Stolen Canadian Ammolite Fossil

Picture of ammolite fragment from Lethbridge Canada, shown here for reference. This piece was not stolen but available to see on Wikipedia. Attribution: James St. John [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

CTV News Calgary Canada reported on July 18, 2019 that thieves stole serving plate sized ammonite fossil from their quarry. The fossil once prepped and polished is estimated to be worth around $30,000-40,000 U.S. The quarry is near Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada and is operated by Enchanted Designs Limited.

What makes the fossil so valuable is that it is composed of a organic gem like material ammolite. Ammolite is a biogenic gemstone like pearl and amber. The material comes from the ancient shells of cephalopods. More than likely the fossil was a Placenticeras sp. from the Cretaceous Period (70-75 million years ago). The creatures swam in what was known as the Western Interior Seaway which stretched from today's Arctic Ocean, through western Canada and United States and down to the Gulf of Mexico.

Below is an embedded video of the story when some nice images of the quarry and what raw and finished ammonite fossils look like from the quarry. If the video is not showing up, go to this link to view: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/lethbridge/video?clipId=1733413&binId=1.1484062&playlistPageNum=1


Read about the story at this link:
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/50k-fossil-stolen-in-noon-hour-heist-from-ammonite-mine-near-lethbridge-1.4514504

Yellow Ammonite Fossils

In the previous post, I wrote about a visit to Sant Ignazio Roman Catholic Cathedral in Rome, Italy. I found some ammonite fossils in the floor slabs. The last post was about the red fossils, this one is about the yellow ones. I believe this yellow stone is referred to as Ammonitico Giallo. Fossils from this layer are from the Jurassic Period.

Under the crest is some text embedded in the stone, it looks like roman numerals MDCCXLVII which convert to 1747 in decimal. If that is the year of installation then 272 years ago as of this writing.

On the Internet is a waymarking web site that documented this find. They are similar to the ones I found at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Ammonite Fossils in St. Ignazio Church - Rome

Recently while visiting Sant Ignazio Roman Catholic Cathedral in Rome, Italy I found some ammonite fossils in the floor slabs. After researching on the Internet, there is a waymarking web site that documented this find. They are similar to the ones I found at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The ammonite fossils are embedded in a number of red and yellow polished limestone slabs in the floor. The slabs are in the main floor of the church, the left side section of church with a statue, and the yellow stone on a crest toward the center floor of the church. They appear to be Rosso Ammonitico Lombardo (red polished limestone). This stone is dated to the Jurassic Period. I am not sure about the yellow stone, it might be Ammonitico Giallo. I hope to have a post about this in the near future.
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UPDATE (2022): These ammonoids could date to the Upper Jurassic Period of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation, Oxfordian Stage, Verona Province, Venetia Region of Italy. This iron enriched (red) limestone is also known as Red Verona Marble or Rosso Verona Marble.

Amussium cristatum Pelecypod Fossil

This image is of an Amussium cristatum pelecypod fossils. The creatures existed in the Pliocene Epoch and were found in Orciano, Pisano, Tuscany, Italy. Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August-2019.

Bison priscus Fossil

Bison priscus mammal fossil on display at The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano (Milan Natural History Museum), Italy as of August 2019. The fossil was found in Serbia. It dates to the upper Pleistocene Epoch (10 million - 80,000 years ago).

Turbinopsis shumardi Gastropod Fossil

Here is an image of a Turbinopsis shumardi (DeVerneuil)gastropod fossil. It existed in the Devonian Period (410-360 million years ago). The fossil is on display at the 2nd floor (next to of the MSD Tunnel project exhibit)  Kentucky Science Center - Louisville Kentucky USA. I believe the species was named after Dr. Benjamin Franklin Shumard (1820-1869) a Louisville educated medical doctor who also collected fossils.

Learn more about the Kentucky Science Center (aka Louisville Science Center) at their web site:
 https://kysciencecenter.org/

Polished Prismatophyllum Rugose Coral Fossil

Here is an image of a polished Prismatophyllum rugose coral fossil (Petosky Stone). It existed in the Devonian Period (410-360 million years ago). The fossil is on display at the 2nd floor (next to of the MSD Tunnel project exhibit)  Kentucky Science Center - Louisville Kentucky USA.

