September 25, 2026 at 11:00 AM
#MolluscMonday: Rather nice example of the Lower Lias bivalve Gryphaea in life position, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire.
October 13, 2025 at 11:36 AM
#MolluscMonday: Rather nice example of the Lower Lias bivalve Gryphaea in life position, Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire.
THE DEVILS TOENAIL 😈 Gryphaea, a genus of marine gryphaeid oysters known from the Mesozoic Era
154-237 million years (I think)
154-237 million years (I think)
September 20, 2026 at 9:34 AM
THE DEVILS TOENAIL 😈 Gryphaea, a genus of marine gryphaeid oysters known from the Mesozoic Era
154-237 million years (I think)
154-237 million years (I think)
Possibly the least impressive Devil’s Toenail ever found, but I’m grateful for whatever I’m given 😊
Found at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool
#fossils
Found at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool
#fossils
March 25, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Possibly the least impressive Devil’s Toenail ever found, but I’m grateful for whatever I’m given 😊
Found at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool
#fossils
Found at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool
#fossils
The bivalve Gryphaea was very common in the Jurassic. Even before people knew what fossils were, they would hold them as charms against rheumatism, calling them "the Devil's toenails", since they kind of resemble hooves! (194)
August 22, 2025 at 1:56 AM
The bivalve Gryphaea was very common in the Jurassic. Even before people knew what fossils were, they would hold them as charms against rheumatism, calling them "the Devil's toenails", since they kind of resemble hooves! (194)
#FossilFriday #latestfinds #streamlarking
(not all are fossils, and the 🎲 is for size)
#belemnite #ammonite
#gryphaea #fossilwood
(not all are fossils, and the 🎲 is for size)
#belemnite #ammonite
#gryphaea #fossilwood
May 8, 2026 at 7:44 PM
#FossilFriday #latestfinds #streamlarking
(not all are fossils, and the 🎲 is for size)
#belemnite #ammonite
#gryphaea #fossilwood
(not all are fossils, and the 🎲 is for size)
#belemnite #ammonite
#gryphaea #fossilwood
Last #ManholeCoverMonday today outside the guesthouse in Hunstanton. Among the flint pebbles surrounding it are pieces of belemnites and gryphaea. @jlempieri.bsky.social
@viktorkoves.com @a3minutewonder.bsky.social @robertloerzel.bsky.social @kevinirvine.bsky.social @crowdsourceherbook.bsky.social
@viktorkoves.com @a3minutewonder.bsky.social @robertloerzel.bsky.social @kevinirvine.bsky.social @crowdsourceherbook.bsky.social
September 15, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Last #ManholeCoverMonday today outside the guesthouse in Hunstanton. Among the flint pebbles surrounding it are pieces of belemnites and gryphaea. @jlempieri.bsky.social
@viktorkoves.com @a3minutewonder.bsky.social @robertloerzel.bsky.social @kevinirvine.bsky.social @crowdsourceherbook.bsky.social
@viktorkoves.com @a3minutewonder.bsky.social @robertloerzel.bsky.social @kevinirvine.bsky.social @crowdsourceherbook.bsky.social
Chris from Collections and Learning is talking about gryphaea, those ‘devil’s toenails’ from an Essex seabed that used to sit where Colchester is now. Put beside a Morrison Formation theropod, they do something effective: they make visitors rethink what ‘here’ meant 150 million years ago.
April 17, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Chris from Collections and Learning is talking about gryphaea, those ‘devil’s toenails’ from an Essex seabed that used to sit where Colchester is now. Put beside a Morrison Formation theropod, they do something effective: they make visitors rethink what ‘here’ meant 150 million years ago.
Just received these two fine specimens of Gryphaea, or devil's toenails, found on a walk between Belton-in-Rutland and Braunston-in-Rutland by a dear friend abiding in a quiet parish in the East Midlands of this country.
April 9, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Just received these two fine specimens of Gryphaea, or devil's toenails, found on a walk between Belton-in-Rutland and Braunston-in-Rutland by a dear friend abiding in a quiet parish in the East Midlands of this country.
Devils Toenail's 'Gryphaea'
It is said in folklore they were created when the devil clipped his toenails, due to their curved, ridged appearance being similar to a nail.
Period: Jurassic
Age: approx. 200 million years
britishfossils.co.uk/product/devi...
It is said in folklore they were created when the devil clipped his toenails, due to their curved, ridged appearance being similar to a nail.
Period: Jurassic
Age: approx. 200 million years
britishfossils.co.uk/product/devi...
December 30, 2024 at 11:09 AM
Devils Toenail's 'Gryphaea'
It is said in folklore they were created when the devil clipped his toenails, due to their curved, ridged appearance being similar to a nail.
Period: Jurassic
Age: approx. 200 million years
britishfossils.co.uk/product/devi...
It is said in folklore they were created when the devil clipped his toenails, due to their curved, ridged appearance being similar to a nail.
