Monday, November 5, 2012

Museum Grade Leptaena Brachiopod Fossil

Here are some pictures of a prepped Leptaena waldronensis brachiopod that I consider museum grade. It is not compressed and its beak and hinge line are intact along with both valves. Granted some of the outer perimeter is chipped off on the bottom valve but this is a very nice specimen to find in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. This animal existed in the Silurian Period (about 420 million years ago, though this genus seems to appear in the Ordovician through Devonian in the Kentucky-Indiana area).

Thanks to Kenny for letting me photograph it. My images were a little too overexposed in the sunlight which is a tricky light source when using a black background. Also sorry about not getting it with a scale to show size or a side view to see its height. I plan to image it again with another Devonian specimen from Poland for comparison.




Silurian Favosites Coral Encrusted With Pyrite

Favosites coral encrusted with pyrite found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County, Indiana, USA. It is not uncommon to find coral fossils like this in the Waldron Shale but not too many have pyrite deposits on them. These creatures lived in the Silurian Period (about 420 million years ago).