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- A Tradition Continues: Richmond, Indiana – Paleoecology, Fall 2025
- Muscle scars in tiny conical fossils: A new paper describing the musculature of Devonian tentaculitids from Armenia and what they mean for the biology and evolution of the group
- Possible Linkages Between Climate and Human History in Ohio (the 4.2 yr. ka interval)
- A spotty Middle Ordovician trilobite from Estonia: A new paper describing an ancient parasitic infection
- A new paper on James Parkinson’s neglected 19th century contributions to crinoid paleontology
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Tag Archives: Fossil of the Week
Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A scale tree root in its own soil (Upper Carboniferous of Ohio)
Last week a local man, Larry Stauffer, brought in the above fossil for identification and then kindly donated it to the department. It is part of the root system of Lepidodendron, the “scale tree” of the Carboniferous Period. What is … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: A calcareous sponge with a crinoid holdfast (Matmor Formation, Middle Jurassic, Israel)
The Class Calcarea of the Phylum Porifera is a group of sponges characterized by spicular skeletons made of calcium carbonate (calcite in this case). The spicules (small elements of the skeleton) are often fused together, causing the sponges to look … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A spiriferinid brachiopod (Logan Formation, Lower Carboniferous, Ohio)
This brachiopod is one of the most common in the Logan Formation of Wooster, Ohio, so our students know it well from outcrops in Spangler Park and the occasional excavations in town. Four specimens of Syringothyris Winchell 1863 are visible … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Three cobble-dwelling oysters from the Upper Cretaceous of southern Israel
These fossils of the week, three well-worn cemented oysters, are highlighted to celebrate the final acceptance this past week of a manuscript that describes their geological setting and significance: Wilson et al., 2012 (see reference below). They are attached to … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A curving scleractinian coral (Middle Jurassic of Israel)
Since Melissa Torma and I recently returned from our expedition to southern Israel (see immediately previous posts), I thought our weekly fossil highlight should be one of our specimens collected from the Middle Jurassic Matmor Formation of Makhtesh Gadol. This … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An ichthyosaur vertebra (Middle-Late Jurassic of Wyoming)
It’s only half a bone, but the above is one of my favorite fossils. This is a vertebra of an ichthyosaur, identifiable by its figure-8 cross-section. It is from the Sundance Formation (Middle-Late Jurassic) of Natrona County, Wyoming … and … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: an encrusted nautiloid (Upper Ordovician of Kentucky)
Two fossils this week in our series. The large segmented cone is a bisected nautiloid cephalopod from the Upper Ordovician of northern Kentucky. The original shell (made of the mineral aragonite) has been dissolved away, leaving the sediment that filled … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A holey brachiopod (Lower Cretaceous of southeastern Spain)
This striking and unusual brachiopod is Pygites diphyoides (d’Orbigny, 1847) from Hauterivian (Lower Cretaceous) of Cehegin, Murcia, Spain. Wooster acquired it through a recent generous exchange of brachiopods with Mr. Clive Champion in England. I had heard about this brachiopod … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: star sand (Recent of southern Japan)
Yes, that “Recent” in the title was a clue that these are not actually fossils, but the little beauties fit the spirit of our series. This is sand from an unknown island beach in southern Japan. The spotted star-shaped grains … Continue reading
Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An asteroid trace fossil from the Devonian of northeastern Ohio
It is pretty obvious what made this excellent trace fossil: an asteroid echinoderm. (The term “asteroid” sounds odd here, but it is the technical term for a typical sea star.) The above is Asteriacites stelliformis Osgood, 1970, from the Chagrin … Continue reading