Whitby: Fossils and the Prehistoric World

(Fossils of the Whitby coast)

 

 Dean R. Lomax

 Saltwick Bay, south of Whitby

 Saltwick Bay, south of Whitby

 

Whitby is a small coastal town in North Yorkshire, and a name familiar to most fossil collectors in Britain and Europe; in fact specimens from Whitby feature in museum (and private) collections around the world. Whitby is part of the Yorkshire Coast, often labelled the ‘Dinosaur Coast’, an illustrious section of coastline which has produced some spectacular fossil finds over the year. Whitby itself is just one location of the ‘Whitby Coast’; the ‘Whitby Coast’ consists of around 10 fossil bearing localities from as far north as Staithes and south as Ravenscar, each location yielding different fossils. The localities also offer some of the most beautiful scenery in Yorkshire, amongst a stroll with dinosaurs.

 

 Reconstruction of a plesiosaur by Nobumichi Tamura

Image reconstruction of a plesiosaur, courtesy of Nobumichi Tamura. www.palaeocritti.com

 

Rocks around Whitby date between 200 and 170 million years old. They belong to a time in Earth’s history called the Jurassic Period, one of three periods that make up the Mesozoic Era, commonly referred to the ‘age of dinosaurs’. Specifically, the rocks belong to the Lower Jurassic, they consists of mudstones, shales, sandstones and ironstones. Many fossils, including internationally important specimens have been discovered along the Whitby Coast; these internationally important fossils have been described (and are still described today) by palaeontologists in scientific journals across the world. Specimens have been collected since the early-mid 1800s. Alum quarrying was once a large industry for Whitby, in fact, while extracting alum from this coastline numerous fossils were discovered in the individual beds and formations, even complete specimens were found!

 

Ammonite found at Whitby

Fossil ammonite found at Whitby, scale bar measures 4 cm.

 

The fossils discovered along this coastline range from the small, to large and ferocious marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and even primitive crocodilians. Amongst these top super predators, a huge variety of invertebrate life is to be found, including many cephalopod molluscs such as ammonites and belemnites; they are amongst some of the most commonly found fossils. Also to be found are crustaceans, echinoderms (such as brittle stars), fish (including sharks!) and even terrestrial fossils. The last geological age at Whitby (within the sandstones) yields numerous fossils from the terrestrial environment, they include plants and ferns, however also found in this formation are the remnants of dinosaur’s last traces, their preserved footprints!

With such a sheer diversity and number of fossils discovered along this coastline, it helps to portray a vivid picture of a prehistoric ecosystem millions of years ago around Whitby.

  Book: Fossils of the Whitby Coast di Dean Lomax

 SIRI Scientific

 

Dean R. Lomax ©