Tag Archives: Silurian

A new paper: Two problematic sclerobiont species that survived the Ordovician-Silurian extinction event

mwilson March 25, 2026 10:14 am

It was again my privilege to join my Estonian colleagues on a paper (published today in Palaeoworld) describing sclerobionts (hard-substrate dwelling organisms) from the Lower Paleozoic. This time we record the earliest species of the problematic genus Allonema, finding them … Continue reading →

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A new paper describing the feeding apparatus of Silurian cornulitids from China: More evidence supporting placement of this group in the lophophorates

mwilson January 17, 2026 1:13 am

It was my privilege to join an Estonian-Polish-Chinese-American team interpreting partial soft-tissue preservation of the feeding devices of Silurian cornulitids, which are extinct Paleozoic organisms that constructed small conical, ribbed tubes. Cornulitids are very common sclerobionts (hard-substrate dwellers) in the … Continue reading →

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A new paper on a tiny cryptic trace fossil from the Silurian of Sweden and Estonia

mwilson January 18, 2025 1:30 am

One of my favorite trace fossils (fossils that record ancient behavior) is the ichnogenus Arachnostega. It was first formally described and named by Bertling in 1992, which is surprisingly recent for such a common fossil. This week my Estonian colleagues … Continue reading →

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The Geoheritage of the Sõrve Peninsula, Saaremaa Island, Estonia: A Silurian Marine Paradise

mwilson May 18, 2024 4:38 pm

A geoheritage site is a location where the geological features are worth preserving for scientific and cultural reasons. It is a relatively new term dating back to the 1990s. The purpose of designating a geoheritage site is to mark it … Continue reading →

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Two new Upper Ordovician bryozoan papers appeared this week

mwilson December 14, 2023 11:33 am

Readers of this blog will remember Kate Runciman, a 2022 graduate of The College of Wooster and now a graduate student at the University of Cambridge. Her Independent Study thesis (after peer review and revisions) has now been published in … Continue reading →

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A new paper on brachiopod symbiosis in the Early Paleozoic

mwilson May 20, 2023 1:19 pm

My Estonian colleague and friend Olev Vinn and I have been working for many years on examples of parasitism recorded in the fossil record. For the last couple of years we have been summarizing the data and assessing paleoecological and … Continue reading →

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Who knew that crinoids could be boring? A possible bioeroding crinoid attachment structure from the early Silurian of Estonia (new paper)

mwilson August 20, 2022 4:17 pm

Our hard-working and observant Estonian colleagues (Olev Vinn and Ursula Toom) recently made a remarkable discovery among Estonian early Silurian fossils: an attachment structure of a stalked crinoid that apparently bioeroded its way into a calcitic stromatoporoid skeleton. There’s a … Continue reading →

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New paper on a symbiotic relationship between tube-dwellers and bryozoans in the Silurian of Estonia

mwilson May 12, 2020 9:24 am

I have thoroughly enjoyed my many expeditions to the wondrous Baltic country of Estonia. My Estonian colleagues are fabulous, and I’ve been privileged to share the adventures with numerous students and Bill Ausich of Ohio State. Now during this global … Continue reading →

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New paper: Early Silurian recovery of Baltica crinoids following the end-Ordovician extinctions (Llandovery, Estonia)

mwilson November 16, 2019 6:27 pm

It has been an absolute delight to work with the crinoid master Bill Ausich of The Ohio State University. He is not only one of the world’s top paleontologists, he’s a great guy. Bill taught me all I know about … Continue reading →

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New paper on crinoids of the Kalana Lagerstätte (Early Silurian) of central Estonia

mwilson May 14, 2019 7:00 am

Bill Ausich (The Ohio State University), Oive Tinn (University of Tartu) have a paper that has just appeared: Ausich, W.I., Wilson, M.A. and Tinn, O. 2019. Kalana Lagerstätte crinoids: Early Silurian (Llandovery) of central Estonia. Journal of Paleontology doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2019.27 It … Continue reading →

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