Fossils, geology and minerals. Highly acclaimed international earth science blog with over 900 articles and book reviews.
A History of Plants in 50 Fossils would seem to be the follow up to the well-received A History of Life in 100 Fossils. However, this time, this glossy hardback tells the story of plants on earth using significant fossils that are, for the most part, kept at the Natural History Museum in London.
Mark Wilkinson (UK) The Spanish coastal town of Calpe is dominated by the towering massif of the Peñon de Ilfach (Fig. 1). The 332m, steep-sided summit is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on three sides and connected to the land by a relatively narrow neck, rather like a gigantic sea … Read More
The Geologists’ Association has produced yet another great guide, this time on the geology of Wales. However, this is a slightly different beast from most of their other publications.
Steven Wade Veatch (USA) The huge petrified redwood stumps near Florissant stretch the limits of my understanding. I’m left with only wonder, like a poem I can’t explain. Under the dominion of a clear blue sky, the afternoon light ricochets off the stone, displaying the myriad beige and brown hues … Read More
Ken Madrell (UK) Introduction Most visitors to the Cyclades islands will gravitate to the island of Santorini to see its stunning caldera and the magnificent sunsets from the northern town of Oia. The island is part of the Aegean volcanic arc formed by the subduction of the African plate under … Read More
Frank Wesselingh (The Netherlands) In the southern Delta area of the Netherlands, several beaches exist where the collector can collect a wide variety of Tertiary and Quaternary fossils. One of the well-known beaches is that of Cadzand that has been particularly rich in fossil shark teeth (but also fossil shells). The … Read More
Jens Lehmann (Germany) Plagiostoma – a record of about 200 million years Are there any boring fossils out there in the ground? I do not think so and to demonstrate this, an “ordinary” fossil find is focussed on here. We are talking about “just” a mussel, but one that belongs … Read More
Jon Trevelyan (UK) This is the much anticipated 4th edition of the GA’s Yorkshire Coast guide and it was well worth the wait. From personal experience, I was aware that the previous editions were extremely good for any geologist – professional, academic or amateur – who is attracted by the … Read More
Jesse Garnett White (USA) Kohioawa Beach and Matatā Escarpment, Putauaki Volcano and the Kawerau Geothermal Field Kohioawa Beach and Matatā escarpment Kohioawa Beach, an uninterrupted sweep of sandy beach, dunes and wetlands, is directly below the near vertical Matatā escarpment between the towns of Otamarakau and Matatā. The escarpment gradually … Read More
Violeta de Anca Prado and Stephen McLoughlin (Sweden) When people think of fossils, they usually picture slabs of rock bristling with bones, or the shells of ammonites or trilobites. Most do not even consider that delicate organisms, such as fungi or bacteria, can even fossilize – they seem too fragile … Read More
Benjamin Hayden Elick and Steven Wade Veatch (USA) The Cresson mine (Fig. 1) – situated between Cripple Creek and Victor in Colorado – was established in 1894 (MacKell, 2003). No one is certain who started the mine, but records show that two brothers, insurance agents, J R and Eugene Harbeck from … Read More
Steven Wade Veatch USA) Michigan’s puddingstones are intriguing rocks that look like a glob of pudding stuffed with raisins, nuts and bits of cranberries. These white rocks with small red, brown, purple and black pebbles are not a Michigan product. During the last ice age, they hitched a ride into … Read More
This is the third in a series of earth science books published by Dunedin, the previous two of which (on palaeontology and geology) have been reviewed in this magazine. I said of those books that they were excellent little volumes for the beginner and the amateur, and the current book is no different.
The long awaited PalAss guide to Wealden fossil flora and fauna has finally arrived and what a magnificent tome it is. At 769 pages and 35 chapters, it is by far the most ambitious and complete of their guides, covering various vertebrate groups, together with invertebrates, plants and stratigraphical descriptions of what can be found on the coast and in the quarries of southern England and the Isle of Wight.
