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She said the rocks were about 140 to 180 million years old and contained ammonites – spiral-shelled molluscs that lived in the oceans while dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

This revealed a number of specimens including bones from ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs and other ancient sea creatures including ammonites and bivalves, marine crocodiles and sharks.

This interval, known as the Hettangian, was a time of continuing adverse conditions in the oceans, with generally low diversities among marine invertebrates, such as ammonites and bivalves.

His collection at the time included ammonites, marine animals with a coiled shell.

Fossil collectors have been using angle grinders and rock saws to excavate large ammonites from a protected beach.