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	<title>Geology Matters &#187; Fossils</title>
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		<title>100 Years of the Geology at the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2013/01/10/100-years-of-the-geology-at-the-dudley-museum-and-art-gallery/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2013/01/10/100-years-of-the-geology-at-the-dudley-museum-and-art-gallery/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:30:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>chrisb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Activities and Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Famous People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Blogs]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Black Country]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Dudley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Earth history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lapworth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Limestone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Murchison]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Museums]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Places]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[The Dudley Bug]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://geologymatters.org.uk/?p=2325</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When its doors opened on Wednesday 12th December 2012 the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery (DMAG) celebrated 100 years of geology being on display. For centuries geology has played an important role within the Dudley area and to the local community. According to current DMAG Keeper of Geology, Graham Worton, ‘The 100th anniversary will kick [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify">When its doors opened on Wednesday 12th December 2012 the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery (DMAG) celebrated 100 years of geology being on display. For centuries geology has played an important role within the Dudley area and to the local community. According to current DMAG Keeper of Geology, Graham Worton, ‘The 100th anniversary will kick off 2013 as the Dudley Museum Year of Geology and each month will have a different Earth Science theme’.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">The 100th anniversary celebrations were held at the DMAG. At 17:30 the celebrations officially commenced with an introduction from the Dudley Mayor, Cllr Melvyn Mottram, followed by a re-enactment of the speech given by Sir Charles Lapworth, during the original opening of the museum in 1912. Paul Smith, the new curator of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, followed with a talk titled ‘A geological gift to the future’, a precise to Lapworth’s speech. After a forty minute refreshment break Graham gave a talk on, ‘Things of Beauty and Wonder’ – a potted history of the Dudley Geological Collection. After which, the Dudley Museum Year of Geology was officially launched.</p>
<div id="attachment_2336" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/12/000460_31.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2336" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/12/000460_31-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Calymene blumenbachii from Dudley, 000460</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify">DMAG is part of Dudley Council’s Museum Service, which also includes the Red House Cone, Stourbridge and the Broadfield House Glass Museum, Kingswinford. The beginnings of the DMAG started with centuries of traditional coal, limestone and ironstone mining and early pioneering scientists recognising the Dudley area as important for finding superb fossils. From the 1830&#8242;s onwards eminent geologist <a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/05/26/murchison-2/" target="_blank">Sir Roderick Impey Murchison</a> made numerous visits to the area. He encouraged local miners to establish a collection of Carboniferous Coal Measures and Silurian Limestone fossils. The Collection contained many new species and included the famous <em><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/collections/search/?cb_ipp=10&amp;cb_img_only=1&amp;q=calymene&amp;cb_submit=Search" target="_blank">Calymene blumenbachii</a></em>, or ‘Dudley Bug’.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">After Murchison published his work on <a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/2010/12/27/murchison/" target="_blank">‘The Silurian System’</a>, in 1839 he encouraged and inspired local mine agents, industrialists, lay people, patrons and luminaries of the day to establish the Dudley and Midland Geological Society. Murchison inaugurated this, the Midland’s first geological society, in 1842. The Society aimed to keep the Collection together and the first permanent museum to house it was a public house, The Britannia Inn, in Dudley town centre.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Records, or lack of, indicate that this first geology society declined sometime after 1843. However, in 1862 a second incarnation emerged as the Dudley and Midland Geological Scientific Society and Field Club. At this time Society members, with Murchison’s backing, decided that the Collection should be re-housed. Consequently arrangements were made to establish a geological museum in Dudley, which according to Graham ‘became the mechanics institute on Wolverhampton Street’. The new Museum was opened in 1863.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">However, in the early 1900&#8242;s the geological society’s second incarnation saw its demise along with the declining local mining industry. In 1903, under threat of being broken up and sold off, the collection passed into the hands of Dudley Council who kept it in the basement of their old free library and art school. It was here that during the late 19th Century Dudley Council had been acquiring fine art. In 1911 they acquired the fine collection of Dudley MP Brooke Robinson and displayed it in what had become the DMAG.  The same year a student from Birmingham University, Mr Edward Worsey, started cataloguing Dudley’s abandoned Collection and put it on display.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">At 3.30pm on 12th December 1912 Professor Charles Lapworth, from Birmingham University, officially opened the doors on the geology Collection at the DMAG. This heralded a new era of geological conservation and promotion, with Dudley’s fossil collection enjoying a permanent home in the town centre. Up until the 1960&#8242;s, the Museum was generally being used as a School of Art and Library.</p>
