Geobulletin alpha

What evidence do living organisms leave behind in rocks? 

'Trace fossils - burrows or borings' Living creatures often leave behind evidence of their activity in rocks, even if their actual remains are not found as body fossils. Clues may be obtained from living examples, which we can study in their modern habitats. In this activity, pupils are invited to apply previously learned observations about the features of modern bivalve shells to the

Wooster’s Fossils of the Week: A bored Ordovician hardground from Ohio, and an introduction to a new paper on trace fossils and evolution 

Above is an image of a carbonate hardground (cemented seafloor) from the Upper Ordovician of Adams County, Ohio. It comes from the Bull Fork Formation and was recovered along State Route 136 north of Manchester, Ohio (Locality C/W-20). It is distinctive for two reasons: (1) the many external molds (impressions, more or less) of mollusk

Timberville 

Join Callan for a virtual field trip, as he shares dozens of photos from a recent 'field review' of a new geological map in Virginia's Valley & Ridge province. Highlights: graptolites, trace fossils, geopetal structures, folds and

Tool marks, trace fossils, and flute casts from the Brallier Formation 

Another gem from Saturday’s Historical Geology field trip: the bottom of a fine sandstone bed in the Devonian Brallier Formation, showing a variety of primary sedimentary structures, including tool marks, trace fossils, and several flute casts. Current flow direction here would have been from upper left toward lower right. Here’s a version of the photo with a few of these features

Trace fossils in the Juniata and Tuscarora Formations 

Route 33 in Pendleton County, West Virginia cuts across the lower Paleozoic stratigraphic section. I went there this past spring on a sedimentology and stratigraphy field trip with the GMU sed/strat class. The trip was orchestrated by professor Rick Diecchio. Here are some scenes from two of the stops – the upper Ordovician Juniata formation (red sandstones and shale intepreted as Taconian molasse) and the overlying Silurian Tuscarora Formation (thick

Ripple marks and trace fossils in the Rose Hill Formation 

An outcrop of Silurian-aged Rose Hill Formation in West Virginia reveals excellent examples of ripple marks and trace

The Nerve of Those ‘Saurs! 

We know a great deal about non-avian dinosaurs from the bones and trace fossils they left behind. But

Clionolithes sp. borings (?) in M. arkonensis shells from Arkona 

A trip to Arkona last fall yielded a fine specimen of Mucrospirifer arkonensis that is perhaps the most complete specimen I've found to date. I found it while attempting to traverse the always slippery Arkona formation (Devonian, Givetian stage) and noticed it sticking out of the hillside. It also shows signs of another kind of trace fossil that I've not seen before. Here is the shell fossil showing that it is about 90% complete missing only the very tips of the wings that project along the [...]

Hiking the Boucher and Hermit Trails in Grand Canyon 

During the second week of February, I was able to complete a five-day backpack on Grand Canyon's Boucher and Hermit trails. It had been a number of years since I hiked on the Boucher Trail and it was as difficult and enjoyable as I remember.On the way down toward Dripping Spring, we were shown this fantastic trackway site on a boulder that had rolled down from the Coconino Sandstone.Here Frank R. next to the prints for scale.Trace fossils such as these do not preserve any part of the animal [...]

New York State Paleontologist 

Os adjuntamos información de un puesto de trabajo de paleontólogo en Nueva York, Os la adjuntamosI am sending this informal announcement of an anticipated job opportunity to make it more widely known. The forthcoming official announcement may appear only on the NY State Civil Service web site and that of the Geological Society of America. It is not expected to appear on the NYS Museum page nor on that of the State Education Department. Moreover, the window of opportunity is expected to be [...]

Evidence of post mortem activity in fossil Pelecypod shells from the Panther Mountain formation 

Once a hard shelled animal dies it's shell often lies around on top of the muddy bottom until it gets buried. While it is exposed it provides a hard surface for many other encrusting animals that otherwise would not be able to establish themselves. Today I have two examples of trace fossils that were left on the interior surfaces of pelecypod shells from the Devonian aged Panther Mountain formation in NY.First up is this shell which may be an Actinodesma erectum or another species. It's hard to [...]

Trace fossils from near Avoca NY 

Among the rocks in the large road cut north of Avoca, NY on I-390 (that I blogged about a couple of days ago) were these trace fossils. The rocks are of Upper Devonian age (Fransian stage) from the Gardeau formation of the West Falls Group. At that time the shore line was just east of Avoca and the paleoenvironment was a near shore shelf that was very close to stream and river deltas. These trace fossils probably represent worms burrowing through the substrate in search of food particles.This [...]

Intense bioturbation in limy mudrock on the trail to Helen Lake 

Look at this! A whole boulder made of trace fossils. Three photos, each more progressively zoomed in than the last. Update: The @ichnologist identifies these as perhaps

One for the ichnologists 

For those inclined toward trace fossils… …This is from Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. I saw it on the trail to Consolation Lakes from Moraine Lake. I do not recall rock type – could be dolostone, could be Gog quartzite. It’s float (loose; not in situ), but I infer the photographed surface is the underside of the bedding plane; I’d be fine being totally wrong about that, though. There are

My Dissertation Highlights and a link to Download it 

My dissertation has finally been posted online for all the world to see. Click on the title below if you with to download it:Applications of quantitative methods and chaos theory in ichnology for analysis of invertebrate behavior and evolutionSince it finally has been published I wanted to share some highlights of it.Individual published chapters:Chapter 2: Fractal analysis of graphoglyptid trace fossilsChapter 3: Pitfalls, traps, and webs in ichnology: Traces and trace fossils of an [...]

If A Bone/fossil Has Turned Into A Rock Or The Surrounding Mineral Completely, Is It Still A Fossil? 

This is a good topic and a great question. When an animal dies, the soft organic parts typically dissolve and decompose and are lost. There are exceptions to this under special conditions, but soft tissue fossils and things like skin imprints are very rare and typically are found only as trace fossils. What are trace fossils?

Maysville Kentucky Trace Fossils 

Here are some pictures of trace fossils found recently (October 2014) in Maysville, Kentucky, USA. The Upper Ordovician Period formations found there are Grant Lake (Maysvillian) and Bull Fork (Richmondian). Thanks to Kenny for the images. Learn more at: Kentucky Paleontological Society (KPS) web site http://www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/KPS/pages/jackson.html#maysville Dry Dredgers

Fossil starfish and their traces 

I'm showing off some starfish today starting with these Asteriacites lumbricalis from the Raethian stage of the Triassic that were found near Dijon, France. They are classified as trace fossils since they are the resting traces of starfish that later moved on. From what I can find, the theory is that the starfish burrowed into softer sediment to protect themselves when stranded during low tides. The burrows were filled in with sand once the tide came back in and the occupants crawled back into [...]

Geosonnet 10 

The Ediacaran saw creatures grow Diversify as animals evolved. But Cambrian descendants do not show A lineage, preserved or else dissolved. A missing fossil yearns to be dug up. The flinders ranges burn to tell their tale Trace fossils, both a spicule and a cup Mean evolutionary theories can prevail. Coronacollina was once a sponge With opaline supports to hold it flat Choia’s

Trace fossils - burrows or borings 

Our latest Earthlearningidea, published today, is 'Trace fossils - burrows or borings; what evidence do living organisms leave behind in rocks?' This activity is best used immediately after pupils have worked though the ELI activity 'Sea shell survival - how are common sea shells adapted to their habitats?' Adaptations to different habitats are reflected in the shell structure of