Fossil Ammonoids in New Albany Indiana

 

I was surprised to find Italian ammonoid fossils in New Albany Indiana USA. While visiting St. Mary of the Annunciation Catholic Church located at East Eighth and Spring Streets I spotted the red marble like limestone I had seen before in Italy and at the Boston Public library building. It appears that the floor of the church alter area has strips of Red Verona or Rosso Verona marble in it. This rock dates to the Upper Jurassic Period of the Rosso Ammonitico Formation, Oxfordian Stage, Verona Province, Venetia Region of Italy.

 

According to the church web site, the building was dedicated on December 12, 1858 primarily serving the German-speaking immigrants of the area. In the 1920s, renovations brought Carrara Italian marble to the alters, communion rail, sanctuary floor, baptismal font and wainscoting. 

 

As to why I was at the church, rest in peace Kenneth E. Popp (1932-2023).

You can read of my previous encounters with Red Verona marble at these postings:

https://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2019/09/ammonite-fossils-in-st-ignazio-church.html

https://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2019/09/fossils-at-st-peters-basilica-in-rome.html

https://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2022/08/red-ammonoid-fossils-at-central-boston.html

Spirifer grimesi Brachiopod Fossil

 

This picture is of a Spirifer grimesi (Hall, 1858) brachiopod fossil. It was found in Burlington, Iowa USA. It dates to the Mississippian Period.

The picture was taken in June 2023 on the first floor of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. USA.

Lithostrotion Coral Fossil

 

This picture is of an Lithostrotion coral fossil. It was found in Tennessee USA. It dates to the Mississippian Period.

The picture was taken in June 2023 on the first floor of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. USA.

Spathacalymene nasuta Fossil Trilobite

 

This trilobite fossil is identified as a Spathacalymene nasuta (Ulrich, 1879). It was found in the Osgood Formation of Ripley County, Indiana, USA. The fossil dates to the Silurian Period.

Amecystis laevis Cystoid

 

This picture shows an interesting fossil. It is an Amecystis laevis (Raymond, 1921) which is a cystoid. It was found in Bobcaygeon Formation of Simcoe County, Ontario Canada. It dates to the Middle Ordovician Period.

The picture was taken in June 2023 on the first floor of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. USA.

Learn more about this at Smithsonian Department of Paleobiology Collections USNM 436990:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/374f71859-2372-4bba-82be-10cf2329d45a

http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=338770

Modiomorpha concentrica Pelecypod Fossil

Here is another Louisville area fossil on display in the Deep Time Exhibit. It is a Modiomorpha concentrica (Conrad, 1838) which is an extinct clam. It was found in Silver Creek Formation of Clark County Indiana USA. It dates to the Middle Devonian Period.

The picture was taken in June 2023 on the first floor of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. USA.

Learn more about this at Smithsonian Department of Paleobiology Collections USNM PAL36267:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3144474e8-1fcc-4ffe-8535-3b86911109aa

Wiwaxia Fossil

This fossil is an Wiwaxia sp. (Walcott, 1911) which might be an extinct mollusc. It was found by Charles Walcott (1850-1927) in 1911 in Burgess Shale of British Columbia Canada. It dates to the Middle Cambrian Period (505 million years ago).

The picture was taken in June 2023 on the first floor of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. USA.

Learn more about this genus on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiwaxia

Opabinia regalis Fossil

 

This fossil is an Opabinia regalis (Walcott, 1912) which is an extinct arthropod. It was found by Charles Walcott (1850-1927) in 1912 in Burgess Shale of British Columbia Canada. It dates to the Middle Cambrian Period (505 million years ago).

The picture was taken in June 2023 on the first floor of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. USA.

Learn more about this genus on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opabinia

A Nettelroth Fossil Displayed at the Smithsonian

 

This picture was taken in June 2023 while visiting Washington D.C.'s Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It is the Platyceras dumosum (Conrad, 1840) snail fossil found by Henry Nettelroth (1835-1887)  probably in the 1870s in Clark County, Indiana or Jefferson County, Kentucky. This gastropod existed in the Devonian Period and Jeffersonville Limestone. Nettelroth documented the specimens his book Kentucky Fossil Shells published in 1889. I am not sure which fossil on the plate is the one in the picture above. The curator at the Smithsonian said that spines had broken off while in storage over the last 110 years. The institution acquired the collection in 1907.

 

You can read my past experiences with the Smithsonian staff and their help in getting the specimens of USNM PAL 51268 imaged. So I was surprised on my visit to the museum earlier this week and saw on the specimens in a display case in the exhibit labeled PLAYING THE NUMBERS. They had it labeled as sea snail 1 Spinyplatyceras dumosum lived 391-389 million years ago and found in the Columbus Limestone of Clark County, Indiana.

