Author Archives: Mark Wilson

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.

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A small lobster from the Lower Cretaceous of North Yorkshire, England

Mark Wilson July 10, 2015 12:25 am

Mae Kemsley (’16) found this little beauty during her Independent Study fieldwork last month on the Speeton Cliffs of North Yorkshire. It is Meyeria ornata (Phillips, 1829), a decapod of the lobster variety, from the Speeton Clay. It is relatively … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: An Upper Ordovician cave-dwelling bryozoan fauna and its exposed equivalents

Mark Wilson July 3, 2015 12:19 am

This week’s fossils were the subject of a presentation at the 2015 Larwood Symposium of the International Bryozoology Association in Thurso, Scotland, last month. Caroline Buttler, Head of Palaeontology at the National Museum Wales, Cardiff, brilliantly gave our talk describing … Continue reading →

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Link to posts from Wooster Geologists in the United Kingdom in June 2015

Mark Wilson June 29, 2015 11:52 am

I spent 25 days in England, Scotland and Wales this month, 12 of them with these two happy Senior Independent Study students, Mae Kemsley (’16) and Meredith Mann (’16) — dubbed “Team Yorkshire”. We had to delay our blog posts … Continue reading →

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Last day of fieldwork in England: A working quarry and another great unconformity

Mark Wilson June 26, 2015 6:26 am

BRISTOL, ENGLAND (June 26, 2015) — Tim Palmer has a professional interest in building stones, and a passion for sorting out their characteristics and historical uses. He thus has many contacts in the stone industry, from architects to quarry managers. … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: An encrusted bivalve external mold from the Upper Ordovician of Indiana

Mark Wilson June 26, 2015 12:46 am

I love this kind of fossil, which explains why you’ve seen so many examples on this blog. We are looking at an encrusted external mold of the bivalve Anomalodonta gigantea found in the Waynesville Formation exposed in Franklin County, Indiana. … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologist in England (again)

Mark Wilson June 25, 2015 6:25 am

BRISTOL, ENGLAND (June 25, 2015) — Our little geological exploration of southern Britain now passes into England. Tim Palmer and I crossed the River Severn and drove to the Cotswolds to examine old quarry exposures and Medieval stonework. We are … Continue reading →

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National Museum Wales and its new dinosaur

Mark Wilson June 25, 2015 6:25 am

BRIDGEND, WALES (June 25, 2015) — On our last day in Wales, Tim had an errand at the National Museum Wales in Cardiff. We took the opportunity to visit their new dinosaur exhibit with the skeleton that had been collected … Continue reading →

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A great unconformity in South Wales

Mark Wilson June 24, 2015 6:24 am

BRIDGEND, WALES (June 24, 2015) — Today Tim Palmer and I visited a famous unconformable rock plane in South Wales. I last saw it thirty years ago, when I knew a lot less about eroded, bored and encrusted surfaces. It … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologist in Wales

Mark Wilson June 23, 2015 6:23 am

BRIDGEND, WALES (June 23, 2015) — My train journey yesterday was successful. It was close, but I made the four tight connections and arrived in Aberystwyth, Wales, from Thurso, Scotland, on schedule. It took 15 hours. My friend Tim Palmer … Continue reading →

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Another long train journey through Great Britain

Mark Wilson June 22, 2015 6:22 am

THURSO, SCOTLAND (June 22, 2015) — Back to the trains today as I leave for a long journey south through Scotland and central England and then west to Aberystwyth, Wales, to spend some quality field time with my friend Tim … Continue reading →

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