Paleobiota of the London Clay explained

A list of prehistoric and extant species whose fossils have been found in the London Clay, which underlies large areas of southeast England.

Plant fossils, especially seeds and fruits, are found in abundance and have been collected from the London Clay for almost 300 years.[1] Some 350 named species of plant have been found, making the London Clay flora one of the world's most diverse for fossil seeds and fruits.[2] The flora includes plant types found today in tropical forests of Asia and demonstrates the much warmer climate of the Eocene epoch, with plants such as Nypa (Nipah palms) and other palms being frequently encountered. The following plants list is incomplete and is based on the research by Marjorie Chandler.[1] and research works done by the paleobotanist Steven R. Manchester[3] and by professor of plant palaeobiology Margaret Collinson.[4]

Plants

Pteridophytes

Lycopodiophytes

Gymnosperms

Angiosperms

Animals

Animal fossils include bivalves, gastropods, nautilus, worm tubes, brittle stars and starfish, crabs, lobsters, fish (including shark and ray teeth), reptiles (particularly turtles), and a large diversity of birds. A few mammal remains have also been recorded. Preservation varies; articulated skeletons are generally rare. Of fish, isolated teeth are very frequent. Bird bones are not infrequently encountered compared to other lagerstätten, but usually occur as single bones and are often broken.

The following fauna species list follows Clouter (2007).[6]

Vertebrates

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Crocodylians

Snakes

Turtles and tortoises

Bony fish

Cartilaginous fish

Crustaceans

Molluscs

Cephalopods

Bivalves

Anomiidae

Gastropods

Tusk shells

Echinoderms

Annelids

Cnidarians

Other invertebrates

Ichnofossils

Notes and References

  1. [Marjorie Elizabeth Jane Chandler|Chandler, M.E.J.]
  2. Book: Collinson, M. . 1983 . Fossil plants of the London Clay . The Palaeontological Association.
  3. Web site: Steven R Manchester - Publications. ResearchGate.
  4. Web site: Margaret Collinson - Publications - Research - Royal Holloway, University of London. pure.royalholloway.ac.uk.
  5. Poole, I., K.L. Davies and H.P. Wilkinson 2002. A review of the platanaceous woods from the Eocene paratropical rainforest of southeast England. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 139: 181–191.
  6. Web site: Clouter, Fred . London Clay Species List . June 29, 2007 . June 16, 2008.
  7. Alexandre F. Bannikov & James C. Tyler . 1995 . Phylogenetic revision of the fish families Luvaridae and †Kushlukiidae (Acanthuroidei), with a new genus and two new species of Eocene luvarids . . 81 . 81 . 1–45 . 10.5479/si.00810266.81.1.
  8. Davesne . D. . Andrews . J. V. . Beckett . H. T. . Giles . S. . Friedman . M. . 2024 . Three-dimensional anatomy of the early Eocene Whitephippus (Teleostei, Lampriformes) documents parallel conquests of the pelagic environment by multiple teleost lineages . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 43 . 3 . e2284998 . 10.1080/02724634.2023.2284998 .
  9. W. J Quayle . 1987 . English Eocene Crustacea (lobsters and stomatopod) . . 30 . 3 . 581–612 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120309062932/http://palaeontology.palass-pubs.org/pdf/Vol%2030/Pages%20581-612.pdf . 2012-03-09 .