[1] They are particularly well exposed in the cliffs at Barton-on-Sea, which is the type locality for the Barton Beds, and lends its name to the Bartonian age of the Eocene epoch.

The beds are found in the Hampshire Basin, and are well exposed in the cliffs of Barton, Hordle, and on the Isle of Wight.

[4] The beds consist of grey, greenish and brown clays with bands of sand and have long been well known for the abundance and excellent preservation of their fossils.

[6] Sharks teeth are common,[6] and the beds have yielded remains of corals,[5] fishes,[3] mammals, reptiles, and birds.

[8] The Barton Beds are of Upper Eocene age, and the area was covered with an inland sea, and the temperature was higher than at the present day.