Fossil Fanatic talks to Megan! How to study prehistoric life, dream fossil hunting locations, and more!

Welcome to the first blog post from Fossil Fanatic! Throughout these posts, we will be talking to experts, highlighting new scientific discoveries and of course, celebrating the incredible diversity of prehistoric life to soared the skies, patrolled the oceans, and ruled the land. 

In today's post, we talk to  Paelontologist Megan Jacobs of Wight Coast Fossils who shares with us some invaluable insight into what it takes to work in the field, grow your knowledge, and perhaps make your own incredible discoveries!

Paleontologist Megan Jacobs. Photo credit Wight Coast Fossils.

Fossil Fanatic: Megan thanks very much for sharing some of your time to talk to Fossil Fanatic!  I’m sure there will be lots of budding young paleontologists eager to hear about your experiences.

Before we get into that, it would be great to hear a little bit about yourself, what does your current work involve? What’s a typical day for yourself?

Megan: I am currently juggling my time between running Wight Coast Fossils, an Isle of Wight fossil walk business, and doing a PhD based on the dinosaur rocks on the island! 

I think people like to think palaenontology is very glamorous, going out and finding dinosaurs. But in fact, it’s a lot of emails! I’ll usually begin and finish my day by answering the emails for the fossil walk business. In the school holidays, I’ll be on the beach almost every day taking people along the coast and showing them all the geology and finding fossils! 

When I’m not working, I’m either down the beach looking at the geology for my PhD, writing up research papers, or at university using their scientific equipment, like scanning electron microscopes. 

It’s a great career, as almost no two days are the same! 

130 million-year-old casts of dinosaur footprints can be found at Hanover Point. Photo credit: Wight Coast Fossils.

Fossil Fanatic: Rewinding to the past a little bit, what would you say was the biggest inspiration for yourself to want to start a career in paleontology? 

Megan: So I grew up on the island and spent my childhood fossil collecting with my dad, so the interest was always there. However, I never really had the ambition to have a career in palaeontology. 

After essentially failing my A levels, I went on to do a year of an illustration degree. At the end of the first year, I decided I didn’t want to go back and wanted to do something more challenging. So that summer I started looking at options and saw the paleo degree at Portsmouth Uni, it looked really good so I decided that’s what I was going to try next!

As I couldn’t get in with my A Level grades, I sought other options. After emailing the department staff I managed to get onto the degree ‘through the back door’. From that point on I haven’t looked back! 

Stunning echinoids can be found at several beaches on

                                         the island. Photo Credit: Wight Coast Fossils.

Fossil Fanatic: New dinosaur species are being discovered at an amazing frequency and they often seem to be weirder and weirder in appearance! What do you think might still be out there waiting to be discovered?

Megan: Who knows!! Hopefully some really bizarre animals! If you look at the animals alive today and how weird they are, there’s so much room for dinosaurs to be really weird!! 

Fossil Fanatic: You are based on the Isle of Wight, a stunning location and of course famous for its incredible variety of fossil hunting locations and diversity of fossils to be found around the island. With that in mind, what would you say is your personal fossil-hunting highlight? 

Megan: To date, I think the best thing I’ve found with my dad is a huge Eotyrannus tooth, which is just pristine! And we’re currently collecting an almost complete skeleton of a small iguanodonid!! 

The Isle of Wight is famous for its stunning coastlines. Photo credit: Fossil Fanatic. 

Fossil Fanatic: You’ve recently been working on some incredible research on pliosaurs yourself, how would you describe the feeling of making a scientific breakthrough?

Megan: It’s always very exciting when you realise the fossil in front of you is new or different. The paper writing is very tedious and the submission and review process can be very frustrating. But once the paper is accepted and the research is finally released to the world is an amazing feeling!

Fossil Fanatic: You have been given a plane ticket to go to any fossil hunting location in the world, where would you choose and why?

Megan; Morocco. Absolutely beautiful country, it’s full of fossils and the Moroccan people are extremely friendly! 

Fossil Fanatic:What advice would you give to someone looking to have a career in paleontology? 

Megan: Be prepared to really work hard! Jobs are few and far between, and academic jobs are even rarer. The best start is to fossil collect and go out and see the rocks! The Geological Association produces great guides all over the UK and will give you a good insight into the field.

For an academic career, you’ll need to start with an undergraduate degree in palaeontology or geology and go from there!  

Fossil Fanatic: Finally, if our readers want to take a fossil hunting tour with you what is the best way to arrange that?

Megan: Head over to our website - www.wightcoastfossils.co.uk and fill in the booking form! I check emails daily and it’s the best way to contact me! 

Book a fossil hunting walk with Wight Coast Fossils by emailing Megan. Photo Credit: Wight Coast Fossils.