A word an Antwerp's fossilrich underground.
Antwerp, Belgium with the coming of the Ice-Ages came an end to millions of years of a marine environment, the Poles massing up on ice, lowering the sealevels.
Antwerp's geological stages accesible to fossilhunters stretch from the Holocene up to the Oligocene, but the most likely periods to excavate are the Pliocene and Miocene, so in term of years stretching back 33.9 million years to the Oligocene.
The younger geological stages Plio- and Miocene, 2.5 million to 20.4 million of years ago, have layed down a fossilrich underground with a large quantity of marine fossil life. Fish, marinemammals, mollusks, Arthropods, corals, all finds fossilised help construct a large and diversified marine environment. The geological stages helping to retrace animalevolution, changing weather, migrations, new species and species going extinct.
A look at Antwerp's Operahouse and some roadconstruction with Miocene mollusks being dug up.
Layering of the geological stratigraphies, a view on the Pliocene and moving down through the ages.
Example of a Pliocene layer with an in-situ whale vertebra.
Another pit, Miocene Glycemerisbivalve shell layers deposited millions of years ago.
Some finds,
A Pliocene jawpart of a Tautogafish.
Fossil sharkteeth
Cowsharks
Extinct giant megalodonsharks
Marine mammals, dolphinteeth
Gastropods,
Bivalves,
Even reptiles, a jawpart of a seaturtle.
Showing Antwerp from a different angle, doesn't always have to be the fashionindustry or the Medieval buildings.
This post has been ranked within the top 80 most undervalued posts in the second half of May 05. We estimate that this post is undervalued by $3.52 as compared to a scenario in which every voter had an equal say.
See the full rankings and details in The Daily Tribune: May 05 - Part II. You can also read about some of our methodology, data analysis and technical details in our initial post.
If you are the author and would prefer not to receive these comments, simply reply "Stop" to this comment.
Thx!
Great post!
Can you search for fossils freely there?
Absolutely Ocrdu,
it started in Napoleontic times on a scientific bases,
sharkteethhunting is popular these days, ofcourse you'll need permission on a constructionpit from the constructionfirm, but otherwise you're free to go hunt.
That's great! There is an old quarry not far south of where I live (here) where top-class fossils are found, but you need a permit to search there, and at the moment the pits are closed for everyone.
The Triassic, i know the pit Ocrdu, from internet that is.
Reptiles and fossilfootprints. :)