THE FRIENDS OF DINOSAUR ISLE MUSEUM NEWS LETTER JULY 2017

Right forelimb and pectoral girdle of the new Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis specimen (discovered by Nick Chase 2013)

The Steve Etches Museum

Some of you may have already visited the Steve Etches Museum which had its official opening in May 2017. The Etches collection is the result of over thirty years of dedicated and skilled discovery, collection, preparation and research of Kimmeridgian fossils by amateur palaeontologist Steve Etches. A plumber by profession Steve has also collected many awards for his work not least receiving an MBE in 2014 for services to palaeontology.

The Etches collection is being hailed as the finest single collection of Late Jurassic fossils ever assembled in Britain. Many of the species in this extraordinary collection of 2,000 fossils from the Kimmeridge Clay are new to science and are of great palaeontological importance. The exceptional preservation and preparation of the fossils provides a unique and exciting insight into the lives of these marine creatures from the Late Jurassic Kimmeridgian period, how they bred, lived and died.

The collection has become publicly available for the first time, housed in a new purpose-built museum, learning and visitor centre in the village of Kimmeridge, on the Jurassic coast in Dorset. A virtual aquarium and interactive exhibition brings to life the incredible stories of deep time (150-157 million years ago) and conveys the fascination and curiosity of the collector Steve Etches. Before the museum was built the collection was housed in Steve’s converted garage! In 2014 he gifted the collection to the nation and a local landowner donated the land to build a museum on.

We hope to be running a trip to the museum later this year and combining it with some field work on the beach at Kimmeridge and hopefully also in a local quarry. The latter option would make this a two day trip with an overnight stay. If you’re interested please email jlockwood156@aol.com and I’ll make sure you are kept updated.

Above are some ammonite eggs that are part of the display. Even if stumbled upon it would be easy to misidentify these and overlook them.

Multiple instances of fossil ammonite eggs have been observed in the fossil record. However, prior to 2009 only two credible examples of ammonite eggs had been reported in the scientific literature. The first was an apparent clutch of eggs preserved in the sediment that filled in the living chamber of a harpoceratid dating back to the Toarcian age of the Jurassic period. This specimen was discovered in a concretion incorporated into glacial drift that came from the Baltic region. The ammonite itself was a fully grown individual with a macroconch shell. (Female ammonites had bigger shells ‘macroconch’ while the males had a smaller ‘microconch’). The second possible example was another adult macroconch of Ceratites from the Muschelkalk of Germany, which dated to the Upper Anisian of the Triassic period. An additional less plausible case has been reported from Kamchatka where an egg clutch was purportedly associated with a Desmophyllites dating back to the early Triassic. However a later summary of ammonite embryos from the same age and location does not mention any eggs being known and Desmophyllites is a Late Cretaceous genus, so this report is not reliable.

The first two possible ammonite egg specimens were found in sediments filling the interior of the body chambers of ammonite shells. Lehmann's specimen from the Lias, reported in 1966, was a pouch of about 50 empty egg capsules lying in the innermost part of a mature macroconch's body chamber. The specimen was not filled with sediment, but rather crystalline calcite. The egg sac had been carbonized completely, destroying its fine detail. Other than the eggs, the specimen does not preserve any of the ammonite's soft parts. The eggs preserved within this shell probably did not belong to the shell's occupant since the eggs probably would have been removed with the rest of the body. The shell itself of Lehmann's specimen belonged to the genus Eleganticeras. The researchers described the other specimen, reported by Muller in 1969 from the Trias, as a "carbonized ghost" that preserved very little detail, not even showing signs of individual egg capsules. Its outline was a similar shape to an axe-head, like Lehmann's. The specimen was within the sedimentary infill of a mature macroconch. There were no sign of any other soft parts. The egg sac is positioned near the opening and oriented in a way that might suggest it was attached to the shell. These specimens have been used to support the contention that macroconch ammonite shells were those of females. Apart from these specimens this would just be a general assumption.

