Lacewing Insect Fossil

The image shows a lacewing insect fossil found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Doug for the image. Field of view (FOV) is 6 mm. 

 

Merry Christmas everybody!

Florissant Formation Snout Beetle Fossil

This image shows an insect fossil found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Kenny for the matrix plate. I split the plate and then used the microscope find it. The fossil split in two so there is an  image of each side. The image below is of the plate before it was split (about 10 cm wide). The actual fossil is about 3.54 mm long. My original guess and posting was this fossil was some sort of seed pod or flower bud. Afterwards, my cousin Kenny identified it as a snout beetle or weevil of the Order Coleoptera, Family Curculionidae.

Dance Fly Fossil

This image shows a Diptera (Dance Fly) insect fossil found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Kenny for the microscope image. Field of view on image is 4 mm.

Learn more about this order of insect here:
http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Galleries/Insect_Galleries_by_Order/Diptera/Diptera.htm

Unknown Fish Fossil

A while back I was visiting my cousin Kenny and he had this fossil under the microscope. The field of view might be 4mm. It has a blue glossy sheen to it. It appears to be a fragment of a fish fossil. The fossil was found in Indian Springs Formation(?) in Crawford County, Indiana, USA. Date on this piece is Mississippian Period.

Insect with Compound Eye Fossil

This image shows an insect fossil with compound eyes. The fossil was found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch (56-33.9 million years ago) of the Paleogene Period (66-23 million years ago). Thanks to Kenny for this microscope image. Field of view (FOV) on image is approximately 2 mm.

The second image is a similar fossil but FOV is 1mm.

Endothyra Foraminifera Fossils Revisited

In 2010, I posted some images of this type of microfossils found in Spergen Hill, Indiana, USA. This place is a type locality where this particular species was found and named in the literature first. Since my cousin Kenny recently acquired a new Amscope microscope I asked him to image some of these fossils for this posting.

These images are of foraminifera fossils from the Salem Limestone of Washington County, Indiana, USA. These creatures are called Globoendothyra "Endothyra" baileyi and existed 360-325 million years ago (Mississippian Period).

A very good write up on this particular fossil can be found on the Fossil Forum site written by user dshamilla. http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/topic/54262-revisiting-spergen-hill-indiana-and-some-of-its-mississippian-micro-fossils/

Thanks to Kenny for the images.

Unidentified Plant Seed Fossil - Eocene

This image shows a plant seed fossil found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Kenny for the microscope image. Field of view on image is 4 mm.

Foraminiferas from Ireland

I do not think these remains of microscopic creatures are fossils yet. Here are three images of some foraminifera found near the Plassey ship wreck, Killagoola, Aran Islands off coast of Galway, Ireland. They have a fields of view (FOV) ranging from 1-2 mm. Thanks to Kenny for these images.
Years ago, I traveled to the Aran Islands while visiting Ireland and it was a rough boat ride. Too bad at the time I was not aware of all the neat microscopic remains to found on the beaches.

Below is a map showing approximately where everything was found.

Mayfly? Insect Fossil

This image shows an insect fossil (Mayfly?) found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch (56-33.9 million years ago) of the Paleogene Period (66-23 million years ago). Thanks to Kenny for this stitched microscope image. Field of view on image is 2 cm.

Leafhopper Insect Fossil

This image shows an insect fossil (Leafhopper?) found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch (56-33.9 million years ago) of the Paleogene Period (66-23 million years ago). Thanks to Kenny for this stitched microscope image. Field of view on image is 4.5 mm.

UPDATE: 2019-02-16  This image was first thought to be a Cicada but now it might be a Leafhopper (family Cicadellidae).

Improved Fly Fossil Image

This image shows an insect fossil (some sort of fly?) found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch (56-33.9 million years ago) of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Kenny for the microscope image. Field of view on image is 5 mm.

He has been working on stitching images together of the same fossil thus allow higher detailed images.  Older image below:

See previous images of fossil fly here:
https://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2019/01/fly-fossil.html

Redbud Fossil Leaf

This image shows a Cercis parvifolia (Redbud) fossil leaf found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch (56-33.9 million years ago) of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Kenny for the microscope image. Field of view on image is 17 mm.

Eocene Flower Fossil

This image shows a unidentified flower fossil found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. It dates to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Kenny for the microscope image. Field of view on image is 2 mm.

Fly Fossil

This images shows a fly fossil found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. The second image is a close up of its leg. It dates to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Kenny for the microscope images.

Grass Seed Fossils

These grass seed fossils were found in the Florissant Formation of Teller County, Colorado, USA. They date to the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period. Thanks to Kenny for the microscope images.

Cambrian Trilobite Fossil from Georgia

This is an Aphelaspis brachyphasis trilobite fossil seen under a microscope. The creature dates to the Middle Cambrian Period. The fossil was found in the Conasauga Formation of Murray County, Georgia, USA.

