Tuesday, December 10, 2019

The Fossil Fireplace - Leptaena Brachiopods


A very unique fireplace exist in a house in the city of Louisville Kentucky, USA. It was created by local geology professor from various fossil finds throughout his lifetime. I took a number of pictures of it and will blog about them in the near future. I am looking for documentation on a number of the specimens before publishing the some of the more unique fossils. I thought I would start with something I have not seen before.


The Leptaena brachiopod is a familiar sight when studying fossils from the Paleozoic Era. I have found this fossil creature in Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian and Mississippian Periods rocks (a range of over 150 million years). What I have not seen is a large number of them in a mass mortality plate like the one pictured. I assume it is why it was chosen to go in the fireplace. A very nice find!