Tag Archives: fossils

A 10K run into the Eocene of the Negev

mwilson April 20, 2014 10:27 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Yoav and I had a long hike today into the Eocene succession of rock units in the northern Negev. We wanted to look especially at the Horsha Formation (Eocene, Lutetian) because it has some cool trace fossils and … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: A scleractinian coral and its tube-dwelling symbionts (Middle Jurassic of Israel)

mwilson April 20, 2014 1:21 am

I have a weakness for the beautiful scleractinian corals of the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian-Oxfordian) of southern Israel. This particular specimen is Microsolena aff. M. sadeki from locality C/W-367 in Hamakhtesh Hagadol, southern Israel. (The “aff.” in the name … Continue reading →

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Our camel friends in the Negev

mwilson April 18, 2014 9:32 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–It is a problematic relationship between camels and me. My first experience with a camel out here was watching one eat my lunch, bag and all, when I foolishly left it in the shade of the vehicle while … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An unusual scleractinian coral from the Upper Cretaceous of Israel

mwilson April 13, 2014 1:17 am

Originally this was going to be a mystery fossil for a crowd-sourced identification while I’m here in Israel doing fieldwork, but through the wonders of the internet I finally found a match for the strange fossil above: it is the … Continue reading →

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Field trip to the lesser known makhteshim at Har ‘Arif

mwilson April 10, 2014 12:57 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–We’ve talked a lot about makhteshim in this blog, with so much of our geological work located in Hamakhtesh Hagadol and Makhtesh Ramon. A makhtesh is essentially a breached anticline, usually with a single drainage running from it. … Continue reading →

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A mission in the Cretaceous of southern Israel

mwilson April 9, 2014 1:50 pm

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today Yoav and I set out to solve a mapping dilemma concerning the boundaries of the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian) En Yorqe’am Formation in the Negev and, eventually, the Judean Desert to the north. It involved a bumpy ride … Continue reading →

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Cretaceous echinoderms are today’s stars

mwilson April 8, 2014 11:32 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–There’s a joke in the title, in case you didn’t notice! I was on my own for my second day of fieldwork in southern Israel. I revisited yesterday’s outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous (Coniacian) Zichor Formation, taking more … Continue reading →

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A Triassic afternoon in southern Israel

mwilson April 8, 2014 10:36 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–This afternoon I walked through the spectacular Middle Triassic sections in Wadi Gevanim on the southern side of the Makhtesh Ramon structure. I will be on a fantastic trip this Thursday to a little-visited Triassic section farther south, … Continue reading →

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A Wooster Geologist is finally warm enough

mwilson April 7, 2014 11:58 am

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–When I left Wooster on Saturday morning it was 34°F and overcast. It was sunny and an astonishing 84°F when I arrived in Tel Aviv on Sunday afternoon. That additional 50 degrees felt very good indeed after a … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A brontothere jaw fragment (Miocene of South Dakota)

mwilson April 6, 2014 1:59 am

This fossil has been sitting in a glass case outside my office door for nearly three decades. Only this year — in the desire to find more Fossils of the Week — did I bother to open the cabinet and … Continue reading →

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