Charmouth (Stonebarrow) Fossil Hunting

1811–1812 – Joseph and Mary Anning’s first major ichthyosaur discovery
Joseph Anning found the skull in 1811, and Mary Anning returned to the same site and excavated the rest of the skeleton in 1812. By early 1813 it had become the first largely complete ichthyosaur to be uncovered and scientifically studied, helping transform understanding of extinction and ancient life.

1814 – Mary Anning’s ichthyosaur entered the scientific literature
After its excavation, the specimen was studied by Sir Everard Home and became one of the fossil discoveries that brought ichthyosaurs to the attention of the scientific world. This was one of the most important early scientific milestones for the Charmouth–Lyme coast.

1820 – the Anning ichthyosaur was recognised as an extinct marine reptile
By 1820 the strange animal found by the Annings had been recognised as an extinct marine reptile rather than a crocodile or fish. This was a major change in interpretation and part of the wider scientific impact of the Charmouth coast discoveries.

1823 – Mary Anning discovered the first complete Plesiosaurus skeleton
In December 1823, Mary Anning discovered the first complete Plesiosaurus skeleton from the Lower Jurassic coast. It became one of the most celebrated fossil finds of the nineteenth century and helped establish the Charmouth–Lyme coast as one of the world’s great marine reptile localities.

1828 – Mary Anning discovered Britain’s first pterosaur
In December 1828, Mary Anning uncovered the remains of the first pterosaur found outside Germany, the fossil later known as Dimorphodon. This added flying reptiles to the already remarkable fossil record of the area.

1829 – coprolites were recognised as fossilised dung
Work by William Buckland on material from the Lyme Regis and Charmouth coast led to the recognition that certain curious stony objects were fossilised dung, or coprolites. This was another major scientific breakthrough linked to the fossil discoveries of this coast.

1858–1859 – Scelidosaurus discovered at Black Ven near Charmouth by James Harrison
Fossils found by James Harrison while working the Black Ven cliffs near Charmouth were sent to Richard Owen, who recognised their importance. This discovery made Charmouth one of the classic British dinosaur localities.

1861 – Scelidosaurus harrisonii formally described by Richard Owen
Owen formally described Scelidosaurus harrisonii in 1861. It became one of the most important early ornithischian dinosaurs ever discovered and remains central to discussions of armoured dinosaur evolution.

1959 – the later “second specimen” of Scelidosaurus was already known from Charmouth
A second important Scelidosaurus specimen from the Charmouth area had already been reported by 1959. This showed that the dinosaur was represented by more than the original nineteenth-century material.

1968 – second partial skeleton of Scelidosaurus described from the Charmouth area
The second partial skeleton, found by Charmouth geologist James Frederick Jackson, was formally described in 1968. It came from slightly younger beds than the original specimen and helped expand knowledge of the dinosaur’s anatomy and occurrence.

1985 – important new Scelidosaurus skeleton excavated by Simon Barnsley, David Costain and Peter Langham
In 1985, Simon Barnsley, David Costain and Peter Langham excavated another major Scelidosaurus specimen near Charmouth. It included a very complete skull and preserved skin impressions, making it one of the key later discoveries of the dinosaur.

December 2000 – David Sole found the most complete Charmouth Scelidosaurus specimen yet discovered
The first parts of this specimen were found in December 2000 by local collector David Sole. Over the following months and years, more pieces were recovered by David and fellow collectors Peter Langham, Jo Anderson, Andrew Sole, Christine Endecott, Rick Taylor and Bernie Abbott. The specimen proved to be over 85% complete, with exceptional preservation including skin and apparent stomach contents.

2000s–2010s – the David Sole Scelidosaurus became recognised as Britain’s most complete and best-preserved dinosaur
The Black Ven Scelidosaurus found by David Sole came to be regarded as Britain’s most complete and best-preserved dinosaur found to date. The specimen also showed that major dinosaur discoveries were still being made on the Charmouth coast in modern times.

