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PALAEONTOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION FIELD GUIDES TO FOSSILS: Number 2 Second edition, revised and enlarged Fossils of the Chalk Edited by ANDREW B. SMITH DAVID J. BATTEN THE PALAEONTOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION LONDON 2002 © The Palaeontological Association, 2002 ISBN 0 901702 78 1 ISSN 0962 5321 Series Editor David J. Batten Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth Ceredigion SY23 3DB, UK Front cover Chalk cliffs at Beachy Head, Sussex Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Limited, at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, DTI 1HD EDITORS Smith, Andrew B., Department of Palaeontology, The National History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK. Batten, David J., Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Wales, Aberystwyth SY23 3DB, UK. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS Cleevely, R. J. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD « Collins, J. S. H. 8, Shaws Cottages, Perry Rise, London SE23 2QN. Doyle, P. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Greenwich, Medway University Campus, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB Gale, A. S. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Greenwich, Medway University Campus, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, and Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD Kennedy, W. J. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX 1 3PW Longbottom, A. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD Milner, A. C. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD Morris, N. J. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD Owen, E. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD Patterson, C. (deceased) Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD Smith, A. B. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD Taylor, P. D. Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD Wood, R. Schlumberger Cambridge Research, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 OEL Wright, C. W. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford 0X1 3PW CONTENTS Preface to the first edition Preface to the second edition 1. INTRODUCTION A. S. Gale and W. J. Kennedy 2. SPONGES R. Wood 3. CORALS A. S. Gale 4. SERPULIDS A. S. Gale 5. BRYOZOANS P. D. Taylor 6. BRACHIOPODS E. Owen 7. INTRODUCTION TO MOLLUSCS AND BIVALVES R. J. Cleevely and N. J. Morris 8. GASTROPODS R. J. Cleevely and N. J. Morris 9. AMMONITES C. W. Wright and W. J. Kennedy 10. NAUTILOIDS W. J. Kennedy 11. BELEMNITES P. Doyle 12. ARTHROPODS S. F. Morris and J. S. H. Collins VI Contents 13. ECHINODERMS A. B. Smith and C. W. Wright 14. FISHES A. E. Longbottom and C. Patterson 15. REPTILES A. C. Milner References Index PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION The characteristic white limestones that form the Chalk were deposited across much of northern Europe during the Upper Cretaceous, 100 to 65 million years ago. Although the Chalk is not normally rich in fossils, the preservation is often exquisite and specimens are relatively easy to prepare out from the matrix using needles and brushes or an air abrasive. This explains why the Chalk has been, and continues to be, a favourite form ation of many fossil collectors. The extensive collections housed in museums are the result of persistent collecting over more than 150 years, though few were collected with the necessary detailed stratigraphical horizoning that is so essential to today's study of the Chalk fauna. This book is aimed at the amateur fossil collector and sets out to provide a pocket field guide to the range of macrofossils found in the Chalk of Britain. It covers most of the important groups that are likely to be encountered in field collecting, with the exception of serpulid worms and corals which unfortunately could not be covered (neither group is either diverse or important in the Chalk). It must be emphasized that the fossils illustrated here are only a small selection of the total fauna likely to be found in the Chalk, though authors have tried to include all of the common species and genera. In some cases more detailed and comprehen sive monographs on particular groups have been published and the more important works are generally listed at the start of each chapter. In other cases the primary systematic work has yet to be done and no such publications exist. Almost 400 Chalk fossils are illustrated, most of which are housed in the British Museum (Natural History). For each entry there is a brief description to aid identification, together with the stratigraphical range of the species. In addition, where similar species exist that might be con fused, but which have not been illustrated, these are sometimes compared and contrasted in the text. It is beyond the scope of this book to deal comprehensively with the terminology applied to the fossilized hard parts of so many different groups and a reasonable background knowledge has had to be assumed of the reader. Nor is it possible to discuss the taxonomic framework that each author has adopted. Any standard palaeontological text-book, or the Treatise on invertebrate paleontology ought to be consulted on these matters. Probably more than for any other stratigraphical formation, amateurs have played a major role in furthering our understanding of the Chalk viii Preface to First Edition faunas and their distribution. Notable amateurs include the Reverend Thomas Wiltshire, J. Starkie Gardner, Henry Willett, A. W. Rowe, R. M. Brydone, C. T. A. Gaster and E. V. and C. W. Wright. Without their diligence our knowledge of the Chalk fauna would be very much the poorer. I sincerely hope that future generations of amateurs will continue this tradition and that this book will provide encouragement to their pursuit. Andrew B. Smith 17th February, 1987 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION Since the first edition of Fossils of the Chalk appeared 14 years ago a great deal of new information on the taxonomy of the fauna and the nature of the Chalk environment has been published, and refinements to the biostratigraphical and lithostratigraphical framework have been made. This new edition is consequently revised and enlarged to bring it up to date with current thinking. There is an expanded Introduction that outlines the depositional environment of Chalk sediment and a more detailed stratigraphical framework. Three new chapters have been added, covering corals, serpulid worms and nautiloid molluscs, groups that were omitted from the first edition. Other chapters from the original edition have been updated, some with new text-figures or plates, to take into account work published since 1987. There are now descriptions and illustrations of 434 species in 67 plates, providing even better coverage of the Chalk fauna. Andrew B. Smith David J. Batten