Where to hide in the Late Jurassic if you’re a lobster?

Within the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation we occasionally find large body chambers of ammonites which have died and fallen to the sea bed to subsequently become temporary (and permanent) homes to other creatures.

In some empty body chambers we find the moulted carapace (shell) of rare fossil lobsters. As lobsters grow they need to shed their shells in order to grow new larger ones (via a process called ecdysis). When they do this their soft bodies are vulnerable to predators until their new shells are formed and hardened. It therefore makes sense that they would use safe places like dead ammonite shells in which to do this.

Many of these large ammonite shells are part encrusted by calcified worm tubes (serpulids) who require a hard surface on which to attach themselves to create colonies ( the Jurassic sea bed at the time was mostly muddy and therefore they could not attach themselves to it).

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Watch the full story by clicking on the YouTube video link below where this discovery is discussed in more detail.

First global evidence of Ammonite eggs!

One New Years’ Eve several years ago Steve Etches was in his workshop cleaning a rock sample which contained an isolated small sack of spherical egg-shaped objects he found in the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation.

These look quite similar to modern cuttlefish eggs (a living cephalopod) and he wondered if these could be the eggs of an ammonite (an extinct cephalopod) since ammonites are common in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation. Fossil ammonite eggs had never been found before. Subsequent discoveries were made which include some “eggs” associated with ammonites providing further evidence that they could be ammonite eggs.

These eggs are incredibly rare and represent the first-ever discovery of potential ammonite eggs. Because of their rarity, the museum plans to use non-destructive Cat Scanning techniques at Southampton University to search for definitive proof that they contain “baby” ammonite embryos.

The Etches Collection Museum in Kimmeridge, Dorset contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. This provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video above.

Male v Female ammonites in the Late Jurassic: How do you tell them apart ?

Within the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation we often find ammonites of two main sizes, large and small, within any single horizon.

The larger ammonites (macroconch) are female and the smaller forms (microconch) are males. Many of the males also have extensions of their shell which are described as horns whilst some have a portion of the shell extended to form a horn on the last chamber (called a lappet). These ammonites are therefore sexually dimorphic i.e. the males and females of the same species look quite different from each other.

However, recently Steve has discovered examples of ammonites changing sex during their lifetime.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Watch the full story by clicking on the YouTube video above where Steve Etches presents evidence for sex-changing ammonites and offers a potential explanation for why this may occur.

Comparing a new Jurassic fossil fish with a modern fish: an example convergent evolution

Fossil fish collected from the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation include a very unusual new species which looks like a living freshwater fish called a barbel.

The word Barba is Latin for beard and is used because the Barbel has a pair of fleshy barbels (like whiskers) at the side of its mouth. It uses these barbels as taste receptors in the murky water where it lives to identify both food and possible predators.

In terms of general body shape (head, fins and tail) our new fossil example is broadly similar to the modern barbel. More interestingly is that a cat scan of the skull has revealed evidence of a previously unknown sensory organ.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video above where Steve Etches reveals more detail on how this ancient fossil can be related to a modern living form and explains what the cat scan work has revealed.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Exceptional preservation of Late Jurassic Cuttlefish from Kimmeridge

Fossil cuttlefish are rarely found in the fossil record. Over the last few decades Steve Etches has discovered and prepared over ninety specimens of the ancient fossil cuttlefish Trachyteuthis all of which were collected from the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation exposed along the Dorset Coast.

Many of the specimens exhibit exceptional preservation of the rarely preserved soft tissues whilst others are preserved uncrushed in 3D. Some of the specimens have been cut open to reveal that incredibly the internal organs and even the fossilised ink sack have been preserved.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video above where Steve Etches describes these remarkable fossils.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Large predatory fish from the Late Jurassic of Dorset

Fossils of a large (up to 2m long) predatory fish called Caturus (including a new species) have been discovered in the 157-152 million year old, Late Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation.

As well as having large teeth some specimens also show new previously undescribed structures on their lower jaws which may represent evidence of a “sixth sense”. These structures may have which helped them find their prey in the murky waters of the ancient Jurassic ocean.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above where these remarkable fossils are described by Steve Etches.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Charles Darwin and his missing barnacles: new evidence from the Late Jurassic of Dorset?

Within the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation we occasionally find unusual fossils like barnacles.

Five new species, one of which is named after its finder Steve Etches (Etcheslepas durotrigensis) have been uncovered to date including some with part of the original shell colour preserved.

Despite appearing “shell-like”, barnacles are actually crustaceans more closely related to shrimps, crabs and lobsters. Barnacles glue themselves to anything they come into contact with using a natural type of fast setting superglue. Their shells are made up of white plates of protective calcite and their “legs” are feather shaped “cirri” which stick out the top of the barnacle and collect food.

