Graptolite
Description: Although this fossil is far from spectacular, it is very significant for the understanding of Manx geology. Its discovery in the late 1990s helped to prove the presence of previously undetected rocks of Silurian age (about 480 million years old) in the Isle of Man. Up until this time, the rocks along the west coast south of Peel to Niarbyl were thought to be part of the Manx Group and of Ordovician origin (486 - 484 million years old).
Graptolites, extinct for more than 300 million years, are thought to be the remains of free-floating colonies of tiny marine creatures. Different kinds of graptolites are linked very specifically to the type and age of rock, so they can be helpful in identifying strata from particular times in the earth's history. With the graptolite fossils backing other evidence from analysis of the rocks, geologists were able to establish that the faultline where the Silurian rocks meet the Ordovician rocks at Niarbyl represents the collision 410 million years ago of two continents from opposite sides of the world, once separated by an ancient sea called the Iapetus Ocean.
Place found: Peel
Date found: 1998
Taxonomic name: Dalby Group: Monograptus flemingii cf warreni
Collection: Natural History Geology Collection
ID number: 1998-0142a