Rare Fossils:
Geology of the South East IV - Rare Fossils. Part of a series of a number of caches located at places in the South East of Ireland that have a geological theme.
I have decided to make this one an earth cache as it is a place of significant geological interest - some debate exists as to the origin of the fossils that are visible here and indeed if they are even fossils at all. The beach is also easily accessible, very pleasant and is a great place for a picnic or a walk.
Safety - Note 3 *** Terrain: Please note the features can be only be observed at a low or receding tide, you must check time tides before you visit here. Dunmore East or Cheekpoint times will be good enough.
Looking around it is easy to see strange layers and geological features that are very eye catching and interesting to walk by. All the rocks and layers here date to the Cambrian period. The Cambrian is a major division of the geologic timescale that begins about 540 million years ago and ended about 488 million years ago. The Cambrian is the earliest period in whose rocks are found numerous large, distinctly fossilisable complex multicellular organisms. This sudden appearance of hard body fossils is referred to as the Cambrian explosion. These multi-cell organisms did not have bony parts so their chances of fossilisation was slim, basically they were types of jellyfish.
Booley Bay
Here in Booley Bay indentations in the rocks have been found and have a very distinctive and characteristic appearance. Researchers have recognised them as genuine Ediacara fossils, although some debate has followed.
OK - a new term Ediacara, this is just a time period that preceded and led up to the above Cambrian period and is the time period our soft bodied friends whose "fossilised" remains, lived in. These type of fossils are found in only a few places around the world and always attract research and debate. These Ediacaran lifeforms included the oldest definite multicellular organisms with tissues, the most common types resembled segmented worms, fronds, disks, or immobile bags. They bear little resemblance to modern lifeforms, and their relationship even with the later lifeforms of the Cambrian explosion is difficult to interpret. (The fossils here have been significantly designated - Ediacaria Booleyi).
The other fossilised feature which is identifiable here are preserved microbial mats. In fact the above Ediacaran fossils are almost never found in beds that do not contain these microbial mats. Microbial mats are areas of sediment stabilised by the presence of colonies of microbes, which secrete sticky fluids or otherwise bind the sediment particles. They appear to migrate upwards when covered by a thin layer of sediment. If too thick a layer of sediment is deposited before they can grow or reproduce through it, parts of the colony will die, leaving behind fossils with a characteristically wrinkled "XXXXXXXX skin" texture. These types of features are visible at the site with the minimum of searching. There are other notable geological features visible around the beach, if you know what your looking for, but I am going to stick with the above features.
The questions & tasks that are needed for answering and logging are:
(1) The Cambrian period is called after the Latin name of a country in the British Isles where these type of rocks were first examined, the name of this country please?
(2) The Edicaran period is named after the Edicaran hills found on which continent?
(3) Microbial Mats leave behind fossil indentations which are known as XXXXXXXX skin texture - what is the unknown? (Clue - There are African & Indian varieties).
(4) Although not a logging requirement, a picture of yourself near any of the formations would be nice! try and locate a fossil like the one pictures below.
There are no information boards available at the site, so you may need to do some research when you go on-line etc.
Please remember the geology of Booley Bay is special, and causing damage using hammers or other tools is both prohibited & immoral - Leave everything as you found it.
A Rare Fossil