Fossil Finder Database 2022
This is a beautiful and clear example illustrating part of the structure of the turtle shell or carapace. The carapace is made up of scutes supported from the inside by the vertebrae and ribs. Look closely to see the marginal scutes around the edges which extend the shell.
Find out more about these fascinating creatures on the crocodilian page.
Spare vertebrae The ichthyosaur was a dolphin-like animal. Its vertebrae are the commonest bones to be found for a very simple reason: each animal has about 180 individual vertebrae making up their backbone but they only have one head and four paddles. These icthyosaur vertebrae were found by a local collector, Barney Hansford, probably at…
Species new to science Despite over 200 years of fossil collecting, it’s still possible to make new discoveries such as this beautiful and near-perfect crocodile skull discovered in 2007. Shortly after, it was identified as a species new to science. The diagonal dark line across the skull is where it was broken; the back half…
This is a very distinctive and rare fish from the Lower Jurassic rocks of the Dorset coast. Saurorhynchus was a long thin fish superficially resembling a modern-day gar fish.
Teleosaur is an early reptile-like crocodile, and among the largest fossils in Corallian rocks. These creatures may have been amphibious, feeding on land as well as in fresh water and estuaries. The jaw is similar to Steneosaurus (lower photo), from the slightly younger rocks in the Upper Jurassic.
Cat’s paw This broken piece of ammonite shows the delicate patterns on the shell, known as suture lines. These lines are formed from the folded walls that divide the shell into a series of hollow chambers. On the left side of the specimen, you can see how the smooth wall becomes folded towards the outside…
Not quite a crocodile These are the teeth and scales of an early crocodile-like reptile. The semi-aquatic lifestyle of this animal was very similar to its closest living relatives, crocodiles and alligators. It was two to four metres long, and its skin, complete with armoured scutes, provided camouflage and protection. It is understandable how early…
Windows in the skull Notice how there are three pairs of holes in the skull, two on the top, two on the side (one hidden in this photo) and two more looking forward. The front ones are the eye sockets, and the others are called temporal fenestrae or ‘windows in the skull’. They are there…