#molluscmonday 😍

I introduced @MaxMiechowski to my good friend Richard Forrest. I think we can agree the resulting collaboration is beautifully portrayed below in the #YouTube video 👇 #picoftheday #serene
#fossilhunter @guardian
https://youtu.be/2p5uiHdVeJA?si=EFHh3rY3_QEMkAUA

Out comes my reconstruction of a 'living' #belemnite replica to tackle a frequently asked #FossilFriday question. " What exactly are these pointy shaped fossils ". So, with my replica and a pointy shaped #fossil to hand from my collection. Reading out and rehearsing from the brilliant Discovering #Geology section of the British Geological Survey website. I open up those curious minds 😁

#fossilfriday bones here an #Ichthyosaur show the majority of the animals pectoral girdle.Boxed individually, with a label that read the same. "from the Oxford Clay, Peterborough, Whittlsey, Kings Dyke."going by the labels we would assume the Ichthyosaur is Ophthalmosaurus.We will probably never know if they are associated as there was no further written info with them.They match in size, preservation and fit together so could well be. They would look great displayed together that's for sure.

Some ammonites (for example, this Kosmoceras jasoni) crushed shell in shale for #molluscmonday displayed sexual dimorphism, where the female (macroconch) of the species was larger than the male (microconch). It is thought that this was so the female could accommodate a brood of eggs within the shell.
#ammonite from the Callovian ( Middle Jurassic )

Some fossils are very difficult to collect from fissile shales. So I take my macro photography camera with me at all times, especially to capture the moment of a fresh shale split. One perfect photo opportunity was when my friend discovered this small delicate well preserved teleost fish preoperculum ( pictured ) A small, movable bone located in front of the operculum (gill cover) in fish. It's a crucial part of the gill structure and plays a role in both breathing and feeding. #FossilFriday

Collected the #bivalve Bositra buchii for #molluscmonday only a few millimetres across I find them really fascinating. It was proposed that they were bysally attached to floating organic matter the so-called "pendant" life habit. An abundant species found at many horizons within the Oxford Clay.