Steve Etches

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Etches in the workshop at The Etches Collection in Kimmeridge, Dorset Steve Etches in workshop, The Etches Collection, Kimmeridge, Dorset.jpg
Etches in the workshop at The Etches Collection in Kimmeridge, Dorset
View of the main gallery in The Etches Collection The Etches Collection Museum.jpg
View of the main gallery in The Etches Collection

Steve Etches, MBE (born in 1949) is an English plumber, fossil collector and preparator in Kimmeridge, on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset. From an early age on, Etches began to find, collect and restore the fossils he found on the Jurassic Coast. His collection is now housed in a museum called The Etches Collection which was purpose-built, both to house the collection and to replace the deteriorating local village hall. Etches has won many prizes for his palaeontology and was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen in 2014. [1] [2] [3] [4] In 2017, he was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Southampton. [5] On 22 April 2019, he appeared on the natural history podcast Trees A Crowd with David Oakes. [6]

Contents

Significant finds

Etches has been collecting for over 40 years, and in this time he has amassed an important collection of rare and unique fossils. His first find was a flint fossil sea urchin which he found at age 5. His collection now contains about 2,800 specimens, many of which are scientifically significant. [7]

Ammonite eggs

Whilst cephalopod eggs had previously been described twice within scientific literature, [8] [9] the discovery of eight clusters of eggs in association with perisphinctid ammonite by Etches, Jane Clarke and John Callomon in 2008 [10] provides the best preserved example of this rare glimpse into the life cycle of ammonites. The eggs show some phosphatic films, suggesting that the eggs were already decaying at their time of burial.

The skull of Cuspicephalus, a pterosaur found at Kimmeridge Bay Cuspicephalus.jpg
The skull of Cuspicephalus , a pterosaur found at Kimmeridge Bay

Cuspicephalus

The skull of the pterosaur Cuspicephalus was collected from the Kimmeridge Clay by Etches in December 2009 and then named by him and David Martill in 2013. Pterosaurs are considered rare within the Kimmeridge Clay [12] as the clays were deposited a considerable distance from land and so such finds are thought to result from crash landings, possibly as a result of poor weather. Such a landing on water would likely be fatal to pterosaurs as their thin, hollow bones would be prone to breaking on impact with the sea, as seen in other pterosaur specimens collected by Etches.

Pliosaur

A large pliosaur skull is the subject of a BBC documentary, Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster, which aired on 1 January 2024. The tip of the skull was found by Phil Jacobs when fossil collecting near Kimmeridge Bay. Etches later recovered the tip, before the remainder of the skull was collectively located in the cliff and confirmed when Etches abseiled down to the suspected site. The skull was later excavated from the cliff, where it was emerging, 15 metres (49 ft) above the ground. [13]

Other finds

Other finds by Etches include an exceptionally well-preserved dragonfly wing, the oldest recorded barnacle displaying colour, and a new genus of barnacle that has since been found living in the sea around Japan. A Jurassic species of ray, Kimmerobatis etchesi, and a deep diving ichthyosaur, Thalassodraco etchesi, were named in his honour. [14] These specimens can all be seen in The Etches Collection museum in Kimmeridge.

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimmeridge</span> Human settlement in England

Kimmeridge is a small village and civil parish on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England. It is situated about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of Wareham and 7 miles (11 km) west of Swanage. In 2013 the estimated population of the civil parish was 90.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pliosauroidea</span> Extinct clade of reptiles

Pliosauroidea is an extinct clade of plesiosaurs, known from the earliest Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous. They are best known for the subclade Thalassophonea, which contained crocodile-like short-necked forms with large heads and massive toothed jaws, commonly known as pliosaurs. More primitive non-thalassophonean pliosauroids resembled plesiosaurs in possessing relatively long necks and smaller heads. They originally included only members of the family Pliosauridae, of the order Plesiosauria, but several other genera and families are now also included, the number and details of which vary according to the classification used.

Liopleurodon is an extinct genus of large, carnivorous marine reptile belonging to the Thalassophonea, a clade of short-necked pliosaurid plesiosaurs. Liopleurodon lived from the Callovian Stage of the Middle Jurassic to the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic Period. It was the apex predator of the Middle to Late Jurassic seas that covered Europe. The largest species, L. ferox, is estimated to have grown over 6 metres (20 ft) in length based on a large skull.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimmeridge Clay</span> Geological formation in England

The Kimmeridge Clay is a sedimentary deposit of fossiliferous marine clay which is of Late Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous age and occurs in southern and eastern England and in the North Sea. This rock formation is the major source rock for North Sea oil. The fossil fauna of the Kimmeridge Clay includes turtles, crocodiles, sauropods, plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and ichthyosaurs, as well as a number of invertebrate species.

