Tag Archives: Jurassic

Delightful fossils in the Middle Jurassic Carmel Formation on my last field day

St. George, Utah — Today I met Jerry Harris, Professor of Geology at Dixie State University in St. George. He was very friendly, generous and knowledgeable, guiding me to two fantastic Carmel outcrops I would not have approached on my … Continue reading

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Another day in the shallow Jurassic seas of southwestern Utah

St. George, Utah — Back to the Gunlock region for me to revisit old Carmel Formation research sites to check for access issues and new exposures. This trip has also given me a chance to update my images of the … Continue reading

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Another geological scouting day in southwestern Utah

Kanab, Utah — My day began with a visit to the St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm, where I met Andrew R.C. Milner, the Site Paleontologist and Curator. This museum is built over an extraordinary set of dinosaur … Continue reading

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A Wooster Geologist returns to the Jurassic of southwestern Utah

St. George, Utah — This week I’m exploring the wonderful Middle Jurassic Carmel Formation exposed in southwestern Utah. It is a rare bit of solo fieldwork I’m doing to prepare for a Wooster Independent Study expedition here with students and … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A Middle Jurassic trace fossil from southwestern Utah

Time for a trace fossil! This is one of my favorite ichnogenera (the trace fossil equivalent of a biological genus). It is Gyrochorte Heer, 1865, from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) Carmel Formation of southwestern Utah (near Gunlock; locality C/W-142). It … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: The tiniest of brachiopods (Middle Jurassic of Utah)

While preparing for this summer’s expedition to the Middle Jurassic of southwestern Utah, I found this specimen in our collection from the 1990s. You may be able to just make out the wedge-shaped outline of a mytilid-like bivalve with several … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: An oyster reef from the Middle Jurassic of southwestern Utah

It was a pleasure to pull this massive specimen out of the cabinets, where it had been sitting for more than 20 years. It is a small reef of the oyster Liostrea strigilecula (White, 1877) from the Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic) … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Belemnites (Jurassic of Wyoming)

This week’s fossils are among the most recognizable. They certainly are popular in my paleontology courses because no one has ever misidentified one. Belemnites (from the Greek belemnon, meaning javelin or dart) were squid-like cephalopods that lived in the Jurassic … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Geological Magic Lantern Slides from the 19th Century (Part I)

“Wooster’s Fossil of the Week” is not always about actual fossils, but our topics are each paleontological. Many years ago I discovered in an old box tucked away in the attic of Scovel Hall at Wooster a set of “Magic … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Mystery fossil solution — an oyster from the Middle Jurassic of southern England

Last week I gave my students in Wooster’s Invertebrate Paleontology course a fossil to identify (shown above), using any techniques they want. This was their first task in the course, so it was difficult for most of them. I hope … Continue reading

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