#coprolite bed fossil

[uk-fossils]

RARE Fossil Reptile Bone - Aust Cliff UK - Westbury Formation - Upper Triassic - Genuine Specimen with COA

RARE Fossil Reptile Bone – Westbury Formation, Aust Cliff, Upper Triassic, UK

This listing is for a genuine fossilised reptile bone preserved within a natural matrix from the famous fish, reptile, and coprolite bed of Aust Cliff, Bristol, UK. This rare and historically significant site is part of the Westbury Formation within the Penarth Group, dating to the Upper Triassic period (approx. 208–201 million years ago).

Your specimen was carefully discovered by our own team members Alister and Alison on 07 April 2025, and has been professionally cleaned, prepped, and treated by Alison to ensure both preservation and presentation quality.

The Westbury Formation at Aust Cliff represents a transitional coastal lagoonal to marginal marine depositional environment. Fossils found here are often associated with the Rhaetian Stage of the Upper Triassic, making them invaluable for understanding the pre-Jurassic marine and nearshore fauna of the UK.

The bone is likely to be from a marine or semi-aquatic reptile, with known species from this bed including Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, and primitive Crocodyliforms. While exact taxonomic assignment is not possible without further scientific analysis, the morphology is consistent with vertebrate skeletal remains from these groups.

Geological Formation: Westbury Formation

Group: Penarth Group

Stage: Upper Triassic (Rhaetian)

Location: Aust Cliff, Bristol, England, UK

Depositional Environment: Shallow marine to marginal lagoonal

Notable Features: Preserved in original matrix with other fossil material potentially visible

Specimen Type: Reptile bone fossil in matrix

Each fossil we offer is 100% genuine and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. The fossil in the photograph is the exact one you will receive.

Please refer to the photo for full sizing details — the included scale cube is 1cm for reference.

Perfect for collectors, educational use, or display, this is a striking and authentic piece of British palaeontological history.

All of our Fossils are 100% Genuine Specimens & come with a Certificate of Authenticity

[venicepearl]

Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist. She became known internationally for her discoveries in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel at Lyme Regis in the county of Dorset, Southwest England. Anning's findings contributed to changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth.

Anning searched for fossils in the area's Blue Lias and Charmouth Mudstone cliffs, particularly during the winter months when landslides exposed new fossils that had to be collected quickly before they were lost to the sea. Her discoveries included the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton when she was twelve years old; the first two nearly complete plesiosaur skeletons; the first pterosaur skeleton located outside Germany; and fish fossils. Her observations played a key role in the discovery that coprolites, known as bezoar stones at the time, were fossilised faeces, and she also discovered that belemnite fossils contained fossilised ink sacs like those of modern cephalopods.

Anning struggled financially for much of her life. As a woman, she was not eligible to join the Geological Society of London, and she did not always receive full credit for her scientific contributions. However, her friend, geologist Henry De la Beche, who painted Duria Antiquior, the first widely circulated pictorial representation of a scene from prehistoric life derived from fossil reconstructions, based it largely on fossils Anning had found and sold prints of it for her benefit.

Anning became well known in geological circles in Britain, Europe, and America, and was consulted on issues of anatomy as well as fossil collecting. The only scientific writing of hers published in her lifetime appeared in the Magazine of Natural History in 1839, an extract from a letter that Anning had written to the magazine's editor questioning one of its claims. After her death in 1847, Anning's unusual life story attracted increasing interest.

[looz-y]

pls tell us about the poop fossils

they're called coprolite, slicing thinly they're able to see what a dinosaurs' diet is! they're also very common to find in a dig site lol

another fun fact, the biggest price for coprolite was 10,000$ back in 2014!

tap dances out and onto bed

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Silesaurus opolensis

By José Carlos Cortés

Etymology: Silesian Reptile

First Described By: Dzik, 2003 

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Silesauridae, Sulcimentisauria  

Time and Place: Around 230 million years ago, in the Carnian of the Late Triassic

Silesaurus is known from the Drawno Beds Formation of Poland

Physical Description: Silesaurus was a very common almost-dinosaur - specifically, the titular member of the Silesaurids - from Poland in the middle of the Triassic period. It was a quadrupedal animal, about 2.3 meters long and small enough that it most likely would have been covered in fluff. Like other Silesaurids, it was long - with a long neck and a long tail, and long limbs easily reaching to the ground. Like other Silesaurids, it almost had its legs directly underneath its body - it didn’t seem to have an open acetabulum, but rather a partially open one, though Silesaurids are something of a confusing case on this regard. It had a small head, with a little beak in the front, and small sharp conical teeth. In addition, it had very large eyes, giving it distinctly good eyesight, as well as a decent sense of smell. As a quadruped, its front limbs were rather extended, while the hind limbs did a lot of the weight support. 