<div id="attachment_2338" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/12/004010_11.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2338" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/12/004010_11-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Pecopteris plumosa, 004010</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify">In 1975 the geological society’s third incarnation, the <a href="http://www.bcgs.info/" target="_blank">Black Country Geological Society</a> (BCGS), was born. Since then, the BCGS has had close links with the DMAG and acts as a lobbying organisation and practical body for the conservation and development of geological sites and collections. An early act of the BCGS was to re-catalogue and re-house the collection in 1984. A temporary curator was appointed to take care of, and develop the collection, although it lay dormant again in 1986 once funds dried up. The same year the BCGS successfully campaigned to get local government to recognise geological heritage in its policies and also to create the role of Keeper of Geology at the DMAG.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">When the first permanent keeper of geology, Colin Reid, was appointed in 1987 he introduced a new approach to displaying exhibits at the DMAG. This involved moving away from conventional hanging of fine art. Instead, more theatrical exhibits were staged that ran for longer periods and were directed more towards popular culture and the national curriculum. Beginning with Dinosaurmania and The Age of the Pharaohs the exhibits culminated in the opening of the Time Trail gallery in 1992.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">However, the reintroduction of more fine art, budget cuts and a need to redirect workloads, meant that towards the end of the 1990s, the museum began to move away from ‘blockbuster’ type exhibitions, which resulted in declining visitor numbers. Colin retired in 1999 and in February 2000 Graham Worton was appointed as the new Keeper of Geology for the DMAG. The loss of mining from the Dudley area meant the fundamentally close connection that had existed between the local community and geology also disappeared. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify">A key approach of the DMAG has always been to conserve and celebrate heritage. However, it also aims to make geology more accessible whilst providing a warm and welcoming place, training and support to the local community and those new to the science of geology. The Universities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton awell as Natural England also benefit from the DMAG&#8217;s expert support.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Each year DMAG and the Dudley Museums Service education team run a programme of events and exhibitions aimed at supporting the educational community and inspiring the public. Through this DMAG is re-establishing the long lost bond between the local community and geology. Especially through pioneering projects at the Wren’s Nest National Nature Reserve. Projects like the Waves Project (2002), the WROSNE Project (2008) and the recent Ripples Through Time Project (2011) have all aimed to educate and improve the lives of the local community, whilst helping them to appreciate and learn about what is on their doorstep.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">DMAG has also established a Young Museum Geoteam composed of graduates and students, which encourages young aspiring geoscientists to get more involved with geodiversity and conservation through regular volunteering programmes. The museum was also key in putting together and launching the Geology Matters website in March 2011, a project led by Wolverhampton Art Gallery. This searchable website allows users to find information about fossil, mineral and rock specimens held within the Black Country museums. The Geology Matters website can be found at <a href="http://www.geologymatters.org.uk">www.geologymatters.org.uk</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_2337" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 210px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/12/008120_11.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2337" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/12/008120_11-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Marsupiocrinus coelatus crinoid from Dudley, 008120</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify">During the production of the Geology Matters website the Geoteam was required to develop a digital archive of the Collection housed at the DMAG. Today, the Collection contains approximately 18,000 fossil, rock and mineral specimens, including the remaining Carboniferous and Silurian specimens collected in the 1830&#8242;s. Approximately 5,000 specimens have been added to the collection since the first Keeper of Geology was appointment in 1987. Gallery 8, the Geology Gallery, displays only part of the Collection, the rest is currently stored at Himley Hall. As well as displaying specimens from three geological periods the Gallery is also home to ‘Fluffy’, the life size replica model of a Woolly Mammoth.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">The Dinosaurs returned to the DMAG in 2007 taking up residence in Gallery 1. They are the first thing visitors see as they walk through the main entrance shop into the museum. This display aims to highlight and provide insight into the lost world of the dinosaurs. It includes full-scale reconstructions of land living dinosaurs and Jurassic marine reptiles along with dinosaur skeleton and fossil fragments.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">The museums’ Gallery 2 displays Dudley UnEarthed, which presents two timelines. The first is dedicated to telling the story of local Silurian geology and the history of the rocks of Britain. The second tells the story of the Industrial Revolution and human history within the Dudley area. For more information about the DMAG visit <a href="http://www.dudley.gov.uk/dudleymuseum">www.dudley.gov.uk/dudleymuseum</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Since September 2001 DMAG has hosted regular rock and fossil fairs that draw large numbers of people from across the country. The next one in September 2013 will form part of the Dudley Museum Year of Geology celebrations. With a monthly programme of events planned 2013 looks like being a big and busy year for the DMAG team and a promising future for geology. Hopefully for another 100 years.</p>
<p>By Andy Harrison<br />
BCGS Field Secretary<br />
Amblecote<br />
West Midlands</p>
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		<title>Open Hertitage Day tour &#8211; Wolverhampton Art Gallery</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/09/19/open-hertitage-day-tour-wolverhampton-art-gallery/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/09/19/open-hertitage-day-tour-wolverhampton-art-gallery/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Sep 2012 10:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>chrisb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Activities and Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Collectors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Art Gallery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Black Country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[collections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dr Fossil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dudley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Igneous rocks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Minerals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Museums]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Talks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Dudley