Monday, December 19, 2022

Waldron Shale Desmograptus Graptolite Fossil

 


This post is a fossil called Desmograptus sp. (Hopkinson, 1875) graptolite. Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period. The fossil is black due to carbon-film preservation.

Fossil on display at Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center Clarksville Indiana USA as of December 2022.

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Dawsonoceras amycus Cephalopod Fossil


This cephalopod fossil is called Dawsonoceras amycus.  Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period.

Fossil on display at Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center Clarksville Indiana USA as of December 2022.

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Bellerphon tuber Gastropod Fossil


This rare gastropod fossil is called Bellerphon tuber (genus:Montfort, 1808).  Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period.

Fossil on display at Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center Clarksville Indiana USA as of December 2022.

Friday, December 16, 2022

Glyptambon verrucosus Trilobite Pygidium Fossil

 

The picture above is of a pygidium of a trilobite fossil called Glyptambon verrucosus (Hall, 1854).  Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period.

Fossil on display at Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center Clarksville Indiana USA as of December 2022.

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Pyrite Leptaena rhomboidalis Fossil


The picture above is of a pyrite brachiopod fossil called Leptaena rhomboidalis (Wahlenberg, 1818).  Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period.

Fossil on display at Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center Clarksville Indiana USA as of December 2022.

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Lyriocrinus melissa Crinoid Fossil


A very nicely preserved crinoid fossil called Lyriocrinus melissa (Hall, 1863).  Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period. 

Fossil on display at Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center Clarksville Indiana USA as of December 2022.

 


Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Leptaena rhomboidalis Brachiopod Fossil


Today's post is of a brachiopod fossil called Leptaena rhomboidalis (Wahlenberg, 1818).  Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period.

Fossil on display at Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center Clarksville Indiana USA as of December 2022.

Monday, December 12, 2022

Desmograptus Graptolite Fossil


This post is a fossil called Desmograptus sp. (Hopkinson, 1875) graptolite. Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period. The fossil is black due to carbon-film preservation.

Fossil on display at Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center Clarksville Indiana USA as of December 2022.

Sunday, December 11, 2022

Pyrite Fenestella acmea Bryozoan Fossil

 


Saturday I gave a talk at the Falls of the Ohio Interpretative Center entitled "Fossils Around Us - You Don't Always Have to Go to the Wilds of Nature to Find Creatures of the Past". This presentation was about fossils one can find in buildings and other human constructed objects. 

After finishing I checked out the Waldron Shale Fossil exhibit at the center. Lots of Silurian Period fossils to look at in the display case.

Highlighted in this post is a fossil called Fenestella acmea (Hall) bryozoan fossil. Fossil found in the Waldron Shale of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Silurian Period. Very nice specimen as it is coated in pyrite.




Saturday, December 3, 2022

Paleontologist Henry Nettelroth

Recently, I have been working on a presentation about the 1889 book Kentucky Fossil Shells by Henry Nettelroth (1835-1887). It is an impressive work for amateur paleontologist.

This biographic information appeared in the 1908 publication of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections Vol. V Quarterly Issue Part 2 in an article "The Nettelroth Collection of Invertebrate Fossils" by R.S. Bassler. 

Early Life

"Henry Nettelroth was born in the Kingdom of Hanover, on June 6, 1835. His family from a remote period were land-owners, inhabiting that portion of German territory, with estates located about the village of Nettelrode. Henry Nettelroth attended the German universities and was graduated as a civil engineer just before the war between Prussia and Hanover; he was an engineer officer in the Hanoverian army, but came to America shortly after the battle of Langensalza (1866). Here he took up the practice of civil engineering."

Career & Death

"His first employment as topographical engineer on the Elizabethtown and Paducah Railroad, then building, taking him to Kentucky, determined his subsequent location in Louisville. In that city he continued the pursuit of civil engineering, both active and consultant, until incapacitated by ill health a few years before his death. He became an American citizen, having immediately on his arrival in this country renounced allegiance to any European government. In 1867 he was married, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Emma Vassmer, also of Hanover. Mr. Nettelroth died on September 2, 1887."

Henry Nettelroth's grave stone at Cave Hill Cemetery Louisville Kentucky USA

 

Contributions to Paleontology

He had been interested in paleontology while still in his native country, and it was but natural that the collection and study of fossils should be continued in connection with a profession which offered such good opportunities. In his spare time, therefore, during more than fifteen years, he enthusiastically collected geological specimens, wisely limiting his cabinets principally to those fossils found in the immediate vicinity of Louisville and the Falls of the Ohio, but including, however, related specimens  from other sections of the country. His zeal in this pursuit stimulated the local interest in paleontology, and there appeared a number of collectors, several of whom became known later as capable and discriminating paleontologists. As a result of the enthusiasm of this coterie, a number of excellent collections were brought together and some rich beds and fossil-bearing strata were discovered which are now known universally to geologists.