Charles Darwin was fascinated by barnacles and wrote a very lengthy book on them in which he predicted a certain type of undiscovered barnacle should be present in the Jurassic. Steve Etches has now discovered this missing link in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above where Steve Etches presents the story of Darwins missing barnacles and shows some of the best-preserved fossils in the museum collection.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Dinosaur bones in the Late Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation of Dorset

Although the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation was deposited in a warm tropical ocean we do find rare examples of the remains of dinosaurs which lived on land.

These dinosaur bones include a very large humerus (upper leg bone) and fibula (lower leg bone) of a giant plant eating sauropod dinosaur and a single bone from a therapod (meat eating dinosaur). These came from the bodies of dead dinosaurs which were washed out to sea via rivers where they decayed and fell apart and/or were pulled apart by scavenging marine animals. This created rare dinosaur bones scattered across the ancient sea floor.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above where these dinosaur bones are described by Steve Etches.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

First insect remains from the Late Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation of Dorse

Although the Kimmeridge Clay Formation was deposited in a warm tropical ocean we do find exceptionally rare examples of the remains of terrestrial fossils such as insects within this 157-152 million year old formation.

Fossil insect remains include the exceptionally rare and well preserved hind wing of a very fragile, new species of dragonfly. Bearing in mind its fragility it is amazing that it was ever preserved.

This new species has been formally named as Kimmeridgebrachypteraeschnidium etchesi after its location (Kimmeridge) and its discoverer (Steve Etches). This must represent one of the longest fossil names on record as well as one of the most difficult to pronounce.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above.

A possible angler fish from the Late Jurassic of Dorset

The discovery of a lower jaw of a new species of fish from the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation has revealed some interesting new features.

The jaw is hook-shaped and suggests that the fish would have had a very large gape. It also has three rows of teeth on the jaw rather than the more normal single row. These features are similar to those seen in a modern angler fish. Perhaps this fossil specimen sat quietly on the see floor with its mouth wide open and ready to snap shut on any unsuspecting prey.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above where this discovery is discussed in more detail.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Ichthyosaur murder in the Late Jurassic of Dorset: Whodunnit?

Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles which looked a bit like modern day dolphins. They were common in the Late Jurassic, warm tropical oceans which once covered Dorset and much of England.

Several years ago, Steve Etches collected two large rock slabs in which he could just make out a few bones of a possible ichthyosaur. After careful preparation and reassembly back in the workshop the front part of the skull and snout of an ichthyosaur were uncovered.

For a while he wondered where the rest of the skull was and then he noticed bite marks and broken pieces of bone which suggested some larger predator had bitten the ichthyosaurs head clean off and the remains of the skull had fallen to the seabed to be collected later (157 to 152 million years later !) by Steve.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link below where this discovery and murder mystery is discussed in more detail.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

How do we find, extract and piece together new fossil fish: examples from the Jurassic of Dorset

Fossil fish in the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation are diverse and include a large form called Pachythrissops.

Often when we find spectacular fossil fish such as Pachythrissops all we see at first is a tiny fragment in the rock either as a few scales or a bit of bone with the remainder covered by solid rock. From such tiny glimpses of what may lie beneath we have to try and work out the likely orientation of the fossil and how much may be present. We then have the challenge of collecting (often in several large blocks of rock) and transporting these back to the workshop to prepare and piece together the fossil which last saw sunlight over 150 million years ago.

Some specimens of this fish have their soft tissues partly preserved, including the gut whilst other specimens show almost perfectly preserved fins including a very rare tail. We have several examples of this fish including the best-preserved specimen found to date.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above where Steve Etches reveals how these specimens are collected and prepared to reveal some previously unseen features.

Pliosaur Jaw

One of the first large fossils Steve Etches found which put him firmly on the road of becoming a palaeontologist was the jaw of a giant Pliosaur. However, the story of its discovery is complex and shows that patience can be rewarded.

Steve first discovered some bones associated with a recent rockfall which he realised belonged to a giant Pliosaur. Over the following months he returned to the same location and gradually picked up more pieces of bone. He eventually worked out where in the cliff the bones were falling from and that it was too high and too dangerous to attempt to reach that level.

He patiently returned many times over a period of four years waiting for the cliff to erode back far enough for the remaining bones to fall down onto the beach.

After four years the rest of the specimen fell down including the tip of the jaw.

After a number of further collecting visits’ he pieced the fragments back together to reveal an almost complete giant 2m jaw of a huge predatory pliosaur which is now one of the centre pieces of the museums display.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above to discover how this find hooked Steve on specialising in collecting from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation and ultimately to the building of the museum to house his collection.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

What was biting Pliosaur bones in the Late Jurassic Ocean?

