Fact sheet
Pale Silurian limestone of Wenlock age, containing a rich variety of well-preserved fossils and fossil fragments in a brown, fine-grained micrite groundmass. This sample was collected from scree at the famous 'rippled beds' locality.
The limestone was laid down in a shallow tropical sea south of the equator around 428 million years ago. The area of Wren's Nest featured small coral reefs teeming with life, separated by shallow banks and troughs of lime mud. This sample was likely deposited near a reef, with abundant shelly debris and micrite. Sparite is rare, except as infills of voids in fossils, such as the bivalved shell at (15.2, 14.6).
The limestone reefs nearby were home to compound and solitary corals, bryozoans, crinoids, brachiopods, gastropods, cephalopods and trilobites. Bioclasts in this assemblage are dominated by echinoderm plates and crinoid stems, with some echinoderm spines (e.g. at (6.8, 11.2); fibrous and ribbed brachiopod shells, corals and bryozoans are also fairly common.
This sample was collected as part of the 'Macro to Micro' project.
This Collection showcases the geodiversity of a classic geological site: the Wren's Nest National Nature Reserve in the West Midlands.
As well as displaying thin section and hand specimen views along with information setting them in the context of their landscapes, we also include perspectives and creative responses to the geological heritage of the sites from the local community.
| Explore the stories of the rock layers at Saltwells and Wren's Nest NNRs, designed by students at King Edward VI School, Stourbridge: |
This Collection was made possible by funding awarded to the 'Macro to Micro' project by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) under their 'Growing Roots' scheme.