Diet: Interestingly enough, though for a long time it was thought that Silesaurus was an herbivore, recent fossil poop studies have indicated it was an insectivore - similar to living birds.

By Ripley Cook

Behavior: If Silesaurus really was an insectivore, it would have spent much of its time moving around in its environment, examining it closely for insects and pecking at the ground with its small beak for food. This pecking may have even looked a lot like that of living birds - the large eyes probably would have prevented the eyes from moving much, like in living birds, and as such Silesaurus would have had to bob its head in order to see. It  would have been very careful in its environment, making sure to look for food and avoid predatory dangers in its environment. It would probably have been social - corroborated by the fact that it was very common in its environment - and taken care of its young to some extent. As an Archosaur, it would have been warm blooded as well, and very active. 

Ecosystem: Silesaurus lived in a Mediterranean-esque scrub environment, with summer monsoon seasons and dry winters. The swampy coniferous forest and fernlands it lived in had a wide variety of animals, placing Silesaurus in a unique ecosystem of the Carnian age. This is actually quite important, given that the Carnian Pluvial Event - a minor mass extinction that helped to spur Dinosaurian evolution - occurred around the same time, leading to Silesaurus and its contemporaries being a snapshot of this change. A variety of invertebrates lived alongside this animal, giving it plenty of food, as well as Temnospondyls such as Metoposaurus and Cyclotosaurus, the Aetosaur Stagonolepis, the Phytosaur Parasuchus, the Rauisuchid Polonosuchus, the Sharovpterygid Ozimek, and probably some Tuataras and maybe even a Pterosaur. A small community, but a beautiful portrait of this time period, with its fair share of weirdos and precursors. And Silesaurus would have had a lot to look out for with Polonosuchus at just the right size to attack it. 

Other: Do not let Silesaurus’s weird similarities to birds fool you - it wasn’t an early bird, but a showcase of how bird-like traits kept popping up over and over again in the line of animals leading up to them. In fact, the evolution of such a specialized feeding system is notable in such an early member of the Ornithodirans. Silesaurids in general are extremely interesting because of their mixture of characters - similar to dinosaurs, but not quite there; with legs almost directly underneath the body, but other traits that match the later Ornithischians. The problem with Ornithischians - the bird-hipped dinosaurs - is that they have a bit of a ghost lineage, aka even though they should have showed up at the same time as Theropods and Sauropodomorphs, they don’t until the Early Jurassic. This isn’t as big of a gap as some other examples, but it is notable. Silesaurids have come out as Ornithischians just enough times in phylogenetic studies to bring it up as a question - are they almost-dinosaurs? The first bird-hips (without having bird-hips)? Something else entirely? More research is necessarily, but one thing is for sure - this group of weird dinosaurian experiments is one to keep an eye on, especially as we learn more and more about them. 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut

Cau, A. 2018. The assembly of the avian body plan: a 160-million-year long process. Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana 57 (1): 1 - 25. 

Dzik, J. 2003. A beaked herbivorous archosaur with dinosaur affinities from the early Late Triassic of Poland. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23(3):556-574. 

Dzik, J. and T. Sulej. 2007. A review of the early Late Triassic Krasiejów biota from Silesia, Poland. Palaeontologia Polonica 64:3-27. 

Ezcurra, M. D. 2006. A review of the systematic position of the dinosauriform archosaur Eucoelophysis baldwini Sullivan & Lucas, 1999 from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico, USA. Geodiversitas 28(4):649-684. 

Griffin, C. T., and S. J. Nesbitt. 2016. The femoral ontogeny and long bone histology of the Middle Triassic (?late Anisian) dinosauriform Asilisaurus kongwe and implications for the growth of early dinosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 36(3):e1111224:1-22. 

Irmis, R. B., S. J. Nesbitt, K. Padian, N. D. Smith, A. H. Turner, D. T. Woody, and A. Downs. 2007. A Late Triassic dinosauromorph assemblage from New Mexico and the rise of dinosaurs. Science 317:358-361. 

