Category: palaeontology

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BOOK REVIEWS dinosaurs england fossils geology minerals palaeontology

Book review: Isle of Wight: Landscape and Geology, by John Downes

This is another guide in the excellent “Landscape and Geology” series of local geological guides published by The Crowood Press. And this is as good as the others. Admittedly, it has a wonderful subject matter, because the Isle of Wight is a geological gem with its 110km long coastline displaying a range of rocks dating from Lower Cretaceous to Oligocene age. I know from personal experience that many of its sands and clays contain collectable fossil bivalves and gastropods, and its famous dinosaur footprints attract attention from both geologists and tourists, with always the possibility of finding a bone or two.

england fossils geology palaeontology

Fossils re-united

Brandon Lennon (UK) My kind of collecting requires collectors to be in the right place at the right time. Science directs fossil collectors to the right place, but it is good luck that puts them there at the right time. The latter is often referred to as “serendipity” and what … Read More

england fossils geology minerals palaeontology

Book review: The Chalk of the South Downs of Sussex and Hampshire and the North Downs of Kent (Geologists’ Association Guide No 74) (vols 1 and 2), by Rory N Mortimore

I have to admit, I was beginning to wonder where Prof Rory Mortimore’s update of his excellent Chalk of Sussex and Kent was. And now I know. It wasn’t a second edition he was working on, but this magnificent magnum opus in two volumes covering a vastly greater area than that other guide. And the wait was more than worthwhile. The thoroughness, writing quality, content and publication standards are superb.

fossils geology palaeontology

Crusty old fossils

Paul D Taylor (UK) Many fossil collectors will have been disappointed to discover mollusc and brachiopod shells ‘disfigured’ by crust-like coverings of oysters, serpulid worms, barnacles or bryozoans so firmly cemented to the shells that they cannot be removed. However, rather than discarding these encrusted shells, it is worth considering … Read More

dinosaurs fossils palaeontology

What is a reptile?

David L Rowe (UK) This is a short introduction to what is a reptile – an issue that is a lot more complex that it might seem. To understand what a Reptile is one first needs to understand the cladistic (which is a way of classifying life forms) method and … Read More

fossils geology palaeontology

Megalodon shark ancestry

Steven A Alter (UK) Imagine a shark three times the size of the modern Great White  shark charging with reckless abandon into a pod of enormous 30 foot Sperm Whales. The mighty fish opens its gaping jaws and crunches into the side of one of the swimming mammals, slicing through … Read More

BOOK REVIEWS england fossils geology minerals palaeontology

Book review: The Peak District: Landscape and Geology, by Tony Waltham

The Crowood Press are really developing a nice little series of books on the landscape and geology of select regions of the British Isles, and Tony Waltham’s addition to the series about the Peak District is well worth a read. This new one follows the same format as the others – beautiful, full colour photos and diagrams, a fascinating chapter on each of the important geological and geomorphological aspects of the area (including buildings and industry), and an author who knows his stuff and can write it down with an easy and authoritative style.

fossils palaeontology

Talking sharks’ teeth

Lutz Andres (Germany) The giant-toothed ‘Megalodon’ shark (Carcharocles megalodon,) is one of the most impressive extinct creatures to have excited our imagination, and its fossilised teeth are one of the most desired objects in the fossil collecting world. A lot of collectors and scientists believe that Megalodon is closely related … Read More