TIME FILE: Oxford Clays - England, 160 million years ago

"The hazardous sea of a thousand tooth-filled jaws"
(based on the Oxford Clays)

Description
Scattered islands separated by a sea of marine reptiles. Under the waters, the seabed is smooth due to the Jurassic flooding of the lowlands. The land above is sandy and sparse, offering little to the life that live there.

Geography
Most of the area is underwater with a few scattered islands that are sparsely populated.

Features
Ocean, lakes and sandy islands

Rock Type
Siltstone, sandstone and mudstone

Fossilisation Extent
Oceanic organisms are abundant in this area, whilst land animals are fragmentary. Most of the area has covered in water, enabling high quality preservation of submerged animals that land on the seabed.
 
Animals
Theropods – Eustreptospondylus, Metriacanthosaurus
Sauropods – Cetiosauriscus
Ornithopods – Callovosaurus
Ankylosaurids – Sarcolestes
Stegosaurids – Lexovisaurus, Loricatosaurus
Pterosaurs – Rhamphorhynchus
Plesiosaurs – Liopleurodon, Cryptoclidus, Marmornectes, Muraenosaurus, Pachycostasaurus, Peloneustes, Picrocleidus, Simolestes, Tricleidus
Thalattosuchians – Gracilineustes, Lemmysuchus, Metriorhynchus, Steneosaurus, Suchodus, Tyrannoneustes
Ichthyosaurs - Ophthalmosaurus
Fish – Leedsichthys, Hybodus, Leptolepis
Other – Termites, Crayfish, Clams, Dragonflies, Scorpions, Millipedes, Dung Beetles, Snails, Slugs, Jellyfish, Wasps, Flies, Horseshoe Crabs, Ammonites
 
Plants

Conifers – the trees of the Jurassic, dominant as such.
Cycads – stout, woody trunk with crown of evergreen leaves, like palm trees or ferns.
Tree ferns – tree-like structures with high, dangling fern branches.
Horsetails – spore-producing plants with pine-like needles. 

Other

Seaweed, Kelp, Coral and Algae