Tag Archives: Germany

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A shrimp from the Upper Jurassic of Bavaria, Germany

The beautiful fossil shrimp above is Aeger tipularis (Schlotheim, 1822), and it comes from one of the most famous rock units: the Solnhofen Plattenkalk (Tithonian, Upper Jurassic) of Germany. (The Solnhofen is well known for its extraordinary fossils, including the … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An amphibian from the Permian of Germany

The above skeleton is of the salamander-like Apateon pedestris von Meyer 1840 from the Lower Permian of Odernhelm, Germany. There are just enough of these tiny little bones to show the ghostly outline of this freshwater amphibian. It is our … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A brittle star from the Upper Jurassic of Germany

Wooster geologists have again greatly benefited from the donation of a collection by an alumnus. George Chambers (’79), a successful professional photographer, sent us several boxes of minerals, rocks and fossils he had acquired in his lifelong passion for geology. … Continue reading

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Last stop in Europe: The Senckenberg Museum of Natural History

FRANKFURT, GERMANY–Isn’t that a great front yard for a Natural History Museum? Diplodocus longus strides by columnar basalt and a massive chunk of conglomerate. This is the Naturmuseum Senckenberg in downtown Frankfurt, about two blocks from my hotel. On my … Continue reading

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The Messel Fossil Pit: A world-class experience

FRANKFURT, GERMANY–Last year at this time I had the privilege of visiting the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale on an expedition led by my friend Matthew James of Sonoma State University in California. It was an extraordinary opportunity to visit one … Continue reading

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Tunnels yet again — and a loess connection

OPPENHEIM, GERMANY–This jewel of a town, with its large cathedral, half-timbered buildings and narrow streets, share surprising geological connections with Vicksburg, Mississippi — a city visited by Wooster geologists earlier this summer. Both are river towns which profited in good … Continue reading

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A rainy day in the Mainz Basin

OPPENHEIM, GERMANY–I want this termed Wilson’s Law: “The amount of mud encountered at an outcrop is inversely proportional to the quality of the fossils found.” Maybe it is my desert heritage, but I absolutely detest mud on my boots. Especially … Continue reading

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Wooster Geologist on the Rhine

OPPENHEIM, GERMANY–Our International Bryozoology Association field trip started the day in the little town of Prüm looking at Devonian limestones and shales, and then we drove to Boppard where we boarded a Rhine River ferry for a trip upstream to … Continue reading

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The power of biostratigraphy: the Campanian-Maastrichtian boundary in the Late Cretaceous

KIEL, GERMANY–Comparing the two very different geological sections pictured above, you should ask how we know that they are precisely the same age. After all, they are thousands of miles apart and are quite different in their composition and fossil … Continue reading

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International Bryozoology Association meeting ends, field trips begin

KIEL, GERMANY–The 15th meeting of the International Bryozoology Association ended this afternoon with the usual giving of awards, assessing the budget, and planning the next meeting (Sicily in 2013). I like this group very much. It is the best combination … Continue reading

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