Why should we care about fossil leaves?

Fossil leaves from the Florissant fossil beds in Colorado (~ 34 Million years old). Fossils of dinosaurs, trilobites, and wooly mammoths typically attract more public attention than fossil plants. Although they are not as eye-catching to most people, fossil plants are far more important than this lack of  interest suggests. They help reconstruct the morphology … Read more

Fossil Spotlight: Crawfordsville Crinoids

A crinoid fossil from Crawfordsville, Indiana in the Wesleyan University Joe Webb Peoples Museum (4th Floor Exley Science Center). Crinoids are organisms that are neither abundant nor familiar to most people in today’s oceans. However, during most of the Paleozoic Era (from the Ordovician on) and in the early Mesozoic (Late Triassic through Jurassic), crinoids … Read more