Bug]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trilobites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrens Nest]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://geologymatters.org.uk/?p=2198</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Heritage Open Day tour of Wolverhampton Art Gallery was given in three parts, the first part was led by the Collections Manager, Rachel Lambert-Jones. Rachel took us down to the Resource Centre where they hold some of their stored collections of approximately 1800 objects including fine art, sculpture and their weird and wonderful items [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify">The Heritage Open Day tour of <a href="http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/visit/wolves/" target="_blank">Wolverhampton Art Gallery</a> was given in three parts, the first part was led by the Collections Manager, Rachel Lambert-Jones. Rachel took us down to the Resource Centre where they hold some of their stored collections of approximately 1800 objects including fine art, sculpture and their weird and wonderful items such as geology specimens. Following a talk about caring for art collections we were then taken back upstairs and the second part of the tour commenced. This was led by Jessica Bromley who gave an insight into how an exhibition of works from the collection is developed, focusing on the ‘Traced’ Exhibition about Wolverhampton Art School.</p>
<p>The tour then continued to the third and final part- the geology collection!</p>
<div id="attachment_2207" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/09/gl357_p11.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2207" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/09/gl357_p11-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Halysites Coral, The oldest chain in the Black Country!</p></div>
<p>Chris Broughton led this part of the tour which focused on the geology of the Black Country. Chris is both a Documentation Assistant and Geologist. The collection itself contains 10,000 British fossils! It is because of <a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/collectors/" target="_self">Dr. Fraser </a>that the collection exists. As a keen scientist, he collected specimens which date back many millions of years. The collection itself contains some amazing finds, such as the ‘<a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/collections/getrecord/WAGMU_GL601/" target="_self">Dudley Bug</a>.’ There is also the fantastically preserved head of a <a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/collections/getrecord/WAGMU_GL1884/" target="_self">170 million-year-old fish</a>, a <a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/collections/getrecord/WAGMU_GL696/" target="_self">proto-dinosaur footprint</a> and an <a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/collections/getrecord/WAGMU_GL1863/" target="_self">Ichthyosaur jaw</a>. What is really important to note is that a significant part of the collection are local finds. I didn’t realise that there is such a wealth of fossil finds here in the area!</p>
<div id="attachment_2208" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/09/gl1339_p11.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2208" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/09/gl1339_p11-300x235.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="235" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Alethopteris sp. Coal Measures Fern, gl1339</p></div>
<p>If I thought the conservation of art was tough enough to manage, nothing prepared me for what Chris told me about geology conservation. There are so many threats, for example dust and pollutants (managed through dust covers in drawers where specimens are kept), flood (due to pipes in the basement, the risk of flood is possible, so the collection is placed in raised cabinets), pests (monitored through sticky insect cards), pyrite decay (humidity needs to be below 60% or fossils can crumble to dust!, specimens are therefore placed in sealed boxes. HOWEVER, too dry or below 45% humidity, bones in the collection can crack and fall apart), radioactivity and radon gas (this comes from rocks and minerals such as Granite and can cause problems for curators), toxic minerals such as Lead, Mercury, Arsenic, Thallium and also asbestos minerals (these are dangerous to us when handling the collection).</p>
<p>Chris then took us through a bit of time travelling and we explored the area from millions of years ago and how the landscape has changed over time. It was a fascinating presentation and I probably sat with my mouth gaping through most of it, I was a bit in awe.</p>
<p>To find out more, I was told about the website Geology Matters. This details more about the fossil, mineral and rock collections in the Black Country.</p>
<p>Overall, I had an amazing time on this tour, it was so informative and my mind was buzzing with everything I had learnt. Thank you to all the people who produced the tour and were a part of the tour.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify"> By</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Kerry Grocott<br />
Birmingham</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Follow my blog by clicking <a href="http://creativecloudfix.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">here</a></p>
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		<title>The Barr Trilobite &#8211; a local celebrity</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/04/19/the-barr-trilobite-a-local-celebrity/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/04/19/the-barr-trilobite-a-local-celebrity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:12:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>simonharris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Collecting]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dudley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Identification]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Limestone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Trilobites]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://geologymatters.org.uk/?p=2034</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;This remarkable crustacean has been hitherto known in England as the Barr Trilobite, having been found at the Hay Head lime works, near the village and beacon of Barr in Staffordshire&#8221; The Silurian System, Roderick Murchison As new kinds of animals, both living and extinct, are discovered, scientists attempt to classify them according to their [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>&#8220;This remarkable crustacean has been hitherto known in England as the Barr Trilobite, having been found at the Hay Head lime works, near the village and beacon of Barr in Staffordshire&#8221;</em></p>
<p style="text-align: right">The Silurian System, Roderick Murchison</p>
<p style="text-align: left">As new kinds of animals, both living and extinct, are discovered, scientists attempt to classify them according to their physical characteristics and relationships to each other. This branch of science is known as <strong>Taxonomy</strong>. Taxonomists work to describe new species, and to refine, and sometimes redefine, previously described species.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;padding-left: 30px"><em>&#8220;A very large specimen of it, 5 inches long by 3 <sup>1</sup>/<sub>6</sub> wide, has been lithographed at Birmingham, and the species has been figured under the English name above stated by MR. F. Jukes and Mr. J. Sowerby&#8221;</em></p>
