Tag Archives: Israel

Exploring the top of the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Makhtesh Gadol

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — Today I joined four Israeli colleagues to study in detail the top of the Matmor Formation (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) in Makhtesh Gadol, Negev Highlands, southern Israel. The view above is looking south in the Matmor Hills … Continue reading

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A day in the Zohar and Matmor Formations of the Negev

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — It was another very windy day in southern Israel, but still just fine for fieldwork. Yael Edelman-Furstenburg, Yael Leshno and I returned to Makhtesh Gadol to work on Yael Leshno’s data collection procedures for her PhD … Continue reading

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Return to Makhtesh Gadol … and introducing the Yaels

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today I went to one of my favorite geological places: Makhtesh Gadol in the northern Negev highlands of Israel. It was a special day as well because I worked there with two excellent geologists: Yael Edelman-Furstenberg of the … Continue reading

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Wooster Geologist Returns to Israel: A visit to the Cretaceous Ora Formation

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — This is my 14th visit to Israel. I’ll be spending ten days here doing fieldwork in places I’ve come to love: Makhtesh Ramon, Makhtesh Gadol, and the Aravah Valley. I’ve returned to complete some Jurassic studies, … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Zig-zag oysters from the Middle Jurassic of southern Israel

These pretty little oysters are from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of Makhtesh Gadol in southern Israel. Because I regrettably missed going to Israel for fieldwork this summer, I thought I’d choose these exquisite fossils to be celebrated this … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: “Lapis Judaicus” from the Middle Jurassic of southern Israel

Paul Taylor (Natural History Museum, London) is, along with his other talents, an expert on the folklore of fossils. His accounts of how fossils have been used and imagined in the past are fascinating, especially to paleontologists who work with … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: calcareous sponges from the Middle Jurassic of southern Israel

This post is in honor of Yael Leshno, a graduate student at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem who is beginning her dissertation on the Middle Jurassic marine fossils of Israel. I’m proud to be on her committee. She will have … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A Jurassic coral with beekite preservation from southern Israel

This week’s fossil is again in honor of Annette Hilton (’17), now retired as my Sophomore Research Assistant this year. She has been assessing with great skill a large and diverse collection of scleractinian corals from the Matmor Formation in … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: How to make brilliant acetate peels, with a Jurassic coral example

My retiring Sophomore Research student, Annette Hilton (’17), is excellent at making acetate peels. These peels, like the one above she made from a mysterious Callovian (Middle Jurassic) coral, show fine internal details of calcareous fossils and rocks. This is … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A twisted scleractinian coral from the Middle Jurassic of southern Israel

Another exquisite little coral this week from the collection of Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, southern Israel) corals Annette Hilton (’17) and I are working through. We believe this is Epistreptophyllum Milaschewitsch, 1876. It is a solitary (although more on that … Continue reading

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