Fossils, geology and minerals. Highly acclaimed international earth science blog with over 850 articles and book reviews.
By Steven Wade Veatch Exceptional specimens of iridescent fire agate have recently been found in Park County in the USA, close to Tarryall Creek and near the Tarryall Reservoir. Fire agate is a variety of chalcedony (pronounced kal SED’ uh nee), a form of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline (crystals too small … Read More
By Paul de la Salle Ophthalmosaurus – the ‘eye lizard’ – is so called because of its enormous eyes, presumably of crucial importance when diving to enormous depths in the Jurassic seas in search and pursuit of its favourite prey, the belemnite. This was a large ichthyosaur, supremely adapted to … Read More
Deborah Painter Let’s see, when I say “Arizona hot spots”, what might come to mind for many people are the restaurants, nightclubs and sports events in Phoenix (the US state’s largest city), the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, attracting visitors from around the world, Tombstone (the infamous “town too … Read More
Jack Wilkin (UK) During April and May 2022, I had the fantastic opportunity to participate in a research expedition to the North Sea and Iceland on the RRS Discovery, as part of the SEACHANGE project. The following article is a brief description of the science that happened on the ship. … Read More
I wish I had this book when I was starting out collecting fossils. It has everything and more you need to take your hobby (and, who know, later a career in palaeontology) to a better, and more advance and fulfilling place. While I will never take the record-keeping and note taking to the levels gently suggested in this very readable book, perhaps if I had read this when I was a teenager, perhaps I would have done.
By Jean Tyler One fine Summer’s day in 1564, a group of men on horseback made their way westward from Carlisle along the rough road to Keswick. One of their number rode with the covered wagon that contained clothing, personal chattels and the tools of their trade – mining. These … Read More
By Adrian M Lister The elephant family (Elephantidae), like that of humans, originated in Africa. Finds from the late Miocene of southern and eastern Africa show that, by between seven and six million years ago, true elephants had arisen, probably from advanced mastodonts, which are related to stegodons. Between those … Read More
By Ken Brooks (UK) Local stone was an essential element in the development of early civilisations, as its availability and quality determined the building styles that they created. The effective working and use of stone as a building material was a skill acquired by man at an early stage of … Read More
By Niels Laurids Viby Denmark – why on earth should anybody in the UK go to such a strange place – where people, among other things, drive on the wrong side of the road and speak a funny language? And why write something for Deposits on the subject at all? … Read More
By Neil Clark (UK) Not to be confused with the Elgin Marbles, the Elgin Marvels actually come from the Elgin area of Scotland. They are well known fossil reptiles and their footprints, of Permo-triassic age, that were collected from old sandstone quarries mostly over a century ago. They are partly … Read More
By Chris Pamplin I have been collecting fossils on and off for about 36 years and it’s not since I lived at my mother’s home, some 25 years ago, that I have been really organised about cleaning fossils for display. Although I am a professional fossil hunting guide, my interest … Read More
By Paul D Taylor A few years ago a survey was undertaken of the changing proportion of bryozoans relative to other fossils at an Ordovician locality near Cincinnati popular with fossil collectors. The site was revisited annually over a ten-year period, random collections of fossils were made and the numbers … Read More
There is much to be enjoyed in this engaging book by Roy Plotnick, in which he brings the modern practice of palaeontology – and palaeontologists themselves – vividly to life.
Clay Carkin (USA) My first exposure to fishing in Scotland came about while reading comments made on the UK Fossils Network fossils discussion page. Initially, I thought that it would be about highland trout and salmon. However, in an interesting series of events, my life was to be enriched and … Read More
David Lamb (UK) For fossil collectors, lapidaries and scientists, the reappearance of Burmite is major news. Burmite is the traditional name for the rare, Cretaceous amber mined in the Upper Hukawng Valley of northern Burma (Myanmar). It is the hardest, oldest and, in the opinion of many collectors, the most … Read More
The blurb for this book states that it will “profoundly affect the way paleontologists and climatologist view the lives of ancient mammals”. However, not being either a (professional) palaeontologist or climatologist,but having read it with interest, I am not sure that is correct. Anyone with an active interest inwhat the interactions of ancient mammals and their environments tell us about the presentand future will be interested in this well-written and engaging book.