Period: Jurassic
Age: approx. 200 million years
britishfossils.co.uk/product/devi...
Redcar rocks and fossils - though it’s only a few miles south of where I live, the geology of Redcar is completely different, and younger; Jurassic marine fossils are ridiculously easy to find lying on the beach.
(Watercolour; others still on show at Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery)
🐡
#art #nature
(Watercolour; others still on show at Redcar Contemporary Art Gallery)
🐡
#art #nature
August 3, 2025 at 7:21 AM
The boat-like asymmetric shape of bivalves like Gryphaea is a classic "reclining" form, allowing them to float on the surface of soft sediment, with the convex valve like the hull of the boat! (195)
August 22, 2025 at 2:03 AM
The boat-like asymmetric shape of bivalves like Gryphaea is a classic "reclining" form, allowing them to float on the surface of soft sediment, with the convex valve like the hull of the boat! (195)
May 15, 2026 at 12:40 PM
I also gave an interview about the most common, most overlooked, and most widely hated fossil at the site. The humble Gryphaea.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ7I...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ7I...
Devils toenails at the Hills Quarry Products dig 2025 #tuskforce
YouTube video by TuskForce Mammoth Dig 2025
www.youtube.com
August 8, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I also gave an interview about the most common, most overlooked, and most widely hated fossil at the site. The humble Gryphaea.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ7I...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ7I...
Devil's toenails (gryphaea), a genus of extinct oyster. I found these fossils in Marske, in the north east of the UK. They are approximately 200 million years old, so a bit older than the oyster shells I've found on the Thames foreshore.
August 5, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Devil's toenails (gryphaea), a genus of extinct oyster. I found these fossils in Marske, in the north east of the UK. They are approximately 200 million years old, so a bit older than the oyster shells I've found on the Thames foreshore.
It really was! There were sooo many gryphaea but also ammonites, crinoids, and belemnites galore!
November 19, 2024 at 12:41 AM
It really was! There were sooo many gryphaea but also ammonites, crinoids, and belemnites galore!
#FossilFriday Our collection from the north-east coast of England this week: a belemnite, gryphaea, bivalves, unknown in the middle, ammonite, and possible crab claw. Nice haul!
August 28, 2026 at 8:59 AM
#FossilFriday Our collection from the north-east coast of England this week: a belemnite, gryphaea, bivalves, unknown in the middle, ammonite, and possible crab claw. Nice haul!
a classic walrus and carpenter type situation. inviting an extinct species of oysters to take a walk with us. along the briny beach. 190 million years late to the party. as ever. felt cute. might disintegrate later. 🦪
April 25, 2025 at 7:02 AM
a classic walrus and carpenter type situation. inviting an extinct species of oysters to take a walk with us. along the briny beach. 190 million years late to the party. as ever. felt cute. might disintegrate later. 🦪
Did you know this fossil is commonly referred to as a ‘Devil’s toenail’?
Gryphaea got the name ‘Devil’s toenail’ from British folklore. They were associated with the Devil due to their characteristic large, thick, curved shells that resemble toenails.
#MolluscMonday #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences
Gryphaea got the name ‘Devil’s toenail’ from British folklore. They were associated with the Devil due to their characteristic large, thick, curved shells that resemble toenails.
#MolluscMonday #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences
April 14, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Did you know this fossil is commonly referred to as a ‘Devil’s toenail’?
Gryphaea got the name ‘Devil’s toenail’ from British folklore. They were associated with the Devil due to their characteristic large, thick, curved shells that resemble toenails.
#MolluscMonday #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences
Gryphaea got the name ‘Devil’s toenail’ from British folklore. They were associated with the Devil due to their characteristic large, thick, curved shells that resemble toenails.
#MolluscMonday #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences
Stone of the Day: Devil’s Toenails! Or GryphaeaThis is a particularly lovely little cluster family of Gryphaea found walking with my sis. My dad called them Monkeys nuts! That was his humour. They are thought to be good luck, a cure or clippings from the a fallen angel’s pedicure!
November 20, 2024 at 2:22 PM
Stone of the Day: Devil’s Toenails! Or GryphaeaThis is a particularly lovely little cluster family of Gryphaea found walking with my sis. My dad called them Monkeys nuts! That was his humour. They are thought to be good luck, a cure or clippings from the a fallen angel’s pedicure!
#Gryphaea (Bilobissa) dilobotes #fossils huddled up after a fresh split on some Oxford Clay shales for #molluscmonday
December 2, 2024 at 12:23 PM
#Gryphaea (Bilobissa) dilobotes #fossils huddled up after a fresh split on some Oxford Clay shales for #molluscmonday
Fossilised oysters. Here's the Wikipedia:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gryphaea
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gryphaea
Gryphaea - Wikipedia
en.m.wikipedia.org
December 30, 2024 at 8:34 PM
Fossilised oysters. Here's the Wikipedia:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gryphaea
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gryphaea