蒙茅斯海滩的菊石路面，英国多塞特侏罗纪海岸世界遗产地 Ammonite Pavement at Monmouth Beach, Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Dorset, England (© AWL Images/Danita Delimont)

蒙茅斯海滩的菊石路面，英国多塞特侏罗纪海岸世界遗产地 Ammonite Pavement at Monmouth Beach, Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, Dorset, England (© AWL Images/Danita Delimont)

回到过去 Stepping back in time

侏罗纪海岸世界遗产地，英格兰

回溯1.99亿年，前往英国多塞特的侏罗纪海岸世界遗产地。这幅令人惊叹的化石展示图被称为“氨岩路面”，数千块化石被埋藏在蒙茅斯海滩西端的石灰岩岩架中。虽然菊石看起来很像蜗牛壳，但它们是已灭绝海洋生物的化石，与当今的章鱼或鱿鱼关系更为密切。英国自然历史博物馆（British’s Natural History Museum）指出，由于菊石的数量和大小，这个充满化石的岩架在世界上是独一无二的：化石直径高达27英寸。如果你想看看，时间就是低潮时岩壁出现的一切，附近的大岩石中也有更多的菊石。

今天是国家化石日，在这一天，我们庆祝着这个迷人的灭绝动植物世界。这并非巧合，它发生在地球科学周期间：我们可以从这个可见、可触摸的过去遗产中更多地了解我们的星球和所有生物。

Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, England

Travel back 199 million years with a trip to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site in Dorset, England. This stunning fossil display is known as the Ammonite Pavement, and thousands of these fossils are embedded in a limestone ledge at the west end of Monmouth Beach. Although the ammonites look rather like snail shells, these are fossils of extinct sea creatures that are more closely related to today's octopus or squid. Britain's Natural History Museum notes that the fossil-filled ledge is unique in the world because of the sheer number and size of the ammonites: The fossils reach up to 27 inches in diameter. If you want to check them out, timing is everything—the ledge emerges at low tide, and there are more ammonites in large rocks nearby, too.

Today is National Fossil Day, when we celebrate the fascinating world of extinct creatures and plants. It's no coincidence that it falls during Earth Science Week: We can learn more about our planet and all living things from this visible, touchable legacy of our past.