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Monday, March 29, 2010

Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum


This unknown fossil (bone?) was found near the fluorite mines of Marion, Kentucky.  My cousin sent me this picture while visiting the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum last weekend.  He told me it is a great museum to visit in an out of the way part of Kentucky.  They had a fossil displays as well at the museum including the one of corals and petrified wood in the following picture.


Of course, they have mineral specimens from around the world including this vivianite spray from Bolivia and blue fluorite from Bingham, New Mexico.


The main attraction is the fluorite and the Marion mines produced it!  Here are some specimens from around the area.


If you are interested in finding out more, below is information about upcoming mineral digs and their annual show.

Dig Fluorite and related minerals during the day and fluorescent minerals at night.

Scheduled Digs for 2010
  • April 17
  • May 15
  • June 5th & 6th (during museum's annual gem & mineral show)
  • July 10
  • August 7
  • September 11
  • October 9
Pre-registration is required, so register early as space is limited to the first 30 people per date. Registration forms can be found on their website. They also schedule private digs for groups of 10 or more people.

For More Information Contact:

The Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum
PO Box 391 Marion, KY 42064
Phone: (270) 965-4263
E-mail: beclement@kynet.biz
Website: clementmineralmuseum.org

5th Annual Ben E. Clement Gem, Mineral, Fossil, & Jewelry Show
June 5-6, 2010
at
Historic Fohs Hall
201 North Walker Street
Marion, KY
(Next door to the museum)

Events & Activities
  • Museum Tours Event Speakers
  • Vendor Tables Silent Auctions
  • Day and Night Digs
  • Children’s Activities
  • Hourly Door Prizes
Show Hours
Saturday 9 AM-5 PM
Sunday 11 AM - 5 PM
at

8 comments:

  1. R HofmannMarch 29, 2010 at 8:02 AM

    Hi,

    the unknown fossil in the first picture looks like an internal mould of the bivalve megalodon

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 29, 2010 at 10:39 AM

    ^^Yep, I concure. The rocks of Marion Co. are Ordovician.

    Solius

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 29, 2010 at 10:53 AM

    I should add... I think that Megalodon is a Mesozoic species.

    This appears to be a cyrtodontid. I have found some rather large ones, locally.

    Solius

    ReplyDelete
  4. Michael PoppMarch 29, 2010 at 5:40 PM

    Thank you both for the identifications. I sent a message to my cousin about them and he will inform the museum.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Michael PoppJuly 6, 2010 at 11:00 AM

    I received an e-mail with an identification of the mystery fossil:

    " this appears to be the internal cast of of what is commonly called Ox-Heart Cockle (Glossushumanus) although this may be a related extinct species.) I don't recall, off hand what the earliest occurrence of the genus was but I am fairly sure it is Cenozoic--likely this was washed into a sinkhole after the Cretaceous which would account for it being found in much older formations."

    Here is a link to see pictures.

    Thanks for the comment.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Michael PoppNovember 28, 2012 at 3:14 PM

    Heidi e-mailed me with a possible identification for this fossil as well: "I came across a very similar fossil as the one you list as “unknown fossil”. As a matter of fact, several were found in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Wanting to know what they were, I searched and first found your posting. I kept searching and finally found out the fossil is called a cucullaea steinkern. Basically, a fossilized clam."
    Thanks for the feedback!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousNovember 27, 2015 at 8:29 AM

    It seems that is internal diecast of bivalvia Cucullaea

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousNovember 27, 2015 at 8:30 AM

    It is internal diecast of bivalvia Cucullaea

    ReplyDelete