This lecture is going to be a little different. It is going to use audience participation to guess what fossil objects are while only seeing a small, magnified section. Also, at the same time you will see the amazing detail that some fossils have. The same technique that was used for the “Photomicrography for the Cash-Strapped Collector” lecture (Cell phone camera with a common hand lens) was used for this lecture as well. The fossil specimens that were used for this lecture will be at the presentation for inspection.
My passion for fossil collecting started when I was 10 years old and has never stopped since. Starting at the age of 14, I worked in a rock shop (Jim’s Gems) in Wayne, NJ and gleaned a vast knowledge for the collecting and lapidary hobby. For the past 30 years, my collection has grown to include fossil amber, fish, reptiles, and mammals that are unique to New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. I also collect local minerals from New Jersey, shells, bones, meteorites and other natural history items and artifacts. This hobby has brought me to many interesting localities and fascinating people. I also maintain a web site on my favorite fossil collecting site, Big Brook at njfossils.net. To date, I would guess that my favorite fossil that I found is the insect (a blood sucking Midge that may have feed on dinosaurs) that I found in Cretaceous aged sediment in Sayreville NJ. It was new to science and was eventually named after me (Culicoides yoosti).