Plants

Footprints & Trackways

Vertebrates

Invertebrates

The most common fossils to be found at Joggins are those of plants from the Carboniferous Period. Fossils that are found here include "Lycopods", "Calamites", "Ferns", and "Cordaites". The most common of these fossilized plants are the Lycopods, which include "Lepidodendron", "Sigillaria" and their roots "Stigmaria". Some Lycopods grew up to more than 1 metre at the base and 30 to 40 metres in height. Cordaites, were ancestors of the conifers that grow today, and grew up to 33 feet. Calamites were a tree like ancestor of the present day "Horse Tail", their stems were up to 10 cm in diameter and they grew about 10 metres in height.

"Footprints" and "Trackways" of the various forms of animal life that existed in the Carboniferous age, while not rare, are not as common as other fossils. It is possible to find them, but you must know what to look for. Some footprints found in Joggins includes those of the earliest reptiles and amphibians to walk onland. Trackways of invertebrates such as those of Arthropleura and horseshoe crabs have also been found in Joggins.

The most important, and the most rare, of the fossils to be found at Joggins are those of reptiles and amphibians, or "Tetrapods". Most of the discoveries in this category are made by an examination of the inside of "Lycopod" stumps. Apparently, the animals would become trapped in the hollowed out trunks, starve to death, and were preserved for posterity when the trunks filled with silt. There are only a few examples here, but we hope to have more in the future.

Invertebrate fossils are also found in the Joggins area. They have no backbone which is where the name Invertebrate comes from and include such things as molluscs and arthropods. Invertebrates are rare and important when they are found. Millipedes and Land Snails are found in association with Vertebrate bones in fossilized "Lycopod" stumps. Take a look at a few examples of Invertebrate fossils.