The Invertebrate Paleontology class at Wooster had its annual field trip today to the Upper Ordovician (Katian) Cincinnati Group (Upper Whitewater Formation) in eastern Indiana. The weather looked terrible as the remnant of Tropical Storm Gordon worked its way into the Great Lakes region. Three to five inches of rain were forecast for our field area just south of Richmond, Indiana (locality C/W-148). For all I know, that massive amount of rain actually fell today — but not while we were there! As you can see above, we collected treasures in the dry. In fact, the specimens were nicely washed for us, with the fossils standing out better than I’ve ever seen.
Here’s a random image of the rubbly limestone we examined. Count the bryoimmurations! This is perfect material for beginning paleontology students. Each one made a representative collection to clean, prepare and interpret in our cozy Wooster lab the rest of the semester.
We’ve certainly had better weather here in past years, but I’m not complaining about today. We slipped by a ghost.