<p style="text-align: left">
<div id="attachment_2037" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 427px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/04/bumastus.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-2037 " src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/04/bumastus-596x1024.jpg" alt="" width="417" height="717" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The specimen figured in &quot;The Magazine of Natural History, Volume II&quot;</p></div>
<p style="text-align: left">Having considered the Barr trilobite&#8217;s similarity to a number of already published descriptions of other trilobites, Murchison decided that this represented an entirely new family of trilobites and proceeded to name it <em>Bumastus barriensis. </em>He published this new name, described and illustrated the new species in his book, &#8220;The Silurian System&#8221;.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;padding-left: 30px"><em>Bumastus</em> refers to the resemblance to a type of large grape, the latin word for which would have been familiar to educated readers from Virgil&#8217;s Georgics.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;padding-left: 30px"><em>barriensis</em> means &#8220;of Barr&#8221;, the location where specimens could commonly be found.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">When a new species is described in this way, usually one specimen is selected as the physical example which represents the species. This specimen is typically kept in a public collection or museum where it can be easily accessed by curators and researchers wanting to compare it to other discoveries. It is then known as a <strong>type</strong><strong> specimen </strong>(<a href="http://iczn.org/content/what-kinds-types-are-there" target="_blank">Holotype</a> is the most common designation, but there are other kinds of type such as lectotype and syntype).</p>
<p style="text-align: left">You can search for specimens of <em><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/collections/search/?q=bumastus" target="_blank">Bumastus</a></em> and other fossils within the collections of the museums services located in the Black Country using this website. Why not see what you can find?</p>
<p style="text-align: left">
<p style="text-align: left">
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		<title>Faking it? An unusual trilobite at Wolverhampton Art Gallery</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/04/12/faking-it-an-unusual-trilobite-at-wolverhampton-art-gallery/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/04/12/faking-it-an-unusual-trilobite-at-wolverhampton-art-gallery/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:31:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>simonharris</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Collecting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dudley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quarrying]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[A look through the Dr Fraser Collection reveals an unusual trilobite specimen &#8211; it is not quite like anything illustrated in any of the textbooks. Could it be a new species, lain undiscovered and undescribed for a century or more? Sadly not, but the real story behind the specimen is every bit as interesting. We [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A look through the Dr Fraser Collection reveals an unusual trilobite specimen &#8211; it is<em> not quite</em> like anything illustrated in any of the textbooks. Could it be a new species, lain undiscovered and undescribed for a century or more? Sadly not, but the real story behind the specimen is every bit as interesting.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/04/gl612_p11.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-2009 aligncenter" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/04/gl612_p11.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="448" /></a></p>
<p>We don&#8217;t know where this specimen was found, but given the history of the collection it is likely to have come from the Dudley area. During the nineteenth century limestone was extensively quarried in the area &#8211; it could be burnt to make mortar for building, or to purify molten iron in the furnace. The rock would have been extracted by hand; the quarrymen would often find &#8220;curiosities&#8221; such as this fossil and put them to one side.</p>
<p>At the same time, science was beginning to lend an understanding to the true nature of fossils, that they were the remains of animals that lived millions of years ago. Collectors would tour the country to examine mines and quarries such as those in the Dudley area, and would often purchase specimens from the men working there. Whilst they may not have fully understood the true nature of the fossils they found, the quarrymen would probably have known only too well that a complete specimen was worth more to the collectors.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>&#8220;But I will be unable, I find, to add materially to my collection here. It is rare to find a well-preserved trilobite, so rare that the fossil-dealers charge for them from ten shillings to five pounds, and I cannot afford to collect specimens at such a price.&#8221;</em></p>
<p style="text-align: right">&#8220;The life and letters of Hugh Miller&#8221;, Volume 2; Dudley, October 16th 1845</p>
<p>A price of £5 for a specimen in 1845 would equate to something like £250 today, which would have been a significant sum of money to a quarryman and his family.</p>
<p>This trilobite may have been victim to an unlucky blow of the hammer, or parts of the shell were washed away before fossilisation, but either way, someone has sought to &#8220;improve&#8221; or &#8220;restore&#8221; the specimen! Using crude tools, a quarryman has carved the missing parts of the body out of the surrounding rock. Without access to the education and reference facilities that we often take for granted today, his only reference would have been his memory of the last complete specimen seen, which probably accounts for the appearance of this fossil.</p>
<p>&#8220;Restoring&#8221; fossils was not at all an uncommon practice &#8211; the locals of Whitby would often carve heads onto the common <em>Dactylioceras</em> ammonites to reinforce the suggestion that they were in fact &#8220;snakestones&#8221;, and Somerset collector Thomas Hawkins was well known for his habit of &#8220;improving&#8221; specimens of his sea dragons (Ichthyosaurs and Plesiosaurs) which led to a scandal involving the British Museum and a Parliamentary inquiry!</p>
<p>What of this specimen in the museum today? Should we return it to it&#8217;s original condition? Attempt a better restoration? Well, we have much more complete examples of this trilobite, <em>Calymene blumenbachii</em>, available for study, so it makes most sense to leave this example as it is, as a record of the human history behind our collections.</p>
