Tag Archives: Silurian

Two new Upper Ordovician bryozoan papers appeared this week

Readers of this blog will remember Kate Runciman, a 2022 graduate of The College of Wooster and now a graduate student at the University of Cambridge. Her Independent Study thesis (after peer review and revisions) has now been published in … Continue reading

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A new paper on brachiopod symbiosis in the Early Paleozoic

My Estonian colleague and friend Olev Vinn and I have been working for many years on examples of parasitism recorded in the fossil record. For the last couple of years we have been summarizing the data and assessing paleoecological and … Continue reading

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Who knew that crinoids could be boring? A possible bioeroding crinoid attachment structure from the early Silurian of Estonia (new paper)

Our hard-working and observant Estonian colleagues (Olev Vinn and Ursula Toom) recently made a remarkable discovery among Estonian early Silurian fossils: an attachment structure of a stalked crinoid that apparently bioeroded its way into a calcitic stromatoporoid skeleton. There’s a … Continue reading

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New paper on a symbiotic relationship between tube-dwellers and bryozoans in the Silurian of Estonia

I have thoroughly enjoyed my many expeditions to the wondrous Baltic country of Estonia. My Estonian colleagues are fabulous, and I’ve been privileged to share the adventures with numerous students and Bill Ausich of Ohio State. Now during this global … Continue reading

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New paper: Early Silurian recovery of Baltica crinoids following the end-Ordovician extinctions (Llandovery, Estonia)

It has been an absolute delight to work with the crinoid master Bill Ausich of The Ohio State University. He is not only one of the world’s top paleontologists, he’s a great guy. Bill taught me all I know about … Continue reading

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New paper on crinoids of the Kalana Lagerstätte (Early Silurian) of central Estonia

Bill Ausich (The Ohio State University), Oive Tinn (University of Tartu) have a paper that has just appeared: Ausich, W.I., Wilson, M.A. and Tinn, O. 2019. Kalana Lagerstätte crinoids: Early Silurian (Llandovery) of central Estonia. Journal of Paleontology doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2019.27 It … Continue reading

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New paper: Borings from the Silurian of Sweden — possibly the oldest deep-boring bivalves

It was a delight to be a junior member of the team that produced this recent paper: Claussen, A.L., Munnecke, A., Wilson, M.A. and Oswald, I. 2019. The oldest deep boring bivalves? Evidence from the Silurian of Gotland (Sweden). Facies … Continue reading

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Bringing three new Silurian bryozoan species into the world

I love being part of the scientific process of naming new organisms and placing them into the grand narrative that is the history of life. It is a kind of rescue — retrieving species from oblivion by giving them identities. … Continue reading

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Sunday at the University of Tartu Natural History Museum — this time as tourists

Tartu, Estonia — Bill Ausich and I returned to the Natural History Museum today to tour the public exhibits. It was hard to not make it into a study trip, though, for our research. I suppose since our “work” is … Continue reading

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Back to work in the University of Tartu Geology Department

Tartu, Estonia — Today Bill Ausich and I returned to the geology lab on the university campus to continue our work on the Kalana Lagerstätte crinoids. There is Bill above working on specimens. I spent most of the day working … Continue reading

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