2017 – marine crocodylomorph specimen discovered by Paul Turner and Lizzie Hingley
A remarkable crocodylomorph fossil was discovered in 2017 from the Charmouth Mudstone Formation by Paul Turner and Lizzie Hingley. The specimen included parts of the skull, jaws, backbone and limbs, making it one of the best early examples of its group from the Jurassic Coast.

2023 – Turnersuchus hingleyae formally described
The 2017 Charmouth specimen was formally described in 2023 as Turnersuchus hingleyae. The genus name honours Paul Turner, while the species name honours Lizzie Hingley. It is one of the oldest diagnostic thalattosuchians known and one of the most important recent discoveries from the Charmouth coast.

February 2024 – “Gonzo”, the mummified ichthyosaur, found by Chris Moore
In February 2024, local collector Chris Moore found an exceptionally preserved ichthyosaur nicknamed “Gonzo”. During preparation, associated shark teeth were also recognised, including teeth said to represent a new species of hexanchiform shark and the earliest known evidence of that kind of shark in the fossil record.

September 2024 – “Enzo”, a complete ichthyosaur, discovered by Chris Moore
Chris Moore discovered and excavated this complete ichthyosaur in September 2024, with special permission from the landowners to remove the specimen. The fossil is thought to represent an undescribed new species, with several unusual skeletal features including a pronounced overbite and an unusual hind paddle.

March–May 2025 – Enzo scanned and publicly presented as a likely new ichthyosaur species
In March 2025 the unusual skull was digitally scanned, and in May 2025 the specimen was publicly named “Enzo” in a Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre competition. Although not yet formally described in the scientific literature, it has been presented as a probable new species-level find from Charmouth.

LIAS GROUP

Charmouth Mudstone Formation (Lower Jurassic — Sinemurian to Pliensbachian)

Black Ven Marl Member

Bed 80 — Lower Cement Bed / Lower Cementstone

A conspicuous argillaceous carbonate horizon in the lower Black Ven Marl Member, described by Lang and Spath as black conchoidal marl with several indurated bands. At Stonebarrow and Evan’s Cliff it forms one of the easiest marker beds to find low in the cliff and may vary laterally from limestone to ferroan dolostone. It is an important datum because the surrounding Black Ven Marls can otherwise appear monotonous.

Bed 81 — Inter-Cement Mudstones

Dark grey to black mudstones and paper shales between the lower and upper cement beds. These beds are softer and less conspicuous than the cementstones but continue the organic-rich, fissile character typical of the lower Black Ven Marl Member.

Bed 82 — Pavior / Upper Cement Bed

A laterally persistent cementstone horizon above the Lower Cement Bed. It forms a useful field marker at Stonebarrow and has long been used to fix position in the lower part of the Black Ven succession. A harder concretionary band just below it is often referred to informally as the Under-Pavior.

Bed 83 — Obtusus Shales / Stonebarrow Flatstones

Bituminous paper shales about 2.4 m thick in Lang’s account, projecting from the cliff face and often traceable even where the cliff is grassed over. A nodule level within these shales forms the classic Stonebarrow Flatstones horizon. The bed is especially important palaeontologically and has yielded Asteroceras obtusum and insect-bearing concretions, as well as the celebrated Scelidosaurus-bearing horizon in the wider Black Ven–Stonebarrow succession.

Beds 84–86 — Middle Black Ven Mudstones

The middle part of the Black Ven Marl Member, consisting mainly of dark mudstones and shales with nodular limestone development at some levels. In accessible modern sources these beds are less clearly broken out lithologically than the better-known marker horizons below and above, but they represent the main continuation of the black, ammonite-bearing marl sequence between the Obtusus Shales and the upper stone bands.

Bed 87 — Limestone With Brachiopods

A thin but persistent limestone band higher in the Black Ven Marl Member and an important marker in the Stonebarrow cliff profile. It lies well above the Pavior and helps fix the upper part of the Black Ven succession in the field. As the name suggests, brachiopods are characteristic, though other marine fossils may occur.

