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.

Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: An encrusted bivalve external mold from the Upper Ordovician of Indiana

Mark Wilson June 26, 2015

I love this kind of fossil, which explains why you’ve seen so many examples on this blog. We are looking at an encrusted external mold of the bivalve Anomalodonta gigantea found in the Waynesville Formation exposed in Franklin County, Indiana. … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An undescribed cyclostome bryozoan from the Upper Ordovician of Oklahoma

Mark Wilson June 19, 2015

Paul Taylor and I presented a talk this month at the Larwood Symposium of the International Bryozoology Association in Thurso, Scotland. (Yes, way in the tippy-top of Scotland. Very cool.) Paul found the above wiggly bryozoan encrusting the interior of … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Chaetetids from the Upper Carboniferous of Liaoning Province, North China

Mark Wilson June 12, 2015

Three years ago I had a short and painful trip to China to meet my new colleague and friend Yongli Zhang (Department of Geology, Northeastern University, Shenyang). The China part was great; the pain was from an unfortunately-timed kidney stone … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A chaetetid demosponge from the Upper Carboniferous of southern Nevada

Mark Wilson June 5, 2015

I collected this lump of a specimen during my dissertation research in the Bird Spring Formation (Carboniferous-Permian) of southern Nevada. It was found in a richly-fossiliferous Upper Carboniferous (Moscovian) portion near Mountain Springs Pass, which is about 40 km southwest … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: Petrified conifer wood

Mark Wilson May 29, 2015

This is one of the most beautiful fossils in Wooster’s teaching collections. It is a polished section of petrified wood. It has vibrant colors and exquisite detail, as you’re about to see. Unfortunately any label that accompanied this specimen disappeared … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: A Silurian encrinite from southwestern Ohio

Mark Wilson May 22, 2015

The above rock was collected on our Sedimentology & Stratigraphy class field trip last month. It is an average piece of weathered Brassfield Formation (Early Silurian, Llandovery) from Oakes Quarry Park near Fairborn, Ohio (N 39.81472°, W 83.99471°). It is … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geologists (and a Wooster Chemist) visit Brown’s Lake Bog

Mark Wilson May 21, 2015

I was privileged today to visit Brown’s Lake Bog, a Nature Conservancy preserve, with Greg Wiles, Nick Wiesenberg, and Kim Carter (Chemistry ’16). Greg and Nick have been here many times with students and colleagues, including some epic sessions of … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A ptilodictyine bryozoan from the Silurian of Ohio

Mark Wilson May 15, 2015

The fossil above was found by Luke Kosowatz (’17) on our Sedimentology & Stratigraphy class field trip last month. We were measuring and sampling the Brassfield Formation (Early Silurian, Llandovery) near Fairborn, Ohio, and Luke pulled this beauty out of … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: A Jurassic coral with beekite preservation from southern Israel

Mark Wilson May 8, 2015

This week’s fossil is again in honor of Annette Hilton (’17), now retired as my Sophomore Research Assistant this year. She has been assessing with great skill a large and diverse collection of scleractinian corals from the Matmor Formation in … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: How to make brilliant acetate peels, with a Jurassic coral example

Mark Wilson May 1, 2015

My retiring Sophomore Research student, Annette Hilton (’17), is excellent at making acetate peels. These peels, like the one above she made from a mysterious Callovian (Middle Jurassic) coral, show fine internal details of calcareous fossils and rocks. This is … Continue reading →
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