After an earlier interpretation that these fossils may be worm jaw fragments, I have been pointed in the direction that these are trilobite fragments. It appears that the Kope Formation of the Upper Ordovician Period has some other small trilobites than just the
Cryptolithus. Two other tiny trilobites found in this formation are the
Acidaspis and
Meadowtownella (aka Primaspis). The trilobites appear to be related to each other and were quite small and spiny. These fragments all show small bumps and broken spines on their edges. See Marc Behrendt article Trilobites of the Cincinnati Region on his
website.
Also check out the Dry Dredgers website of Dan Cooper's
Acidaspis photos at this
web page.
Meadowtownella (aka
Primaspis) trilobite images are on the Dry Dredgers website as well at this
web page.
All images while not labeled are at 40x magnification.
Fossils were found in Carroll County, Kentucky.
