Fossil Finder Database 2022
This is one of the largest brachiopods found along the coast and is very distinctive not just because of its size but also because, as the name suggests, the shell is ‘inconsistent’ or slightly asymetrical. Most brachiopod shells are symetrical from the mid-line.
This fossil coral came from the Ringstead Coral Bed which runs under the beach at Ringstead. Before a coastal protection scheme was put in place in 1996, the bed was occasionally exposed across the beach. This rarely now happens as the scheme included depositing gravel to increase the size of the beach.
Radioactive rock! One of the most unusual features of the coast are these radioactive nodules from Littleham Cove. The radioactive elements almost certainly came from the Dartmoor Granite as it was eroded early in the Triassic period or possibly even in the late Permian. The radiation levels are very low, about the same as an…
Budleigh Salterton is famous (for geologists and geomorphologists at least) for its pebbles and for good reason as they have an extraordinary story to tell. The pebbles are made from hard quartzite, sandstone cemented by silica, and are identical to rocks found in what we know as Britany today. Back in the Triassic, Britany was…
Radioactive rock! One of the most unusual features of the coast are these radioactive nodules from Littleham Cove. The radioactive elements almost certainly came from the Dartmoor Granite as it was eroded early in the Triassic period or possibly even in the late Permian. The radiation levels are very low, about the same as an…
Concrete roots Although the Triassic rocks of East Devon were deposited in a desert, there were rivers flowing through it, and on the banks of those rivers grew plants. When the water stopped flowing, the river banks were parched in the sun and any water in the sediments were drawn out. In the process, minerals…
Oysters encrusted with tubeworms These two fossils are an extinct kind of oyster called Gryphaea. They have two shells, and as you can see on the top specimen, one shell is much larger than the other. The shell opened to allow water to be drawn inside and filtered for food. If you look closely, you’ll…
Beautiful burrower These beautiful and highly-decorated bivalves have a triangular shape which gave rise to the old name Trigonia, but they have now been reclassified and given a new name, Myophorella. This is a burrowing bivalve that lived in the sediment on the sea bed. Siphons extended through the sediment allowing the animal to suck water…
Quality building stone This section of cut roach stone is packed with bivalves and gastropods. Look very closely and you can also just about see the minute egg-shaped ooliths (grains) that make up Portland Stone and help create its quality as building stone. Ooliths form from grains of sand and shell fragments rolled about in…