Palaeontological Association Field Guide to Fossils No 8
By J H A van Konijnenburg-van Cittert and H S Morgans
I love both the Yorkshire coast and its Jurassic fossil flora. I have used this guide many times, while ambling around looking for fossil plants. Over the years (this guide was published in 1999), PalAss has create a wonderful library of guides to, usually, UK fossils, which the professional and amateur can use to identify and learn about the fossils they have found or want to find. And this is another excellent example.
The Middle Jurassic of Yorkshire has yielded some of the classic Mesozoic floras, and the combination of good exposure and beautifully preserved fossils continues to attract many collectors.
This is the first attempt to provide an easily accessible identification key, and to place them in a stratigraphical and sedimentological context. In fact, it continues to be the best guide to help the collector understand the fossils in terms of the original vegetation and obtain an insight into the plant life that was growing in the time of the dinosaurs.
The Jurassic Flora of Yorkshire covers an introduction to the geology, a discussion of the plant bed localities and an introduction to systematic. It then covers the following plant types:
- Bryophyta.
- Sphenophyta.
- Pteridophyta.
- Caytoniales.
- Pteridosperms.
- Cycadales.
- Bennettitales.
- Ginkgoales.
- Czekanowskiales.
- Coniferales.
It also discusses the palaeoecology of the Ravenscar Group.
So if you want a great guide to what you can collect from this wonderful area, this guide is definitely for you.
The Jurassic Flora of Yorkshire, by J H A van Konijnenburg-van Cittert and H S Morgans, The Palaeontological Association, London (1999), 134 pages (paperback), ISBN: 0901702641
