Fossil Finder Database 2022
Spare rib This is a large and spectacular dinosaur rib – so just imagine what the whole dinosaur would look like! Unfortunately, finding a whole dinosaur is very unlikely as this bone is set in a rock that formed in a shallow, warm sea. Any large animal dying or being washed into that sea is…
This is a fibula (leg bone) from a juvenile Scelidosaur. From the size of the bones, we can tell that it must have been very young, and perhaps less than two metres in length.
Awesome tooth – but where is the animal? This is a large tooth, with wonderful serrations on the cutting edges. It belonged to an animal that must have had a skull of at least half a metre long, and a body of up to four metres. It was a top predator of the Triassic desert. Where…
One of the best About the size of a sheep, rhynchosaurs were the most common reptiles in this part of the Triassic period. Although this skull is somewhat crushed, it’s a fantastic specimen, and far more complete than most. The view is from the underside, looking up through the lower jaws.
This specimen is a dorsal vertebra from a juvenile dinosaur. It was described by the legendary anatomist Sir Richard Owen, who invented the word ‘dinosaur’
This is a partial skeleton of a juvenile plesiosaur. The overall length of the creature would have been just over two metres. Four of the vertebrae in the neck are fused together, and may not have formed properly when the animal was developing as an embryo. It belongs to the same species as the first…
This block contains many tubeworms, together with bivalve shells. Rotularia, unlike most tubeworms, grew in a spiral shape and is often mistaken for small ammonites.
This specimen is the skull of the fish Dapedium. This specimen formed part of the Philpot sisters’ collection. The Philpot sisters were friends of Mary Anning, and spent much time collecting fossils with her.
Here is a good example of this sponge, showing the shape that gives it the specific name ‘tulipa’. Such specimens are not found very often.When complete, the sponge would have had a long ‘stem’, looking just like a flower.