Geology Seminar 9 - Palaeontology 3 - The Molluscs Part 1

To fill in one of the gaps in sequence I have recorded Seminar 9 (to an empty room, which is not the easiest thing to do).  This is a third talk on the topic of palaeontology - the study of fossils.  In this talk I look at the Bivalves and the Gastropods, two important fossil Groups, as Part 1 of The Molluscs.  Part 2 will be Seminar 11 which I have yet to record - another gap in sequence.

Perhaps not one of my finest recordings, lack of an audience was off putting on this occasion, and a few minor slide glitches - transitions of bullet points to tweak (now done for the future).

So stand by for oysters, molluscs and clams plus a few escargo to sample.  Enjoy!

Geology Seminar 7 - Palaeontology Part 1

Seminar 7 has now been re-recorded - required because there were problems with the recording file when I last ahve the talk to a live audience.

In Seminar 7 I introduce the subject of palaeontology, a topic which geology students spend a considerable proportion of the GSCE, A-Level or Degree Level geology courses studying.  I start by looking at the evolution of life on Earth including the Cambrian "Explosion".  I also look at the fossilisation processes and methods of preservation. 

The set of seminars produced to date includes several presentations on the major fossil groups, the first of which, the Trilobites, was covered in Seminar 8. 

Geology Seminar 19 - The Brachiopods

A seventh Seminar on Palaeontology looking at a fifth group of fossils, the Brachiopods.  These are a group of twin shelled marine organisms which were common in the Palaeozoic Era but declined during the Mesozoic Era until becoming rare in the present day as a result of competition with more successful life forms and no doubt climatic change.  Good indicators in the fossil record of shallow marine tropical conditions and intolerant of pollution in the present day.

Geology Seminar 8 - Palaeontology (The Study of Fossils) - Part 2

There was a problem with the recording file for Seminar 7, which was an Introduction to the subject of Palaeontology or the Study of Fossils, but the recording files for Seminar 8 - Palaeontology - Part 2 came out fine after holding the Seminar on 9th November at 12.30 (UK GMT). 

Seminar 8 has been delivered in two parts.  I start with a demonstration of some of the fossils in my own personal collection, most of which I have collected myself during various field trips from studying GSCE geology back in 1991 through to field trips in more recent years.  There are also a few fossils I have either received as gifts from relatives / friends and even a couple I have bought, either because I particularly liked the look of them or I knew I was not likely to be visiting anywhere to acquire an example myself or a combination of the two.  Most of the specimens are not of museum quality but are typical of the type of fossils you can (or could in some cases) collect from the various locations described.  Most if not all of the fossil groups represented in the slides will be talked about in more detail during subsequent Seminars on the topic of Palaeontology.

I should note, unless the collection locations are publicly accessible, e.g. beach locations in Dorset) and their is no ban on collecting specimens that any access or collecting should only be done with permission of the landowner.  Safety is also important, particularly with working and even closed quarries.  All visits to quarries, particularly working ones, was with permission and as part of a party of geologists. 

The second part of Seminar 8 looks at a group of fossils that were important during the Palaeozoic Era (Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian Carboniferous and Permian periods), say 542 to 252 Million years ago.  This is the Trilobites, a now extinct group of Marine Arthropods. 

Although out of sequence, Seminar 7 will be posted as soon as I get the file re-recorded on Lync.

The next planned Seminar will be another new one, number 19 which will cover The Brachiopods a group of marine twin-shelled organisms which may look superficially like bivalves (which are molluscs) but have a totally different morphology.