Jurassic Cryptic Marine Ecosystems

Note the curly worm tubes and borings made by another type of worm.  There are also tiny little sponges in this view, and even tinier brachiopods.  This is a "cryptic community", meaning it lived in a protected space, in this case on the underside of a coral colony just above the sea floor.  The study of cryptic marine communities and their evolution has been a speciality of the Wooster paleontology lab.  (Matmor Formation, Jurassic, Makhtesh Gadol.)

Note the curly worm tubes and borings made by another type of worm. There are also tiny little sponges in this view, and even tinier brachiopods. This is a "cryptic community", meaning it lived in a protected space, in this case on the underside of a coral colony just above the sea floor. The study of cryptic marine communities and their evolution has been a speciality of the Wooster paleontology lab. (Matmor Formation, Jurassic, Makhtesh Gadol.)

About Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is an emeritus Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster. He specializes in invertebrate paleontology, carbonate sedimentology, and stratigraphy. He also is an expert on pseudoscience, especially creationism.
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