Oxford Clay

The Oxford Clay is well known for its rich fossil record of fish and invertebrates.[2] Many of the fossils are well preserved, occasionally some are found exceptionally well preserved. Animals which lived in the Oxford Clay Sea include plesiosaurs, marine crocodiles, ichthyosaurs, cephalopods (such as belemnites), bivalves (such as Gryphaea), and a variety of gastropods. Dinosaur eggs are stratigraphically present in the Lower Oxford Clay. Geographically, they are located in Cambridgeshire, England.[3]

Life restoration of Eustreptospondylus and Lexovisaurus in the Oxford Clay environment

Ornithischians

Indeterminate euronithopod remains stratigraphically present in the Lower Oxford Clay and geographically located in Cambridgeshire, England.[3]

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Ornithischians of the Oxford Clay
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Callovosaurus	C. leedsi[3]	Cambridgeshire[3]	Lower[3]	"Femur."[4]		Callovosaurus Lexovisaurus
Lexovisaurus[5]	L. durobivensis[6]	Cambridgeshire[3] Dorset[7]	Lower[6]
	Indeterminate[8]	Bedfordshire[9]
Loricatosaurus[3]	L. priscus[3]	Cambridgeshire[3]	Lower[3]
Sarcolestes[3]	S. leedsi[3]	Cambridgeshire[3]	Lower[3]	"Partial mandible."[10]

Saurischians

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Saurischians of the Oxford Clay
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Cetiosauriscus[3]	C. stewarti[3]	Cambridgeshire[3]	Lower[3]	"Rear half of a skeleton."[11]		Cetiosauriscus Eustreptospondylus Metriacanthosaurus
Eustreptospondylus[12]	E. oxoniensis[12]	Oxfordshire[12]	Upper[12]	Disarticulated skull and skeleton, with some referred limb elements.[13]
Sauropoda	Indeterminate[14]	Wiltshire[14] Cambridgeshire[3]			The caudal vertebrae from Cambridgeshire were mistakenly considered part of the syntypic series of "Ornithopsis" leedsi by Upchurch and Martin (2003).[15]
Theropoda	Indeterminate[12]	Oxfordshire[12]	Middle[12]
Metriacanthosaurus	M. parkeri	Weymouth	Upper

Plesiosaurs

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes	Images
Cryptoclidus	C. eurymerus				A cryptoclidid	Cryptoclidus Eardasaurus Liopleurodon Muraenosaurus Pachycostasaurus Peloneustes Simolestes
	C. richardsoni				A cryptoclidid
Eardasaurus	E. powelli				A thalassophonean pliosaurid
Liopleurodon	L. ferox				A thalassophonean pliosaurid
	L. pachydeirus				A thalassophonean pliosaurid
Marmornectes	M. candrewi				A pliosaurid
Muraenosaurus	M. leedsi				A cryptoclidid
Pachycostasaurus	P. dawnii				A pliosaurid
Peloneustes	P. philarchus				A thalassophonean pliosaurid
Picrocleidus	P. beloclis				A cryptoclidid
Pliosaurus	P. andrewsi				A thalassophonean pliosaurid; represents a new genus distinct from Pliosaurus
Simolestes	S. vorax				A thalassophonean pliosaurid
Tricleidus	T. seeleyi				A cryptoclidid

Thalattosuchians

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Genus	Species	Location	Member	Abundance	Notes	Images
Lemmysuchus	L. obtusidens				A teleosauroid belonging to the Machimosauridae	Neosteneosaurus Thalattosuchus Suchodus Tyrannoneustes
Charitomenosuchus	C. leedsi				A machimosaurid teleosauroid
Steneosaurus	S. edwardsi				Now referred to Neosteneosaurus.
	S. durobrivensis				Junior synonym of N. edwardsi.
Neosteneosaurus	N. edwardsi				A machimosaurid teleosauroid
Mycterosuchus	M. leedsi				A teleosaurid teleosauroid
Metriorhynchus	M. superciliosus				This species was referred to a new genus, Thalattosuchus.[16]
Thalattosuchus	T. superciliosus				A metriorhynchine metriorhynchid
Gracilineustes	G. leedsi				A metriorhynchine metriorhynchid
Suchodus	S. brachyrhynchus				A geosaurine metriorhynchid
	S. durobrivensis				A geosaurine metriorhynchid
Tyrannoneustes[17]	T. lythrodectikos				A geosaurine metriorhynchid

Oxford Clay has a porous consistency and is soft and is often used in the making of roads. It is also the source of the Fletton stock brick of which much of London is built. For brick making, the Oxford Clay has the advantage of containing carbon which provides part of the fuel required in firing it so reducing the requirement for an external fuel source.

• List of fossil sites (with link directory)
• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• Kimmeridge Clay
• London Clay
• Weald Clay

• Andrews, C. W. 1910. "A Descriptive Catalogue of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay, Part I". British Museum (Natural History), London, England: 205 pp.
• Andrews, CW. 1913. "A descriptive catalogue of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay, Part II". British Museum (Natural History). pp. 205pp.
• M. J. Benton and P. S. Spencer. 1995. Fossil Reptiles of Great Britain. Chapman & Hall, London 1–386
• J. B. Delair. 1973. "The dinosaurs of Wiltshire". The Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Magazine 68:1–7
• P. M. Galton. 1980. "European Jurassic ornithopod dinosaurs of the families Hypsilophodontidae and Camptosauridae". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 160(1):73–95
• D. M. Martill. 1988. "A review of the terrestrial vertebrate of fossils of the Oxford Clay (Callovian-Oxfordian) of England". Mercian Geologist 11(3):171–190