Thanks to Kenny for images.

Fossil Texture of a Strophostylus cyclostomus Snail

While looking at a chunk of Waldron Shale that had a crinoid calyx, the shale split revealing a small fossil fragment. This image was taken while it was under a microscope with a field of view of about 4 mm.

The Strophostylus cyclostomus was described by James Hall in the 1881 Indiana Geological Survey (pages 316-317; Plate 31 Figure 13). "An enlargement of the surface-striae of a full-grown specimen, showing the transverse striae of growth, and the finer revolving lines."

The image was taken with Moto G 2nd generation phone.

Icriodus expansus? Conodont Fossil

Here is a freshly discovered conodont fossil found in the Beechwood Limestone of Clark County, Indiana. It is Middle Devonian Period in age. It appears to be an Icriodus expansus? conodont fossil.

Thanks to Kenny for the picture.

Peneroplis plantus Foraminifera

This looks like a Peneroplis plantus foraminifera. It was found at Pago Beach on the island of Guam. Image is magnified 40 times under a microscope which should equate to a 1 mm field of view.

Learn more at the Foraminifera blog: http://foraminifer.blogspot.com/2010/01/peneroplis-planatus-optical-image.html

Thanks to Pam for obtaining the specimen and Herb for the processed material.

Update: I found another one and here is its picture.

Silurian Ceramopora or Sagenella Bryozoan

Picture of a bryozoan attached to Whitfieldella brachiopod from the Silurian Waldron Shale of Clark County, Indiana. Unfortunately, part of the byrozoan fossil was destroyed when I tried to clear some the matrix encrusting it with a sand abrasive cleaner. My artificial sand storm swept across this 400 million year old fossil and disintegrated the surface features of the fossil colony in an instant. Despite my efforts of trying to pulse clean this very small area, the flow rate was too high. Hopefully, I will find another colony and be much more careful on how it is cleaned. See next picture.

Exactly what this fossil was called had been bouncing around in my mind for a couple weeks.While paging through The Fossil Book, I came across a picture of the Devonian Flabellotrypa rugulosa found in Tennessee. Some information about the Flabellotrypa can be found in R. Bassler's paper on bryozoan.

R.S. Bassler describes a bryozoan Flabellotrypa as, "Like Sagenella, but zooecia open only along outer edge of the incrusting flabelliform zoarium. More or less circular attached disks about 3.5 mm wide, of parallel, contiguous, transversely striated tubes. Type species: F. rugulosa"

Next step was to determine what the Sagenella was. This piece of the puzzle would be found in the 1881 Indiana Geological Survey and its coverage of fossils of the Waldron Shale. James Hall describes the Sagenella elegans as:

Bryozoum a thin membraniform expansion growing upon the surface of other organic bodies. Cells subcylindrical, flattened for the greater portion of their length and continuing nearly parallel with the plane of the epitheca; arranged in a more or less diverging or radiating order, with intercalated ranges, presenting a subimbricated aspect, turning abruptly and opening upward. Cell-apertures circular, about two millimeters in diameter.

The arrangement of cells and form of cell-apertures differ from CERAMOPORA in the rounded form and more directly upward opening. The genus differs from LICHENALIA in the more extended procumbent portion of the cell-tube, in the form of the cell-aperture, and in the much thinner and persistently adhering epitheca.

Ceramopora labecula Bryozoan - Plate 7 Figure 1 Indiana Geological Survey 1881

James Hall names 6 species of Ceramorpora in the 1881 Geological survey. One, the Ceramorpora labecula is described here:

Bryozoum growing in circular or subcircular discoid forms upon other organic bodies; greatest diameter observed about seven millimeters. Cell-tubes short, cylindrical, radiating from the center and increasing by lateral additions, those in the central portion being nearly vertical, and becoming more and more oblique as they recede from this point, until the marginal ones are nearly parallel with the epitheca; arranged in alternating and imbricating series. Apertures arched or somewhat triangular, .25 mm., or less, in diameter.

This species is found attached to the bases of crinoids, to gasteropods, and other fossils.

These last pictures show the fossil specimen first where it has been cleaned and second before it was cleaned. It is interesting as one can see the bryozoum started at one point on the brachiopod and began growing in wavy line across the shell. Eventually one reached an ideal spot in the feeding current and multiplied out into a subcircular form.

Scales should have been included on the pictures but I did not photograph them. Brachiopod is about 2 cm wide and 2.2 cm long. The bryozoan is about 1 mm wide.


Sources:
Fenton, Carroll L, and Mildred A. Fenton. The Fossil Book: A Record of Prehistoric Life. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday 144 (1958)

Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Indiana. Indianapolis Plate (1881) 
 
Bassler, R.S. Taxonomic notes on genera of fossil and Recent Byrozoa,  U.S. National Museum, Journal of The Washington Academy of Sciences 42:381-385 (1952)