Author Archives: Mark Wilson
A start on brachiopods (September 18 & 20)
You’re going to like brachiopods. They are considerably more complex than the cnidarians, are diverse in both habits and forms, and are the most common fossils in your field collections (for which you should definitely bookmark this Dry Dredger’s webpage … Continue reading
Phylum Cnidaria: Jellyfish, Corals and Other Stingers (September 11 & 13)
The Wikipedia page on cnidarians is an excellent place to visit first for our gelatinous friends. For systematics and descriptions, you can’t beat the Tree of Life page on Phylum Cnidaria. Check out my favorite hydrozoan, the delightfully-named Velella velella. … Continue reading
Phylum Porifera: The Simplest of the Animals (Sponges) (September 4 & 6)
The Wikipedia page on sponges is information-rich and accurate on our porous sponge friends. If you really want to get serious about sponges, visit the dull webpage of the International Association for the Study of Fossil Cnidaria and Porifera. There … Continue reading
Paleoecology; The Kingdom of the Single-Celled Eucaryotes (Protista) (August 28 & 30)
Since last week was short, we’ll begin this week with a discussion of taxonomic principles followed by a basic outline of paleoecology. Our goal is to define some basic terms for living environments and life modes. This framework will prove … Continue reading
History and Systematics (August 23)
Welcome! There is such wonderful paleontological material on the Web. Come here often! I’ll assume from the start that you all know the Geologic Time Scale, which will be critical to all that we do in this course. Here is … Continue reading