Jagt, J. W. M., G. Hebda, S. Mitrus, E. Jagt-Yazykov, A. Bodzioch, D. Konietzko-Meier, K. Kardynał, K. Gruntmejer. 2015. Field Guide, Conference Paper, European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists XIII Annual Meeting. 

Kammerer, C. F., S. J. Nesbitt, and N. H. Shubin. 2012. The first basal dinosauriform (Silesauridae) from the Late Triassic of Morocco. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 57(2):277-284. 

Langer, M. C., M. D. Ezcurra, J. S. Bittencourt and F. E. Novas. 2010. The origin and early evolution of dinosaurs. Biological Reviews 85:55-110. 

Martínez, R. N., and O. A. Alcober. 2009. A basal sauropodomorph (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Triassic, Carnian) and the early evolution of Sauropodomorpha. PLoS ONE 4(2 (e4397)):1-12. 

Martz, J. W., and B. J. Small. 2019. Non-dinosaurian dinosauromorphs from the Chinle Formation (Upper Triassic) of the Eagle Basin, northern Colorado: Dromomeron romeri (Lagerpetidae) and a new taxon, Kwanasaurus williamparkeri (Silesauridae). PeerJ 7:e7551:1-71. 

Nesbitt, S. J., C. A. Sidor, R. B. Irmis, K. D. Angielczyk, R. M. H. Smith and L. A. Tsuji. 2010. Ecologically distinct dinosaurian sister group shows early diversification of Ornithodira. Nature 464:95-98. 

Nesbitt, S. J. 2011. The early evolution of archosaurs: relationships and the origin of major clades. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 353:1-292. 

Qvarnström, M., J. V. Wernström, R. Piechowski, M. Tałanda, P. E. Ahiberg, G. Niedźwiedzki. 2019. Beetle-bearing coprolites possibly reveal the diet of a Late Triassic dinosauriform. Royal Society Open Science 6 (3): 181042. 

[irregodless]

#again?

one time he bullied me for holding a watering can outside in the rain. hard.

another time Sherbert here sent me a letter with what he claimed was a piece of candy that fell behind his bed but was in actuality, coprolite, or fossilized poop

hes a menance to society and more importantly my island and the secret underground city i constructed where i can finally be mayor again

hes doing it again

[demayoisle]

Yesterday Papi mailed me this “rock” he found under his bed.

It turned out it was a fossil.

I was really happy until Blathers analyzed it.

Coprolite.

Papi sent me literal crap.

[uk-fossils]

RARE Fossil Reptile Bone - Aust Cliff UK - Westbury Formation - Upper Triassic - Genuine Specimen with COA

RARE Fossil Reptile Bone – Westbury Formation, Aust Cliff, Upper Triassic, UK

This listing is for a genuine fossilised reptile bone preserved within a natural matrix from the famous fish, reptile, and coprolite bed of Aust Cliff, Bristol, UK. This rare and historically significant site is part of the Westbury Formation within the Penarth Group, dating to the Upper Triassic period (approx. 208–201 million years ago).

Your specimen was carefully discovered by our own team members Alister and Alison on 07 April 2025, and has been professionally cleaned, prepped, and treated by Alison to ensure both preservation and presentation quality.

The Westbury Formation at Aust Cliff represents a transitional coastal lagoonal to marginal marine depositional environment. Fossils found here are often associated with the Rhaetian Stage of the Upper Triassic, making them invaluable for understanding the pre-Jurassic marine and nearshore fauna of the UK.

The bone is likely to be from a marine or semi-aquatic reptile, with known species from this bed including Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, and primitive Crocodyliforms. While exact taxonomic assignment is not possible without further scientific analysis, the morphology is consistent with vertebrate skeletal remains from these groups.

Geological Formation: Westbury Formation

Group: Penarth Group

Stage: Upper Triassic (Rhaetian)

Location: Aust Cliff, Bristol, England, UK

Depositional Environment: Shallow marine to marginal lagoonal

Notable Features: Preserved in original matrix with other fossil material potentially visible

Specimen Type: Reptile bone fossil in matrix

Each fossil we offer is 100% genuine and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. The fossil in the photograph is the exact one you will receive.

Please refer to the photo for full sizing details — the included scale cube is 1cm for reference.