Learn more about the Kentucky Science Center (aka Louisville Science Center) at their web site:
 https://kysciencecenter.org/

Hildoceras bifrons Ammonite Fossil

A few posts ago, I wrote about the snake stone ammonite. This ammonite is associated with St. Hilda of Whitby, Yorkshire, England. The American palaeontologist Alpheus Hyatt (1838-1902) named an ammonite genus Hildoceras (Hyatt, 1876) after her.

Above is an image of an Hildoceras bifrons (Bruguière, 1789) ammonite fossil. It dates to the Jurassic Period (Toarcien) and was found in Newcastle, England. Specimen was under glass in a room with a lot of natural light so there is glare on the upper part of the fossil.

Fossil displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Paris, France on August 2016.

Anadara Pelecypod Fossil

This image is of an Anadara sp. pelecypod fossil. The fossil appears to be made of plaster/gypsum/calcium sulfate and in a translucent form. The creature existed in the Miocene Epoch of the Neogene Period. Fossil was discovered in the Sahara Desert at Ajdabiya, Libya.

Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August 2019. Specimen donated by Dr. P. Vannocci.

Snake Stone Ammonite Fossil

On a recent visit to the Kentucky Science Center, I came upon one of my favorite fossils in their collection. The snake stone ammonite fossil was modified by an artist who carved a snake head at the opening of the spiral shell. Britain might be the origin of this one as there is a legend there that of a Catholic Saint Hilda of Whitby (614-680) who turned the snakes of the area into stone. St. Hilda is the patron saint of learning and culture and sometimes ammonite symbols represent her in academic environments.

When I was helping with curating the collections at the center, encountering this fossil triggered a sense of mysticism or superstition. Notice at one side of the ammonite the ridges are worn as if it had been carried around in someone's pocket as a good luck talisman.

The American palaeontologist Alpheus Hyatt (1838-1902) named an ammonite genus Hildoceras after her. Above image of St. Hilda memorial at Church of St. Mary, Whitby, Yorkshire, England  from Wikipedia (public domain). Note the coiled snake ammonites at her feet.

The ammonite fossil pictured in this posting appears to be a Dactylioceras tenuicostatum (Young et Bird, 1822). This animal existed in the Lower Jurassic Period (about 180 million years ago).

As of 2019, the fossil can be seen on the second floor Discovery Gallery in the hallway section leading to the polar bears and Egyptian mummy. It is part of ammonite fossil display case. Learn more at https://kysciencecenter.org/

Learn more about snake stone ammonites:
https://depositsmag.com/2016/09/27/fossil-folklore-ammonites/

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/article-short/a-legend-of-snakes-and-stones/

https://whitbymuseum.org.uk/

 https://twitter.com/kjlymer/status/1065676659414712320

 https://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/2015/06/06/exploring-the-coast-north-of-scarborough/

Ranella olearia Gastropod Fossil

This image is of a Ranella olearia gastropod fossil. The creature existed in the Pliocene Epoch of the Neogene Period. Fossil was discovered in Siena, Toscana, Italy.

Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August 2019.

Libyan Strombus Gastropod Fossil

This image is of a Strombus sp. gastropod fossil. The fossil appears to be made of plaster/gypsum/calcium sulfate and in a translucent form. The creature existed in the Miocene Epoch of the Neogene Period. Fossil was discovered in the Sahara Desert at Ajdabiya, Libya.

Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August 2019. Specimen donated by Dr. P. Vannocci.

Fossils from Waterway Protection Tunnel Project - Louisville, Kentucky

The Kentucky Science Center has an interactive display for the Metro Sewer District (MSD) Waterway Protection Tunnel project. This project is a 4 mile (6.43 km) tunnel 200 feet (60.96 m) under the city to store up to 55 million gallons (208 million liters) of storm runoff water. It will take at least 3 years to complete.

