Heliophyllum Horn Coral

Heliophyllum horn coral found in the Middle Devonian aged Jeffersonville Limestone of Clark County, Indiana. Not sure what species this is, there must be at least 8 of them found in the area.

Heliophyllum ingens Coral

I believe this fossil would be classified as a colonial coral or maybe a cluster of horn corals attached together. The Stumm book on Devonian and Silurian Corals of the Falls of the Ohio (1964) identifies it as a Billingsastraea ingens.  The Falls of the Ohio State Park web site lists as a Heliophyllum ingens (LINK). It was found in the Middle Devonian Boyle Limestone of Nelson County, Kentucky. The fossil can be yours: eBay LINK

Brevispirifer gregarius Textbook Specimen

This Brevispirifer gregarius (Clapp, 1857) is almost a textbook example of a fossil specimen. Included with this posts are the illustrations from Henry Nettelroth's Fossil Shells of the Silurian and Devonian of Kentucky from 1889. That book referred to this fossil as a Spirifera gregaria (Clapp, 1857).  These fossils are used as identification markers for the stratigraphic layers in the Jeffersonville Limestone. Devonian fossil was found in Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA. 

Mississippian Spiny Brachiopod

This fossil brachiopod is one of the larger ones I have found from the Mississippian Period. It was found in Indiana and shows evidence of once having been covered in spines. It might be a Dictyoclostus or Productella. Other pictures in this posting show magnified views of the spines.

Astylospongia praemorsa Sponge

Astylospongia praemorsa sponge fossil found in the Silurian Period Waldron Shale of Indiana. Illustrations used in the posting are from Indiana Geological Survey #11 of 1881 and taken from Plate 2 Figures 7-8.

Merry Fossil Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas to one and all! Another Christmas season is upon us and as I have done the last two holidays, a fossil Christmas tree has been created with the aid of Adobe Photoshop.

The 2011 tree was made with a combination of seven fossils from the Paleozoic Era.  The Devonian period contributed the horn coral which makes up the body of the tree and crinoid stem that makes up the trunk. Both were found in the Jeffersonville Limestone of Clark County, Indiana, USA. The star patterned crinoid stem segments make the top star and ornament.  Thanks to Kenny for finding those in the Mississippian Period Borden Formation of Clark County, Indiana. The screw shaped icicle decoration is an Archimedes bryozoan and the orange tear shaped ornament is a Pentremites blastoid.  Both fossils are Mississippian in age and were found in the Indian Springs formation of Crawford County, Indiana. The purple elliptical ornament is a Mississippian crinoid stem segment found at Lake Cumberland, Kentucky. See picture at bottom of posting to see actual fossil appearances.

Two more tree versions were created on in German and another in Spanish for some of the non-English readers on the Internet.

The picture below shows the fossils used to create the Christmas greeting graphic.

Receptaculites subturbinatus Sponge

Pyrite fossil of a sponge called Receptaculites subturbinatus. Fossil was found in the Silurian Period Waldron Shale of Indiana. Illustrations in this post are from the Indiana Geological Survey #11 of 1881 found on Plate 2 Figures 1-3. Thanks to Mark for the fossil.

Silurian Foraminifera

While working on a project taking pictures of Chinese foraminiferas collected in the 1980s, I took a picture of this specimen while the equipment was setup.  It is a foram found in the Silurian period Osgood Shale of  Ripley County, Indiana. My guess is it might be some sort of Ammodiscus. Dr. James Conkin collected this specimen some years ago. Second image is specimen wet after an attempt to move it with a wet brush.

Happy Fossil Hanukkah

Today marks the opening of Hanukkah or Festival of Lights which will last 8 days. As a greeting to those who celebrate this event and also enjoy paleontology, this graphic was created with some Mississippian (Carboniferous) fossils and a lot of Adobe Photoshop.  The fossils are a Fenestella bryozoan in remarkable intact 3-D form and a Pentremites blastoid.  Both specimens were found in Indian Spring formation of Crawford County, Indiana.

The picture below shows the two fossils used to create this graphic. The bryozoan was photographed under the microscope at 23x. If you found this graphic interesting, visit the blog on December 25th and see the Christmas tree graphic!

The Black Blastoid

This blastoid takes on a blackish appearance in its photos. Identified as a Pentremites from the Glen Dean Formation of Grayson County, Kentucky. It is dated to the Mississippian Period.

This area is also known for color banded blastoids. See this link for one:
https://twitter.com/Clarkeocrinus/status/478722583790370816/photo/1
https://twitter.com/Clarkeocrinus/status/365284115316088834/photo/1