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.

Exploring Mount Etna

Mark Wilson June 3, 2013 3:01 pm

CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY–The International Bryozoology Association conference field trip began with a day on the magnificent compound basaltic stratovolcano that virtually defines the eastern half of Sicily: Mount Etna. We did not get to climb all the way to the … Continue reading →

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A Wooster Geologist in Sicily

Mark Wilson June 2, 2013 9:13 am

CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY–This summer Wooster’s Team Italy consists of only me. Maybe in the future I’ll take students here for Independent Study projects depending on what I find. I’ve just arrived in the city of Catania on the eastern coast … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A shrimp from the Upper Jurassic of Bavaria, Germany

Mark Wilson June 2, 2013 1:18 am

The beautiful fossil shrimp above is Aeger tipularis (Schlotheim, 1822), and it comes from one of the most famous rock units: the Solnhofen Plattenkalk (Tithonian, Upper Jurassic) of Germany. (The Solnhofen is well known for its extraordinary fossils, including the … Continue reading →

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A visit to the Natural History Museum of Utah

Mark Wilson May 29, 2013 7:01 pm

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH–On the last full day of our Utah trip, we toured the Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City. It is in a spectacular place against the red rocks of the Wasatch Mountains and looking … Continue reading →

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Ancient islands

Mark Wilson May 27, 2013 11:42 pm

LOGAN, UTAH–Today we explored the area around Promontory, in northern Utah. Among the many beautiful sites were these rocky, faceted hills that several thousand years ago. This particular hill was intriguing although inaccessible. (It is on a vast tract of … Continue reading →

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The Lodgepole Limestone Formation

Mark Wilson May 26, 2013 11:42 pm

LOGAN, UTAH–Today we hiked up part of Logan Canyon along the south side of the Logan River. Towering above us on either side were massive limestone cliffs, as shown above. The thickest unit is the Lodgepole Limestone Formation (Lower Carboniferous, … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Mackerel shark teeth from the Eocene of the Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Mark Wilson May 26, 2013 1:30 am

This week we highlight another gift to the Wooster Geology Department from George Chambers (’79). Among the many fossils that arrived in three delightful boxes were these shark teeth. They are from the extinct Mackerel Shark Otodus obliquus Agassiz, 1843. … Continue reading →

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Wooster Geologist on the Wasatch Front in northern Utah

Mark Wilson May 25, 2013 2:49 pm

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH–It may be a vacation, but even so, every geologist has the delightful duty of enjoying the local geological setting. The above image is looking south from the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City along … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An amphibian from the Permian of Germany

Mark Wilson May 19, 2013 1:41 am

The above skeleton is of the salamander-like Apateon pedestris von Meyer 1840 from the Lower Permian of Odernhelm, Germany. There are just enough of these tiny little bones to show the ghostly outline of this freshwater amphibian. It is our … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Embedded cornulitids from the Lower Silurian of Estonia

Mark Wilson May 12, 2013 1:57 am

At first specimen this looks like a series of holes drilled into a small, smooth substrate (like Trypanites), but then you notice that the substrate has grown up around the holes, and on the far left you can make out … Continue reading →

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