Pyritized Strophodonta Brachiopod

Here are two pictures of a pyritized Strophodonta brachiopod fossil. It was found in the Silica Formation of Sylvania, Ohio USA. The creature lived in the Middle Devonian Period.  Learn more about where these fossils are found at Olander Fossil Park web site.

Thanks to Vic for the pictures of this fossil.

My friend Dave has a blog with a special section for the fossil from this area. Click this to go to Views of the Mahantango blog.

3D Dalmanites Trilobite Cephalon

This Dalmanites sp. trilobite cephalon fossil was found in the Waldron Shale of Indiana, USA. This trilobite existed in the Silurian Period about 420 million years ago. Thanks to Kenny for the picture.

Here is an illustration I did that shows the entire trilobite.

Crassatella vadosus Clam Fossil

These fossils appear to be Crassatella vadosus pelecypods (named by Morton 1834). They existed during the Cretaceous Period (about 70 million years ago). This fossil was found in McNairy County, Tennessee (Ripley Formation).

See their identification PDF at this LINK.

Learn more about these fossils at the Coon Creek Science Center web site: http://www.memphismuseums.org/coon_creek-overview

Fossils from the Herb Miracle collection.

The Story of the World's Favorite Fossil

Here is a YouTube video from the SciShow channel. It claims that the Orthoceras cephalopod is the world's favorite fossil. They are showing a polished one from Morocco. Oddly enough, with all the fossils I have photographed on this blog, I have not photographed a Moroccan one. I guess they are the favorite because Moroccan fossil dealers extract and polish so many to sell worldwide. One can see them for sale at fossil shows and museum gift shops.

They publish videos on science news, history, and concepts. With over a million subscribers and almost 100 million total views, they have quite a viewing audience! As of this writing they have published 365 videos.

The video highlighted in this blog post has been downloaded almost 360,000 times as of this writing. That is really good for something about a fossil that does not relate to a dinosaur or the evolution debate. In a creative way to raise money for the SciShow video operation they sold 20 signed Orthoceras fossils for $50 each. They sold out according to this web site: https://subbable.com/scishow.  Here is their pledge video, wow just like PBS and NPR do. :) I wish them the best.

Volutomorpha mutabilis Gastropod Fossils

These fossils appear to be Volutomorpha mutabilis gastropods (named by Wade 1926). They existed during the Cretaceous Period (about 70 million years ago). This fossil was found in McNairy County, Tennessee (Coon Creek Formation).

See their identification PDF at this LINK.

Learn more about these fossils at the Coon Creek Science Center web site: http://www.memphismuseums.org/coon_creek-overview

Fossils from the Herb Miracle collection.

Tennessee State Fossil - Pterotrigonia Pelecypod

The Pterotrigonia thoracica pelecypod is the official state fossil of Tennessee. It existed during the Cretaceous Period (about 70 million years ago). This fossil was found in McNairy County, Tennessee (Coon Creek Formation).

Learn more about these fossils at the Coon Creek Science Center web site: http://www.memphismuseums.org/coon_creek-overview

Fossils from the Herb Miracle collection.

Strophodonta striata Brachiopod Fossil

Here is a picture of what appears to be a Strophodonta striata brachiopod fossil. The pyritized fossil is from the Silurian Period. It was found in the Waldron Shale of Indiana, USA.

Thanks to Kenny for the picture.

Coelacanth Fossil Fish

These images show a "lobe-fin" fish fossil that is an unnamed species of coelacanth. It was found in 1996 by the Cincinnati Museum Center in Favret Formation of Pershing County, Nevada, USA. It dates to the Middle Triassic Period (220 million years ago). This fossil was on display at the Cincinnati Museum Center as of August 2013.

This last image is a model of a living coelacanth. It is called the "living fossil" Latimeria chalumnae.

Geology of Shoes Video

Geology of Shoes from Petr Krejčí on Vimeo.