Perfect for collectors, educational use, or display, this is a striking and authentic piece of British palaeontological history.

All of our Fossils are 100% Genuine Specimens & come with a Certificate of Authenticity

[earthstory]

Dinosaurs without bones: Dinosaur lives revealed by their trace fossils.

Anthony Martins' fascinating book reminds us that behind the impressive skeletons that wow all the kids (and many of us adults it must be confesses) in natural history museums around the globe were very real lives involving the meanderings of very real creatures in search of the usual suspects such as food, reproduction and comfort. Part paleontological biography and part exposition of his lifetimes study of animal tracks, both in the wild of today and as trace fossils revealing snapshots of long gone moments in deep time. We already covered a famous example some time ago, that of a horseshoe crab that wandered into an anoxic zone and died with the final footsteps ending in the unfortunate's fossilised corpse at http://bit.ly/2qAEabU.

While the rest of his work sneaks in a look now and again, the main focus is on what we can learn about dinosaurs and how they lived their lives on the basis of their fossil traces. Now the first thing we think of is footprints, and the examples of stalking predators trailing moving herds, but occasional examples such as the marks where a dinosaur sat have also been identified. As well as giving a basic idea on how to distinguish the 3 main types, he also points out that many of the 'prints' we find are the underlayer rather than the now eroded original land surface. He also discusses large sauropod prints in which smaller therepods drowned found in China (see http://bit.ly/2sA2CbA).

Further chapters discuss a variety of things... a whole chapter on nests set in several field locations is followed by one in which burrows are discussed (until quite recently there had been none recognised, until a spectacular example containing parent and 2 young turned up, providing proof that this whole ecological mode seen in modern animals was also available to dinosaurs). Other topics include teethmarks in bones as evidence of hunting or eating behaviour along with gastroliths, rocks swallowed to grind food in the gizzards of dinos and birds.

There follows a somewhat gruesome discussion of the usual topics to amuse kids, vomit, coprolites (see (see http://bit.ly/2q7zla1) and how they can reveal the shape of dino recta along with recently recognised urination marks in palaeosols (see http://bit.ly/2qAEabU). He continues with a discussion of tracking modern birds and a final chapter on how dinosaurs en masse might have influenced the development of modern landscapes during their hundred plus million year peregrination across the surface of our green and blue globe.

I picked the book up on a whim, thinking the subject matter might be somewhat dull but it was worth giving it a go, and was pleasantly surprised to be enthralled and turning pages swiftly. Unlike the skeletons in museums, which reflect either the moment of death, or more often a bunch of bones scattered by ancient rivers and scavengers (which is the more usual lot of the dino bone digger, National Geographic docos notwithstanding), trace fossils record real instants in actual lives, preserved my geological miracles as records that we can read to this day.

The photo shows part of a Cretaceous bedding plane with over 325 prints made by at least 37 individuals, recorded in flat quartz rich sandstone deposited near the shore of the great inner sea that graced what are now parts of the Western US.

Loz

Image credit: James St John

[mastcomm]

Fossilized Tooth Captures a Pterosaur’s Failed Squid Meal

About 150 million years ago, a pterosaur experienced an embarrassing mealtime mishap. Attempting to catch and eat a seafood snack, the flying reptile came away one tooth short.

At least, that is the chain of events suggested by a fossil described earlier this week in Scientific Reports: a preserved cephalopod with a pterosaur tooth embedded inside of it.

This “fossilized action snapshot” is the first evidence scientists have that these winged contemporaries of dinosaurs ate prehistoric squid, or at least tried, said Jean-Paul Billon Bruyat, an expert in prehistoric reptiles who was not involved in the research.

The fossil also joins a small group of records that hint at the ecological relationships between ancient creatures.

The specimen, which was found in Germany’s Solnhofen fossil beds, is an 11-inch-long coleoid cephalopod, a precursor to today’s squids, octopuses and cuttlefish. It is preserved well enough that its ink sac and fins are readily visible, as is the very sharp-looking tooth stuck just below its head.

René Hoffmann, an author of the paper and a postdoctoral researcher at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany and an expert in prehistoric cephalopods, came across a photo of the fossil last year and was immediately intrigued.

“Two fossils together could give us an idea of predator-prey relationships,” he said.

Based on the tooth’s shape, size and texture, along with the fossil’s location and age, the tooth probably belonged to Rhamphorhynchus muensteri. The species had a five-foot wingspan, said Jordan Bestwick, a paleobiologist at the University of Leicester in England who specializes in pterosaur diets and was an author of the paper.

