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Linhdan Nguyen

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Nope, all Ken.
I only posted the link to the Chinese fake website.
How interesting ! Im glad you were more interested in fossils than i. But i might start doing that eventually.
& yes i went back to look & it was all ken. I do remember you posting 2 up a few months ago though !
And i did read some of that fake chinese fossil.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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How interesting ! Im glad you were more interested in fossils than i. But i might start doing that eventually.
& yes i went back to look & it was all ken. I do remember you posting 2 up a few months ago though !
And i did read some of that fake chinese fossil.
I shall post some more soon.:)
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Need to investigate this mysterious not so new cream
From my notes and an old book on the site at Sheppey.
Haven't been for about 30 years, so things may well have changed!
Once on the Isle of Sheppey, take the A250 to Eastchurch, then by the church in the village turn left onto Warden Road.This road leads to Warden Point.
There used to be a cafe down here and you can park at the top of the cliff. (sound advice not to keep diving at this point.)
The coastal erosion here used to be immense (though they may have tried to stop it now)
No it's fine!
Have a look at http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/isle_of_sheppey_fossils.htm
Great website!
Walking boots or wellies will be needed.
 

Tidgy's Dad

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We go to Botany Bay quite a lot too it's basically all along one train journey from us so gonna let my boy choose where he wants to go and have some fun that doesn't involve Mario for a nice change! Will post our findings if any at all after we've been I'm really excited he's going to love it!
OK, Botany Bay, let me see if that wonderful website covers that, too.
https://ukfossils.co.uk/category/kent/
No, but it covers lots of other places, one or two new to me.
Would you still need info on Botany Bay ?
 

JoesMum

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Sheppey is really close to where I live just across the bridge about ten minutes away so I think I'm going to give that a try as we are trying something new and I'm home schooling my youngest temporarily until a better school is available closer to me so field trip next week!
I hadn't realised that you were in Kent too @Marinated mamma. :)
 

Cowboy_Ken

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Crikey, it's late!
5.30 am.
Or should I say it's early ?
Better get some sleep.
Regrouting the terrace tomorrow! (today).
Such fun!
Nighty night Cold Dark Roommates.

Adam, knowing the resources I've available and knowing we are all open like a book to those curiously enough to follow our most every move or interest, well this little tidbit came across my interest level this am and I just knew it was for me to pass on to you focused and then on to anyone else that this may hold an interest to…
Sorry for the long post, but I just connect, I don't do the actual writing parts.
Snake eats lizard eats beetle: Fossil food chain from the Messel Pit examined
Date: September 7, 2016
Source: Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum
Summary: Scientists have examined a spectacular discovery from the UNESCO World Heritage site Messel Pit: A fossil snake in whose stomach a lizard can be seen, which in turn had consumed a beetle. The discovery of the approximately 48-million-year-old tripartite fossil food chain is unique for Messel; worldwide, only one single comparable piece exists.
FULL STORY

In cooperation with CONICET in Argentina, Senckenberg scientists examined a spectacular discovery from the UNESCO World Heritage site Messel Pit: A fossil snake in whose stomach a lizard can be seen, which in turn had consumed a beetle. The discovery of the approximately 48-million-year-old tripartite fossil food chain is unique for Messel; worldwide, only one single comparable piece exists. The study was recently published in Senckenberg's scientific journal Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments.

It is no secret that the Messel Pit is home to a plethora of fantastic fossils -- but some of the findings are so sensational that they even awe veteran Messel researchers. "In the year 2009, we were able to recover a plate from the pit that shows an almost fully preserved snake," says Dr. Krister Smith of the Department for Messel Research at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, and he continues, "And as if this was not enough, we discovered a fossilized lizard inside the snake, which in turn contained a fossilized beetle in its innards!"

Fossil food chains are extremely rarely preserved; due to the excellent level of preservation at the fossil site, leaves and grapes from the stomach of a prehistoric horse, pollen grains in a bird's intestinal tract and remains of insects in fossilized fish excrements had previously been discovered at Messel. "However, until now, we had never found a tripartite food chain -- this is a first for Messel!" exclaims Smith elatedly. To this day, only one other example of such fossil preservation has been found worldwide -- in a 280-million-year-old shark.

Using a high-resolution computer tomograph, Smith and his colleague Agustín Scanferla from Argentina were able to identify both the snake and the lizard to the species level. Smith comments, "The fossil snake is a member of Palaeophython fischeri; the lizard belongs to Geiseltaliellus maarius, which has only been found at Messel to date."

The snake measures 103 centimeters in length and is thus significantly smaller than other specimens of this species, which can reach two meters or more. Smith therefore assumes that the fossil represents a juvenile of this relative of the modern-day boas.

The lizard measures approximately 20 centimeters from the head to the tip of its tail -- and some of the snake's ribs, which overlap the arboreal reptile, clearly indicate that the lizard is located inside the snake. Geiseltaliellus maarius was presumably equipped with a small sagittal crest. It had the ability to shed its tail in case of danger, but did not lose it when it fell prey to the snake. "Unfortunately, we were unable to unambiguously identify the beetle -- it was not well enough preserved to do so," adds the Messel researcher from Frankfurt.

Nonetheless, the small crawler offers insights into the previously barely known feeding behavior of these lizards from Messel: The stomachs of previously discovered reptiles only contained the remains of plants; the fact that the lizards also fed on insects indicates an omnivorous diet.

The unique discovery came from a layer dating to the Middle Eocene with an approximate age of 48 million years. "Since the stomach contents are digested relatively fast and the lizard shows an excellent level of preservation, we assume that the snake died no more than one to two days after consuming its prey and then sank to the bottom of the Messel Lake, where it was preserved," explains Smith. Too bad for the snake -- but a stroke of luck for science!

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference:

Krister T. Smith, Agustín Scanferla. Fossil snake preserving three trophic levels and evidence for an ontogenetic dietary shift. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 2016; DOI: 10.1007/s12549-016-0244-1
Cite This Page:
MLA
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Chicago
Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum. "Snake eats lizard eats beetle: Fossil food chain from the Messel Pit examined." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 September 2016.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160907082052.htm
 

Marinated mamma

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From my notes and an old book on the site at Sheppey.
Haven't been for about 30 years, so things may well have changed!
Once on the Isle of Sheppey, take the A250 to Eastchurch, then by the church in the village turn left onto Warden Road.This road leads to Warden Point.
There used to be a cafe down here and you can park at the top of the cliff. (sound advice not to keep diving at this point.)
The coastal erosion here used to be immense (though they may have tried to stop it now)
No it's fine!
Have a look at http://www.discoveringfossils.co.uk/isle_of_sheppey_fossils.htm
Great website!
Walking boots or wellies will be needed.
I know Barton point well and no I don't think they have cleaned it up at all yes there's still a cafe! I'm really excited
 

Marinated mamma

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OK, Botany Bay, let me see if that wonderful website covers that, too.
https://ukfossils.co.uk/category/kent/
No, but it covers lots of other places, one or two new to me.
Would you still need info on Botany Bay ?
I'm sure Botany Bay hasn't changed at all since you last went it's still a beach with a cliff z d sand dunes no shops and a pub at the end of the cliff
 

JoesMum

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