Peloneustes is a genus of pliosaurid plesiosaur from the Middle Jurassic of England. Its remains are known from the Peterborough Member of the Oxford Clay Formation, which is Callovian in age. It was originally described as a species of Plesiosaurus by palaeontologist Harry Govier Seeley in 1869, before being given its own genus by naturalist Richard Lydekker in 1889. While many species have been assigned to Peloneustes, P. philarchus is currently the only one still considered valid, with the others moved to different genera, considered nomina dubia, or synonymised with P. philarchus. Some of the material formerly assigned to P. evansi have since been reassigned to "Pliosaurus" andrewsi. Peloneustes is known from many specimens, including some very complete material.

<i>Pliosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Pliosaurus is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Late Jurassic of Europe and South America. Most European species of Pliosaurus measured around 8 metres (26 ft) long and weighed about 5 metric tons, but P. rossicus and P. funkei would have been one of the largest plesiosaurs of all time, exceeding 10 metres (33 ft) in length. This genus has contained many species in the past but recent reviews found only six to be valid, while the validity of two additional species awaits a petition to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Currently, P. brachyspondylus and P. macromerus are considered dubious, while P. portentificus is considered undiagnostic. Species of this genus are differentiated from other pliosaurids based on seven autapomorphies, including teeth that are triangular in cross section. Their diet would have included fish, cephalopods, and marine reptiles.

Normannognathus is a genus of pterosaur from the Kimmeridgian-age Upper Jurassic Argiles d'Octeville Formation of France. Initially, Normannognathus was classified to the family Germanodactylidae, sister taxon to Germanodactylus, however, many recent analysis have recovered Normannognathus in different phylogenetic positions, and depending on different authors, Normannognathus is either found as a basal member of the Dsungaripteroidea, as an indeterminate monofenestratan, or as the sister taxon of Cycnorhamphus within the family Gallodactylidae.

<i>Nannopterygius</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Nannopterygius is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. Fossils are known from England, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Norway and six species are currently assigned to the genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Istiodactylidae</span> Family of istiodactyliform pterosaurs

Istiodactylidae is a small family of pterosaurs. This family was named in 2001 after the type genus Istiodactylus was discovered not to be a member of the genus Ornithodesmus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimmeridge Bay</span> Human settlement in England

Kimmeridge Bay is a bay on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England, close to and southeast of the village of Kimmeridge, on the Smedmore Estate. The area is renowned for its fossils, with The Etches Collection in the village of Kimmeridge displaying fossils found by Steve Etches in the area over a 30-year period. It is a popular place to access the coast for tourists. To the east are the Kimmeridge Ledges, where fossils can be found in the flat clay beds.

Archaeoistiodactylus is an extinct genus of wukongopterid pterosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China.

<i>Cuspicephalus</i> Genus of wukongopterid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic

Cuspicephalus is an extinct genus of monofenestratan pterosaur known from Dorset in England. Its fossil remains date back to the Late Jurassic period.

<i>Juratyrant</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Juratyrant is a tyrannosauroid dinosaur genus from the late Jurassic period of England. The genus contains a single species, Juratyrant langhami, which was once classed as a species of Stokesosaurus.

<i>Bathysuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Bathysuchus is an extinct genus of teleosaurid thalattosuchian from Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) deep water marine deposits in England and France. Bathysuchus displays features that suggest it was more pelagic than other teleosaurids, including smoother skull bones and reduced armour plating, similar to the fully marine metriorhynchids. This was possibly an adaptation to rising sea levels during the Kimmeridgian, as its earlier relatives such as Teleosaurus were suited for shallow coasts and lagoon environments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cephalopod egg fossil</span>

Cephalopod egg fossils are the fossilized remains of eggs laid by cephalopods. The fossil record of cephalopod eggs is scant since their soft, gelatinous eggs decompose quickly and have little chance to fossilize. Eggs laid by ammonoids are the best known and only a few putative examples of these have been discovered. The best preserved of these were discovered in the Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay of England. Currently no belemnoid egg fossils have ever been discovered although this may be because scientists have not properly searched for them rather than an actual absence from the fossil record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Etches Collection</span> Fossil Museum in England

