Fossil Finder Database 2022
Change of identity These specimens were previously identified by J B Delair as Stenosaurus sp. But they were reclassified as Metriorhynchine in 2014 by Lorna Steel of the Natural History Museum and Mark Young, University of Edinburgh. They were collected by Miss Katherine Ouless, a significant name in the Dorset County Museum’s history. The collection date…
A true bug ‘Bugs’ in the insect world include shield bugs, froghoppers, cicadas and aphids. Like all the other insects, the fossils tell us that they have been around for a very long time, little changed. They have sucking mouth parts which allow them to inject plants and animals in order to feed. The assassin…
Crane fly in the reign of the dinosaurs! Crane flies belong to the ‘true flies’ (in the insect world there is a bewildering array of similar, yet different groups). It is amazing to think that the humble crane fly that we see today was around during the reign of the dinosaurs! Size: 9.5mm long.
Change of identity These specimens were previously identified by J B Delair as Stenosaurus sp. But they were reclassified as Metriorhynchine in 2014 by Lorna Steel of the Natural History Museum and Mark Young, University of Edinburgh. The specimen was collected by Miss Katherine Ouless, a significant name in the Dorset County Museum’s history. The collection date is quoted…
A true bug ‘Bugs’ in the insect world include shield bugs, froghoppers, cicadas and aphids. Like all the other insects, the fossils tell us that they have been around for a very long time, little changed. They have sucking mouth parts which allow them to inject plants and animals in order to feed. Assassin bugs…
Aphids in the Age of the Dinosaurs! Here is yet another stunning and minute specimen from the Lower Purbeck Beds. This one measures just 3.7mm in size but any gardener would recognise it as a sap-sucking aphid, capable of turning up in great swarms to damage garden plants and the vegetable patch! Compare this 135…
Sea currents Look carefully and you can see that many of the legs of these three brittle stars are orientated towards the top right of the image. This suggests that there was a water current flowing across the sea bed at the time these animals became fossilised. As shown in the lower photo, brittle stars…
This fossil is the ‘phragmocone’ of a belemnite and it fitted within a ‘V’ shaped hole in the guard (shell). The phragmocone was composed of a series of chambers containing a mixture of gas and water. By changing the relative amounts of the two, the creature could adjust its depth in the water. This specimen…
One of only three This tiny, tiny skull (the scale is 1cm) is only the third of its type known from the Triassic rocks of East Devon. The other two are both different species so this is certainly a hugely important specimen to science that has as yet to be described. It belongs to the…