<p>You can see many more examples of fossils collected from the limestone quarries around Dudley in the collections of <a href="http://www.dudley.gov.uk/dudleymuseum/" target="_blank">Dudley Museum and Art Gallery</a>.</p>
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		<title>Dudley down under</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/03/22/dudley-down-under/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/03/22/dudley-down-under/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:29:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>chrisb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Collecting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Collectors]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Collectors and Collecting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Famous People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Australia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BCGS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Black Country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[collections]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dudley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[This is an extract from the Black Country Geological Society newsletter, October 2010. Sorting out the loft turns up some interesting things, and in my case files of old geological leaflets, notes and letters. One email I recently discovered related to my interest in the final destinations of superb Silurian fossils originating in Dudley, mostly [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify">This is an extract from the <a href="http://www.bcgs.info/" target="_blank">Black Country Geological Society</a> newsletter, October 2010.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Sorting out the loft turns up some interesting things, and in my case files of old geological leaflets, notes and letters. One email I recently discovered related to my interest in the final destinations of superb Silurian fossils originating in Dudley, mostly from the Wren’s Nest. It was from an old friend of mine who now lives in Perth, Western Australia, who had responded to my request for information by telling me that there was prominently displayed in Western Australia Geology Museum, a “Crinoid from Dudley, Worc” (sic) together with many other typical Wenlock Limestone fossils. He followed this up by attending a lecture given by Ken McNamara in the University of Western Australia which houses the museum. At that time (2004) he was the Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology; he is now a Senior Lecturer at the Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences. He explained that the fossils were part of the James Tennant Collection and outlined the interesting history of the collection, after paying tribute the Prof Hugh Torrens of Keele University for much of his source material.</p>
<div id="attachment_1937" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 237px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/03/Tennant.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1937" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/03/Tennant-227x300.jpg" alt="" width="227" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">James Tennant</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tennant_(mineralogist)" target="_blank">James Tennant</a> came to London in 1824 at the age of 16 looking for work and was apprenticed to James Mawe in his mineral, fossil and shell shop at 149 Strand. He became manager in 1829 on Mawe’s death, working with his widow. In 1838, through his influential contacts of ‘gentlemen collectors’ he was appointed to teach mineralogy at King’s College, London and then became Professor of Geology. He died in 1879 having accumulated a number of outstanding mineral and fossil collections, containing many fine Dudley specimens. One collection was acquired by the British Museum, but the Keeper of Geology, Henry Woodward, decided to send it to Western Australia, where two of his relatives, Henry Page Woodward, Government Geologist and Bernard Woodward, Curator of Geology in the newly established Western Australia museum, were in need of good material. Thus nepotism resulted in Western Australia getting an excellent collection.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Unfortunately, transporting it was another matter. Heavy rock and mineral specimens were loosely packed alongside fossils. The softer specimens suffered greatly by the constant rolling of the vessel, the delicate Eocene fossils were ground to dust. Further calamities occurred when unloading at Freemantle, a boat capsized and several crates were submerged for a significant period. When they were finally unpacked it was found that the sea water had either removed the labels or made them illegible. Apparently labels were still being matched to specimens in 2004. However, what was salvaged forms the nucleus of an excellent collection containing fossil types that are poorly represented in Western Australia. Among them are several fossils that first saw the light of day at Dudley.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Written by Bill Groves<br />
BCGS Member</p>
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		<title>Stuck in the Mud!</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/02/07/stuck-in-the-mud/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2012/02/07/stuck-in-the-mud/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:23:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>chrisb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Activities and Events]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Collecting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Glacial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hunting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jurassic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Societies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[trips]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[On Saturday 28th January the Black Country Geological Society headed south for a chilly fieldtrip to two fossil rich quarries in the Cotswolds. The geologists gathered excitedly at the first quarry, where Dr Neville Hollingworth was waiting to brief us about the local geology and what wonders we may find. Finally everyone arrived and I anxiously listened [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify">On Saturday 28th January the Black Country Geological Society headed south for a chilly fieldtrip to two fossil rich quarries in the Cotswolds. The geologists gathered excitedly at the first quarry, where Dr Neville Hollingworth was waiting to brief us about the local geology and what wonders we may find. Finally everyone arrived and I anxiously listened to the brief, fighting the urge to rush off into the mud to begin my hunt for fossils.  Once we had all been introduced to the Cornbrash Formation of the Jurassic Period it was time to hunt! The group of geologists immediately dispersed into the wilderness and no more than two or three could be located at any one time. Competition was intense to find the best specimens. The first find was an almost complete ammonite, followed quickly by rafts of brachiopods and bivalves. Further back in the quarry there was some unappealing open ground. This is where a number of members discovered some beautiful sea urchins. Another section of the quarry was extracting the Pleistocene aged glacial gravels from the second terrace of the River Thames. Within the gravels two members made discoveries, such as an ice age horse tooth and a shark’s tooth, which was probably reworked from older rocks.</p>