Steven Montes (UK) I was using my metal detector in the foothills of Tucson, Arizona. As I was walking back to my truck, I caught sight of an unusual-looking rock lying on the ground. I picked it up and noticed a fossil that looked suspiciously like the head of a … Read More
Jack Wilkin (UK) Isotopic geochemistry has a long history in the palaeosciences since Urey (1947) first suggested that 𝛿18O from fossil calcite could be used to estimate past temperatures. Stable isotope analysis of fossils has become an increasingly important method for gathering dietary, physiological and environmental/climatic information from extinct species … Read More
Deborah Painter (USA) They looked ordinary. The cobbles and pebbles, in the streambeds and along the banks of the shallow streams in Pittsylvania and Franklin Counties, Virginia, USA, seemed like any other quartzite and gneiss specimens one sees used as building stones. They were recorded by the ecology teams working … Read More
Mike Howgate FLS (UK) Haarlem is about a half hour train journey from the hustle and bustle of the tourist mayhem that is Amsterdam, and a world away in ambiance. The Teyler’s museum is beautifully situated on the bank of the Spaarne River and just a ten-minute walk from Haarlem’s … Read More
Clay Carkin (USA) Thirteen, 11-year-old students in the Freeport Middle School’s sixth grade science class had an opportunity to collect fossils in the state of Alabama, 1,000 miles away from their home state of Maine. Their collecting excursion was one component of an ultimate field trip involving spelunking at Cumberland … Read More
Dean Lomax, sometime author of articles in Deposits magazine, is certainly making a name for himself, and has been now for many years. For instance, in January 2022, he was on television explaining about a remarkable find at Rutland Water Nature Reserve. And now he continues his admirable efforts for popularise his chosen academic subject – palaeontology – in this fascinating book about the fossilisation of behaviour.
Ken Brooks (UK) On 26 September 2006, the BBC television programme South East Today featured a report about dinosaur foot-casts that had been discovered “somewhere along the beach near Hastings”. The following day, Dale Smith and I, who are both members of the Hastings and District Geological Society (HDGS), decided … Read More
I recently reviewed another of the guides in Crowood Press’s excellent “Landscape and Geology” guides, which was undoubtedly a great read. And this one is equally good, with great, full colour pictures, maps and diagrams, and easy to read text, with descriptions of interesting walks and what can be seen on them.That is, there are easy-to-understand explanations of how the rocks formed and how the geology affects the landscape, and there is also an n exploration of the long human story of the landscapes.
Niels Laurids Viby (Denmark) I am a Danish architect and, occasionally, I get the chance to travel to different countries on study tours to look at buildings and get inspiration for the work we do back in Denmark and England (we have an office in London). In September 2006, I … Read More
reviewed the 2nd edition of this guide a while ago and, as I said then, Iceland seems to set the hearts of certain geologists racing and, reading this field guide and that previous incarnation, it is abundantly clear why. Iceland’s fascinating geology is clearly set out in this concise and authoritative book. The island, astride the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, is a ‘natural laboratory’ where the earth sciences can be watched in real-time. Rifting of the crust, volcanic eruptions and glacial activity are among a host of processes and features that can be observed in this fascinating land.
Paul Pursglove (UK) There is a wonderful story about a trilobite found within the footprint of a carnivorous dinosaur. This apocryphal tale is probably true. Fossil rocks can be eroded and fossils like trilobites, can be re-deposited in softer sediments at later times, perhaps even during the time of the … Read More
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.
Dr Kendal Martyn Meteorites have long held fascination for me – that is, they aren’t from this planet. Added “glamour” has come from recent suggestions that at least one meteorite impact on earth could be responsible for mass-extinction events, the largest “smoking gun” in evolutionary selection. Also, meteorites are the … Read More
Goodness me! This is a massive work (432 pages) – but written with enthusiasm from the heart, with authoritative text, lovely photos throughout, fascinating anecdotes and history, with detailed geological descriptions of all the relevant counties. Now, I’m no expert on minerals, which fall well outside the scope of my interests. However, I cannot praise this book too much.