The Etches Collection is an independent fossil museum located in the village of Kimmeridge, Dorset, England. It is based on the lifetime collection of Steve Etches, a fossil hunter for whom some of his finds have been named, from the local area on the Jurassic Coast, a SSSI and World Heritage Site, especially around Kimmeridge Bay and the Kimmeridge Ledges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kimmeridge Ledges</span> Human settlement in England

Kimmeridge Ledges is a set of Kimmeridge clay ledges stretching out in to the sea on the Isle of Purbeck, a peninsula on the English Channel coast in Dorset, England.They are located to the southeast of Kimmeridge Bay and south of the villages of Kimmeridge, on the Smedmore Estate.

<i>Thalassodraco</i> Extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur

Thalassodraco is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Kimmeridge Clay Formation of England. The type species, T. etchesi, was named in 2020, with the epithet in honour of the discoverer of the holotype, Steve Etches.

"<i>Pliosaurus</i>" <i>andrewsi</i> Extinct species of pliosaurs

"Pliosaurus" andrewsi is an extinct species of pliosaurid plesiosaurs that lived during the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic, in what is now England. The only known fossils of this taxon were discovered in the Peterborough Member of the Oxford Clay Formation. Other attributed specimens have been discovered in various corners of Eurasia, but these are currently seen as indeterminate or coming from other taxa. The taxonomic history of this animal is quite complex, because several of its fossils were attributed to different genera of pliosaurids, before being concretely named and described in 1960 by Lambert Beverly Tarlo as a species of Pliosaurus. However, although the taxon was found to be valid, subsequent revisions found that it is not part of this genus, and therefore a taxonomic revision must be carried out on this species.

References

  1. ↑ New museum at Kimmeridge for Etches Collection of fossils, BBC, 21 October 2016
  2. ↑ Alice Shaw (12 October 2016), "Amateur fossil hunter who spent 30 years amassing 2,000 specimens wins grant to build £5m Jurassic Coast museum", The Daily Telegraph
  3. 1 2 3 Harriet Sherwood (4 November 2016), "Fossil fever: exploring Dorset's Jurassic Coast with Steve Etches", The Guardian
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Ted Nield (9 October 2012), Kimmeridge legend, The Geological Society
  5. 1 2 Plumber-turned-palaeontologist awarded Honorary Doctorate, University of Southampton, 18 August 2017
  6. ↑ Trees A Crowd
  7. ↑ "Series 1: Episode 12". Hugh's Wild West. Series 1. Episode 12. 24 March 2018. BBC Television . Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  8. ↑ Müller, A. H. (1969). "Nautiliden-Kiefer (Cephalopoda) aus dem Oberen Muschelkalk des germanischen Triasbeckens". Monatsberichte der Deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse.
  9. ↑ Lehmann, U (1967). "Ammoniten mit Kieferapparat und Radula aus Lias-Geschieben". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 41 (1–2): 38–45. doi:10.1007/BF02998547. S2CID   128711331.
  10. ↑ Etches, Clarke and Callomon (October 2008). "Ammonite eggs and ammonitellae from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Dorset, England". Lethaia. 42 (2): 204–217. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.2008.00133.x.
  11. ↑ Martill, David; Etches, Steve (2013), "A new monofenestratan pterosaur from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Kimmeridgian, Upper Jurassic) of Dorset, England" (PDF), Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 58 (2): 285–294
  12. ↑ Martill, David; Etches, Steve (2011). "A new monofenestratan pterosaur from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper Jurassic, Kimmeridgian) of Dorset, England". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. doi: 10.4202/app.2011.0071 .
  13. ↑ Jonathan Amos; Alison Francis (10 December 2023). "Pliosaur discovery: Huge sea monster emerges from Dorset cliffs". BBC.
  14. ↑ Underwood, Charlie J.; Claeson, Kerin M. (19 July 2017). "The Late Jurassic ray Kimmerobatis etchesi gen. et sp. nov. and the Jurassic radiation of the Batoidea" (PDF). Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 130 (3–4): 345–354. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.06.009. ISSN   0016-7878. S2CID   90691006.
  15. ↑ "The Geological Society of London - 2023 awards and funds winners".
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