Rhamphorhynchus hunted fish, likely by flying over the water and snapping them up. But this is the first direct evidence that these pterosaurs also had a taste for cephalopods, said Dr. Bestwick.

It is also the only record of “a failed predation attempt” made by any pterosaur. (Sorry, bud.)

The researchers also used ultraviolet light — which can differentiate between sediment and formerly living tissue — to determine if the tooth was stuck inside the cephalopod when both were fossilized, not merely lying on top. Overlap between the mantle tissue and the tip of the tooth showed that the tooth was embedded least half an inch deep.

Once that was settled, the researchers imagined the scenario.

Reconstructing ancient encounters is always “highly speculative,” said Dr. Hoffmann. But he pictured the pterosaur flying over the water when its shadow scared a group of cephalopods, which began jumping out of the water.

“Then the pterosaur grabbed one, but not perfectly,” said Dr. Hoffmann. The cephalopod thrashed around. It managed to get away — and took the reptile’s tooth with it.

For the sea creature, a daring escape. For the pterosaur, a calamari calamity.

But one that led to some scientific insight, at least. “It is very difficult to demonstrate a fossilized predator-prey relationship,” said Dr. Billon-Bruyat. Paleontologists sometimes find preserved prey within a predator’s stomach or throat, or inside fossilized feces, called coprolites.

Occasionally, more creative interspecies encounters are preserved. Last year, Dr. Billon-Bruyat was part of a team that studied the shell of an ancient sea turtle that had apparently been stepped on by a sauropod.

And the tables may have been turned on some pterosaurs. They have been found often enough next to a fossilized large prehistoric fish called Aspidorhynchus that some researchers think the flying reptiles were frequently seized by the fish.

Although Dr. Billon-Bruyat is convinced by the new paper’s interpretation of the cephalopod fossil, other experts are less certain.

Because the tooth is embedded in soft tissue rather than bone, it is possible the two became entangled in some other way, said Jingmai O’Connor, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing: “Perhaps the squid fell to the bottom of the sea when it died and landed on a pterosaur tooth.”

Dr. O’Connor also wondered why pterosaurs would have eaten cephalopods if doing so was so risky, although she granted that everyone has bad luck.

“I’ve broken a tooth eating a samosa,” she said. “So nearly anything is possible.”

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/fossilized-tooth-captures-a-pterosaurs-failed-squid-meal/

[uk-fossils]

RARE Fossil Reptile Bone - Aust Cliff UK - Westbury Formation - Upper Triassic - Genuine Specimen with COA

RARE Fossil Reptile Bone – Westbury Formation, Aust Cliff, Upper Triassic, UK

This listing is for a genuine fossilised reptile bone preserved within a natural matrix from the famous fish, reptile, and coprolite bed of Aust Cliff, Bristol, UK. This rare and historically significant site is part of the Westbury Formation within the Penarth Group, dating to the Upper Triassic period (approx. 208–201 million years ago).

Your specimen was carefully discovered by our own team members Alister and Alison on 07 April 2025, and has been professionally cleaned, prepped, and treated by Alison to ensure both preservation and presentation quality.

The Westbury Formation at Aust Cliff represents a transitional coastal lagoonal to marginal marine depositional environment. Fossils found here are often associated with the Rhaetian Stage of the Upper Triassic, making them invaluable for understanding the pre-Jurassic marine and nearshore fauna of the UK.

The bone is likely to be from a marine or semi-aquatic reptile, with known species from this bed including Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, and primitive Crocodyliforms. While exact taxonomic assignment is not possible without further scientific analysis, the morphology is consistent with vertebrate skeletal remains from these groups.

Geological Formation: Westbury Formation

Group: Penarth Group

Stage: Upper Triassic (Rhaetian)

Location: Aust Cliff, Bristol, England, UK

Depositional Environment: Shallow marine to marginal lagoonal

Notable Features: Preserved in original matrix with other fossil material potentially visible

Specimen Type: Reptile bone fossil in matrix

Each fossil we offer is 100% genuine and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. The fossil in the photograph is the exact one you will receive.

Please refer to the photo for full sizing details — the included scale cube is 1cm for reference.

Perfect for collectors, educational use, or display, this is a striking and authentic piece of British palaeontological history.

