Tag Archives: fossils

Snuffboxes! Team Dorset has a project

Mark Wilson June 8, 2016 6:08 am

Sherborne, England — Cassidy Jester (’17) now has a Senior Independent Study project: Origin and paleoecology of ferruginous oncoids (“snuffboxes”) from the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) of southern England and northern France. (We’re not going to France; I have specimens I … Continue reading →

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Team Dorset closes in on a project

Mark Wilson June 7, 2016 6:07 am

Sherborne, England — Another gorgeous day of exploring in the Middle Jurassic of southern England. The weather and the companions could not be better. Today was our last day of reconnaissance and tomorrow Cassidy Jester (’17) begins her Independent Study … Continue reading →

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Jurassic cephalopod heaven in southwestern England

Mark Wilson June 6, 2016 6:06 am

Sherborne, England — Cassidy Jester (’17) and I are now at our main base in a bed and breakfast in northern Dorset. Our lodgings are a converted milking house on an estate with a beautiful view of the surrounding rolling … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: A bored Ordovician hardground from Ohio, and an introduction to a new paper on trace fossils and evolution

Mark Wilson June 3, 2016 12:01 am

Above is an image of a carbonate hardground (cemented seafloor) from the Upper Ordovician of Adams County, Ohio. It comes from the Bull Fork Formation and was recovered along State Route 136 north of Manchester, Ohio (Locality C/W-20). It is … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Echinoderm holdfasts from the Upper Cambrian of Montana

Mark Wilson May 27, 2016 12:01 am

The white buttons above are echinoderm holdfasts from the Snowy Range Formation (Upper Cambrian) of Carbon County, southern Montana. They and their hardground substrate were well described back in the day by Brett et al. (1983). We have these specimens … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A phyllocarid crustacean from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada

Mark Wilson May 20, 2016 12:01 am

We are fortunate at Wooster to have a few fossils from the Burgess Shale (Middle Cambrian) collected near Burgess Pass, British Columbia, Canada, including this delicate phyllocarid Canadaspis perfecta (Walcott, 1912). This species is one of the oldest crustaceans, a … Continue reading →

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A Wooster Geologist Visits Spangler Park

Mark Wilson May 9, 2016 1:01 pm

Editor’s note: The following entry was written by Chloe Wallace (’17), a student in this year’s Sedimentology & Stratigraphy course. One of our writing assignments was to write a blog post about our recent field trip to Spangler Park (also … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A craniid brachiopod from the Upper Cretaceous of The Netherlands

Mark Wilson May 6, 2016 12:01 am

These striking little brachiopods are gifts from Clive Champion, a generous Englishman with whom I occasionally exchange packets of fossils. In January I received a surprise box with lots of delicious little brachs, including the two shown above. I remember … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A terebratulid brachiopod from the Middle Jurassic of northwestern France

Mark Wilson April 29, 2016 12:01 am

We have another beautiful brachiopod this week from our friend Mr. Clive Champion in England. He sent me a surprise package of fossils earlier this year. They are very much appreciated by me and my students! The specimen above is … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A thoroughly encrusted rugose coral from the Upper Ordovician of southeastern Indiana

Mark Wilson April 22, 2016 12:01 am

It doesn’t look like much, this long lump of gray stone. With a close view you might pick up a hint of a bryozoan or two, but mostly we see rather shabby shades of grey. One of the coolest perks … Continue reading →

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