Tuesday 22 December 2009

As A Kid I Used To Go Fossil Hunting,

when I had transport normally I went down to the Isle of Sheppey, where London clay meets the sea, on the Isle of Sheppey the place there is called Warden Point, if you do not know how to read a tide table call the coastguard first and they will tell you when to collect, i.e. when the tide is out, they always were most helpful in those days, I hope the same is true now, any way, I had never given much thought about venomous dinosaurs until the species Dilophosaurus was portrayed in the film Jurassic Park as spitting venom — there were until recently no fossil records to support it, but now in a case of fact supporting fiction, a feathered predator that lived 125 million years ago has been revealed as the first-known venomous dinosaur, which paralysed its prey with poison in a similar way to some snakes, Sinornithosaurus millenii, a dinosaur about the size of a turkey, had grooved fangs for channelling venom and a pocket in the upper jaw that probably held venom glands, scientists have discovered, but you will not find one of those in the London clay at Sheppy! but if you do go collecting you will find sharks teeth, crabs, lobsters, fish vertebra and many gastropod, (snails), brachiopods (bivalves, mussells) also suprisingly palm seeds, it was hot in these parts 51 million years ago, good hunting!

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