All of our Fossils are 100% Genuine Specimens & come with a Certificate of Authenticity

[uk-fossils]

RARE Fossil Reptile Bone - Aust Cliff UK - Westbury Formation - Upper Triassic - Genuine Specimen with COA

RARE Fossil Reptile Bone – Westbury Formation, Aust Cliff, Upper Triassic, UK

This listing is for a genuine fossilised reptile bone preserved within a natural matrix from the famous fish, reptile, and coprolite bed of Aust Cliff, Bristol, UK. This rare and historically significant site is part of the Westbury Formation within the Penarth Group, dating to the Upper Triassic period (approx. 208–201 million years ago).

Your specimen was carefully discovered by our own team members Alister and Alison on 07 April 2025, and has been professionally cleaned, prepped, and treated by Alison to ensure both preservation and presentation quality.

The Westbury Formation at Aust Cliff represents a transitional coastal lagoonal to marginal marine depositional environment. Fossils found here are often associated with the Rhaetian Stage of the Upper Triassic, making them invaluable for understanding the pre-Jurassic marine and nearshore fauna of the UK.

The bone is likely to be from a marine or semi-aquatic reptile, with known species from this bed including Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, and primitive Crocodyliforms. While exact taxonomic assignment is not possible without further scientific analysis, the morphology is consistent with vertebrate skeletal remains from these groups.

Geological Formation: Westbury Formation

Group: Penarth Group

Stage: Upper Triassic (Rhaetian)

Location: Aust Cliff, Bristol, England, UK

Depositional Environment: Shallow marine to marginal lagoonal

Notable Features: Preserved in original matrix with other fossil material potentially visible

Specimen Type: Reptile bone fossil in matrix

Each fossil we offer is 100% genuine and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. The fossil in the photograph is the exact one you will receive.

Please refer to the photo for full sizing details — the included scale cube is 1cm for reference.

Perfect for collectors, educational use, or display, this is a striking and authentic piece of British palaeontological history.

All of our Fossils are 100% Genuine Specimens & come with a Certificate of Authenticity

[uk-fossils]

Fossil Fish Bones in Coprolite Bed Matrix – Westbury Formation, Upper Triassic, Aust Cliff UK – Genuine UK Fossil with COA

This listing is for an exceptional specimen of fossil fish bones preserved in matrix, collected from the famous fish, reptile and coprolite bed at Aust Cliff, near Bristol, UK. This matrix originates from the Westbury Formation, part of the Penarth Group, dating back to the Upper Triassic period—approximately 205 million years ago.

The specimen contains clear fossilised fish bone fragments, showcasing the excellent fossil preservation quality for which this horizon is renowned. The Westbury Formation at Aust Cliff is famous globally among palaeontologists for its wealth of vertebrate fossils, including remains of fish, marine reptiles, coprolites, and even dinosaur material.

Your specimen was discovered by our experienced field team, Alister and Alison, on 07 April 2025, and has been expertly cleaned, prepped, and stabilised by Alison to reveal its fossil content with care and precision.

Geological Information:

Fossil Type: Fish bones (possibly from genera such as Saurichthys, Birgeria, or similar Triassic taxa)

Formation: Westbury Formation

Group: Penarth Group

Age: Upper Triassic (Rhaetian Stage)

Location: Aust Cliff, Bristol, England

Depositional Environment: Coastal marine lagoonal mudstone – shallow, anoxic marine conditions ideal for preservation

Biozone: Within the Psiloceras planorbis ammonite biozone (used for dating overlying beds)

Notable Features:

Genuine UK vertebrate fossil from a classic heritage site

Appears in original matrix from the fossil bed

Ready for study, display or collection

Each fossil is unique and the photo shows the actual specimen you will receive. Scale cube = 1cm. Please refer to the photo for full sizing.

100% Genuine Specimen – Certificate of Authenticity Included

All of our fossils are carefully selected, professionally prepared, and guaranteed to be 100% genuine. This item comes with a Certificate of Authenticity for your peace of mind.

A great addition for any fossil collector, educational display, or natural history enthusiast!

If you need a bundled listing with similar fossils from this bed (e.g., reptile bones, coprolites, or teeth), feel free to reach out!