The discovery of a propodial bone (part of the flipper) of a small Pliosaur from the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation has revealed some interesting new features.

Narrow bite marks are observed on the bone whilst at one end ther is clearly a bite mark which indicates a bit of the bone has been bitten off.

We do see lots of bite marks on many of the bones collected from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation although it is often not clear whether the marks were made during an attack on a living creature or were post-mortem and made by scavengers.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above to discover what creature made these bite marks.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Rare flying reptile fossil (pterosaur) from the Late Jurassic and the dangers of fossil collecting

Pterosaurs were flying reptiles which occupied the skies in the Late Jurassic when the Kimmeridge Clay Formation was deposited. They are incredibly rare fossils within this formation.

Steve discovered his first pterosaur bones in this formation under very trying circumstances.

The slab of rock he had to collect to ensure he had all the bones was large and very heavy (far heavier than you would expect based on the size of the prepared specimen now displayed in the museum).

The tide was coming in, daylight was fading quickly, and it was a long way back to safety. In the end he finally managed to get help from his family to recover the specimen safely just in time.

Once the specimen was prepared back in the lab it became clear it was a new species and so it was worth the effort. In addition, it had a broken arm/wing bone and this may explain why it fell into the Jurassic ocean to be revealed once again around 150 million years later.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above where this discovery is discussed in more detail.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

What is eating the ammonites in the Late Jurassic?

Most of the ammonites in the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation are preserved squashed flat in the rock and are therefore fragile and difficult to collect.

Many of these squashed ammonites have been carefully collected and prepared by Steve Etches. Amazingly, many of these fossil specimens show that a chunk of the ammonite shell has been almost surgically removed from the same part of the shell i.e. at the back of what would have been the body chamber where the soft body of the ammonite would have lived.

These missing chunks of shell are interpreted as bite marks made by some other animal preying on ammonites. The killer must have been quite clever to work out exactly where to bite the shell in order to extract such a tasty snack.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above where Steve Etches reveals the likely identity of the killer.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Fossil fish used colour and scale pattern to confuse predators: examples from the Jurassic of Kimmeridge, Dorset

Fossil fish in the 157-152 million year old Kimmeridge Clay Formation are common and diverse and include the genus Thrissops.

Thrissops likely lived in shoals as do many modern fish do as shoaling provides some protection from potential predators by creating confusion in the mind of a potential predator. Specimens in the Etches Collection show that its’ scales were arranged in a distinctive wavy pattern whilst other examples show that its’ scales may also have been brightly coloured.

Some specimens have their soft tissues partly preserved, including the gut and some of its contents.

Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link above where Steve Etches reveals how these fossil fish may have been adapted to evade predators.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

Fossil hunting in the beautiful scenery of this World Heritage Coast

The Etches Collection offers trips down into Kimmeridge Bay to go fossil exploring with Steve Etches. Click on the YouTube video link below to see a short clip of not only the beautiful scenery of this World Heritage Coast but also how Steve can quickly see even small parts of fossils that are starting to be exposed in the rockface. The reason that the museum exhibits are of such scientific interest is that the specimens have not been damaged by the waves, Steve can see them before much is exposed and they can be carefully cut from the rock revealing a level of detail just not seen previously. If you enjoy this taster, why not book a trip with us to go fossil hunting with Steve?

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

What does Designation mean to us?

The Etches Collection was thrilled to be awarded Designated status by the Arts Council of England early in 2021. The award was beyond our wildest dreams when thoughts of building a local museum to host these locally collected fossils were first thought about. Click on the YouTube video link below to listen to Steve Etches, who has collected and painstakingly restored and preserved these 150 years old fossils from the beach below the museum, speak about what it means to him. To be a designated museum is a huge honour and is an accolade not only for Steve but also for all the other people and volunteers that have helped us to create this centre of education and learning.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.

The Etches Collection desperately needs your help

The Etches collection opened as a state-of-the-art museum in 2016. The collection is the life’s work of one man and is unique not only in terms of the breadth of fossils collected from this particular part of the Late Jurassic but also because of the detailed and meticulous way in which the fossils are prepared so that more can be learned from them.

Did you know that with the right tools you can analyse the contents of a stomach even from a fossil? The museum exists to educate young and old about these animals that lived 150 million years ago in a warm Jurassic sea where the museum now stands. Unfortunately, the forced closure of the museum has placed its very existence at risk. Watch the full story by clicking on the You Tube video link below and please help if you are able to do so. We look forward to welcoming you to this beautiful part of Dorset again soon.

The Etches Collection Museum is located in Kimmeridge, Dorset on the World Heritage Coast and contains a nationally accredited and designated collection of over 2500 fossils from the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation. The collection provides a major resource for education and research as well as being a major tourist attraction.