Category Archives: Paleontology

Field Gear – What I Need for Measuring Section

One of the myriad of things I wind up doing in the field is “measuring section.”

Measuring section is a means of determining the actual thickness of layered sedimentary rocks in an area. To do this, I need a couple of pieces of equipment:Continue reading “Field Gear – What I Need for Measuring Section”

Field Gear – What I Always Carry

I’m a vertebrate paleontologist, a geologist, and a geochemist. My research requires me to go out into the ‘wilds’ and study rocks and fossils in place, as well as collect rocks and fossils to bring back to the lab for further work. This process is called ‘field work.’

As I’m fixing to head out to the field in a little more than a week, I’ve started sorting through all my field gear, mostly to make sure I have everything, but also to fix what needs fixing, and get rid of any junk.

There’s a ton of equipment I might carry, depending upon my tasks for the day. Here, I’ll outline what I’ll always carry, no matter what I’m doing.

In this post, I’ll describe what I always carry. These are the basics that any student of geology or paleontology ought to purchase first.Continue reading “Field Gear – What I Always Carry”

Of Stress and Blogging

It’s July.

The summer has only just begun for my son (who starts 5th grade next fall), but I feel like my summer ‘vacation’ is already over.

Summers are hard when you’re an academic in a science that involves field work. Summer vacations – family time – are often lost to the necessity of travel to distant places that aren’t accessible at other times of the year. Then, as soon as you get back, it’s time to buckle down and prepare for the fall semester. No vacation for me.Continue reading “Of Stress and Blogging”

Learning to Identify Fossil Species

I think the most intimidating thing that happened to me when I started my Ph.D. work was being presented with drawers of fossil teeth and being instructed to identify them to species.

How do you even begin?

I still struggle with this, twenty years on. But now I have tools to get past the initial steep, seemingly insurmountable, learning curve.Continue reading “Learning to Identify Fossil Species”

Who Owns the Fossils?

On Monday, I had the privilege of joining a classroom of 10-year-old-ish students and introducing them to the science of paleontology.

Like most classroom visits, the kids were excited and wanted to touch everything I brought. They were fairly disappointed when I wouldn’t pass around the rock hammers (but, yeah, we all know how that would end).

There was one question that arose for which I could not provide the students with a satisfactory answer, and it occurs to me that it’s an important question that even many adults struggle with.

Why don’t I just take the fossils home and keep them?Continue reading “Who Owns the Fossils?”

Origin and Extinction of the Megafauna

The Origin and Extinction of the Megafauna

The term megafauna refers to an array of animals whose ancestors and descendants had significantly smaller body masses. Widely accepted thresholds are animals weighing 40kg (88 pounds) 100kg (220 pounds) or more. Continue reading “Origin and Extinction of the Megafauna”

What is that? Wednesday: Realistic Dinosaurs

I’m a paleontologist. I’m a little selective about dinosaur toys… understandably. So when I saw this toy set at the drug store yesterday, I had to buy it – if only to protect unsuspecting children from buying it and thinking its contents really represented actual dinosaurs.

Realistic dinosaurs! With replica details!
Realistic dinosaurs! With replica details!

Continue reading “What is that? Wednesday: Realistic Dinosaurs”