From my personal perspective I was happy to see one of Louisville's fossils being displayed in the main fossil hall at the museum. Hopefully, if Henry Nettelroth were alive today he would be too.

Grewingkia canadensis? Horn Coral

 

These horn coral fossils appear to be Grewingkia canadensis (Billings, 1862). They were found in the Whitewater (aka Saluda) Formation of Napoleon Indiana USA. They date to the Hirnantian stage, Richmondian local stage of the Ordovician Period. The first fossil shown is just a cross section but shows a good view the septa. The second fossil does not have a visible septa but shows the more cornucopia shape of the horn coral.

Oliva sayana Gastropod Shell

This shell was found in 1889 by a 17 year old Lucien Beckner (1873-1963) in Naples, Florida USA. Mr. Beckner was a mentor to Professor James Conkin (1924-2017) and his natural history collection was left to him upon his death.

I think the shell pictured in this posting is a Lettered Olive Snail or Oliva sayana (Ravenel, 1834). 

Lucien Beckner was born into an established Kentucky family in 1873. He attended Louisville Military Academy, Centre College, the University of Kentucky and Transylvania College. Later he practiced law in Winchester, Kentucky as well as serving as a newspaper editor there. Next he worked as a geologist at the Kentucky Geological Survey and with Louisville Gas and Electric. He switched careers and worked as an engineer with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and then helped build a railroad in Ecuador.

In 1933, he became curator of the Louisville Museum of Natural History and Science at the Louisville Free Public Library. He held that position for 26 years helping educate the Louisville area community about natural history. He is buried at Winchester Cemetery in Clark County, Kentucky, USA.

 

Florida Pear Whelk Shell

Recently, I was given to a small bag of seashells that was in the possession of a long time University of Louisville geology professor James Conkin (1924-2017). The shells were found in 1889 by a 17 year old Lucien Beckner (1873-1963). The bag was labeled that the shells were found in Naples, Florida USA. Mr. Beckner was a mentor to Professor Conkin and his natural history collection was left to him upon his death.

While I am not an expert, I think the shell pictured in this posting is a Florida Pear Whelk or Fulguropsis pyruloides (Say, 1822). This species was named by early American naturalist Thomas Say (1787-1834) who is buried in New Harmony, Indiana (several hours drive west of Louisville, Kentucky).

Hopefully, I can identify all the shells in the bag and properly document them and then find them a good home somewhere in Louisville.

 Lucien Beckner was born into an established Kentucky family in 1873. He attended Louisville Military Academy, Centre College, the University of Kentucky and Transylvania College. Later he practiced law in Winchester, Kentucky as well as serving as a newspaper editor there. Next he worked as a geologist at the Kentucky Geological Survey and with Louisville Gas and Electric. He switched careers and worked as an engineer with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and then helped build a railroad in Ecuador.

In 1933, he became curator of the Louisville Museum of Natural History and Science at the Louisville Free Public Library. He held that position for 26 years helping educate the Louisville area community about natural history. He is buried at Winchester Cemetery in Clark County, Kentucky, USA.

Nitella leptosoma Charophyte

 

This is a drawing of an oogonium of the algae Nitella leptosoma (Nordstedt, 1880). It was from plate 3 of the book Australasian characeae by Otto Nordstedt Part 1 1891. The habitat of this plant is in bogs at Omatangi, near Tampo, New Zealand (about 600-900 meters above sea level).

Otto Nordstedt (1838-1924) was a Swedish botanist who obtained a medical degree from Lund University and later became a botanist specializing in algology. He became a professor at Lund University and retired at the age of 84. The book I scanned the above images from belonged to Dr. James Conkin (1924-2017) who was professor at the University of Louisville and studied charophyte fossils. At a recent geology meeting after giving a presentation about the Louisville fossil collectors Henry Nettelroth and Dr. James Knapp, his daughter presented this book to me. Below is image of what appears to be a Harrisichara (Grambast, 1957) charophyte fossil found by Dr. Conkin at Isle of Wright off the coast of England. See full posting about at this link.

 

Platyostoma niagarensis Snail Fossil

 

On a recent trip to Napoleon, Indiana USA, I found this gastropod fossil which might be a Platyostoma niagarensis (Hall, 1852). It dates to the Silurian Period  (Telychian to Sheinwoodian stage) in age.

According to Dr. James Thomka, professor at SUNY Plattsburgh, it is "from the mudstone lithofacies of the Massie Formation (long known as the "upper Osgood shale"), which is renowned for its 'cystoid' fauna."