Here is a video by Petr Krejči of The Czech Republic that shows a shoe craftsperson creating a pair of shoes based on sedimentary layers of rock. The colors and banding might also take patterns from geological survey maps.

You need to watch the video to see how the shoes tie to geology. Also it is an educational lesson on how shoes are assembled.

Gomphothere Tusk Fossil

Picture of a display at the Red Rock Canyon State park in California, USA as of October 2013. It shows a mammal like elephant tusk called gomphothere. The fossils are from the Claredonian era (late Miocene epoch - Neogene Period) and were found in the Dove Spring Formation.

Learn more about fossils from this area: http://inyo.coffeecup.com/site/redrock/redrockfossils.html

Thanks to Kenny for the picture.

Image of more remains.

Louisville in Motion Video

Louisville In Motion. A timelapse tour of Louisville Kentucky. from Eric Stemen on Vimeo.

If you were ever curious of places to visit around Louisville, this short video will give a quick Louisville geography lesson. This awesome timelapse series of images set to music was created by a local photographer Eric Stemen. He took tens of thousands of high definition images of landmarks around the Louisville area from February 2012 till September 2013.

Having taken pictures for years and dabbled a little with timelapse video, the imagery shown in this video is amazing and the product of 100s of hours of work. You can learn more about his work at the web site: http://oceanllama.com/

Oh yeah, how this ties to Louisville fossils is Eric's mom, Pam is a talented local fossil hunter. You can see some of her fossil finds in these posts: Hardin County Blastoid, Echinoid Spines, and Guam Micro Samples.

If you have trouble accessing Vimeo for the video, here is a YouTube link.

Saber-tooth Cat Tooth

Picture of a display at the Red Rock Canyon State park in California, USA as of October 2013. It shows a tooth and part of the jaw from a saber tooth cat and in the background is a cougar skull for comparison. The fossils are from the late Miocene and were found in the Dove Spring Formation.

Learn more about fossils from this area: http://inyo.coffeecup.com/site/redrock/redrockfossils.html

Thanks to Kenny for the picture.

Cryptolithus tessellates Trilobites

Here are some pictures of the lace collar sections of the Cryptolithus tessellates (Green 1832) trilobite fossils. They were on display at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science in Ohio, USA (as of August 2013). The trilobites existed in the Ordovician Period and are found in the Edenian Stage of the Cincinnatian Series.

The genus was named by Jacob Green in 1832 Synopsis of the trilobites of North America. Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural History, 1(12):558–560. . This trilobite was known by the name Trinucleus concentricus in other earlier works.

If there had been internal remnants of a trilobite it might have looked something like from below. It is a drawing done back in 1920 by Dr. Elvira Wood of the Cryptolithus tessellates (Green 1832).

Source:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/41695/41695-h/41695-h.htm

Ankylosaurus Dinosaur Replica

This pictures show a dinosaur replica of an Ankylosaurus. The model is about 5 meters in length. Its name means "fused lizard" which relates to the armored connected plates on its body. Dinosaurs like this existed about 70 million years ago in the Cretaceous Period. They were found in what is modern day Montana, USA and Alberta, Canada.

When these pictures were taken the model was on display at Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science as of August 2013.

Bothriolepis - Primitive Armored Fish Fossil

Here is a picture of a partial Bothriolepis maxima fossil. It is missing its tail section. It was found in the "Old Red Sandstone" of the Baltic region of Europe. The fossil is now part of the Cincinnati Museum Center collection, accession number VP9132.

The creature is a placoderm of the Upper Devonian Period (375 million years ago). It is classified as a river or lake bottom dwelling antiarch.

When this picture was taken it was on display at Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science as of August 2013. It was donated by Walter L. Gross III.

Waldron Shale Fossil Astylospongia

Astylospongia praemorsa sponge fossil found in the Silurian Period Waldron Shale of Indiana.

For more information, see this previous posting.

