by Steve Snowball and Craig Chivers

With prehistoric life and scene reconstructions by Andreas Kurpisz

Siri Scientific Press (1 March, 2020) 978-0-9957496-8-9 RRP £19.99
224 pp, 240 x 165 mm, soft cover, 300 colour photographs & illustrations

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Reviews

Everything Dinosaur Blog, March 2020: "Providing a guide to this beautiful part of the world, is a new book written by dedicated fossil collectors Steve Snowball and Craig Chivers.  Entitled A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the South Dorset Coast, this is one book that does exactly what it claims to do in the title and what an excellent read it is too! ... Following a general introduction section, outlining the importance of the “Jurassic Coast”, the reader is provided with information regarding the fossil collecting code and then schooled in the geology of the region.  The brief guide to the geology and landscapes of south Dorset then leads onto a series of chapters that provide details on excursions that can be undertaken to prospect for fossils.  Each location is beautifully illustrated with stunning photographs of the fossils that can be found and the ancient prehistoric landscapes are brought to life by Andreas Kurpisz, from a shallow sea with an oyster reef to a herd of brachiosaurs wandering across what would eventually become part of the Purbeck Formation. A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the South Dorset Coast provides a comprehensive overview on fossil collecting opportunities along the coast of  southern Dorset, it is essential reading for fossil collectors and for those wishing to explore eastwards along the “Jurassic Coast” from Burton Bradstock."

Deposits Magazine (2020): Throughout the guide, it is this use of full colour illustration that makes it so enjoyable, including palaeontological illustrations by Andreas Kurpisz, that are both lovely to look at, but also scientific hypotheses about how the environments might have looked, given current palaeontological knowledge. The guide also sets out the geology of the South Dorset succession and then sets out six geological excursions to be followed by the reader, for example, on the Isle of Portland.

From the back cover

This is the second in a series of guides on the safe and responsible collection of fossils along the coast of Dorset. This sumptuously illustrated book, in full colour throughout, focusses on the central section of the coast, extending from the start of the Fleet lagoon and then eastwards to the Chalk headland of White Nothe at Ringstead Bay.

All information on the geology and fossil exposures is fully up-to-date, with stunning photographs throughout of the beautiful coastal landscape and the fossils to be found there. It makes this a fantastic book for browsing at leisure or for using as an invaluable reference for field trips to the area.

The book’s beautiful format is complimented by superb reconstructions of Jurassic scenes and prehistoric life by paleo-artist, Andreas Kurpisz, who also collaborated with the authors in their previous publication.

Steve Snowball and Craig Chivers are also the authors of ‘A Guide to Fossil Collecting on the West Dorset Coast’ published by Siri Scientific Press. This book again reflects their considerable experience, in both the collection and preservation of fossils, found in the area in which they live.

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS                        
FOREWORD BY THE AUTHORS
                    
1. INTRODUCING THE SOUTH DORSET COAST
    A World Heritage Site    
    The Eroding & Protected Coast
    
2. FOSSIL COLLECTING CODE OF CONDUCT
                
3. THE SOUTH DORSET SUCCESSION
    Geology & Landscape: An Overview
    Making Sense of the Fossil Record
    The Jurassic Period
    The Cretaceous Period

4. FOSSIL COLLECTING EXCURSIONS IN SOUTH DORSET

    EXCURSIONS ON THE FLEET LAGOON
    West Fleet to Tidmoor Cove
    Fuller’s Earth Formation, Forest Marble Formation
    Cornbrash Formation, Oxford Clay Formation
    
    EXCURSIONS AROUND FERRYBRIDGE & PORTLAND HARBOUR
    Harbour Mouth to Nothe Castle
    Kimmeridge Clay Formation, Corallian Group

    EXCURSIONS AROUND BOWLEAZE COVE, REDCLIFF POINT& BLACK HEAD    
    Oxford Clay Formation, Corallian Group, Gault Formation
        
    EXCURSIONS AROUND OSMINGTON MILLS                    
    Corallian Group, Kimmeridge Clay Formation, Gault Formation
        
    EXCURSIONS AROUND RINGSTEAD BAY        
    Kimmeridge Clay Formation, Gault Formation,
    Upper Greensand Formation, Grey Chalk Subgroup
    White Chalk Subgroup

    EXCURSIONS ON THE ISLE OF PORTLAND
    Kimmeridge Clay Formation, Portland Sand Formation,
    Portland Stone Formation, Purbeck Limestone Group    
        
5. ABOUT THE AUTHORS                                
6. INDEX OF PHOTOGRAPHS
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY