The geology and fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous formations of Sussex / by Frederick Dixon.

Abstract

Elephant was sent to Dr. Mantell by the late Mr. Drewitt of that place, who was ever anxious to promote scientific research. I saw these remains soon after they were found, and possess one of the teeth.They consisted of a tusk foiu-feet and a half long, foiir grinders, and the bones of the head. The teeth were in very good preservation, but the bones and tusk too much decayed to be removed, though great care was exercised in order to preserve them. My friend Mr. Robert Drewitt, who now resides at Peppering, informs me, that his father found also a tusk near seven feet long and other bones of the Elephant at a short distance from the locality of the former discovery.This spot may be considered as a similar deposit to Dr. Mantcll's Elephant-bed at Brighton, the Post-Pliocene formation of Mr. Lyell. The remains of elephants have been discovered at Biu'ton, in Arundel Park, at Brighton, and in other parts of Sussex, and I may say, in most counties of England. Fig. 3. Pecten pohjmorphtis, Bronn, p. 627 : natui'al size. Described at great length with several varieties in PhOippi's 'Enumeratio MoUuscorum Siciliae,' pp. 79 and 85, both as fossil and recent. Tliis shell I beHeve has not been observed before in this country ; I have several specimens of it, some much larger, from the muddy deposit in which the Elephant's head was discovered ; it occurs with other marine shells which are not now found recent on the coast. I am much obliged to Mr. G. B. Sowerby for naming the more obvious examples of this deposit ; the Lutraria rugosu and the Pullastra aurea are not uncommon in the Post-Pliocene deposits at Bracklesham Bay. Those marked with an asterisk are found quite recent on the shore. Shells named hj G. B. Sowerbij.-Most of the shells named in this list are w'ell-known and common species belonging to the shores of Britain ; one however is a very remarkable exception, namely the Lutraria rugosa, a species which abounds in some parts of the JMediterranean, and of which I possess specimens in a fossil state from Astigiani. -G. B. S.

The evolution of the watering pot shells (Bivalvia: Anomalodesmata: Clavagellidae and Penicillidae)

“…L.A. Smith (1962b) and Stallwood (1995) provide lists of localities and ages for the fossil clavagellids discussed by them, and Stallwood (1995, p. 88) also provides a list of fossil species of Stirpulina. Species of the endobenthic, adventitious tube-dwelling Stirpulina have, in particular, been recorded from the Eocene of the Barton Beds, Sussex, U.K. (Dixon, 1878), the Paris Basin (Deshayes, 1824), and Sicily and Venice, Italy (Brocchi, 1814;Michelotti, 1861;Sacco, 1901, Savazzi, 1982b. Savazzi (1982b) described three species of ClavageJla (Stirpulina) from the Tertiary of northeastern Italy and all comprised a crypt to which the left valve was cemented internally, while the right was free within it.…”

The English Chalk and London Clay: two remarkable British bony fish Lagerstätten

“…3), and were collected at a time when chalk pits were worked by hand rather than excavated with machinery (Woodward 1902(Woodward , 1903(Woodward , 1907a(Woodward , 1908(Woodward , 1909(Woodward , 1911(Woodward , 1912aPatterson 1964;Longbottom & Patterson 2002). These materials formed the basis of key historical treatments of Chalk fishes: Mantell (1822), Agassiz (1833-45), Dixon (1850), Newton (in Dixon 1878) and Woodward (1902Woodward ( , 1903Woodward ( , 1907aWoodward ( , 1908Woodward ( , 1909Woodward ( , 1911Woodward ( , 1912a. Owing to the rarity of articulated remains, additions to the Chalk fauna based on field collection of complete bony fish specimens are unlikely.…”

“…This contribution provides context for this ongoing research, reviewing current understanding of fishes from these two exceptional deposits. Examination of actinopterygians from the Chalk and London Dixon (1850), The Geology and Fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous Formations of Sussex; (e) the Chalk taxon Ctenothrissa, from Smith Woodward (1901), Catalogue of Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History). Part IV; (f) 'Head of a Pike' from the London Clay (probably Aulopopsis), from Douglas (1785), A Dissertation on the Antiquity of the Earth; (g) the London Clay taxon Teratichthys, from König (1825), Icones Fossilium Sectiles; (h) the head of the London Clay taxon Albula, from Smith Woodward (1901), Catalogue of Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History).…”

Skeleton of the Fossil SharkIsurus denticulatusfrom the Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of Germany—Ecological Coevolution with Prey of Mackerel Sharks

“…The figures do not allow deciding whether the roots are stuck in the sediment or are not preserved. A set of 50 teeth and vertebrae of a single individual of "Cretoxyrhina mantelli" and other isolated teeth were found in the "Upper Chalk" (= Coniacian to early Campanian) of Grays in southeast England [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Skeletons have much better records in the younger ConiacianCampanian strata of Northern America of the Western Interior Seaway (cf.…”