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Original poster

Fossily people, come see and guess.

36 replies

ILikeyourHairyHands · 28/05/2019 23:20

I found this sandstone fossil in a shale bed at Runswick Bay, I have an idea of what it is, but if any more knowledgeable people can help, that would be amazing.

So here it is

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6
PamelaDooveOrangeJoof · 28/05/2019 23:21

Is it fossilised seaweed?

PamelaDooveOrangeJoof · 28/05/2019 23:22

Or some kind of crustacean?

Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 28/05/2019 23:23

For scale, it's about as big as my hand.

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Soola · 28/05/2019 23:24

Ancient toffee crisp?

Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 28/05/2019 23:32

No! I'm thinking

Fossily people, come see and guess.
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FlibbertyGiblets · 28/05/2019 23:37

Crikey. I was going to say oh fossilised BLADDERWRACK how interesting but erm, that's a dino pawprint, innit?!

Have you a uni or museum locally, for a sort of grown-up Show and Tell?

QuentinWinters · 28/05/2019 23:38

I think it's a footprint

QuentinWinters · 28/05/2019 23:39

Oops. Shoulda rtft

HarryPotterFan436 · 28/05/2019 23:39

Ooh that does look like a footprint I think.

QuentinWinters · 28/05/2019 23:39

That is a very exciting find, well done.

Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 00:06

I also found this nearby, which I'm pretty sure is a tail-end vertebrae.

Fossily people, come see and guess.
Fossily people, come see and guess.
Fossily people, come see and guess.
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mogloveseggs · 29/05/2019 00:08

Wow that's very cool! I must show ds in the morning

Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 01:03

I've chipped away and found the toe!!

Fossily people, come see and guess.
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Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 01:18

Ok, for anyone that's interested. There's a thin carbonised vegetation layer on top of the foot-print, it levers off with some effort, BUT, there's a full foot-print beneath!

It's very exciting and I'm chipping away.

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nocoolnamesleft · 29/05/2019 01:26

Oooooh.

Lweji · 29/05/2019 01:33

FGS. Stop messing with it and ask the closest paleontologist you can find.

Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 01:33

It's definitely a foot! I am quite excited!

Fossily people, come see and guess.
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Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 01:37

Lweji, I don't think it's paleontologist worthy, it's an exciting find for an interested person but it's not so singular as to be interestingly to a professional.

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Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 01:45

It's from Runswick Bay in North Yorkshire, there are millions of fossils that get thrown out from the shale cliffs every year. I've been searching for fossils there for nearly 40 years. Everyone usually looks for ammonites or trillobites in the shale, but the really interesting fossils are usually found in the sandstone, which is how I recognised it as something different.

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Lweji · 29/05/2019 02:17

it's an exciting find for an interested person but it's not so singular as to be interestingly to a professional.

You simply don't know.

Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 02:28

Well I do know a bit. I'm not an idiot.

It's an intersting find. Anyone would be pleased with it, and I have a relevant degree, BUT, knowing what I know about where it was found, it may be of minor interest to those who are vested.

It's certainly not an extrodinary discovery.

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Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 02:43

Plus. It's a rock. It may contain the whisper of a dinosaur that stomped around before, but who does that belong to? Why should academics own a dinosaur foot-print rather than me?

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Lweji · 29/05/2019 03:22

Why should academics own a dinosaur foot-print rather than me?

It's not a matter of ownership.
It's about making sure of its relevance or lack of.
Many very relevant finds didn't seem to be at first. And a few were discovered lingering in museum drawers.
You'd not be asking here if you had the expertise to decide on relevance or not.
So, agreeing that it's an interesting find, and before you may destroy relevant bits, I do think you should consult with an expert. Worst case by sending them the photos.
If they say they don't want it, then do as you like.
If you do have a relevant degree, surely you'd see why you should make sure it's not of interest to experts, just in case.

BickBock · 29/05/2019 03:35

I literally just see lumps of rock Blush

Original poster
ILikeyourHairyHands · 29/05/2019 03:37

Lweji, there's no incumbence on me, or indeed anyone, to check with 'experts' before we discover the World. It's all there for the taking. I'm not a paleontologist, I'm a biologist and a mathematician. I found an interesting fossil. I will continue to bash away at it until the imprint is uncovered.

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