Bed 88 — Upper Black Ven Pyritic Marls And Stellare Nodules

Dark pyritic marls and mudstones in the upper Black Ven Member. This interval includes the classic Stellare Nodules horizon in its upper part and is one of the best sources of pyritised ammonites and other pyritic fossils beneath Stonebarrow. The bed reflects increasingly condensed and locally hiatal upper Sinemurian deposition before the Belemnite Marl boundary.

Bed 89 — Coinstone

An irregular bed of bored, encrusted and partly pyritised septarian hiatus nodules at the top of the Black Ven Marl Member. This is one of the most important surfaces in the lower Charmouth Mudstone and records a significant non-sequence at Stonebarrow, with several ammonite subzones missing across the surface. It marks the top of the Black Ven Marl Member in the Stonebarrow succession.

Total Thickness Of Black Ven Marl Member At Stonebarrow: Approximately 40–43 Metres

Belemnite Marl Member

Bed 103 — Hummocky Limestone

The basal limestone of the Belemnite Marls, first recognised as a distinct marker by Lang. It is a nodular limestone with very irregular hummocky surfaces and forms the base of the member. The lower part carries an Echioceras fauna, while the upper nodular top (103b) belongs to the Epideroceras exheredatum interval and is a condensed horizon.

Bed 104 — Clays Above The Hummocky Limestone (4 in)

Dark marls with very small nodules resting directly on the Hummocky Limestone. These beds belong to the Epideroceras exheredatum interval and form the darkest beds at the base of the Belemnite Marls above the basal limestone.

Bed 105 — Apoderoceras Limestone (1 ft to 1 ft 4 in)

Pale marly limestone, formerly referred to as the Armatus Limestone, but treated by Lang as the Apoderoceras Limestone. It is a distinct lower limestone band within the Belemnite Marls and forms one of the strongest early markers above the Hummocky level. It carries the Apoderoceras leckenbyi fauna and also yielded Phricodoceras taylori.

Bed 106 — Lower Paler Marls (1 ft 4 in total)

A tripartite package of lower pale marls: 106a is 5 inches of grey marl, 106b is 4 inches of pale marl with impersistent nodules of indurated pale marl, and 106c is 7 inches of grey marl. Together they form the first clearly paler marl interval above Bed 105 and mark the start of the lower pale–dark coupleting typical of the member.

Bed 107 — Phricodoceras Indurated Band (7 in)

A pale indurated marl band within the lower paler marls, recognised as the Phricodoceras taylori band. It is a useful thin marker within the lower part of the member.

Bed 108 — Gemmellaroceras Marl (3 ft)

Grey marls forming the main body of the Gemmellaroceras interval. This is the lower part of the pale marl succession above Bed 107 and yields a characteristic Gemmellaroceras peregrinum fauna.

Bed 109 — Lower Paler Marls, Upper Indurated Band (7 in)

Pale indurated marl forming the uppermost part of the lower pale marl sequence. This bed closes the Gemmellaroceras interval and forms a sharp lithic contrast above Bed 108.

Bed 110 — Lower Darker Marls (29 ft 6 in total)

This is the great lower dark marl division of the Belemnite Marls and forms about 30 feet of darker bluish-grey marl, described by Lang as largely incapable of further simple field subdivision. It is split formally into 110a, a thick lower part 27 ft 6 in assigned to the zone of Tetraspidoceras spp., and 110b, a darker top part 2 ft thick. These dark marls are important because they dominate the lower half of the member and yield abundant belemnites even where macrofaunal preservation is otherwise poor.

Bed 111 — Lower Pale Band (3 ft 7 in total)

A characteristic pale band made up of three strong very pale indurated marls separated by softer pale marls. From base to top the subbeds are 111a, 10 in indurated very pale marl; 111b, 12 in pale marl; 111c, 6 in indurated very pale marl; 111d, 6 in pale marl; and 111e, 9 in indurated very pale marl. This is one of the most distinctive striped pale units in the member.