<div id="attachment_1803" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/02/P1010884.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1803 " src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2012/02/P1010884-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Four members play stuck in the mud</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify">Now the word muddy is an understatement when describing the conditions within the quarry. It was so gooey and sloppy that one member of the society very nearly was lost completely; well at least her wellington boots were nearly lost. As she fought her way out of the mud one boot sank deeper and deeper until it was completely covered in clay. A swift wellie rescue was launched to try and retrieve the boot before the front gates were locked, for we had no key to get out. The vacuum of the mud was so strong the rescue team struggled and pulled, but couldn’t pull it out. Help arrived in the form of a great whacking pick axe! After 10 frantic minutes of digging, photographing and a lot of laughing the wellie was still lodged firmly and sinking. On the last attempt before we had to evacuate the quarry it came free. Although soggy and muddy the red faced owner and her wellie was reunited to hunt again at the next quarry. Unfortunately I couldn’t resist a verse of “These boots are made for Walking”. The wellie jokes were flying from then on!</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">The afternoon hunt was 15km west in another quarry containing Oxford clay and again Pleistocene gravels. With buckets of enthusiasm the fossil hunter once again melted into the landscape. The initial hunt was dominated by a sense of frustration as the best ammonites were within concretions which required more heavy duty equipment to split open. This feeling a short-lived as finds began springing up, initially with Gryphea bivalves and belemnites in the Jurassic Oxford Clays. Moments later my star find of the day was located on a pile of gravel waste. Covered in an unassuming lump of mud a well preserved, complete Mammoth tooth with roots was picked up with great excitement. This tooth turned out to belong to a juvenile and was its third tooth from an upper jaw. Many of the other members began searching the waste piles for that special find, sadly this was to no avail. On the walk back to the cars I noticed some gravel waste, this pile was considerable smaller than the ones that everybody had scoured previously. Obviously when you notice rocks so inviting you have got to check them out.  Realising time was short I rapidly trudged across the gravel and to my surprise lying there on the top was a perfectly preserved Plesiosaur vertebrae, seconds later this was followed by a fist-sized lump of marine reptile bone.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">The day was a huge success, personally and for the Black Country Geological Society. The turn out from the members was excellent, proving this was a very popular trip and something completely different for the society.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Chris Broughton<br />
BCGS Member<br />
Photo by Julie and John Schroder</p>
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		<title>Geobabble</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/12/01/geobabble/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/12/01/geobabble/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:02:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>chrisb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BCGS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bentonites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Black Country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dudley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Microfossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Scolecodonts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wrens Nest]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[This is an extract from the Black Country Geological Society newsletter 209, October 2011 entitled Geobabble. Stratigraphy has always been a very important area in the study of geology. Within any geographical area, if you are looking at the geology you need to understand the sequence of the rocks, and visualise it as a column, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify">This is an extract from the <a href="http://www.bcgs.info/" target="_blank">Black Country Geological Society </a>newsletter 209, October 2011 entitled Geobabble.</p>
<p>Stratigraphy has always been a very important area in the study of geology. Within any geographical area, if you are looking at the geology you need to understand the sequence of the rocks, and visualise it as a column, with the oldest beds at the bottom. Geologists soon get used to writing down these sequences starting at the bottom of the page and working upwards. Traditionally stratigraphy was taught to budding geologists by starting with the oldest rocks in Britain and working upwards to the youngest, so in the Silurian, you would start with the Llandoverian and work through the Wenlockian, into the Ludlovian and so on. The traditional way of finding where you are in the sequence is to look at the fossils, as they will change with time as life evolved and so distinct horizons were identified with fossil zones. Staying with the Silurian, my &#8216;British Palaeozoic Fossils&#8217;, dated 1975 has 23 graptolite zones, mostly Monograptus.</p>
<p><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/sil-strat.jpg"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1679" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/sil-strat-148x300.jpg" alt="" width="148" height="300" /></a>But what about the Silurian of the Black Country? Graptolites did not survive in the high energy or shallow environments that produced the Much Wenlock Limestone Formation, and although experts could tell you where you might be in the sequence using other fossils, graptolite biostratigraphy is not a secure indicator of relative time. So we must turn to other methods that have been developed through looking at bentonites in the succession. These are clays produced by the weathering of volcanic ash and they are very common in our local Silurian. If each bentonite is analysed chemically it is found that no two are identical; each has its own distinctive ‘fingerprint’. These volcanoes were mostly from a subduction zone and so varied in magma composition with time, and sequences and changes in the chemical composition can be recognised. Another feature of these bentonites is that they contain crystals of zircon, a mineral that is basically Zirconium Silicate (ZrSiO4), but will give an accurate absolute radiometric age when put through the complex and expensive procedures required. (See &#8216;The Science and Mysteries of the Wren&#8217;s Nest NNR&#8217;, pp.6-7 above. Ed.)</p>
