Tag Archives: Alabama

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: a siliquariid gastropod (Eocene of Alabama)

It is hard to believe that this twisty tube is a snail, but it is. Tenagodus vitis (Conrad, 1835) is the scientific name for this worm-like gastropod from the Claiborne Sand (Eocene) of Alabama. It was originally named by Conrad … Continue reading

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Bioerosion on oysters across the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary in Alabama and Mississippi (USA) (Senior Independent Study Thesis by Megan Innis)

Editor’s note: Senior Independent Study (I.S.) is a year-long program at The College of Wooster in which each student completes a research project and thesis with a faculty mentor.  We particularly enjoy I.S. in the Geology Department because there are … Continue reading

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From Alabama to Mississippi

STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI — Early this morning we left Demopolis, Alabama, and drove to Livingston, home of the University of West Alabama.  Our first localities, in fact, were very close to campus as we again explored the Upper Cretaceous Prairie Bluff … Continue reading

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Sweet Home Alabama

DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA — We practically had the state to ourselves on this steamy Sunday as we drove around western Alabama looking for outcrops of the latest Cretaceous and earliest Paleogene.  As is often the case, localities described in the literature … Continue reading

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Mud, Sun and Fossils

GREENVILLE, ALABAMA — Reconnaissance is over for this part of the state, and our work commenced this morning.  We want to find good sclerobiont communities above and below the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, so here that means we want specimens from the … Continue reading

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Post-Cretaceous Weirdness

GREENVILLE, ALABAMA — The Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary at Mussel Creek, Lowndes County, Alabama, has some unusual complexity.   At the southern end of the section it is simple enough, as shown in a previous blog post.  Just a few meters north, though, … Continue reading

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Another beautiful fossil hard substrate

GREENVILLE, ALABAMA — I have a soft spot for hard places.  (Always wanted to say that!)  Much of my career has been spent studying marine hard substrates and the communities that have evolved on and in them.  These include rocks, … Continue reading

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Geological fieldwork in the Deep South

GREENVILLE, ALABAMA — This is the first time I’ve done fieldwork in the southern USA.  The outcrops are of course very different from my favorite desert locations and oddly similar to those I visited in western Russia last summer.  I’m … Continue reading

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An intimate visit to the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary

GREENVILLE, ALABAMA — It is one of the most famous geological horizons.  It marks the end of the Mesozoic Era and the beginning of the Cenozoic.  The “K/T boundary” is dated at 65.5 million years ago (±0.3 my) and is … Continue reading

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Wooster Geologists in Alabama!

GREENVILLE, ALABAMA–We were told many times before this trip that we will find the people in the Deep South to be friendly.  This has been very much the case from the employees at the Atlanta airport to the young man … Continue reading

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