[uk-fossils]

Ceratodus Fossil Coprolites – Upper Triassic – Aust Cliff, Westbury Formation, UK – Authentic Specimen

Ceratodus Coprolite Fossils in Matrix – Upper Triassic – Aust Cliff, Westbury Formation, Penarth Group, Bristol, UK

This listing features a genuine fossil coprolite specimen, attributed to the prehistoric lungfish Ceratodus, embedded in original matrix from the famous fish, reptile, and coprolite bed at Aust Cliff, near Bristol. This site is part of the Westbury Formation, a classic Upper Triassic locality in the UK known for its rich vertebrate fossil content.

Scientific & Geological Details:

Location: Aust Cliff, Bristol, England, UK

Formation: Westbury Formation

Group: Penarth Group

Age: Upper Triassic (~205–210 million years ago)

Depositional Environment: Lagoonal to marginal marine with periodic anoxic conditions—ideal for preservation of vertebrate remains and trace fossils

Fossil Zone: Part of the Rhaetian Stage, marking the transition to the Jurassic

Notable Species: Ceratodus was a genus of lungfish, a group that still survives today in limited forms. These fish were adapted to low-oxygen waters and left behind spiral or pellet-like faecal fossils.

Morphological Features of the Coprolite:

Typically cylindrical or spiral in form

Surface texture may show subtle spiral markings (if not abraded)

Matrix may contain associated microvertebrate remains including fish scales or bone fragments

Represents trace fossil evidence (not the animal itself but its biological activity)

Specimen Information:

Discovery Date: 07 April 2025

Collected By: UKGE team members Alister and Alison

Preparation: Expertly cleaned and stabilised by Alison

Scale Reference: Shown alongside a 1cm cube for exact sizing – see photographs for dimensions and angles

What You See Is What You Get: The photos show the exact item you will receive

Authenticity: Supplied with a Certificate of Authenticity. All our fossils are 100% genuine and responsibly sourced.

Educational and Collectible Value:

This coprolite offers a fascinating window into ancient biological processes and Triassic ecosystems. It's a perfect specimen for collectors, educators, students, and anyone interested in paleobiology or the evolution of vertebrate life. Trace fossils like this are invaluable for reconstructing diet and environmental conditions of ancient species.

[uk-fossils]

Fossil Reptile Coprolite – Upper Triassic – Aust Cliff, Westbury Formation, Bristol UK

Fossil Reptile Coprolite in Matrix – Upper Triassic – Aust Cliff, Westbury Formation, Bristol, UK

This authentic specimen is a fossilised reptile coprolite, preserved in situ within a matrix from the iconic fish, reptile and coprolite bed at Aust Cliff, Bristol. The bed belongs to the Westbury Formation, part of the Penarth Group, and dates back to the Upper Triassic period, approximately 205–210 million years ago.

Scientific and Geological Context:

Location: Aust Cliff, Bristol, UK

Formation: Westbury Formation

Group: Penarth Group

Geological Period: Upper Triassic

Depositional Environment: Anoxic, low-energy estuarine/coastal lagoon – ideal for fossil preservation

Lithology: Laminated dark mudstones with concentrated fossil bone, tooth, and coprolite deposits

Palaeoecology: A rich snapshot of Upper Triassic coastal life, including reptiles, fishes, and their trace fossils

Fossil Significance & Morphology:

Coprolites are trace fossils that provide invaluable information about the diets and digestive processes of ancient organisms. This specimen is likely from a carnivorous reptile, evidenced by embedded bone or scale fragments.

Morphology Features:

Elongated, rounded coprolite with clear concentric growth or digestive textures

Possible inclusions of crushed bone or fish remains visible

Notable Value: Such coprolites are used in scientific studies to reconstruct Triassic food webs, and specimens from Aust Cliff are among the best-preserved from the UK

Specimen Details:

Discovered by: Our own field team – Alister and Alison – on 07 April 2025

Cleaned, prepped and treated by: Alison

Scale Reference: 1cm cube shown in photo; see image gallery for full size and detail

Authenticity Guaranteed: Comes with our Certificate of Authenticity – all our fossils are 100% genuine

Actual Specimen: What you see is exactly what you’ll receive – no substitutes

Ideal For:

Collectors of trace fossils, educators, palaeontology enthusiasts, and those interested in the dietary history of reptiles in the Late Triassic ecosystems. A fascinating and tangible link to prehistoric life, ideal for display or educational use.