Mr. Nettelroth's contribution to geological literature consists of a quarto volume of 245 pages and 36 plates, entitled "Kentucky Fossil Shells : A Monograph of the Fossil Shells of the Silurian and Devonian Rocks of Kentucky." This work, which was issued by the Kentucky Geological Survey in 1889, two years after the death of its author, is strictly biological in its scope. Over two hundred species of mollusca from the strata mentioned in the title were described and illustrated, in addition to a few Ordovician brachiopoda, sponges, and bryozoa. A short sketch of geology and paleontology, written for the general reader, introduces the purely descriptive part, but no particular reference is made to the geology of the Ohio Falls region. Forty-three new species were instituted by Mr. Nettelroth, the remainder being for the most part re-descriptions and illustrations of forms described by others in various scattered publications."

Legacy

After his death, two paleontological things happened. First, his reference to his best fossils was published by Kentucky Geological Survey in 1889. Second, his two sons, H.H. Nettelroth (1871-1936) and Dr. Alexander Nettelroth (1869-1952) of Louisville, Kentucky sold about 8,000 fossil specimens to the Smithsonian Institution and U.S. National Museum in 1907. The collection still exists today housed in the collections of the Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.

As a point of Louisville interest, after Herman Nettelroth's wife Mary Aylett Buckner Nettelroth (1880-1957) died, she setup in her will that a trust be setup for charitable giving to certain causes in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The Courier Journal reported that after her husband died December 10, 1936 he left in his will $118,000 to her. After she died April 24, 1957 The Courier Journal reported her estate of about $600,000 set up the Herman H. Nettelroth Fund administrated by Citzens Fidelity Bank & Trust Company. The newspaper reported in an June 17, 1958 that the fund would create an one acre fenced bird sanctuary at Cherokee Park that would have a three-tier fountain and bird bath. It provided $500 to setup the sanctuary and about $150 each year for maintenance & bird seed.

The Fund would help with eight civic projects: bird sanctuary, "the providing for and equipping of children's playgrounds", "establishment and maintenance of day nurseries for working mothers", University of Louisville scholarships, "promotion of animal rescue work", money to buy children's books for public libraries, "support of the community chest", and "support of disaster-relief work of the Red Cross". 

As of 2019, the Herman H Nettelroth Fund had grown to $2.4 million in assets and distributed 8 projects totaling $134,000. PNC Bank now administrates the fund. This LINK will show who they distribute money to (e.g. U of L, Metro United Way, Louisville Free Public Library, YMCA)

Looking back at past Courier-Journal issues, an auction notice appeared in 1978 The Courier-Journal classified section listing. "LIQUIDATION OF SMALL ANTIQUE SHOP AND OTHER CONSIGNMENTS WED. July 19th, 1978 12 NOON... A collection of rocks and Indian arrowheads from the collection of Henry Nettelroth a noted Paleontologist of the Falls of the Ohio Region, included are Flint arrowhead, stone tools, igneous rocks, fossils, corals, etc. AUCTIONS UNLIMITED DOUG WEST AUCTIONEER" So it appears not all of the Nettelroth collection went to the Smithsonian. 

As of June 2023, one of his spiny snail Platyceras dumosum fossil specimens can be viewed at the PLAYING THE NUMBERS display of the first floor at the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History.

Friday, December 2, 2022

Nautilus maximus Fossil


Nautilus maximus
(Conrad, 1838) cephalopod fossil found at the Falls of the Ohio, Indiana USA. It dates to the Devonian Period and was probably found in the Jeffersonville Limestone. This image is from the 1889 Kentucky Fossil Shells by Henry Nettelroth in Plate XXIV figure 1. 

This fossil is stored at the Smithsonian and was assigned catalog number: USNM PAL 51243.

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Lituites marshi Fossil

 

Lituites marshi (Hall, 1867) ammonoid fossil found in Louisville, Kentucky USA. It dates to the Silurian Period and was probably found in the Louisville Limestone. This image is from the 1889 Kentucky Fossil Shells by Henry Nettelroth in Plate XXX figure 1. "Found in the Niagara rocks of the quarries east of the city of Louisville, where fragments of this shell are not rare, but fair specimens are not often found. In the speciment illustrated on plate 30, both termini of the shell are missing; it has preserved more than three complete volutions. The vacant central space indicates that, probably, two full volutions are obliterated there at the apex. How much there is destroyed at the other end can not be acertained, but that there is a large part of a volution missing can not be doubted. Thus it appears that the illustrated specimen, in its perfect condition, had six full volutions." Professor James Hall (1811-1898) named this species in honor of Professor Othniel Charles Marsh (1831-1899).

