Tag Archives: fossils

A productive first day for Wooster Geologists in Utah

Mark Wilson March 12, 2019 3:12 am

Hurricane, Utah — Team Jurassic Utah 2019 started its fieldwork on a cloudy March day with a bit of a chill and some light rain, but it didn’t rain again and the cooler temperatures were comfortable. We worked on the … Continue reading →

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Bringing three new Silurian bryozoan species into the world

Mark Wilson February 10, 2019 5:50 pm

I love being part of the scientific process of naming new organisms and placing them into the grand narrative that is the history of life. It is a kind of rescue — retrieving species from oblivion by giving them identities. … Continue reading →

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Conulariid and trepostome bryozoan symbiosis in the Upper Ordovician of Estonia

Mark Wilson January 22, 2019 8:00 pm

A new paper is just out in which all the characters have been covered previously in this blog, but not as parts of a single story. It describes an interprets the relationship between the mysterious conulariids and trepostome bryozoans in … Continue reading →

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New paper on bryoimmuration and taphonomic engineering

Mark Wilson January 12, 2019 8:57 am

I’m pleased to link to a new paper that has just appeared in the journal Lethaia. My wonderful coauthors are Caroline Buttler (National Museum Wales) and Paul Taylor (Natural History Museum, London). The paper explores the role calcitic bryozoans play … Continue reading →

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Wooster’s Invertebrate Paleontology class at work

Mark Wilson September 18, 2018 4:22 pm

Wooster, Ohio — The Invertebrate Paleontology class at Wooster set to work this afternoon on the excellent fossils they collected at the beginning of last week. They had already washed them carefully, using soft brushes and soap, and now were … Continue reading →

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2018 Invertebrate Paleontology field trip — with the Ghost of Gordon

Mark Wilson September 9, 2018 6:12 pm

The Invertebrate Paleontology class at Wooster had its annual field trip today to the Upper Ordovician (Katian) Cincinnati Group (Upper Whitewater Formation) in eastern Indiana. The weather looked terrible as the remnant of Tropical Storm Gordon worked its way into … Continue reading →

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Wooster and Ohio State Paleontologists in Tallinn, Estonia

Mark Wilson August 8, 2018 6:08 pm

Tallinn, Estonia — This morning Bill Ausich (Ohio State University) took the bus from Tartu to Tallinn to finish one more research task and then prepare for the long journey home. Above is the view from my hotel room towards … Continue reading →

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Last day at the Tartu Natural History Museum, and a visit to a grim museum

Mark Wilson August 7, 2018 8:07 am

Tartu, Estonia — Bill Ausich and I started our last full day in this city at the University of Tartu Natural History Museum, finishing our work with the marvelous Mare Isakar, pictured above. Mare quickly found the specimens we needed, … Continue reading →

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Last day in the University of Tartu Geology Department — and a great garden party

Mark Wilson August 6, 2018 8:06 am

Tartu, Estonia — As a sign we’re near the end of our work in Tartu, there are no crinoids in this post. Instead, above is an Ordovician bryozoan from Estonia that encrusted the aragonitic shell of a nautiloid. The aragonite … Continue reading →

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Sunday at the University of Tartu Natural History Museum — this time as tourists

Mark Wilson August 5, 2018 8:05 am

Tartu, Estonia — Bill Ausich and I returned to the Natural History Museum today to tour the public exhibits. It was hard to not make it into a study trip, though, for our research. I suppose since our “work” is … Continue reading →

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