Paradoxides pinus? Trilobite Fossil

The label for this fossil says it is a Paradoxides pinus trilobite from the Paleozoic Era. I would guess it is some sort of Paradoxides trilobite from the Cambrian Period found in Morocco. If I recall this fossil is pretty large, maybe the size of dinner plate.

This fossil is on display at the geology department at Indiana University Southeast (IUS) of New Albany, Indiana as of August 2013.

Actor Dan Aykroyd Digging for Fossils

Here is an embedded video from 2011 showing Canadian comedian/actor Dan Aykroyd digging for fossils in the Pipestone Creek Dinosaur Bonebed of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. He uncovers a skull though not quite of a dinosaur. It also shows Dan's daughters participating in the uncovering of dinosaur fossils in support of the future Phillip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum. The museum is slated to be opened in December 2014.

Learn more from the next video showing a 2011 fundraiser for this museum. What is interesting is the statement that they are finding 200-300 dinosaur fossils per square meter. The fossils are estimated to be about 70 million years old from the Late Cretaceous Period. They are exploring the Wapiti Formation which spans about 12 million years of earth history.


Here is a link to a very nice web site for Phillip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.

Duncanella Horn Coral Fossil

This horn coral fossil appears to be a Duncanella sp. It was found in the Waldron Shale of Indiana. The fossil dates to the Silurian Period (425-419 million years ago).

My experience while collecting in the Waldron Shale that there are maybe 2-3 varieties of horn corals found there. The one in this posting is more elongated and not so stubby like the other variety found. I used this web page to identify the fossil.

Mammuthus primigenius Tooth

A Mammuthus primigenius tooth found on display at the geology department at Indiana University Southeast (IUS) of New Albany, Indiana. It is from the Rollen Brandt Collection. The creature existed in the Pleistocene Epoch.

The tooth is on display as of August 2013.

Paleozoic Cephalopod Fossil

This fossil is quite a rare find. A coiled cephalopod found it Clark County, Indiana which means it is probably either Silurian, Devonian or Mississippian in age. The label is not too specific. I would guess it is maybe 20 cm across in size.

It is on display at the Indiana University Southeast geology department as of August 2013. It was donated to them by John T. Shelton.

Rainbow After the Storm

A rainbow appeared at sunset on Sunday October 6, 2013. I just so happened to be near the 2nd St. bridge going to Louisville and took this picture at the Indiana visitors center.

The colors were quite intense and the rainbow seemed to last for about 15 minutes.

The last few days have brought record rainfalls to the area with some flooding of low lying areas around Louisville.

Mammoth Tooth

Tooth from what was thought to be a Mammuthus primigenius. It was found in Scott County, Indiana. The creature existed in the Pleistocene Epoch.

The tooth is on display at the geology department at Indiana University Southeast (IUS) of New Albany, Indiana as of August 2013.

Headless Calymene Trilobite

I had high hopes for this trilobite fossil that was buried in matrix. It was possible that the cephalon or head was still buried in matrix along with one of the thorax lobes and tail (pygidium). So after using an air scribe and sand blasting it is revealed a tail but no head. A headless trilobite and it is not even Halloween yet! Oh so scary. Next image shows fossil with a ruler to give the viewer some idea its size.  Fossil is a Silurian Calymene sp. trilobite found in the Waldron Shale of Indiana.

Prone Calymene Trilobite Fossils

Here are pictures of some Calymene breviceps trilobite fossils. They were found in the Waldron Shale of Indiana. They existed in the Silurian Period (about 425-419 million years ago). They have not been cleaned yet. Thanks to Kenny for letting me photograph them. The prone ones are about 4-5 cm long and 2-3 cm wide.

Enrolled Calymene Trilobite

Here are some pictures of a Silurian trilobite called the Calymene breviceps? found in the Waldron Shale of Indiana. It is enrolled which might mean it is not a molt. The cleaning process has not been complete as I think I will leave it partially in the matrix. See the before and after images above. The next image shows the fossil about to break away from its matrix base.