By the time I had reached the northernmost edge of the beach at Ferriters Cove, the Silurian rocks had changed their appearance again. The cliff here is higher and composed of a wonderful patchwork of mainly yellow slabs with purple-grey markings. Many of these slabs have fallen to the shore in a thick loose layer. Among these pieces of stone I found some more fossils, internal casts and impressions of brachiopods, including different species to the one I found earlier (I thought that might be Leptaena sp.). Two particular brachiopods are mentioned on the sign at the entrance to the beach, Holcospirifer (bigugosus?) and Rhipidium (hibernicum?), and it is likely that the fossils in images 57b,c,& d belong to one or both of those species. I am wondering if the much larger regular rounded fossil in image 57a is a species of Atrypa.
REFERENCE
Bassett, M. G., Cocks, L. R. M., and Holland C.H. (1976) The affinities of two endemic Silurian brachiopods from the Dingle Peninsula, Ireland, Palaeontology, Vol. 19, Part 4, pp. 615 – 625, pls. 93-95.
Fascinating Jessica. Wonderful fossils.
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Thanks, Adrian.
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