iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 1h

The lighting on this striped dolphin skull was dramatic. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 1h

Frog fossils are so delicate. This is from the Miocene of Spain. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 1h

No big deal. Just a rack of mammoth tusks. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 1h

Sometimes the artists get it wrong. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 1h

This elk skull was impressive. Eucladoceros dicranios from the Pleistocene (1.8 myo) of Italy. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 1h

The skull on the hippopotamus was terrifying. It's about 1.8 million years old and lived in Italy. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 1h

It didn't feel like an American museum with everything behind glass. It had a huge collection of mammoth and mastodon material. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 1h

During our vacation in Italy, we found the Geology and Paleontology Museum in Florence. It's part of the University of Florence. This beautiful crinoid was not identified. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 20h

More pictures from Italy. We stumbled upon a nice botanical garden in Florence. Many of the flowers were past season, but we still found lots of beauty. I loved the greenhouse of orchids.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 21h

Sifting through my photos from Italy and this is one of my favorites. We visited Hadrian's estate outside of Rome, near Tivoli. It was a beautiful day and I love the reflections in the water.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Time to come home. First time I've flown over the Alps.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I think this is a painting of Al Michaels from 300 years ago.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I gazed upon this amazing sculpture this week in Rome. AI could never...

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Climbed to the top of St. Peter's Basilica. Trevi fountain is stunning. Met some locals. Today was a down day to rest and recover, so I did some sketches.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We've been in Italy for a week. The history. The art. The food. The scenery. Just amazing. Done with Rome. We're in the Tuscany countryside now. Heading to Florence tomorrow and finishing in Venice.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I don't think this was built in a day.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Was not expecting the "Hot priests with cats" calendar in Rome, but here we are.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I found a new fossil crinoid species. I donated the only known specimen. It's named Jovacrinus clarki.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I went back to the gem and mineral show today so my daughter could look around. There was a flint knapper showing kids how arrowheads are made. I bought this one with pretty banding for $20.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I went to the local gem and mineral show today. There weren't many fossils, but I did find this really beautiful cherry opal in rhyolite from Mexico.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This crinoid was damaged and started to regenerate the arms, just like starfish & other echinoderms. This one did not have a snail attached, but studies have shown increased regeneration if a snail was present. Armored fish may have been looking for a snail dinner and broke an arm. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This is another Arthroacantha carpenteri crinoid from the Devonian Silica Shale. It doesn't look as nice as the previous specimen, but it's one of my favorites. Take a closer look at the arms. The left two arms are about half the width of the rest of the arms. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This specimen also has a Platycerid snail attached to the tegmen or top of the calyx. Snails are often found on certain crinoids and would drill holes into the calyx. This snail is gold colored from pyrite. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The preparation on this specimen was amazing. There are small spines where the arms branch that are usually blown off during inpatient prep. The delicate pinnules were also prepped with care. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Arthroacantha carpenteri is one of the most common crinoids from the Devonian Silica Shale. This is a nice example of the calyx and parts of the arms that filtered the water for food. The gold tint is from pyrite or Fool's gold. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This is a special specimen in my collection. I found it in a gravel road when I was a kid. It was the first fossil I was able to identify using my Audubon Society book. It's not rare. I've found hundreds of Mucrospirifers over the years. I still have this one though. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem have now withdrawn from the Ed Sheeran tour.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

That's a stem from another crinoid species, but the calyx is missing. The specimen is very small. That section of stem is less than 2" long.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Here's a closer view of one of the rhombs on this cystoid. This individual plates are also easier to see. Cystoids are very strange and interesting animals. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Cystoids are extinct echinoderms related to starfish and sand dollars. This is Pleurocystites squamous from the Ordovician Bobcaygeon formation near Brechin, Ontario. It's about 3.5 cm long including the stem. There are 3 rhombs visible that are part of the respiratory system. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

A delicate crane fly (Pronophlebia rediviva) from the Eocene Green River formation near Bonanza, Utah. This specimen is about 1 cm long. If you look closely, you can even see the eyes. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Hederella is very common and I'm suspicious of the number of species listed. That doesn't even include the encrusting corals like Aulopora.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This is the list of Silica Shale bryozoans from the 1975 Silica book the Friends of UMMP published with UMich. It mentions that many of the classifications in the Treatise are suspicious and anything older than 10 years should be reexamined.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This is a closer view of the left side showing the pores of a few of the "moss animals" Bryozoan are encrusting animals and often are found on brachiopods. They are really under-appreciated fossils. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I found this last weekend in the Silica Shale near Milan, Michigan for the FUMMP field trip. It's only about 1 cm square and kinda looked like a crushed crinoid calyx. Once I got home and looked under a microscope, it was obvious it was a bryozoan. This is Botryllopora socialis. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Some exciting news for #TrilobiteTuesday I've been nominated to be the Avocational Representative for the @paleosoc.bsky.social Council. I will be a voice for fossil clubs and amateur collectors, connecting the academic community with the general public. I'm excited to work with everyone.

Pencil sketch of Cambrian trilobite, Olenellus gilberti from the Pioche Shale of Nevada.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Picked up this clean copy of 1966 Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #97 for $8 at the local antique market. #comics

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I found a nice Pleurodictyum coral and my daughter found a bryozoan with incredible detail.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I got a few close pics of our visitor today too.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

We had someone visit this afternoon.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Double rainbow in the backyard this evening.

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

This is a similar Heliophyllum specimen that I found many years ago, but it's a bit smaller with only 2 new buds. I love fossils that tell a story about how that animal lived, not just how it died. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

This was an interesting find from last week. It's a Devonian horn coral (probably Heliophyllum) from the Hungry Hollow member. It was damaged or buried and then started to grow new smaller coral buds. There are about 10 buds established. #FossilFriday

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David Clark @clarkeocrinus.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I have 7 tomato plants in the garden and it looks like we're going to have Tomatopocalypse again. The past 2 years were wet and cold in the spring and only got a few good tomatoes. This year, I'll be able to process them for lasagna, chili and spaghetti sauce for the winter months.

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