Paul D. Taylor
@nhmbryozoa.bsky.social
Invertebrate palaeontologist and bryozoologist at the Natural History Museum, London.
Roughly 14 million years old.
November 24, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Roughly 14 million years old.
I feel it might be an atrypid but would appreciate the opinions of any brachiopod specialists out there.
November 20, 2025 at 8:59 AM
I feel it might be an atrypid but would appreciate the opinions of any brachiopod specialists out there.
Alas, I’m only here for 2 days.
November 19, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Alas, I’m only here for 2 days.
I really don’t know.
November 19, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I really don’t know.
The section was prepared using a standard petrographical method in which one side of the fossil was ground smooth, glued to a glass microscope slide and then thinned to about 30–50 microns in thickness by carefully grinding away the exposed side towards the glass slide.
November 18, 2025 at 12:02 AM
The section was prepared using a standard petrographical method in which one side of the fossil was ground smooth, glued to a glass microscope slide and then thinned to about 30–50 microns in thickness by carefully grinding away the exposed side towards the glass slide.
T3 near the taxi rank.
November 17, 2025 at 11:34 PM
T3 near the taxi rank.
The paint was applied a long time ago, possibly by Arthur Rowe, doyen of Chalk stratigraphy. It is likely to have been watercolour, although it could be ink. Ultrasonic cleaning can usually remove most of the pigment which interferes badly when SEM imaging using backscattered electrons.
November 14, 2025 at 8:24 AM
The paint was applied a long time ago, possibly by Arthur Rowe, doyen of Chalk stratigraphy. It is likely to have been watercolour, although it could be ink. Ultrasonic cleaning can usually remove most of the pigment which interferes badly when SEM imaging using backscattered electrons.
The Fenestella sensu lato on the left has barbed spines which were probably used as grappling hooks to stabilise the colony. A really nice example. The pinnate colony is Ptylopora. Could they be Carboniferous?
November 8, 2025 at 8:02 PM
The Fenestella sensu lato on the left has barbed spines which were probably used as grappling hooks to stabilise the colony. A really nice example. The pinnate colony is Ptylopora. Could they be Carboniferous?
La Barde dawn last Friday for comparison.
November 7, 2025 at 5:51 PM
La Barde dawn last Friday for comparison.