An acclaimed international collection of earth science articles and book reviews on palaeontology, geology, minerals and more
Stephen K Donovan (UK) If asked what is my favourite fossil collecting site, I would have to say the Farquhar’s Beach oyster bed on the south-central coast of Jamaica. I taught at the University of the West Indies for over 12 years and this locality was an easy drive. In … Read More
This is the first of three articles on the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE), often referred to as an ‘event’, although increasingly recognised as a prolonged episode, as I will discuss) of the Triassic that seems to have grown in importance and interest, and only become more widely known in relatively recent times. In this article, I will introduce the topic, concentrating on what might be called the “climate engine” driving what was happening.
I found the pebble almost by accident, while staying with friends near Eccleshall in Staffordshire. We had taken their two dogs (the much missed Holly and Chutney) out for an afternoon walk – the kind of slow, stop-start loop where the dogs dictate the pace and the conversation meanders as much as the footpath. Along a muddy stretch of track, something smooth and rounded caught my eye: a faintly banded, reddish stone lying half-buried among the usual Midlands gravel and mud.
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the second of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Charniodiscus is one of the most characteristic frondose organisms of the Ediacaran Period, living around 560-555 million years ago in the quiet, low-energy seafloors that preceded the Cambrian explosion. With its … Read More
The Classic Geology in Europe series has, over many years, established a distinctive and reliable identity: authoritative regional syntheses written by specialists, designed for geologists who want to understand landscapes through field observation rather than armchair generalities. The Southern Pennines sits comfortably within that tradition and, in several respects, exemplifies the mature strengths of the series.
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the first of my series of short articles on fossils of the Ediacaran Period. Charnia is one of the most iconic fossils of the Ediacaran Period, known for its elegant frond-like form and its place among the earliest large, complex organisms in Earth’s history. First … Read More
Stephen K Donovan (UK) The south of England in the late 1940s and 1950s must have been a wonderland for the field palaeontologist. There were still many working or recently discarded quarries. Transport was easy and affordable by rail and bus. Visits to quarries were rarely difficult. It was a … Read More
At first glance, the title might mislead you into expecting a simple guide to finding fossils while strolling along the beach – a sort of field companion for holiday rock-hunters. But Stephen Donovan’s Fossils on the Seashore is a very different creature. It’s not about collecting curiosities for the mantelpiece. It’s about understanding the dynamic relationship between the living and the fossil record, and how coastlines act as natural laboratories for palaeontological and neoichnological study
Ru D A Smith (Malaysia, UK) Aragonite is a common mineral in the skeletons of marine organisms (Cusack & Freer, 2008), but is not typically well preserved in the fossil record due to its tendency to recrystallise as its more stable polymorph calcite. Certain circumstances can however enhance the preservation … Read More
Denis Bates and Anna Kozłowska (Poland) Graptolites (grapto + lithos = writing in the rocks) are common Palaeozoic fossils – found from the Cambrian to the Carboniferous. Usually, they are preserved as flattened and altered remains in mudrocks, particularly the black shales or slates known as “Graptolitic Shales” (Fig. 1), … Read More
WAJ Rutter (UK) On 2 June 2011, a large slab of faunal tracks was found in Scalby Bay, north of Scarborough (Fig. 1). These footprints were immediately recognised as not being dinosaur footprints due to the size, shape and distribution of the tracks. They were in a fallen block, which … Read More
Jason Sherburn, (UK) Living near the coast is amazing. Or, at least, that’s how I imagine it to be for budding fossil collectors intent on unlocking the mysteries of the ancient world. However, I live about 50 miles from the coast and, while my own area is not topographically dull, … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) Recently, I spent a few days on my own down at one of my favourite fossil hunting sites – Copt Point and East Wear Bay in Folkestone. As readers probably know, the Gault Clay at Folkestone is a marine sedimentary deposit from the Lower Cretaceous (Albian) period, … Read More
Paul Cox (UK) During the 1980s, the secretary of the local branch of my professional association was famous for arranging field trips to places of interest. By and large, these had nothing to do with my profession, but they were nevertheless interesting places. One day, he had arranged a visit … Read More
Ru D A Smith (Malaysia) A fascinating aspect of palaeontology is the history of early descriptions and the process of assigning and revising the scientific names of fossils. A recently discovered nineteenth century ammonite specimen discussed here provides a vivid illustration of the sometimes tortuous process and can be connected … Read More
Neale Monks (UK) The West Somerset coastline, between Blue Anchor and Lilstock, exposes an almost complete succession of strata from the latest Triassic well into the Early Jurassic (Fig. 1). Fossils are abundant throughout, mostly invertebrates such as ammonites, brachiopods and oysters, but also with vertebrate remains at certain horizons. … Read More
Dr Trevor Watts Barrow Hill (Fig. 1) is a little gem. It is virtually unknown, very accessible and in the middle of a large town – Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Nowadays, it is almost swallowed up in the western suburbs of Birmingham (Fig. 2). A brief summary … Read More
Dean Lomax (UK) Dr Dean Lomax is now well known from his books, television appearances and especially for his work on marine reptiles. However, before all this, he wrote this article for Issue 21 of Deposits. After returning from a long summer working in the USA at the Wyoming Dinosaur … Read More
In many ways, this updated guide is exactly what I want from a GA guide – extensive coverage, well written, and oodles of colourful photos and graphics. I liked and used the previous edition (GA No. 2), and it’s a shame that, for example, the Ordovician site of Stockdale Quarry has disappeared, but it – and no doubt other locations – has been replaced by, what I suspect, are just as good, if not better, sites.
John A Cooper (UK) The legacy of Gideon Mantell’s fossil collection, sold to the British Museum in 1833, would have been so much more significant to Brighton had he been successful in establishing a permanent Sussex scientific institute to house it. In his article, Gideon Mantel and the dinosaur relic, … Read More
Rob Hope (France) A break from work, and also from reading about the history of palaeontology, enabled me to get away for a while. And a chance visit to the south of England found me driving through the lovely Sussex town of Lewes. Held up by a red light, I … Read More
Megan Jacobs (UK) The history of geosciencein the UK is heavily dominated by men, with eminent figures such as Sir Richard Owen, Charles Lyell, William Buckland and Gideon Mantell famed for making many big advances in the early days of the science. However, in the background were powerful and intelligent … Read More
Dr Steven C Sweetman (UK) Bones from the Early Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight in southern England have been at the forefront of dinosaur research since before the term ‘Dinosauria’ was invented the following is a summarhy of the significant events in terms of dinosaurs and the … Read More
This is a difficult but nevertheless extremely interesting book. It is written, I think, for academics, but interested amateurs (like I did)will certainly find it stimulating – a mixture of palaeoanthropology and the philosophy of science.
Jon Trevelyan (UK) One rainy afternoon in March, rather than getting wet collecting fossils near Radstock, I abandoned my plans and paid a brief visit to the Wells & Mendip Museum in Somerset. It is not a geology museum, but it does have some great geological exhibitions. The museum (Fig. … Read More
The Cro-Magnons were a population of early modern humans (that is, they were physically indistinguishable from us, today), who lived in Europe between about 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, during the Upper Palaeolithic period. This information comes from Trenton Holliday’s excellent book, which tells the story of these people in the context of recent scientific advances. However, while it does not shy away from complex scientific issues, the book is written with a light, understandable touch.
