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 Fossil of the Week: An almost planispiral gastropod from the Middle Jurassic of southern Israel

Mark Wilson August 11, 2013

  Add this to the list of fossils that have confused me. This summer, during a Wooster expedition, Lizzie Reinthal and Steph Bosch collected the above specimen from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of southern Israel. I simply assumed … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An irregular echinoid from the Middle Jurassic of southern Israel

Mark Wilson August 4, 2013

From the view above, this fossil from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of southern Israel looks like your standard echinoid (a group that contains sea urchins and sand dollars), but turn it on its side (see below) and you … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossil of the Week: An infected crinoid from the Middle Jurassic of southern Israel

Mark Wilson July 28, 2013

This weathered beauty is a stem fragment of the articulate crinoid Apiocrinites negevensis from the Matmor Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of the Negev, southern Israel. The regular divisions you see making up the stem are the columnals, which look a … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Dinosaur teeth from the Cretaceous of Morocco

Mark Wilson July 21, 2013

The fossil above is the best of a collection of dinosaur teeth given to us by the generous George Chambers (’79). The species that held it is the gargantuan theropod predator Spinosaurus aegyptiacus Stromer, 1915. The teeth are from Cenomanian … Continue reading →
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Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: Dinosaur footprints of unknown provenance

Mark Wilson July 14, 2013

These are the only fossils in the Wooster collection I feel some shame about. They are tridactyl theropod dinosaur footprints. They are not spectacular, but they do the job for classes and visits by schoolchildren. I regret that we have … Continue reading →
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An ancient Nabatean, Roman and Byzantine city in the northern Negev

Mark Wilson July 12, 2013

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Our final stop of the final day: Mamshit. Above you see some of the ruins of this city east of Dimona and a short distance west of the descent into the Dead Sea Rift Valley. The highest structure … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geologists in the Dead Sea

Mark Wilson July 12, 2013

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–The Wooster Geologists in Israel spent their last full day in the country visiting the Dead Sea Rift Valley and an archaeological site. It feels very good to have packed our hiking boots away for the season. Above, … Continue reading →
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Last day of fieldwork for Team Israel 2013

Mark Wilson July 11, 2013

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–We like to think that Dr. Shelley Judge would be proud of our fieldwork today. The Wooster Geologists returned to Wadi Hawarim to finish our fieldwork for Oscar Mmari’s project on synsedimentary faulting in the Mishash Formation (Campanian, … Continue reading →
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Meeting a group of excellent young Israeli geologists

Mark Wilson July 11, 2013

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today I had the pleasure of talking with four excellent Israeli students who form their nation’s team in the upcoming 7th International Earth Science Olympiad. Their advisor and coach, Hanan Ginat (on the far right), invited me to … Continue reading →
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Wooster Geologists in Jerusalem

Mark Wilson July 10, 2013

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–This is the beautiful 400-year-old Turkish wall surrounding Jerusalem. It and virtually all the buildings in Jerusalem is made of “Jerusalem Stone” (a set of Cretaceous micritic limestones, to be pedantic). When the sun rises or sets on … Continue reading →
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