Kingena wacoensis Brachiopod

Here are some pictures of some Kingena (Waconella) wacoensis brachiopod fossils. These fossils were found in the Main Street Limestone of Denton County, Texas. They are dated to the Cretaceous Period.

Spirifer Brachiopod Fossil

Brachiopod fossil this might be a Spirifer sp. found in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA. This brachiopod looks a lot like those found in southern Indiana in the Jeffersonville Limestone called Orthospirifer sp. The Indiana fossil tends to be more gray though.
The Spirifer sp. exist in the Milwaukee Formation with is dated to the Middle Devonian Period.
Thanks to Nathan for the fossil.

Spanish Nummulite Fossils

These fossils are Nummulites sp. which are a type of foraminifera. They were found in Spain and existed in the Eocene epoch of the Paleogene Period. Some of these fossils are the size of an American silver dollar.

Pentamerus Brachiopod Mold

There are some molds of a Pentamerus sp. brachiopod fossil found in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, USA. For some reason we I see these types of fossils, I think of a pig's hoof. These fossils date to the Silurian Period. A very nice write up on these types of fossils can be found on the Wooster Geologists Blog. Thanks to Nathan for the fossil.

Selithiris sella Brachiopod Fossil

Selithiris sella brachiopod fossil found in Luc sur mer, France. It is dated to the Bathonien stage (167-164 mya) of the Jurassic Period. Thanks to Dave for the fossil.

Megalodon Fossil Replica

I borrowed this replica fossil of a C. megalodon shark. The fossil was to be used to show some grade school classes different types of fossils. The topic of dinosaurs and sharks comes up when giving fossil talks so I thought having this to show would give students some idea as to how large these sharks could get. This creature swam around in the Paleogene Period of the Cenozoic Era.
Thanks to Mark for loaning it to me.

Megamyonia Brachiopod

These fossils are Megamyonia sp. found in the Maquoketa Formation of Fayette County, Iowa, USA. They existed in the Late Ordovician Period.

Strophodonta Brachiopod

A Strophodonta brachiopod fossil found in the Milwaukee Formation of Wisconsin. This fossil needs to be cleaned as it has some interesting rings on its surface. This might be some sort of coral colony that was growing there or it could be some scattered crinoid rings.
Thanks to Nathan for this fossil.

Bumastus Ioxus Trilobite Cephalon

Here is the mold of a Bumastus ioxus trilobite fossil cephalon found in the Racine Formation middle Silurian Period. It was found in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA. Thanks to Nathan for the fossil.

Almost Complete Silurian Trimerus Trilobite

These pictures show an almost complete Trimerus delphinocephalus (Green, 1832) trilobite. It was fossilized intact but was found in two pieces. Some of the last thorax segments and the pygidium (tail) had broken off this specimen. It is still missing part of its feeding/digging scoop and small pieces of segments missing from the rear section of the trilobite. Visually it appears to be about 95% complete.

After some effort, I was able to find the broken off tail section of this trilobite. It was not too damaged and fit  right into place on the original piece found. Whew! I gave an early birthday present to myself. :)

Fossil was found in Clark County, Indiana in the Silurian age Waldron Shale. It has not been cleaned and two parts of it have glued back together. I hope once it has been abrasive cleaned extra matrix and glue will be removed.

Compare it to another Clark County Trimerus trilobite fossil found on the Internet at this web site: Week's trilobite web site.

New Albany Shale Fossil

Reading the Indiana Department Geology and Natural Resources Twenty-First Annual Report W.S. Blatchley State Geologist 1896, I came across a plate image and description of the Parenchymophycus asphalticum found in the New Albany Shale of Clark and Floyd Counties in Indiana, USA. The New Albany Shale was named by a local geologist in the 1800s named William Borden. The shale dates to the Late Devonian Period.

Below is an image of a New Albany Shale fossil that might be what is described in the 1896 Report.

On page 118, Parenchymophycus asphalticum is described as:

"Plant with band-like thallus 10 to 150 mm wide, the well preserved spongy parenchymatic cells always filled with asphaltum. The cell walls are rich in silica. Cross divisions (nodes) at regular distances divide the band into rectangular oblong pieces (internodes). The termination of the plant consists of an oval shaped bud similar to that of Fucus vesiculosus L. of the present age. The length of specimens found varied from a few centimeters to 183 cm. The cell walls of this most interesting sea plant have resisted so well the influence of decomposition that they served as a means of diffusion for fluid bitumen, which, after a long time, gave off the  volatile components and left only the hard aspaltum. All specimens show no ramification. (Pl. II, fig. 1)"

Pyrite of the Waldron Shale

 Pyrite crystals found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana. It is from the Silurian Period.

Calcite Filled Platystrophia Brachiopod

These images are of a broken open Platystrophia sp. brachiopod fossil. The picture reveals calcite crystals. This fossil was found in Bullitt County, Kentucky in Ordovician Period rock.

Cretaceous Turritella Fossil

Gastropod fossil called Turritella sp. from the Cretaceous Period (about 70 million years ago). It was found near Tupelo, Mississippi.

Glabrocingulum ellenae Snail Fossils

These Glabrocingulum ellenae gastropod fossils were found in the Coral Ridge Member of the New Providence Formation of Clark County, Indiana.  The three fossils are shown in this post and all are pyritized.  These snails crawled along the seabed during the Mississippian Period.

Thanks to Kenny for the image.