Hidden in plain sight: join the search for Ireland's fossils
Lazing on the beach, a trip to the shops, or going for a hike… these activities don't normally remind us of fossils. But a new campaign from University College Cork is aiming to change that — and is urging us all to search for fossils in locations all around the country.
This initiative, called 'The Great Irish Fossil Hunt', is calling on the public to discover and report any fossils they find across the island of Ireland. Simply make sure the fossil is publicly accessible (not in a private garden!) and is in solid rock (not loose). You can then send a photo of your fossil discovery to the UCC team using the instructions below.
Gastropod conical on city street
Few people in Ireland realise that fossils are all around us, in the natural rock outcrops at our beaches and on mountains. We are even less aware of the fossils that are locked inside the building stones that make up the footpaths, gutters, windowsills, doorsteps and paving stones of our towns and cities. Astonishingly, this means that many of us are walking past — or even walking on — fossils every day.
The Great Irish Fossil Hunt is led by Professor Maria McNamara and her team of palaeontologists at UCC's School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, as part of the nationwide 'Ireland's Fossil Heritage' project funded by Research Ireland and the European Research Council.
The Great Irish Fossil Hunt continues until August 31
You can send photographs of your fossil finds to the UCC team using the form on the campaign website, including the Google maps location. The team will then travel the country checking and validating the submitted photographs during the summer months. The validated sites will be used to build a new fossil map of Ireland, that will be launched during Science Week.
Prof. McNamara said: 'Here in Ireland we are really lucky to have a wonderful fossil heritage that includes amazing ancient sea creatures that lived in tropical ocean reefs, and huge ancient trees that lived in swampy forests, all preserved in our limestone, sandstone and mudstone rocks. We have even more fossils visible in the building stones of our towns and cities. For historical, social and scientific reasons, however, the fossils of Ireland have been overlooked and not given the prominence that they deserve. Through the Great Irish Fossil Hunt, we want to shine a spotlight on the fossils of Ireland, and get people hunting for the fossils that are right under our noses.'
Crinoid ossicles
Dr Jess Franklin, senior engagement officer with the project, explains how you can get involved: 'It's really easy to make a submission. If you spot a fossil when you're out and about, simply take a photo and upload it using the form on our website. Remember to include the Google maps location, and if you have a coin handy, you can include it in the photo for scale. You can even opt-in to have your name displayed with your submission, if it's chosen for inclusion on the new fossil map.'
Dr Jess Franklin with Ann Francis of Cork Camera Club examining fossils on the facade of Eason on Patrick Street, Cork
The fossil submissions should be from in-situ building stones or natural rocky outcrops — fossils that are loose, or in loose stones don't qualify. The fossils should also be located in areas that are accessible to the general public, so fossils in private gardens or private farms are not eligible.
The campaign raises the prospect of exciting fossil discoveries. Prof. McNamara said: 'Despite the small size of the country, Ireland has some globally important fossils. Our Devonian sandstones and siltstones include some of the oldest plants on land — including the little moss-like plant Cooksonia, from the Devil's Bit Mountains in Tipperary — and the oldest accepted evidence of animals walking on land, at the Valentia Tetrapod Trackway in Kerry. Our Carboniferous limestones are famous for their marine fossils, that record life in ancient tropical seas (see panel). There are even fossils of dinosaurs and marine reptiles preserved in Jurassic rocks in County Antrim."
Crinoid ossicles cross-section
"There are far more rocks exposed along our coasts and in our building stones than all the palaeontologists in Ireland can examine, so the fossil hunt campaign raises the very real possibility that members of the public might discover fossils of scientific importance.'
Much of the common building stone used in Irish towns and cities is from Ireland, especially carboniferous limestone. You can find pictures of the most common Irish fossils on the Ireland's Fossil Heritage website.
There are fossils locked inside the building stones that make up the footpaths, gutters, windowsills, doorsteps and paving stones of our towns and cities — this means that many of us are walking past, or even walking on, fossils every day
Some building stones, however, are from Britain and further afield, and preserve additional types of fossils, such as the large spiral ammonites of the Jura limestones and the cone-shaped gastropod shells in the Portland Roach limestones. All of these fossils will be captured for the first time in the new fossil map of Ireland, making fossils accessible to the public, no matter whether they live in a built-up area or a very rural area.
If you're not sure if what you've found is indeed a fossil, feel free to email the team at UCC directly. The deadline for fossil submissions is 5pm on August 31.
Further details are available here
Common Irish fossils
Brachiopod arc
Brachiopods: Brachiopods are shellfish with two shells joined by a ligament on one side, but they are often preserved in rocks as only one shell. You can recognise fossil brachiopods in rocks as whole shells, or as white crescents or circles in cross section.
Solitary coral (cross-section)
Corals: Corals are marine animals that gather food particles from the surrounding water using soft tentacles. Some ancient corals lived alone (these are called solitary corals) but others lived in large groups and shared a common skeleton (colonial corals). Fossil corals have a distinctive pattern of radial lines inside their skeleton, which looks like spokes on a bicycle wheel in cross section.
Crinoid stems
Crinoids: Irish fossil crinoids were attached to the seafloor and had feathery arms that could open like an umbrella to collect food particles drifting by on ocean currents. Most of the crinoid's hard skeleton is made up of circular plates called ossicles joined together by ligaments. When crinoids die, the ligaments rot away and the ossicles are usually scattered by waves and currents. Sometimes the plates don't separate fully and instead, we can see a stack of the plates (like a stack of polo mints).
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