In 2009, Steve Etches, Jane Clarke, and John Callomon reported the discovery of eight clusters of ammonite eggs in the Lower and Upper Kimmeridge Clay of the Dorset Coast in England. The fossil sites were within the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The eggs are subspherical to spherical in shape. Some are isolated but some were also found in association with the shells of perisphinctid ammonites. They were interpreted by the researchers as ammonite eggs sacks and are the best preserved specimens of such known to science. The parents of the egg sacks are thought to be two local ammonite genera co-occurring with the eggs, Aulacostephanus and Pectinatites.

The Kimmeridge Clay cephalopod eggs are regarded as ammonite eggs based on "strong" circumstantial evidence. These spawning grounds were sometimes small geographic areas that were used continuously for long periods of time. Ammonite taxa that remained in one place for a long period of time are called "eudemic" to that place. This leaves the most probable identity of the egglayers as Aulacostephanus and Pectinatites since they were the ammonites eudemic to the region at the time the egg fossils formed. The researchers described the Kimmeridge Clay ammonite eggs as offering "the best insights so far" into the embryonic phase of the ammonite life cycle. Since the Kimmeridge Clay is so thoroughly studied the environment and depositional context is better understood for these ammonite eggs than those reported in the previous two examples. The eggs provide evidence that ammonites had similar life cycles to modern neritic (living in shallow coastal seas) cephalopods.

Etches, S., Clarke, J. and Callomon, J. 2009. Ammonite eggs and ammonitellae from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Dorset, England. Lethaia 42(2): Other information from wikipaedia.

THE FUTURE OF DINOSAUR ISLE MUSEUM

The future of Dinosaur Isle Museum continues to remain in the balance. The council have however firmly reassured us at a recent meeting that any proposal that would jeopardize the accreditation status of the museum would be crossing a red line and will not be considered. This is of course of fundamental importance as accreditation status is a necessary prerequisite to allow the collection to be researched and contribute to the body of scientific knowledge. The Museum’s Association define a museum as a place that ‘enables people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society.' Accreditation makes sure that certain ethical and educational responsibilities are enforced and that the collection is curated to the highest standards.’ Essentially then an accredited museum is not a private concern and profits should be ploughed back into the institution. The significance of the collection cannot be overstated. It contains many holotype specimens and provides a largely unique snapshot of Early Cretaceous fauna making it of international importance.

The museum does need to develop however. We have, largely thanks to Island collector Nick Chase, acquired an almost complete specimen of Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis (see later in this issue) and a large part of the skeleton of a Sauropod. The latter is going to take a huge amount of preparation but promises to be one of the most complete specimens found in the UK. There are also the two Baryonyx skulls which are almost certain to produce some fascinating insights into the lives of these creatures. All of these will make spectacular displays and considerably raise the wow factor in the museum but we need more space. Indeed the Museum would benefit from further exhibition areas, a smaller education/projection room to show videos, a room for visiting researchers to examine specimens, a café, a child’s play area outside and on site storage.

The bay offers such a wealth of resources apart from the beautiful sands, clean sea and spectacular backdrop of Culver. There is the outstanding geology and palaeontology of course but the area also boasts important marine biology and ecology and many other aspects of natural history and archaeology. This side of things is being investigated and monitored by several groups including ARC Consulting, Ecclestone George, The Bay Coastal Community Team and the Natural History and Archaeological Society. They’re all worth a google. Also there are strong links between many universities and the museum, especially Southampton and Portsmouth and the Natural History Museum in London.

The way forward seems to us to be to work with the council to form a Charitable Trust and take over the running of the Museum. This trust could then liaise with the other interested groups to form a Discovery Bay Team which would look to not only developing the museum into a more stimulating and interactive destination but seek grants and lottery funding to develop a broader natural sciences centre providing not only an exciting tourist destination but a resource for the Island with close links to universities to encourage youngsters to get involved with STEM subjects.

