Tag Archives: Fossil of the Week

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Small and common orthid brachiopods from the Upper Ordovician of Ohio

Mark Wilson August 7, 2015 12:11 am

One of the many benefits of posting a “Fossil of the Week” is that I learn a lot while researching the highlighted specimens. I not only learn new things, I learn that some things I thought I knew must be, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A conulariid revisited (Lower Carboniferous of Indiana)

Mark Wilson July 31, 2015 12:04 am

This summer I’ve been updating some of the photos I placed in the Wikipedia system (check them out here, if you like; free to use for any purpose). I was especially anxious to replace a low-resolution image I had made … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A calcareous sponge from the Lower Cretaceous of England

Mark Wilson July 24, 2015 12:01 am

One of my favorite fossil localities is a gravel pit in Oxfordshire, England. Gravel pits are not usually good for fossil collecting given their coarse nature and high-energy deposition, but the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) Faringdon Sponge Gravels are special. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A coiled nautiloid from the Middle Devonian of Ohio

Mark Wilson July 17, 2015 12:10 am

The above fossil is a nautiloid cut in cross-section, showing the large body chamber at the bottom and behind it to the left and above the phragmocone, or chambered portion of the conch (shell). It is a species of Goldringia … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An undescribed cyclostome bryozoan from the Upper Ordovician of Oklahoma

Mark Wilson June 19, 2015 12:03 am

Paul Taylor and I presented a talk this month at the Larwood Symposium of the International Bryozoology Association in Thurso, Scotland. (Yes, way in the tippy-top of Scotland. Very cool.) Paul found the above wiggly bryozoan encrusting the interior of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A chaetetid demosponge from the Upper Carboniferous of southern Nevada

Mark Wilson June 5, 2015 12:23 am

I collected this lump of a specimen during my dissertation research in the Bird Spring Formation (Carboniferous-Permian) of southern Nevada. It was found in a richly-fossiliferous Upper Carboniferous (Moscovian) portion near Mountain Springs Pass, which is about 40 km southwest … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Petrified conifer wood

Mark Wilson May 29, 2015 12:18 am

This is one of the most beautiful fossils in Wooster’s teaching collections. It is a polished section of petrified wood. It has vibrant colors and exquisite detail, as you’re about to see. Unfortunately any label that accompanied this specimen disappeared … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment