Friday, May 14, 2010

Fossils of Bullitt County

Pictures contained in this posting are of Ordovician Period fossils found in Bullitt County, Kentucky. I believe they are from the Grant Lake Formation.

This first fossil is a Platystrophia sp. brachiopod.  I like to think of it as the Kentucky's state fossil even though all brachiopods found in the state are.

This pelecypod or clam is called Caritodens demissa? (Conrad, 1842).  They are somewhat rare where I look and this is probably the 6th one I have found in 2 years of looking.


This fragment is of an Ambonychia robusta? Hall clam fossil.  Another rare find and I used the engraver to reveal more of the shell pattern.  It reminds me of the modern day fan shell (family Pinnidae).

Mold of another clam that might be an Ischyrodonta elongata? (Ulrich).  Finding molds like is probably the most common clam fossil to find.

Pygidium (rear section) of a Flexicalymene trilobite.  I found two the say this was collected.  How did it come to be?  Part of a molt, broken remains of the trilobite, or maybe a piece left after a cephalopod made a meal of the rest of its body?  The answer is lost from a previous time.


Feeding scoop or hypostoma of an Isotelus trilobite.


Playstrophia brachiopod with some matrix still attached to the fossil.


A cluster of Rafinesquina brachiopods which is rare for me to find.  The clump probably contains over 20 shell fossils.  This brachiopod is named after the famous yet eccentric French naturalist Constantine Rafinesque.  Rafinesque is buried at Transylvania University located in Lexington, Kentucky.


Platystrophia brachiopod embedded in matrix but with great growth lines exposed.


Another Platystrophia brachiopod that needs to have residue matrix cleaned off.


Hebertella brachiopod not as common as the Platystrophia at this site.


I think this in an internal mold of a Hebertella brachiopod.



These next two images are of maybe a Liospira gastropod fossil.




Last two images are of the unknown straight shelled cephalopod.  Appear to be molds.