At the moment the pressure is on as some still see Dinosaur Isle as potentially a theme park attraction rather than a museum with enormous potential to help with the regeneration of the bay. We hope to get news soon of whether the council will support our ideas.

The Nick Chase Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis.

This was the second almost complete Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis (previously known as Iguanodon atherfieldensis) found by Nick Chase. The first a juvenile was discovered at the beginning of his fossil hunting career at Brook Bay and is now in the Natural History Museum (London), while this one was excavated in 2013 at Compton Bay and has been kindly donated to Dinosaur Isle Museum. Nick initially found some pieces of an Iguanodon tibia on the beach and eventually discovered the place they had fallen from. Permission was given by the National Trust to undertake a dig, resulting in one of the most complete specimens since Reginald Hooley discovered the type specimen a hundred years before. Unfortunately the bones were covered in hard sediments and pyrites which took a few years of work by Dinosaur Isle’s skilled preparator, Gary Blackwell, to remove. Still the whole thing has now been cleaned and it’s a gem!

The resulting skeleton was finally assembled on the floor of the education room. The left femur and forelimb are yet to be found but hopefully will eventually come to light. The next stage will be to get funding to mount the skeleton as a display in the museum. There is so much new material (much of it thanks to Nick Chase) that the museum really could do with an extension but that’s another story. There is also interest from a university in doing some scanning of the dinosaur in order to print out the bones in 3D so that it can be mounted in other museums. One of the advantages of 3D scanning and printing is that the image can be reversed and a left limb bone can be created as a mirror image of the right. This means that Nick’s Mantellisaurus will pretty much generate a complete skeleton.

It was interesting that one end of the first tibia found in 2013 was missing. A chunk of bone was picked up on the beach at Compton by Jeremy Lockwood nearly four years later and recognised by Nick to be the missing piece. Sure enough it fitted perfectly and another piece that Nick had found in 2014 fitted on top of the new piece. This missing section of tibia hadn’t been badly rolled and eroded by the sea so it must have been lying under the sand for several years waiting for just the right sort of combination of wind, tides and currents to strip the sand away from this small area of beach.

Nick Chase, Gary Blackwell and Martin Munt laying out the new Mantellisuarus atherfieldensis in the Education Room.

It just goes to show that we almost certainly underestimate the number of complete skeleton’s that are produced by the Wealden’s plant debris beds on the Isle of Wight. So many associated bones must just trickle out over the years and be picked up by so many different people that the jigsaw never gets done. Nick Chase only achieves his spectacular finds through visiting sites on at least a daily basis throughout the year come rain or shine. Even so he only finds a complete dinosaur every few years or so (most of us would of course be happy to find just one in a lifetime).

Do encourage people who have made finds to bring them to the Museum. The staff are always happy to provide a free identification service and you never know it may be the missing part that can make all the difference to an existing specimen.

Right proximal tibia showing dates when various pieces were discovered. The yellow part which hadn’t been prepped at this stage must have lay hidden for some four years.

The Museum at Bernissart in Belgium J. Lockwood Bernissart is a coal mining area in the south of Belgium not far from the Ardennes. It was the famous location where some 29 Iguanodon skeletons and a host of other material were discovered in 1878. The Cretaceous bed containing the fossils is 322m (1050’) below the ground and has long since been flooded. Because so many skeletons were articulated it became a landmark in palaeontology allowing the anatomy of Iguanodons and dinosaurs more generally to be fully understood for the first time. Louis Dollo graduated in engineering and initially worked in the mining industry. He landed the job of supervising the excavations of the Iguanodon skeletons when he was 21 which combined his love of engineering and palaeontology. He did mount the skeletons in a kangaroo-like position

that today looks a bit dated but is still iconic. The skeletons are too fragile to attempt remounting so for the time being that’s how they’ll stay.

