Every serious fossil hunter needs good reference material with which to identify their finds. The web is a great resource for this sort of thing and has, to some extent, taken over from traditional references like books, scientific papers, and even collections. Basically, because a lot of knowledgeable people are now providing similar resources, for free, on their websites, and it's available anywhere, not just in libraries and bookshops. The quality of fossil reference material on offer on the web has come on in leaps and bounds over the years but it has still to reach the levels obtained by books like this. 'London Clay Fossils' is written by 4 members of the Medway Fossil and Mineral Society, a club based in Rochester, Kent. The writers really know their stuff, and it shows. |
As the title suggests, it covers London Clay fossils to be found in Kent and Essex. All of them. From single celled creatures to large vertebrates like crocodiles. Even fruit, seeds, and trees. The book is packed with good quality, colour photos side-by-side with excellent, plain English diagnostic annotations that help you identify your finds with confidence.
This is an attractive, well thought out book, which does everything is should, in a very accessible way. I can't praise it enough.
The bonus is that, even though it's about London Clay fossils, the shark, ray, and bony fish sections cover a fair number of the fossils found at Beltinge.
The format is A4, softback, with 228 pages on high quality, glossy stock.
Rating: 10/10
"London Clay Fossils of Kent and Essex" by David Raynor, Tony Mitchell, Martin Raynor, and Fred Coulter is published by the members themselves for £22 postage free. The order form is found here. It's also available from Amazon for £27.50