Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Bordenia knappi


A horn coral named after William Borden whom Borden, Indiana was also named.  Mr. Borden made a fortune mining silver in Colorado in the late 1800s and returned to Indiana.  His geology collection became very large and after his death transferred to the Field Museum in Chicago.  He might be best known for creating the Borden Institute and Museum to help educate youth in the southern Indiana area.

This horn coral is actually two clustered together but 90 degrees out of phase.  It is called Bordenia knappi (Hall, 1882) and found in the Speed Member of North Vernon Limestone.  It was found in Clark County, Indiana, USA and the coral existed in the Middle Devonian Period (Eifelian).

The species was named by Dr. James Hall in the 35th Annual Report of the State of New York, page 438 in 1884. It was named in honor of Professor Hall's friend long time fossil hunter Dr. James Knapp of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

The genus Bordenia was named by long time fossil collector from New Albany, Indiana, USA George K. Greene in 1903 in Contributions to Indiana Palaeontology Volume I, page 99, plates 31 figures 4-11. He named it for William Borden who he later sold his collection to.