<div id="attachment_1684" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/106-mic.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1684" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/106-mic-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Bentonite Scolecodont microfossil</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify">These techniques are all very well, but what can be seen without resorting to complex chemical procedures? Well, you can use your traditional biostratigraphical methods, but using microfossils. Some of these techniques are being used at Dudley Museum and Art Gallery by Graham Worton and his Geoteam, a group of young geology students who volunteer to do this research. You simply collect your sample of bentonite from a known horizon, dry and sieve it into its various size fractions and then look at it under a binocular microscope and identify the microfossils. It sounds easy but I assure you that it is time consuming and requires a great deal of skill, particularly when you appreciate that these microfossils are measured in microns. The table illustrates the local succession with the absolute age of the Much Wenlock Limestone Formation, only 1 m.y. long. The Geoteam are looking at 17 bentonites, mostly in the Much Wenlock Limestone and Coalbrookdale Formations, but stretching right up to the top of the Pridoli. This cutting edge research gives us another stratigraphic method to help in the understanding of our Black Country rocks.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify">Written and illustrated by Bill Groves<br />
BCGS Member</p>
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		<title>My Desert Adventures</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/11/24/my-desert-adventures/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/11/24/my-desert-adventures/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:12:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>chrisb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saudi Arabia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[shark teeth]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[I lived in Saudi Arabia for 7 years when I was little – I went out in 1989, and came back in 1996. I can remember going out into the desert with my family and our trusty 1984 left hand drive white Range Rover ‘Foggy’ (which we still have). I can also remember camping Hamilton-style, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1654" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/foggy.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1654" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/foggy-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">&#039;Foggy&#039; our trusty Range Rover</p></div>
<p>I lived in Saudi Arabia for 7 years when I was little – I went out in 1989, and came back in 1996. I can remember going out into the desert with my family and our trusty 1984 left hand drive white Range Rover ‘Foggy’ (which we still have). I can also remember camping Hamilton-style, with camp beds, sleeping bags, pillows, my teddy (who I still have), travel stove, gas bottle, travel kettle&#8230; but no tent! The drives on the tarmac road seemed never-ending as the road just appears out of the mirage in the distance, the one that needed sweeping off because the sandstorms obscured it from time to time and the one that took me on all these adventures. I can remember, quite distinctly, going out to the wide open space of the Arabian Peninsula, where there’s ‘nothing’ but sand and sky and looking for sharks teeth (and boy, did we find em!). I marvelled at why there were <a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/collections/search/?q=shark">sharks teeth </a>in the desert – we lived in Riyadh, nowhere near the sea! So how did they get there? Since when did sharks live in the desert?</p>
<div id="attachment_1656" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/Laura-Hamilton-picnic.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1656" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/Laura-Hamilton-picnic-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Having a pic-nic in the desert</p></div>
<p>I remember my dad taking us out to different parts of the desert, just to explore. We’d spend ages flying kites, sitting on the drop-down bit in the boot of ‘Foggy’ trying to find some shade. We’d watch the lizards scurry around, trying not to burn their feet on the sand, and the birds flying overhead trying to find dinner. I can remember the great big steep cliffs, with the layers that made them so prominent and jaggy and how some stuck out more than others, I now know that this is differential weathering, as some rocks are more competent than others. I also remember the drives through the wadis to find the next fossil hunting place.</p>
<div id="attachment_1658" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/saudi-cliffs.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1658" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/11/saudi-cliffs-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">The sedimentary cliffs in Saudi Arabia </p></div>
<p>Geology is a subject where you can learn so much – you can pick up a rock and work out so much stuff to do with Earth’s past. A fossil suddenly becomes much more than a fragment of shell or bone; it becomes a window to a time so long ago we can’t even imagine how long ago. It becomes evidence of how life once was – the conditions, the extent of the seas, and the location of the continents. A sedimentary rock can become a massive clue in telling us how rivers worked…are they similar to rivers today? What was the flow direction? How strong was the current? All these things can be identified by just looking at a rock! I love this subject, I love how something so inanimate, so mundane to some people can tell us so much more than we ever thought. I cannot wait to graduate, I want to get out there and do geology. I want my life to be one long field trip, full of awesomeness, rocks and of course….beer!</p>
<p>Written by<br />
Laura Hamilton<br />
University of Birmingham Geology Student</p>
<p>You can also follow her personal blog at <a href="http://www.thegeologyshop.blogspot.com" target="_blank">The Geology Shop</a>.</p>
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		<title>My fossil hunting trip to Lyme Regis</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/10/13/my-fossil-hunting-trip-to-lyme-regis/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/10/13/my-fossil-hunting-trip-to-lyme-regis/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Oct 2011 09:00:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>chrisb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Collecting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ammonites]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Belemnite]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jurassic Coast]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lyme Regis Dorset]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://geologymatters.org.uk/?p=1581</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The first time I ever visited Lyme Regis was in the summer of 2007. I packed my bag with the mush have essentials for fossil hunting; hand lens, chisel, hammer and sample bags. First we visited the beach to the right of Lyme Regis. Immediately upon arriving at the beach fossils began catching my eye [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div id="attachment_1583" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 310px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/10/gl2204_p1.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1583" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/10/gl2204_p1-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Ammonite gl2204_p1</p></div>
