this story: Late Cretaceous Titanosaur from Patagonia.

Identifying New Fossil Sites

The scientists are part of an international Antarctic research project – Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project (forgive the Americanised spelling), or AP3 for short.  Consisting of specialists in vertebrate palaeontology and geology, the team heralds from universities and museums from the United States, Australia, South Africa, Chile and the UK.

Located a gruelling six mile hike from the team’s base camp, the main fossil bearing beds are located on the steeply sloping south-western flank at Sandwich Bluff on Vega Island, which is located just a few thousand metres to the north-west of James Ross Island.  Much of the strata exposed around James Ross Island dates from the very Late Cretaceous and from the very Early Palaeogene.  A number of new fossil bearing sites have already been located including several plant remains beds and two previously undocumented Cretaceous exposures that were targeted for future field work.

The Late Antarctic Summer – Hiking Looking for Fossils

Isolated and very difficult to reach – fossil hunting in Antarctica.

Picture credit: The Carnegie Museum of Natural History

The Antarctic – A Potential Treasure Trove of Fossils

The James Ross Island basin is one of the few parts of Antarctica where the snow and ice melts sufficiently to expose the rock strata below.  The absence of soil helps with the exploration, although we tip our hard hats to the research team members who braved freezing temperatures, howling gales and sea sickness just to reach the fossil quarries.  The specimens were excavated from the Upper Cretaceous Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation.

The beds here represent deposits in a shallow, marine environment with occasional occurrences of terrestrial material (particularly plant remains) that would have been washed into the sea from the nearby land.  Dinosaur fossils were found, although fragmentary, the palaeontologists are confident that these fossils will help to extend our understanding of the Late Cretaceous dinosaur fauna of Antarctica.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website for models and replicas of Cretaceous animals: Everything Dinosaur.

Recovering Late Cretaceous Fossils – It’s a Tough Job!

Commenting on the research, Dr Salisbury explained:

“It’s a very hard place to work, but it’s an even harder place to get to.  A lot of the bigger bones will need quite a bit of preparation before we can do much research on them.  Working in Antarctica is tough!”

Fossilised remains of birds were also found, including early ducks dating from the end of the Cretaceous period.

It’s a Tough Job – Searching for Fossils in the James Ross Island Basin

Lying down on the job! Looking for fossils in the Antarctic.

Picture credit: Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Everything Dinosaur Pays Tribute

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur paid tribute to the research team and their supporters stating:

“The Antarctic provides vertebrate palaeontologists the opportunity to explore pristine fossil bearing environments without the risk of damage from vandals or illegal fossil hunters.  This treasure trove of fossils, currently in Chile, will provide scientists with a great deal of data regarding the fauna and flora at what was a pivotal moment in the history of life on Earth.”

In the summer of 2015, Everything Dinosaur reported on the discovery of a plesiosaur, but this time from the other end of the world – the Arctic.

To read an article about this amazing fossil find: Elasmosaur Fossil from Alaska.