Gryphaea at Lyme Regis
Gryphaea, a fossil bivalve known as the devil's toenail, related to the living oyster. The strongly curved left valve dominates this lateral view of a 7cm-long Jurassic specimen.
Gryphaea is a very common fossil around Lyme Regis, it can be found in a number of layers both to the east and west of the town.
At low tide the rock platforms below the seawall east of the town become exposed. Look closely at the hard grey-blue limestone beds of the Blue Lias, you will see the outlines of large ammonites. Keep looking for white, strongly curved half-moon shapes often close together.
Likewise, to the west at Monmouth Beach they can be seen in the hard limestone beds. However, at a few horizons in the intervening mudstones whole specimens can be found. If you look amongst the pebbles and in the rock pools you may be lucky enough to find a loose specimen.