<p>The first time I ever visited Lyme Regis was in the summer of 2007. I packed my bag with the mush have essentials for fossil hunting; hand lens, chisel, hammer and sample bags.</p>
<p>First we visited the beach to the right of Lyme Regis. Immediately upon arriving at the beach fossils began catching my eye from belemnites to ammonites, the beach was crawling with them. Once I had ‘got my eye in’, I began discovering great examples of pyrite ammonites. Digging through the sand and moving the heavy rocks yielded some of my best finds from Lyme Regis.</p>
<p>After we had filled the sample bags up we moved onto Charmouth, where there had recently been a landslide. Within the base of the spoil were loads of belemnites and great examples of ammonite casts. It was a bit sad that due to the nature of the mudstone the ammonites were too fragile to be collected. This was because once they had dried out they disintegrated. But happily yet again I made some great finds from Charmouth.</p>
<div id="attachment_1584" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 210px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/10/gl2269_p2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1584" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/10/gl2269_p2-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Jurassic belemnite gl2269_p2</p></div>
<p>At the end of the holiday we headed back to the midlands with a car crammed with fossils in every nook and cranny, I would certainly go down again. Plus if you cant make that fantastic find of a lifetime on the shore, there are plenty of fossil shops to look at and purchase a special memento.</p>
<p>It is also important to note that if you plan a fossil trip anywhere on the coast, always check the tides because it is all too easy to be cut off when you get carried away fossiling.</p>
<p>Alison Roberts<br />
Wall Heath<br />
West Midlands</p>
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		<title>Riddle of the shells</title>
		<link>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/10/06/riddle-of-the-shells/</link>
		<comments>http://geologymatters.org.uk/2011/10/06/riddle-of-the-shells/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>chrisb</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Collecting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fossils]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guest Blogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Local Geology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Black Country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brachiopods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dudley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Extinct]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Geology]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[This is an extract from the newsletter of The &#8216;Black Country Geological Society&#8216;, No. 201 June 2010. This was part of the regular section entitled ‘The Dudley Bug’ written by members Alison Roberts and Chris Broughton. During April 2010, as part of a KITTS graduate training placement at Dudley Museum we visited the Wrens Nest to see what are the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: justify">This is an extract from the newsletter of The &#8216;<a href="http://www.bcgs.info/" target="_blank">Black Country Geological Society</a>&#8216;, No. 201 June 2010. This was part of the regular section entitled ‘The Dudley Bug’ written by members Alison Roberts and Chris Broughton.</p>
<div id="attachment_1558" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/09/shelly-lines.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1558" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/09/shelly-lines-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Counting the brachiopods</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify">During April 2010, as part of a KITTS graduate training placement at Dudley Museum we visited the Wrens Nest to see what are the most common fossils found in two of the main formations found at the national nature reserve. The two formations which were chosen was the 430 million years old  Much Wenlock Limestone Formation, Nodular Member and the older Coalbrookdale Formation. After a short period of collecting we returned to the museum where we laid the fossils out in rows of the same species. What we found was rather interesting.</p>
<div id="attachment_1564" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/10/atrypa.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1564" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/10/atrypa-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Atrypa reticularis brachiopods</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify">Firstly, Atrypa reticularis was the most common brachiopod at both locations, suggesting that this was the most successful species throughout the Wenlock Epoch. There were significant differences between the Atrypa brachiopods from the older Coalbrookdale Formation and the younger, shallow marine Much Wenlock Limestone Formation. The Coalbrookdale Formation is associated with deep marine conditions as the sediment is a lime mud, deposited in low energy conditions. In this environment the brachiopods were larger and had wings on their shells, possibly to spread their weight on the surface of the soft sediments, whilst in the Much Wenlock Limestone Formation, the Atrypa brachiopods were much smaller in size due to living in the shallow reef mound conditions. The photo opposite displays the size and shape variations between the Atrypa species, possibly due to environmental pressures (Coalbrookdale Formation on the left). The ages between these brachiopods could be around 3 to 5 million years, so could this be evidence of evolution within this species?</p>
<div id="attachment_1567" class="wp-caption alignright" style="width: 160px"><a href="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/10/eospirifer.jpg"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1567" src="http://geologymatters.org.uk/files/2011/10/eospirifer-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Eospirifer brachiopods</p></div>
<p style="text-align: justify">This pattern is also apparent when the Eospirifer sp.brachiopods are studied. The Coalbrookdale specimens are considerably larger than the Nodular Member specimens. This can be seen in the opposite photo with the Coalbrookdale Formation specimen on the right. Further differences noted the lack of tabulate (colonial) corals in the deeper Coalbrookdale Formation, which are so abundant in the shallower reef mound environment.</p>
<p>Chris Broughton<br />
Geologist<br />
Wolverhampton Art Gallery</p>
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