Some of the best fossils in the world have been found along a 95-mile-long stretch of coastline in the UK. Known as the Jurassic Coast, it’s turned up the world’s first fossilized ammonite eggs, more belemnites than you can shake a stick at, and a giant sea monster that lived 150 million years ago.
It was a pliosaur, the apex predator of its time, and one of the largest marine predators ever to swim in Earth’s oceans. With the biggest species at around 12 meters (39 feet) long, there wasn’t much that was off the menu, and they would use their enormous teeth to snatch prey like ichthyosaurs and chomp them into pieces.
Not everyone visiting the Jurassic Coast can expect to find such a prehistoric beast, but find a fossil? That’s almost a guarantee because this rocky outcrop is known as one of the most productive fossil sites in the world with good reason.
Fossils for everyone
Retrieving the marine monster involved a treacherous weeks-long expedition halfway up a cliff where the majority of the skull was revealed to be hiding after Philip Jacobs found the snout just sitting on the beach. It’s a story that summarizes the Jurassic Coast quite perfectly, as it really is a place where fossils can be found by just about anyone, just about anywhere.
Ammonites are a common find along the Jurassic Coast.
Image credit: Arjen de Ruiter / Shutterstock.com
Why? Because nature keeps chipping them out of the cliff face for us.
“Fossils along this coast have been collected for hundreds of years now, from the famous Mary Anning who collected on the other side of Dorset, around 50 miles [80 kilometers] away,” said fossil expert Chris Moore to IFLScience. “ [It used to be] a shallow warm sea [that was] very rich in life. [The area is] constantly eroded by the English Channel because it’s in the southwest UK. We get big storms that wash away the soft clay and continually reveal new fossils.”
Cliff composition
Moore worked with fossil expert Steve Etches MBE, proprietor of the Etches Collection where the pliosaur skull will go on display, on the treacherous excavation and retrieval of the fossil. As they discovered during the dig, the Jurassic Coast cliffs’ composition explains why so many fossils are dropped onto the beaches before being reclaimed by the sea.
A section of mudstone along the Jurassic Coast.
“The whole cliff is composed of what we call mudstone, and mudstone is really a very compressed lithified clay,” Etches told IFLScience. “So, when it’s fresh, it’s really hard for us to excavate into that. But leave it a couple of months and you get wet dry effects, and it starts to revert back to clay. That slimy, sticky clay. So, it erodes away very, very quickly.”
Etches compares the significance of the Jurassic Coast as making it comparable in importance to the Grand Canyon. It might be hard to fathom given it’s a third of the canyon’s length, but when you take a look at its history, it starts to make sense.
Traveling through geological time
Prospective time travelers could do worse than to go for a weekend away at the Jurassic Coast, as the unique history of the land means you can explore different times in Earth’s history simply by putting one foot in front of the other.
“From West Dorset to East Dorset, you’re walking through the whole Jurassic suite sequence of rocks,” explained Etches. “You’re going through 200 million years to basically 140 million years, and as you walk East, you’re going through time. All the rocks are dipping this way and they’re cut off, so you can see every Jurassic suite sequence of rocks.”
A section of cliff face along the Jurassic Coast showing off its strata.
Image credit: Josie Elias / Shutterstock.com
To put it into context, Moore explains the region is a bit like a sponge cake that’s been tilted and cut off, so the cliff face provides a window into all the layers between which life is sandwiched like delicious, fossil jam. If you start hunting along that cake in the East, you’ll be looking at the youngest rock layers and moving toward the oldest as you head further west.
Ancient animals to be found
Feeling inspired to go on a fossil hunting trip? It takes dedication, but as the Etches collection is a testament to, the rewards can be rich and varied.
Anyone for ammonite eggs?
Image credit: Rachael Funnell
“[We’ve found] world-first ammonite eggs, flying reptile remains, ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs, fish! I mean, we’ve got a vast range of fish,” said Etches. “I’m mostly interested in vertebrates, but my prime aim is to collect the whole diverse assemblies of what was living at the time of the Kimmeridgian.”
Starting with a visit to the Etches Collection demonstrates the rich diversity of ancient life to be found here, and with the team’s workshop on site, you might just catch a glimpse of some fossil preparation taking place firsthand. It doesn’t take a fossil expert, however, and the Jurassic Coast has and will give up its treasures to anyone with a keen eye.
“People can come all the way along the Jurassic Coast and pick up a fossil pretty much anywhere along the length of it,” added Moore. “You know, whether it’s a crushed ammonite, a piece of fossil squid, oyster, there’s fossils all the way along.”
Happy hunting! And on the topic of fossils, did you know it’s been 200 years since a dinosaur was named for the first time?
Source Link: Fossil Hunters Walk Through 200 Million Years Of History Along The Jurassic Coast