[uk-fossils]

Fossil Reptile Bones & Coprolite – Upper Triassic – Aust Cliff, Westbury Formation, Bristol UK

Fossil Reptile Bones and Coprolite in Matrix – Upper Triassic – Aust Cliff, Westbury Formation, Bristol, UK

This exceptional block contains genuine reptile bone fragments and an accompanying coprolite (fossilised faeces), preserved together in a matrix from the world-famous fish, reptile, and coprolite bed at Aust Cliff, Bristol. This geological unit, known as the Westbury Formation, is part of the Penarth Group and dates back to the Upper Triassic Period (around 205–210 million years ago).

Scientific and Geological Context:

Location: Aust Cliff, near Bristol, UK

Formation: Westbury Formation

Group: Penarth Group

Geological Period: Upper Triassic

Depositional Environment: Coastal lagoon/estuarine system subject to episodic flooding and anoxic conditions, perfect for preservation of organic material

Lithology: Dark laminated mudstones and siltstones with fossil-rich horizons

Palaeoecology: Rich with vertebrate remains including fish, early marine reptiles (e.g. placodonts and ichthyosaurs), and evidence of terrestrial vertebrate activity via coprolites and bone beds

Fossil Features and Significance:

The coprolite is thought to originate from a carnivorous vertebrate and often contains inclusions such as crushed bone fragments, giving insights into the diet of Triassic predators. The reptile bones in this block may represent fragments from marine or marginal marine reptiles that inhabited or were washed into the depositional basin.

Morphology Highlights:

Long, cylindrical coprolite with preserved texture and mineral replacement

Bone fragments exhibit porous internal structure typical of vertebrate remains

Notable Use: Coprolites from this bed are significant for palaeoecological reconstructions and are used to study trophic chains in Late Triassic environments

Specimen Details:

Discovered by: Our own team – Alister and Alison – on 07 April 2025

Cleaned, prepped and treated by: Alison

Scale Reference: Cube in image = 1cm; full size detailed in photographs

Authenticity: Supplied with a Certificate of Authenticity – we guarantee all our specimens are 100% genuine

Photographed Specimen: What you see is exactly what you get – carefully chosen, clearly shown

Why This Specimen?

This is an ideal piece for collectors, educators, and anyone with an interest in prehistoric life. With both reptile bone and coprolite in situ from a stratigraphically and scientifically important UK fossil bed, it’s a rare and insightful snapshot of Triassic life.

[uk-fossils]

RARE Fossil Reptile Bones and Coprolite – Aust Cliff UK – Upper Triassic Westbury Formation

RARE Fossil Reptile Bones and Coprolite – Westbury Formation, Aust Cliff, Bristol, UK – Upper Triassic

This is a carefully selected and authentic fossil slab containing both fossilised reptile bones and coprolite (fossilised faeces), recovered from the famous fish, reptile, and coprolite bed at Aust Cliff, Bristol. This site is one of the most scientifically significant Upper Triassic fossil localities in the UK.

Formation and Age:

Location: Aust Cliff, Bristol, UK

Geological Unit: Westbury Formation, Penarth Group

Stratigraphy: Upper Triassic (~208–201 million years ago)

Depositional Environment: Shallow marine to lagoonal – ideal for fossil preservation

Fossil Content and Scientific Context:

The coprolite is likely from Ceratodus, an extinct genus of lungfish, while the reptile bones may belong to small Triassic marine or semi-aquatic reptiles, such as early archosaurs. Fossils from this bed often preserve dietary and environmental data, making them important for scientific and educational purposes.

This block offers a rare opportunity to own multiple fossil types in one piece, showcasing the diverse ecosystem that existed in the Late Triassic coastal regions of Britain.

Features and Morphology:

Reptile bones typically show dark mineralisation with fine surface detail

Coprolite may exhibit spiral or segmented morphology consistent with lungfish

Contrasting matrix and fossil material provide a striking visual display

Authenticity and Preparation:

Discovered by our own field team (Alister and Alison) on 07 April 2025

Cleaned, prepped and treated by Alison to ensure stability and clarity

All fossils are 100% genuine and come with a Certificate of Authenticity

Scale cube = 1cm. Please refer to photos for full sizing

The specimen shown in the photograph is the exact item you will receive

Why Buy From Us:

We specialise in high-quality, scientifically interesting fossil specimens that are responsibly sourced and professionally prepared. Perfect for collectors, educators, or anyone looking to own a genuine piece of natural history.