Bed 112 — Lower Darker Band (5 ft 1 in total)

Alternating dark-grey and grey marls forming a striped darker band. The six subbeds are 112a, 7 in grey marl; 112b, 16 in dark-grey marl; 112c, 8 in grey marl; 112d, 10 in dark-grey marl; 112e, 10 in grey marl; and 112f, 10 in dark-grey marl. This interval belongs to the Polymorphites polymorphus zone and is one of the clearest examples of rhythmic pale–dark marl alternation in the Belemnite Marls.

Bed 113 — Middle Pale Band (2 ft 2 in total)

A second pale band composed of three very pale indurated bands separated by pale soft marls. From base upward: 113a, 5 in indurated very pale marl; 113b, 5 in pale marl; 113c, 7 in indurated very pale marl; 113d, 6 in pale marl; and 113e, 3 in indurated very pale marl. This interval belongs to the Platyleuroceras brevispina zone and forms one of the key pale marker packages in the middle of the member.

Bed 114 — Middle Dark Band (3 ft 9 in)

Grey marls forming a darker band between the pale marker packages. This bed lies above the Middle Pale Band and below the Upper Pale Band and still belongs to the Platyleuroceras brevispina interval.

Bed 115 — Upper Pale Band (8 ft)

Pale-grey marls in about sixteen to twenty alternate stripes of paler and somewhat darker material. The alternation is strongest at the base, where the pale bands are harder and wider, but traced upward the banding becomes thinner, softer and less contrasted until it fades into monotony near the top. This bed belongs to the Uptonia obsoleta zone and is one of the most visually obvious pale bands on damp cliff faces.

Bed 116 — Upper Dark Band (1 ft 6 in)

Dark-grey marl forming a compact darker band above Bed 115. It is part of the lower Uptonia jamesoni interval and marks the start of the upper Jamesoni-zone succession.

Bed 117 — Upper Paler Marls (2 ft)

Pale-grey marl above the Upper Dark Band. This bed continues the alternation of lighter and darker units and is part of the Uptonia jamesoni interval.

Bed 118 — Upper Darker Marls (about 8 ft total)

The upper darker marls are subdivided in detail. Bed 118a is 3 ft 11 in of bluish-grey marl belonging to the Uptonia jamesoni interval; 118b is a famous 1-inch bluish-grey marl carrying Coeloceras pettos; 118c is 2 ft 6 in of bluish-grey marl assigned to the Tropidoceras masseanum interval; and 118d is 1 ft 6 in of bluish-grey marl forming the highest part of the darker marls immediately below the Belemnite Shales, in the Acanthopleuroceras maugenesti interval.

Bed 119 — Belemnite Shales (4 ft)

Brown marly shales with impersistent lenticles of crinoid limestone at the top. This is the classic Belemnite Shales division and is one of the most fossiliferous upper parts of the member, leading into the pyritic and crumbly beds beneath the Belemnite Stone.

Bed 120 — Pyritic Marls And Crumbly Bed (about 2 ft total)

Bed 120a–b, 1 ft total, are the Pyritic Marls: black, somewhat friable marls with small flattened smooth nodules of iron sulphide irregularly distributed in 120a and capped by a layer of larger similar nodules in 120b. Above these, Bed 120c–e forms the Crumbly Bed: 120c is 1½ in of greyish-black friable marl crowded with belemnites and was the old “Belemnite Bed” sensu stricto; 120d is 10 in of greyish-black friable marl; and 120e is the extreme top, ½ in thick. Together these beds form the rough-faced, highly fossiliferous top to the marls beneath the Belemnite Stone.

Bed 121 — Belemnite Stone (6 in)

Nodular, generally persistent limestone weathering creamy white. This is the top marker bed of the Belemnite Marl Member and one of the most important field datums in the whole Stonebarrow–Golden Cap succession. It is a condensed, fossil-rich horizon at the top of the member and marks the base of the Green Ammonite Member above.