As of this writing, the tunnel was 15% dug. I found the display really well done and resourceful way to divert storm water from the sewer system instead of using basins. The future will show us how well this system will work. I encourage you if in the Louisville area to visit the Kentucky Science Center as see this exhibit. Look out the windows on either side of it as it has some views riverfront and a MSD sewer line project.

Included in the exhibit are 3 core samples from the test drillings. If you look close you can see different fossils in them (horn coral and colonial coral).

I was contacted months ago by the Cubero media company that created this display. They asked for permission to use some images from this blog site in the display. It was nice to see me given credit on one of the screens.

Below are examples of a few of the images used.

https://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2009/07/recent-finds-corals-and-brachiopods.html

https://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2010/06/stromatoporoids.html

https://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2012/12/lichenalia-concentrica-bryozoan-fossil.html

Below are embedded videos describing the MSD project:


Learn more about  this MSD project at their web site:
http://www.louisvillemsd.org/tunnel

Links to videos above if they did not embed properly in web page.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9CHHpB5xek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLWF2T-klAU

Learn more about the Kentucky Science Center (aka Louisville Science Center) at their web site:
 https://kysciencecenter.org/

Louisville Insider did a story about the opening of this exhibit:
https://insiderlouisville.com/government/infrastructure/science-center-exhibit-showcases-new-waterway-protection-tunnel/

Translucent Pelecypod Fossil

This image is of a Lucinoma sp. pelecypod fossil. The fossil appears to be made of plaster/gypsum/calcium sulfate and in a translucent form. The creature existed in the Miocene Epoch of the Neogene Period. Fossil was discovered in the Sahara Desert at Ajdabiya, Libya.

Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August 2019. Specimen donated by Dr. P. Vannocci.

Translucent Fossil From Libya

This image is of a Glycymeris sp. pelecypod fossil. The fossil appears to be made of plaster/gypsum/calcium sulfate and in a translucent form. The creature existed in the Miocene Epoch of the Neogene Period. Fossil was discovered in the Sahara Desert at Ajdabiya, Libya. Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August 2019. Specimen donated by Dr. P. Vannocci.

Pecten cismonis Pelecypod Fossil

This image is of a Pecten cismonis pelecypod fossil. The creature existed in the Triassic Period. Fossil was discovered at Cortina D'Ampezzo (Cortina), Italy. Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August 2019.

Pecten aduncus Pelecypod Fossil

This image is of a Pecten aduncus pelecypod fossil. The creature existed in the Miocene Epoch of the Neogene Period. Fossil was discovered at Torino, Piemonte, Italy. Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August 2019.

Tripneustes parkinsoni Sand Dollar Fossil

Tripneustes parkinsoni echinoid fossil on display at The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano (Milan Natural History Museum), Italy as of August 2019. The fossil was found in France. It dates to the lower Miocene Epoch (20 million years ago).

Fossils at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome!

When I travel to places I tend to keep an eye out for fossils used in building materials. Recently while visiting St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City near Rome, Italy I found some ammonite fossils in the floor slabs. This find was quite exciting since I could not find any documenting these elsewhere on the Internet. During my trip, I was the odd bird at sites around Italy studying/photographing the floor so much at famous/ornate sites while the other visitors were looking at the walls/ceiling/altars/statues.

The ammonites are embedded in several slabs in the floor. The slabs are near the Altar of St. Gregory the Great (590-604). They appear to be Rosso Ammonitico Lombardo (red polished limestone). As you can see by the close up images, the slabs are starting to have pieces removed from wear and tear.

2 Euro coin placed for size reference.

Below is picture for the polished red rock strip to look for in the floor. There are two of them on either side of the alter that contained ammonite fossils.

If you get a chance to visit this remarkable church, try to visit this area and see these fossils for yourself. 

UPDATE (2022): These ammonoids could date to the Upper Jurassic Period of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation, Oxfordian Stage, Verona Province, Venetia Region of Italy. This iron enriched (red) limestone is also known as Red Verona Marble or Rosso Verona Marble.

Amussium cristatum Pelecypod Fossil

This image is of an Amussium cristatum pelecypod fossil. The creature existed in the Pliocene Epoch and was found at Cinciano Grosseto Italy. Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) on August-2019.