I was travelling with my wife through Walloon country visiting some of my cousins so I thought this time we’d detour and take the turning for Bernissart. We wound up in a small town which had rows of terraced houses and although built in a typically Belgian style with small dark red bricks was reminiscent of the terraced rows in English coal-mining areas. We drove down ‘Rue des Iguanodons’ and parked outside the museum. It appeared to be locked but using my poor French I managed to get directions to another entrance on the other side of the building. Inside there was a large temporary display of dinosaur foot prints on loan from a French Museum. At the end was a poster in French which loosely translated as a lament that Iguanodon footprints were very rare and none had been discovered at Bernissart so none could be displayed. Hanover Point was cited as the best place to see them. It would be great to get a nice big cast from the Island to donate to their museum although of course we mustn’t interfere with the beautiful casts at the Point!

Louis Dollo’s desk and other memorabilia including his cane and a telegram describing the discovery.

Part of the museum which is quite substantial was devoted to the history of coal mining together with a reconstruction of the office of Louis Dollo complete with walking cane and a telegram announcing the discovery. The miner whose pick first hit the fossils thought he had struck gold in a tree trunk but it was of course iron pyrites and a limb bone.

L. The mines at Bernissart in the 19c and R. the telegram alerting Brussels of the initial discovery.

Other rooms held a collection of international fossils but the star of the show was a mounted genuine Iguanodon bernissartensis on loan from the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. It does make such a difference seeing something close to the place where it was originally discovered – which is why Dinosaur Isle Museum is so important.

The excursion was followed by a glass of excellent Belgian beer (Orval Trappist – it’s one of the best) and a baguette. A thoroughly enjoyable visit and well worth the 4 euro admission.

Dates for the Diary The Summer BBQ

The summer BBQ attracts quite a few holiday makers as well as members of the Friends. If you know your stuff help is always welcome on the stroll up Yaverland Beach.

Soft drinks are available but as we are outside it is not possible to run a licenced bar but feel free to bring a can or bottle along.

Blast from the Past Let your family and friends know the dates for free event.

As with previous years there will be a meal and some interesting talks on the Saturday night. More information on this nearer the time.

Smokejack’s Brick Pit Field Trip. Sun 10th September If you wish to join Peter Austin’s trip to the Smokejacks Brickpit in Surrey or would just like some more information please let us know by emailing jlockwood16@aol.com or leaving a name and telephone number at the museum. This is the place where the holotype of Baryonyx walkeri was found and also contains some interesting insect fossils. It can be a bit bleak on a cold day.

Trip to the Steve Etches museum with field work on the beach and in a local quarry. We haven’t quite put together a date for this but if you’re interested please email jlockwood156@aol.com or leave your name and telephone number at the museum.

Christmas Quiz Saturday 2nd December

The Munich Fossil Show Alex Peaker In October I was lucky enough to be able to represent the Museum along with Martin and Val Munt at the Munich Show. The Munich show is one of the three biggest mineral, gem and fossil trade

shows in the world, occupying four large exhibition spaces each of which are close to the size of a football stadium and absolutely crammed full of dealers and exhibitors. One building was dedicated, along with minerals and meteorites, to fossils with the other three showing various ranges of rocks and minerals and equipment.

We had been invited to exhibit at the show and so brought a range of some of the better specimens that are held in the collection; these included a juvenile Hypsilophodon found by Nick Chase (potentially the most complete and best articulated specimen to have been found on the Island); one of the baryonychid skulls (found by Kai Bailey), which the Friends had acquired for the museum; vertebrae of the Mantellisaurus found with Neovenator specimen by Keith Simmonds (these are interesting as they several show a pathological condition where the neural process had been broken and healed whilst the animal was alive), and a handful of the more run of the mill finds from the Island such as rolled vertebrae.