This fossil is stored at the Smithsonian and was assigned catalog number: USNM PAL 51378.

Here is a posting from 2009 of one of these fossils found in Louisville:

https://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2009/05/silurian-coiled-cephalopod-lituites.html

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Halysites catenularia Chain Coral Fossil

 

This image shows a Halysites catenularia (Linnaeus, 1767) chain coral fossil. It dates to the Silurian Period and was found Kentucky USA. While I am guessing it was probably found at the Falls of the Ohio. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France. Image taken August 2009.

The side view is has some green coloration maybe from moss from the Ohio River. It was from the Jules Marcou (1824-1898) collection. Marcou was born and educated in France and worked as a geologist for the Jardin des Plantes during the late 1840s. He traveled on expeditions in the United States during this time and in the early 1850s. So he could have acquired this fossil then. He later settled in Massachusetts USA, became a citizen and died there.



Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Favosites goldfussi Coral Fossil


This image shows a Favosites goldfussi (Larmarck, 1816) coral fossil. It dates to the Devonian Period and was found at Gerolstein Germany. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

Monday, November 28, 2022

Stylocoenia emarciata Coral Fossil


This image shows a Stylocoenia emarciata (Larmarck, 1816) coral fossil. It dates to the Eocene Epoch, Paleogene Period (Bartonien) and was found at Lutétien-Grignon (Yvelines) France. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Serpula quadristriata Worm Fossil


This image shows a number of Serpula quadristriata worm fossils. It dates to the Late Jurassic Period (Oxfordian Stage) and was found at Neuvisy (Ardennes) France. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Porpoceras ventricosum Ammonite Fossil


This image shows a Porpoceras ventricosum (Buckman , 1914) ammonite fossil. It dates to the Jurassic Period (Toarcien) and was found at Anduze (Gard) France. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

The species was named by British palaeontologist Sydney Savory Buckman (1860-1929). It was originally named by English naturalist James Sowerby (1757-1822) and it was called Ammonites "armatus" (Sowerby, 1815).

Friday, November 25, 2022

French Harpoceras serpentinum Ammonite Fossil

The image shown is a Harpoceras serpentinum (Schlotheim , 1820) ammonite fossil. It dates to the Jurassic Period (Toarcien) and was found at Cheville (Sarthe) France. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

The species was named by German palaeontologist Ernst Friedrich, Baron von Schlotheim (1764-1832). He originally called it Ammonites serpentinus (Schlotheim , 1820). The name ammonite was derived from Egyptian deity Ammon who was represented by a symbol looking like a coiled ram horn.

Thursday, November 24, 2022

French Hildoceras bifrons Ammonite Fossil


Above is an image of an Hildoceras bifrons (Bruguière, 1789) ammonite fossil. It dates to the Jurassic Period (Toarcien) and was found at La Verpilliere (Isère), France. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

The species was named by French zoologist Jean Guillaume Bruguière (1749-1798). While the name ammonite was derived from Egyptian deity Ammon who was represented by a symbol looking like a coiled ram horn.  In medieval England, the fossil was seen by some as a petrified coiled snake. The genus of this ammonite is associated with St. Hilda of Whitby, Yorkshire, England. Legend has it she turned a plague of snakes to stone. As such an American palaeontologist Alpheus Hyatt (1838-1902) named an ammonite genus Hildoceras (Hyatt, 1876) after her. 

Monday, November 21, 2022

Oxinpes Foraminifera Fossil

Images taken from microscope of the foraminiferan fossil. This fossil was identified as an Oxinpes. It was found in the Beechwood Limestone just below the New Albany Shale. That layer dates to the Devonian Period. The locality was Clark County Indiana USA. This was a picture I took over 10 years ago from one of Dr. Conkins microscope slides. It was never used in publication and was a demonstration on how to use Adobe Photoshop to stack the microscope images, add the scale, and print directly to make a copy ready page for printing.

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Inauris tubulata Foraminifera Fossil

 

Images taken from microscope of the monotypic agglutinate foraminiferan fossil. This fossil has been identified as an Inauris tubulata (Conkin, Conkin & Thurman, 1979). It was found in the Jeffersonville Limestone that dates to Devonian Period. The locality was the Gilmore Quarry, Utica Indiana USA. This was a picture I took over 10 years ago from one of Dr. Conkins microscope slides. It was never used in publication I far as I can recall.



Saturday, November 19, 2022

Possible Fish Scale Fossil - Devonian Period


Pictured in this posting is a mystery fossil found in the New Albany Shale (Late Devonian Period). It was uncovered by splitting a nodule of shale. Size of fossil is  about 4 mm wide. Specimen was collected in Floyd County, Indiana, USA. It might be some sort of fish scale. I need to get some better microscope pictures of this fossil. The specimen somewhat resembles a Rhabdoderma scale (see the discussion at this link Mazon Creek Coelacanth scale).