Deborah Painter (USA) Seated on the jet heading south to Florida, I thought of my upcoming field work in the central portion of the state. I also hoped to see some monkeys during my brief stay. I knew they were ‘invasives’ but I still wanted to see them. I had … Read More
Stephen K Donovan (The Netherlands). Although it has a rock record that only extends back to the Early Cretaceous, the geology of Jamaica is sufficiently diverse to satisfy most appetites (Donovan & Jackson, 2012a, b). It lies within the North Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone and displays a range of geological … Read More
Martin Simpson (UK) Newly unearthed documentary evidence substantiates the classic story that Mary Ann Mantell found some worn down Iguanodon teeth in Cuckfield, Sussex, before 1822 in some rocks by the roadside, while her husband Gideon was elsewhere. She was accompanied by a friend and purchased the specimens from a … Read More
Rory Mortimore (UK) Flint in the Late Cretaceous Chalk: links across the European platform In a recent issue of this journal Paul Taylor wrote “We are very fortunate in Britain to host one of the most remarkable deposits in the entire geological record, the Chalk” (Deposits Issue 55, 2018, p.35, … Read More
I have stood several times in front of an (apparently) plain white, chalk cliff-face along with others, while Prof Mortimore discussed the implications of what we were seeing. And, every time, I left not just thinking but knowing this was the most fascinating piece of geology I had ever seen.
Jesse Garnett White (USA) The Waipoua Forest and Parataiko Range I viewed the tilted volcanic outcrops of early Miocene Waipoua Basalt above the Waimamaku River (Fig. 1), then drove into the small town of Waimamaku. I saw a backpacker standing on the sidewalk thumbing a ride holding a paperback in … Read More
Jan Willem van der Drift (The Netherlands) Historic finds In 1900, nobody knew what kind of tools man used before the handaxe. Some scholars assumed that early-man used ‘eoliths’ – handy natural forms. That theory turned out to be false. The earliest tools were manmade flakes and cores, and this … Read More
Steven Wade Veatch (USA) Curious pupal cases made by prehistoric weevils, together with worm burrows, are found as trace fossils in rock exposures of the Upper Bridgewater Formation along the western coastline of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia (Flint, 1992; Flint and Rankin, 1991; Rankin and Flint, 1992). According … Read More
Khursheed Dinshaw (India) The naturally formed rock shelters and caves of Bhimbetka in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India (Fig. 1) have a number of interesting paintings, which depict the lives of the people who lived here (Fig. 2). These rock shelters exhibit the earliest traces of human life … Read More
Neale Monks (UK) In first part of this two part series (Rummages through the core collection of British cephalopods (Part 1): Introduction), we looked at some of those British ammonites and belemnites that you’re likely to have in your collection. As we saw, even the most familiar species can have … Read More
Dr Neale Monks (UK) The Gault Clay is an Albian (Lower Cretaceous) deposit of blue-grey clay exposed primarily in Southeast England. At the classic exposure at Copt Point, Folkestone, the Gault Clay is sandwiched between the Lower Greensand underneath and the Upper Greensand on top. It is a stiff clay … Read More
Ben Elick (USA) Aegirine is a beautiful, dark-coloured pyroxene, which is somewhat rare. It is named after Aegir, a figure in Norse mythology. The mineral has also been called acmite, derived from the Greek word “acme,” meaning point in reference to the mineral’s usually pointed crystals. The name acmite is … Read More
Khursheed Dinshaw (India) Belur and Halebidu are part of the Dharwar Craton and are situated in the western part of the craton. (A craton is large portion of a continental plate that has been relatively undisturbed since the Precambrian Era.) The rock formations of this region belong to Dharwar supergroup … Read More
This is a third, revised edition of a very successful, introductory-level geology guide, in which the author has taken the opportunity to revise and update the text, and to substitute improved illustrations for some of the old ones.
Neale Monks (UK) Alongside trilobites, ammonites are by far the most popular invertebrate fossils. Whether you’re an enthusiastic fieldworker or more of an armchair geologist, chances are that your collection includes a fair number of ammonites of one sort or another. These may well have names and localities, but details … Read More
Neale Monks (UK) Modern brachiopods are rather obscure animals and even their (supposed) common name, ‘lamp shells’, means little to the average amateur naturalist. However, geologists will be much more familiar with them, because brachiopods are among the commonest fossils in sediments of Palaeozoic age, almost right the way through … Read More
