Pterosaur
Pterosaur bones are amongst the rarest of fossils because they were hollow and light in order for the animal to be able to fly. That made them very unlikely to sink to the sea floor and become preserved.
Fossil Finder Database 2022
Dinosaur
Dorset’s Jurassic Park! This jaw might look small and ‘insignificant’, but it is in fact hugely important and interesting. It’s from the first raptor dinosaur found in the UK, and called a dromaeosaur (like the velociraptor of Jurassic Park fame). Dromaeosaur are bird-like, feathered dinosaurs but their exact relationship to birds, which evolved from the dinosaurs,…
Bivalve shell
Identical to a modern day cockle, this type of bivalve shell sat upright in soft sediments secured by a muscular foot which extended from the bottom of the shell, (the left side as photographed). Siphons extended from the top (the right side) that enabled the animal to filter sea water for food. Almost certainly from…
Pliosaur
Gutting channels These teeth are unbelievably big, and belong to the scariest sea monster that has ever lived – the pliosaur. The grooves along the length of the teeth serve a gruesome function…stop reading here if you’re squeamish! Without the grooves, as the teeth sunk into the prey animal’s body, suction could hold them in,…
Crocodile
We can tell that these are crocodile vertebrae because they are quite thin towards the centre. This ‘bow-tie’ appearance sets them apart from most other reptile vertebrae, although dinosaur backbones do look quite similar.
Trace fossil, burrow
Here you can see burrows and resting traces on the underside of a siltstone layer. They were made by an animal that burrowed into the muddy sea bed, then later its burrows were filled with silt. The soft underlying mudrock came away from the harder siltsone when the rocks became exposed to erosion. The species…
Pliosaur
Jurassic monster! Pliosaurs (short-necked plesiosaurs) were the top predators in the Jurassic seas. They had massive heads and throats, so could eat large prey, such as ichthyosaurs and marine crocodiles. They clamped their strong jaws around their victims, and twisted off hunks of flesh by rolling their whole body, just as crocodiles do today. This…
Plant Fossil Wood
What is it? These strange fossils were noticed by Chris Moore during the recovery of the fantastic Swanage Crocodile skull in April 2007. This specimen was collected, which was a good job because less than a month later, the rest were almost completely worn away. No-one has been able to make a definitive identification, but it…
Amphibian
‘Labyrinthodont’ refers to maze-like patterns on the skull plates of these crocodile-like amphibians. They were an important group before dinosaurs dominated, living alongside rhynchosaurs on desert plains.