Sunday Stone - A Coal Mine Work Log?

This posting is not about a fossil but an interesting artifact I saw on display at the British Natural History Museum in London, England. It is called the Sunday Stone that formed in South Shields a Tyneside coal mine in the 1800s. A water trough in the mine used to relieve the thirst of work animals had the white mineral barium sulphate settle while container also had black coal dust accumulate during mining activity. It resulted in a banding and provides a visual representation of when the mining was going on (dark lines) and the white areas when it was Sunday (a day of rest) and larger gaps holidays or mine is idle.

Link to image of another one in the Oxford University collection:
https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Geoscientist/Archive/August-2008/Never-on-a-Sunday

More information about Sunday Stones can be found in this book:
Curiosities of Natural History: Second Series by Francis T. Buckland 1903
https://archive.org/details/curiositiesnatu09buckgoog

Newly Found Edestus Shark Fossil

A nice benefit of having a fossil blog on the Internet is the number of people you meet who are interested in fossils from around the world. Back in October 2014, I was contacted by a coal miner in western Kentucky about identifying some the pyrite fossils he found in some of the mines there. It was great that some one in the mining industry was interested in fossils. At the time, I let him know about the Edestus shark fossils that miners sometimes find.

Well, I just heard back from him and he found one of those fossils.

This Edestus shark fossil was found about 7-8 inches (17-20 cm) above the coal seam. This layer is a marine shale above the Springfield and Herrin coal beds of western Kentucky USA. It dates to the upper Middle Pennsylvanian or Carboniferous Period (approximately 307 million years ago). The jaw segment found is about 30 cm long and contained 8-9 teeth. Only 3 are mostly intact though.

Of course if you cannot find one of these fossils for yourself, a company in Japan makes a stuffed animal version of the Edestus available here.

To see more finds from the coal mines see these posts:
http://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2014/10/coal-mine-cephalopod.html

http://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2014/10/pyrite-strobeus-snail-fossil.html

http://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2014/10/shansiella-pyrite-gastropod-fossil.html

http://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2014/10/pyrite-bellerophon-fossil.html

http://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2014/10/pyrite-trepospira-gastropod-fossil.html


Learn more about Edestus shark fossils:
http://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2011/04/shark-jaw-fossil-at-kentucky-coal-mine.html

http://uknow.uky.edu/content/ancient-shark-fossil-found-western-kentucky-mine

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/38338-restoring-edestus-teeth/

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/19260-edestus-jaw/

http://www.indiana9fossils.com/Shark-Fossils/Edestus-Heinrichi.htm

Pyrite Strobeus Snail Fossil

This is one beautiful and shiny fossil! It appears to be a Strobeus pyrite gastropod fossil. It was found in a coal mine at a depth of 60-250 meters. More pictures below show some more specimens that were found.

My identification source is Fossils of Ohio (Bulletin 70, Rodney M. Feldmann Editor, State of Ohio, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, Columbus Ohio 1986) pages 162-173, figure 24 of specimen from Putnam Hill shale (Allegheny Group, Pennsylvanian) Vinton County Ohio, OSU 46701.

The fossil was situated above the coal seam so it might be from the Pennsylvanian Period (late Carboniferous). It was found in Webster County Kentucky USA. The mines there are part of the Eastern Interior Basin. The formations found there are Sturgis, Carbondale, and Tradewater. The limestone layers are Carthage, Madisonville, Providence, Yeargiss?, and Lead Creek.

Learn more about the geology of this area at the United States Geological Survey:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1151h/penn.html

Shansiella? Pyrite Gastropod Fossil

This pyrite gastropod fossil appears to be a Shansiella. It was found in a coal mine at a depth of 60-250 meters.

My identification source is Fossils of Ohio (Bulletin 70, Rodney M. Feldmann Editor, State of Ohio, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, Columbus Ohio 1986) pages 162-173, figure 23 of specimen from Putnam Hill shale (Allegheny Group, Pennsylvanian) Vinton County Ohio, OSU 46697.

The fossil was situated above the coal seam so it might be from the Pennsylvanian Period (late Carboniferous). It was found in Webster County Kentucky USA. The mines there are part of the Eastern Interior Basin. The formations found there are Sturgis, Carbondale, and Tradewater. The limestone layers are Carthage, Madisonville, Providence, Yeargiss?, and Lead Creek.

Learn more about the geology of this area at the United States Geological Survey:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1151h/penn.html

Pyrite Bellerophon Fossil

This pyrite gastropod fossil has well defined ridges that make it easier to identify. It appears to be a Bellerophon. It was found in a coal mine at a depth of 60-250 meters.

My identification source is Fossils of Ohio (Bulletin 70, Rodney M. Feldmann Editor, State of Ohio, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, Columbus Ohio 1986) pages 162-173, figures 15-16 of specimen from Cambridge shale (Conemaugh Group, Pennsylvanian) New Concord, Guernsey County Ohio, OSU 46696.

The fossil was situated above the coal seam so it might be from the Pennsylvanian Period (late Carboniferous). It was found in Webster County Kentucky USA. The mines there are part of the Eastern Interior Basin. The formations found there are Sturgis, Carbondale, and Tradewater. The limestone layers are Carthage, Madisonville, Providence, Yeargiss?, and Lead Creek.

Learn more about the geology of this area at the United States Geological Survey:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1151h/penn.html

Pyrite Trepospira Gastropod Fossil

This gastropod fossil is interesting as it pyrite embedded in a dark shale. It appears to be a Trepospira. It was found in a coal mine at a depth of 60-250 meters.

My identification source is Fossils of Ohio (Bulletin 70, Rodney M. Feldmann Editor, State of Ohio, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey, Columbus Ohio 1986) pages 162-173, figures 13-14 of specimen from Putnam Hill shale (Allegheny Group, Pennsylvanian) south of New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas County Ohio, OSU 46720.

The fossil was situated above the coal seam so it might be from the Pennsylvanian Period (late Carboniferous). It was found in Webster County Kentucky USA. The mines there are part of the Eastern Interior Basin. The formations found there are Sturgis, Carbondale, and Tradewater. The limestone layers are Carthage, Madisonville, Providence, Yeargiss?, and Lead Creek.

Learn more about the geology of this area at the United States Geological Survey:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1151h/penn.html

Coal Mine Cephalopod Fossil

This fossil is somewhat rare because it was found at a depth of 60-250 meters underground. The fossil was situated above the coal seam so it might be from the Pennsylvanian Period (late Carboniferous). It was found in Webster County Kentucky USA. The mines there are part of the Eastern Interior Basin. The formations found there are Sturgis, Carbondale, and Tradewater. The limestone layers are Carthage, Madisonville, Providence, Yeargiss?, and Lead Creek.

I would identify it as Pseudorthorceras. 

This next image shows two more fossils found at the same location. A cephalopod fossil that is about 17 cm long. It is next to a large crinoid stem segment.

Learn more about the geology of this area at the United States Geological Survey:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1151h/penn.html