Two unusual bumps occur on the internal surface of a rib of the marine reptile Prognathodon saturator from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Maastricht, The Netherlands. These bumps are interpreted as stress fractures, possibly related to agonistic behaviour.

Until now hemispherical astylospongiid sponges were invariably referred to as Caryospongia juglans var. basiplana Rauff. Renewed investigations have now shown that part of the material should be assigned to a new genus and species, Tympanospongia vankempeni, which is characterised by a system of very irregular canals. These flat-based sponges originate from the Baltic region and occur in two assemblages of silicified Late Ordovician sponges known exclusively as erratics from The Netherlands and northern Germany. These fossils were transported by the River Eridanos, a former drainage system from the Baltic region that filled the North European Basin during the Miocene to Early Pleistocene. Specimens of Tympanospongia vankempeni gen. et sp. nov. also occur in the Upper Pleistocene of Gotland, Sweden. The new sponge described herein principally differs from other genera of the Astylospongiidae found frequently in the erratic sponge assemblages by its irregular system of apochetes which ramify and anastomose commonly.

An integrated stratigraphical analysis emphasizing organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) distribution has been carried out on multiple boreholes penetrating the Miocene in the subsurface of the Netherlands (southern North Sea Basin). The bulk of the investigated successions is attributed to the Breda Formation, a regional lithostatigraphical unit most complete in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands. In concert with a first regional integrated bio (chrono) sequence-stratigraphical framework, fourteen informal dinocyst zones for the southern North Sea Miocene (SNSM), and three subzones are proposed for the Breda Formation. By also integrating (chrono)stratigraphic information from Mediterranean and North Atlantic dinocyst studies a first ever detailed age-model is here proposed for the Miocene in the subsurface of the Netherlands.

The apparent electrical conductivity of the subsurface along the Dutch coast between ‘Wassenaarse Slag’ (beach post 92.250) and north of Noordwijk aan Zee (beach post 77.750) reflects the spatial distribution of Holocene coastal deposits. Using a Geonics EM-34 a threefold division based on the mean electrical conductivity could be made in the outlet area of the River Old Rhine. 1) A section showing a sequence of sandy deposits that resembles the Schoorl Member of the Naaldwijk Formation on top of the Zandvoort Member of the Naaldwijk Formation. 2) A section underlain by a shallow clay/peat layer of varying thickness belonging to the Naaldwijk Formation (Walcheren Member) / Nieuwkoop Formation (Hollandveen Member), intercalated within the Schoorl Member and Zandvoort Member of the Naaldwijk Formation. South of the Old Rhine locally Wormer Member deposits of the Naaldwijk Formation underlie these clay/peat layers. 3) A section characterized by channel fill deposits of the former Rhine reaching to -20 m below Normaal Amsterdam Peil (N.A.P.), and belonging to deposits of the Wormer Member of the Naaldwijk Formation, and to two facies of the Naaldwijk Formation (Walcheren Member). The geophysical transect was calibrated using existing nearby drill hole data, so that a continuous snapshot of the subsurface was gained. Therefore this research also contributes to the recent genesis of this part of the Dutch coast.