The first open day at the show was for registered dealers and invited parties. We were fortunate to find that our display was being used as a demonstration for a large school group with the children looking engrossed presumably in the story of Baryonyx. The guide was speaking in German so I can only assume that this was a talk on the Baryonyx – it would be pretty strange to be waving a replica Baryonyx claw about whilst expressing the lifestyle of ammonites. It was great to see the impact the display was having on people from other countries and furthers the point that Isle of Wight palaeontology is of international importance; not only for its place in academic studies but also for the fact that our fossils really catch the imagination of children.

Apart from putting on the display our goal was to purchase some comparable material for display at Dinosaur Isle. Although the Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight is fantastic in what it shows there are still gaps (preservation and environment bias) so Martin has the aim of acquiring specimens of similar age but from different locations to show what else was around during the Late Cretaceous (comparable to our chalk fossils). There were many Moroccan dealers at the show which was handy for us as a Late Cretaceous sea formed over much of what is now Morocco and so produces huge amounts of marine fossils. We purchased a range of Mosasaur jaws, and ammonites as well as fish from different localities to show what other fauna can be found.

Outside of the working bit the show was an amazing experience for me. It was my first time at a major event and it’s unbelievable to see all of the things that are out there (and to think this is a relatively small show if you just consider fossils). I really loved the amazing preservation of the Solnhoffen and Messel fossils on display and the Madagascan fossilised wood that literally littered the place, with large sections that had been cut to make table tops or carved into sinks. In the mineral halls there were tables covered with foot long quartz points, or rose quartz spheres the size of a car tyre, but my personal favourite had to be a set of sauropod teeth from the Dinosaurier-Park Munchehagen. What fascinated me about them was the state of preservation where although the bone had gone the teeth were still in association with each other. There appears to have been matrix between the teeth before they were prepared, indicating that the bone had been destroyed before the full burial of the teeth. The mode of burial was gentle enough to keep the teeth together and whatever led to the removal of the bone did not affect the teeth. Some people have theorised that the bone was destroyed by subterranean ossiphagous insects which had jaws powerful enough to eat the bone but not the hard enamel of the teeth.

The Munich show is a great opportunity to see how much material is being excavated every year, and if anyone has the chance to visit it I would say it’s worth going just so see what is a relatively small representation of the commercial fossils and minerals.

Genesis Expo Museum of Creationism How strange that Portsmouth should have a museum of creationism. I would have thought that whatever your belief it would have been interesting (in a strictly curious way, like visiting a Flat Earth Society museum) although it does feature on the website ‘Cr*p days Out – Britain’s worst tourist attractions’. They sum up by saying “In one sense the creators of Genesis Expo have done the impossible, by creating a museum where you come out knowing less than when you went in”. Brilliant! Here’s their blurb.

“The Genesis Expo is the largest Creation Museum in the UK, managed by the Charity known as the Creation Science Movement – CSM. The Genesis Expo is located on The Hard in the touristic heart of Portsmouth, a minutes walk from the railway station at Portsmouth Harbour, opposite the bus station, within view of the Historic Dockyard and HMS Warrior; so there is plenty to see for a whole day out for all the family”.

Greeting the visitors in the entrance hall is “Boris”, a giant 20 ft. long model of a Dinosaur. He can Roar and children are fascinated by him. The Expo is home to various other smaller Dinosaurs.

Inside is a fossil shop, and many books and videos for sale, as well as leaflets and pamphlets. Each has been selected to be of good quality and approved in that the creation information it contains is generally conforming to the views held by the CSM Council.

Visit the Genesis Expo on The Hard in Portsmouth.

FREE ADMISSION! – Open all year 11 am – 4 pm Tuesday – Saturday and bank holidays. We close from the 24th December – 2nd January. A Map is on the Finding us page. Post code is PO1 3DT for Sat Nav. To find out what else you can do in the city, visit the Portsmouth website HERE.

Well it’s free so I’ll probably drop in on my next trip to Portsmouth although on further consideration maybe not.

Boris, the dinosaur that roars but sadly doesn’t rock. I suppose you can’t really blame him for ending up in a scientific and evolutionary dead-end. Great beard though!