Thursday, November 17, 2022

Ordovician Tentaculities Fossil


Tentaculites
(von Schlotheim, 1820) fossil that is of an uncertain affinity. Image taken under microscope and field of view is 3 mm. Found near Brookville Lake, Indiana and Waynesville Formation dates to the Ordovician Period.

Thanks to Kenny for the image. 

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Unidentified Conodont Fossils


Conodont fossils found near Brookville Lake, Franklin County, Indiana USA and Waynesville Formation dates to the Ordovician Period. Images have a field of view is 1 mm.

Thanks to Kenny for the images

 

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Indiana Ordovician Bryozoan Fossils

 


Bryozoan fossils found near Brookville Lake, Franklin County, Indiana USA and Waynesville Formation dates to the Ordovician Period. Images have a field of view is 2-3 cm. The one bryozoan shows evidence of snails boring into the colony.

Thanks to Kenny for the images.

Monday, November 14, 2022

Acidaspis Trilobite Fossil Fragments

 



Trilobite fossils found near Brookville Lake, Franklin County, Indiana USA and Waynesville Formation dates to the Ordovician Period. Images were taken under microscope and field of view is 2 mm. They appear to be fragments of an Acidaspis (Murchison, 1839) trilobite.

Thanks to Kenny for the images.

Sunday, November 13, 2022

Ostracodes Fossils From Indiana


Ostracode fossils found near Brookville Lake, Franklin County, Indiana USA and Waynesville Formation dates to the Ordovician Period. Images were taken under microscope and field of view is 1.5 mm. The top ostracod might be an Quasibollia.

Thanks to Kenny for the images.

 Learn more at this link to 1982 PDF paper on Kentucky Ostracodes .

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Indiana Cornugenys Scolecondonts

Scolecondont fossils that appears to be a Cornugenys (Jansonius & Craig, 1971). Images were taken under microscope and field of view is 2 mm. Found near Brookville Lake, Franklin County Indiana USA and Waynesville Formation dates to the Ordovician Period.

 Learn more at the Dry Dredgers site: http://drydredgers.org/scolec2.htm

Thanks to Kenny for the images.



 

 

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Orohippus Horse Fossil Cast


These casts of a fossil skull and foot were displayed on August 2022, at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. An extinct horse fossil called Orohippus (Marsh, 1872). The fossil dates to the Eocene Epoch (45-50 million years ago).

Monday, November 7, 2022

Cornugenys Scolecondont Fossil

 

Scolecondont fossil that appears to be a Cornugenys (Jansonius & Craig, 1971). Image taken under microscope and field of view is 2 mm. Found near Brookville Lake, Indiana and Waynesville Formation dates to the Ordovician Period.

 Learn more at the Dry Dredgers site: http://drydredgers.org/scolec2.htm

Thanks to Kenny for the image. 

Sunday, November 6, 2022

Greererpeton burkemorani Fossil


This cast of a fossil was displayed on August 2022, at the Harvard Museum of Natural History in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. An extinct tetrapod fossil is called Greererpeton burkemorani (Romer, 1969). The cast made of the specimen that was found at Greer Quarry, Decker's Creek Monongalia County West Virginia USA. It dates to the Mississippian Period. Genus first described by Alfred S. Romer in 1969. The species appears to be named after a Cleveland Museum of Natural History paleontologists John J. Burke and William E. Moran who uncovered fossils like this at Greer Quarry (the type locality).

https://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/guid/MCZ:VP:VPRA-4348 its record shows collector as CMNH which I suppose means Cleveland Museum of Natural History. So this might be a cast of one of their fossils. Visiting their web site, I found a 3D model of a different specimen CMNH 11093 from the same West Virginia locality.

 

Sunday, October 30, 2022

Gastropod Fossils at Boston Public Library McKim Building

 

When I visited the Boston Public Library's McKim Building in August 2022, I found it to be an artistic and geological wonder. So many gastropod fossils embedded in the polished limestone floor tiles. The complex is known as the Central Library in Copley Square of Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The building completed in 1895 with the chief architect being Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909).


When visiting The Abbey Room, after viewing artist Edwin Austin Abbey's (1852-1911) depiction of Sir Galahad's Quest for the Holy Grail composed of 15 panels, look at the checkerboard pattern on the floor. It consists of Istrian limestone (Croatia) and red Verona marble (Italy).


Learn more about the stone used in the McKim Building at this web site: 

https://quarriesandbeyond.org/states/ia/ia-structures.html

 

 While at the library check out the 1881 portrait of American journalist/lecturer Kate Field (1838-1896) painted by Francis Davis Millet (1846-1912). Millet died on April 15, 1912 when the RMS Titanic sank in the north Atlantic ocean.