Abstract
DISCOVERIES of no little interest to palæontologists and archaeologists are reported from Norfolk. During the past winter and early spring, the effects of marine erosion on the cliffs around the coast have been severe, causing much local uneasiness. In compensation, as a result of this tidal action, early quaternary deposits at the base of the cliffs and on the foreshore have been laid bare to an exceptional degree. At Mundesley, in particular, the Cromer Forest Bed is exposed more extensively than has occurred for a very long period and a number of discoveries have followed. Early in May, a fossil bone protruding at the base of the cliff was observed by Mr. E. A. Livermore of Mundesley. On extraction, this proved to be the major portion, a little more than three feet in length, of an elephant's tusk. It has since been identified as belonging to the extinct straight-tusked elephant, Elephas antiquus. A few days later, Mr. Livermore also recovered from close to the position of his first find part of a tooth, about six inches in length, of an elephant of the same species. Further discoveries were two fragments of bone, the tips of an elephant's femur and tibia respectively. A remarkable tooth, which belongs to E. meridionalis, also from the Cromer Forest bed at Mundssley, has been found by Mr. A. Savin of Cromer. It is complete, and weighs twenty-five pounds. With one exception, a tooth of twenty-six pounds, it is said to be the largest meridionalis tooth recorded.
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Fossil Fauna in Norfolk. Nature 157, 798 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/157798a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/157798a0