Total Thickness Of Belemnite Marl Member: Approximately 23 Metres

Green Ammonite Member

Phelps Beds 7–13 — Lower Clays

Medium grey mudstones forming the basal part of the Green Ammonite Member above the Belemnite Stone. These beds are ammonite-rich and represent the lowest of the seven classic Green Ammonite subdivisions recognised by Lang. They form the basal clay division below the first principal limestone horizon.

Phelps Bed 14 / Lang Bed 123a — Lower Limestone

A persistent horizon of flattened blue-grey nodules forming the first of the three principal limestone markers in the Green Ammonite Member. This bed is one of the key datums at Stonebarrow and is associated with the lower Green Ammonite fauna.

Phelps Beds 15–20 — Lower Red-Band Clays

Grey mudstones above the Lower Limestone and below the Red Band. These beds represent the second major clay division of the member and continue the ammonite-rich marine mudstone facies. In Lang’s sevenfold scheme they correspond to the Lower Red-band Clays.

Phelps Beds 21–23 / Lang Bed 126 — Red Band

A series of three red-weathering limestones separated by shales. This is the middle principal marker of the Green Ammonite Member and the most visually distinctive bed group in the member. It is a classic datum for the middle Green Ammonite fauna.

Phelps Beds 24–31 — Upper Red-Band Clays

Grey mudstones between the Red Band and the Upper Limestone. These beds form the broad upper clay interval of the member and are the highest thick mudstone division before the uppermost limestone marker.

Phelps Beds 32, 33 And 34 / Lang Bed 129 — Upper Limestone Interval

The Upper Limestone is a composite marker horizon. Phelps Bed 32 is the lower limestone, Bed 33 is the intervening blue-grey clay, and Bed 34 is the upper limestone. Together they form the third principal limestone datum in the Green Ammonite Member and carry the upper Green Ammonite fauna.

Phelps Beds 35–41 — Upper Clays

Uppermost medium grey mudstones of the Green Ammonite Member above the Upper Limestone. The highest part is especially important: the upper 2 metres, Lang’s beds 132b–c and Phelps’ beds 40–41, are dark and highly pyritic, lithologically unlike the rest of the member and forming the top of the Green Ammonite succession at Stonebarrow beneath the overstep of younger Cretaceous rocks farther west.

Typical Green Ammonite Fossils

The member is famous for abundant ammonites, especially around the three principal limestone markers. Typical forms include Acanthopleuroceras, Beaniceras, Tragophylloceras, Tropidoceras, Androgynoceras and Aegoceras, with pyritised specimens especially characteristic in parts of the upper clays.

Total Thickness Of Green Ammonite Member At Stonebarrow: Thinner Than At Golden Cap, But Showing The Full Lower Limestone – Red Band – Upper Limestone Framework

Depositional Environment

The Stonebarrow succession records a long shallow-marine history in which dark organic-rich mudstones, paler calcareous marls and irregular condensed limestone horizons alternate in response to changing sediment supply, carbonate productivity, oxygenation and pauses in deposition. The Black Ven Marl Member is dominated by dark organic-rich mudstones and cementstones, the Belemnite Marl Member by strongly developed pale–dark marl couplets and condensed fossil horizons, and the Green Ammonite Member by medium grey ammonite-rich mudstones divided by three major limestone marker horizons.

Total Thickness Covered Here: Approximately 80–95 Metres Across The Black Ven Marl, Belemnite Marl And Green Ammonite Members At Stonebarrow

References

Lang, W.D. (1914). The geology of the Charmouth cliffs, beach and fore-shore.
Lang, W.D. & Spath, L.F. (1926). The Black Marl of Black Ven and Stonebarrow, in the Lias of the Dorset coast.
Lang, W.D., Spath, L.F., Cox, L.R. & Muir-Wood, H.M. (1928). The Belemnite Marls of Charmouth, a series in the Lias of the Dorset coast.
Lang, W.D. (1936). The Green Ammonite Beds of the Dorset Lias.
Phelps, M.C. (1985). Refined ammonite biostratigraphy for the Lower Pliensbachian of West Dorset.
British Geological Survey Lexicon: Black Ven Marl Member, Belemnite Marl Member, Green Ammonite Member.