Author Archives: Mark Wilson

About Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is an emeritus Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster. He specializes in invertebrate paleontology, carbonate sedimentology, and stratigraphy. He also is an expert on pseudoscience, especially creationism.

Exploring the top of the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Makhtesh Gadol

Mark Wilson March 22, 2016

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — Today I joined four Israeli colleagues to study in detail the top of the Matmor Formation (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) in Makhtesh Gadol, Negev Highlands, southern Israel. The view above is looking south in the Matmor Hills … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Exploring the top of the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic) in Makhtesh Gadol

A day in the Zohar and Matmor Formations of the Negev

Mark Wilson March 22, 2016

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL — It was another very windy day in southern Israel, but still just fine for fieldwork. Yael Edelman-Furstenburg, Yael Leshno and I returned to Makhtesh Gadol to work on Yael Leshno’s data collection procedures for her PhD … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on A day in the Zohar and Matmor Formations of the Negev

Return to Makhtesh Gadol … and introducing the Yaels

Mark Wilson March 22, 2016

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today I went to one of my favorite geological places: Makhtesh Gadol in the northern Negev highlands of Israel. It was a special day as well because I worked there with two excellent geologists: Yael Edelman-Furstenberg of the … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Return to Makhtesh Gadol … and introducing the Yaels

A Wooster Geologist visits the caves of Tel Maresha in central Israel

Mark Wilson March 21, 2016

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — My last day in Israel was spent with my friend Yoav Avni exploring some sites in the central part of the country before my flight left Tel Aviv late in the evening. The most geological place … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on A Wooster Geologist visits the caves of Tel Maresha in central Israel

Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: A Jurassic seafloor assemblage

Mark Wilson March 18, 2016

Images from fieldwork this week. These are all fossils exposed on a single bedding plane in the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) exposed in Makhtesh Gadol. I found them many years ago while working through the stratigraphy near the top … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: A Jurassic seafloor assemblage

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A mystery from the Middle Devonian of Ontario, Canada

Mark Wilson March 10, 2016

This week’s fossil is a strange one. Mr. Darrell Ellis collected the above tiny specimen from the Hungry Hollow Member (Middle Devonian) at the famous Hungry Hollow location near Arkona, Ontario. (He also took this excellent photograph.) In the classic … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A mystery from the Middle Devonian of Ontario, Canada

Wooster’s Pseudofossils of the Week: Shatter cones from southern Ohio

Mark Wilson March 3, 2016

This brief post is a correction of a previous entry. Last year I showed what I thought were shatter cones collected many years ago in Adams County, Ohio, by the late Professor Frank L. Koucky of The College of Wooster. … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Pseudofossils of the Week: Shatter cones from southern Ohio

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A low-spired, battle-worn trochid gastropod from the Pliocene of Cyprus

Mark Wilson February 25, 2016

This shell looks like a cinnamon roll. It is another product of the 1996 Wooster-Keck expedition to Cyprus with Steve Dornbos (’97) and me. Like the rest of the Cypriot specimens on this blog, it is from the Nicosia Formation … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A low-spired, battle-worn trochid gastropod from the Pliocene of Cyprus

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A conid gastropod from the Pliocene of Cyprus

Mark Wilson February 18, 2016

Cyprus again for this week’s fossil. This is a nearly complete shell of the predatory snail Conus pelagicus Brocchi 1814 found at the Epsilos exposure of the Nicosia Formation (Pliocene) on the Mesaoria Plain of central Cyprus by Steve Dornbos … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A conid gastropod from the Pliocene of Cyprus

Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A muricid gastropod from the Pliocene of Cyprus

Mark Wilson February 11, 2016

We return to Cyprus for this week’s fossil. This is a broken shell of the predatory muricid Bolinus brandaris (Linnaeus, 1758) found at the Coral Reef exposure of the Nicosia Formation (Pliocene) on the Mesaoria Plain of central Cyprus by … Continue reading →
Continue reading →

Posted in ScotBlogs Contributed | Comments Off on Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A muricid gastropod from the Pliocene of Cyprus