Friday, December 12, 2025
Modiolopsis concentrica Pelecypod Fossil with Cornulites
Above is a picture of a Modiolopsis concentrica (Hall & Whitfield, 1875) pelecypod fossil. Also the fossil has worm tubes called Cornulites (Schlotheim, 1820). These animals existed in the Ordovician Period. It was found in the Clays Ferry Formation of Robertson County, Kentucky USA. Thanks to Kenny for the image.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Lucina proavia Pelecypod Fossil
This image is of a Lucina proavia (Goldfuss, 1841) pelecypod fossil. It was found in Eifel, Germany. The bivalve existed in the Devonian Period.
Picture taken at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) in August 2024.
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Panopea norvegica Fossil
Here is a picture of a pelecypod Panopea norvegica (A.T. von Middendorff, 1849) fossil housed in a display case at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) in August 2024. The creature lived during the Pleistocene Epoch. It was found at Monte Mario, Lazio, Italy.
Sunday, October 5, 2025
Pecten jacobaeus Fossil
Here is a picture of a pelecypod Pecten jacobaeus (Linnaeus, 1758) fossil housed in a display case at Museo di Geologia e Paleontologia Florence Italy (Università degli Studi di Firenze) in August 2024. The creature lived during the Pleistocene Epoch. It was found at Monte Mario, Lazio, Italy.
Monday, June 30, 2025
Trigonarca matheroniana Fossil
Trigonarca matheroniana (d'Orbigny, 1844) is a pelecypod fossil. This genus might be known as Arca (Linnaeus, 1758). It existed during the Cretaceous Period (about 120-70 million years ago ). This fossil was found in Uchaux, France. Fossil was on display at Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) (August 2024).
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Pterotrigonia vaelsiensis Fossil
Pterotrigonia vaelsiensis (Boehm, 1884) is a pelecypod fossil. It existed during the Cretaceous Period (about 120-70 million years ago ). This fossil was found in Uchaux, France. Fossil was on display at Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) (August 2024).
Saturday, June 28, 2025
Pterotrigonia thoracica Fossil
Pterotrigonia thoracica (Morton 1834) pelecypod is the official state fossil of Tennessee. It existed during the Cretaceous Period (about 70 million years ago - Maastrichtian). This fossil was found in Coon Creek, Tennessee USA. Fossil was on display at Natural History Museum Vienna (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) (August 2024).
Monday, September 16, 2024
Shell Fossils at Florence Italy Mineral Museum
Here are some pictures from a mineral museum of calcite specimen found in the state of Florida of the United States. Fossils are probably the Giant Venus Clam fossil (aka Mercenaria permagna) of the Fort Drum Member, Nashua Formation of Ruck's Pit in Okeechobee County, Florida, USA. This animal lived in the Calabrian Stage (780,000 years ago to 1.8 million years ago) of the Pleistocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period.
Specimen was on display at the la Specola Museo Di Zoologia Ceropastica e Mineralogia (Florence, Italy) (August 2024).
Thursday, January 18, 2024
Paraconularia with Cypricardinia Pelecypod Fossils
Paraconularia (Sinclair, 1940) with Cypricardinia (Hall, 1860) pelecypod fossils shown in the pictures. Fossils were found in Floyd County Indiana USA. The fossils date to the Mississippian Period. Thanks to Kenny for images.
Thursday, December 28, 2023
Modiolopsis Pelecypod Fossil
Monday, December 25, 2023
Modiolodon Pelecypod Fossil
This pelecypod fossil appears to be a Modiolodon (Ulrich, 1894) from the Ordovician Period. It was found in the Logana Member of the Lexington Limestone for Franklin County, Kentucky, USA. Thanks to Kenny for the picture.
Friday, September 15, 2023
Anadara transversa Sea Shell
This shell appears to be a Transverse Ark shell or Anadara transversa (Say, 1822). It was found by a 17 year old Lucien Pearson Beckner in 1889 at 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.
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Chione elevata Shell
This shell appears to be a Florida Cross-barred Venus shell or Chione elevata (Say, 1822). It was found by a 17 year old Lucien Pearson Beckner in 1889 at 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.
Sunday, June 25, 2023
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
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Caritodens demissa Pelecypod Fossil
The Caritodens demissa (Conrad, 1842) pelecypod fossil found in Jefferson County, Indiana USA (near Madison). Fossil dates to the Ordovician Period. The book Index Fossils of North America by Hervey W. Shimer and Robert R. Shrock 1944 lists this fossil as Pterinea demissa (Conrad, 1842) of the Upper Ordovician Period (Maysville-Richmond). It is described as "Distinguished by its strong concentric growth lines and large anterior ear." The genus Pterina was named by Georg August Goldfuss (1782-1848) in 1832. Original species named Avicula demissa in 1842 by Timothy Abbott Conrad (1803-1877) in the Journal of Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia Volume VIII page 242, plate XIII, figure 3.
Thanks to Kenny for the image.
Monday, August 2, 2021
Amnigenia catkillensis Pelecypod Fossils
This post documents a scan of large insert found in New York State Museum Bulletin 49 published December 1901. The paper is listed as Value of Amnigenia as an Indicator of Fresh-Water Deposits of New York, Ireland, and the Rhineland by John M. Clarke (pages 199-203; plate 11).
These pelecypods are listed as Amnigenia catkillensis (Hall, 1885) which were originally described by Vanuxem in 1842 as Cypricardites catskillensis. Researchgate web site lists genus renamed by Weir in 1969 to Archanodon. Fossils date to the Devonian Period.
Image is from plate 11 described as "a slab of limestone bearing 33 individuals of this species all with closed valves and buried in the mud at various angles across the lines of sedimentation." It was found in the Oneonta sandstone of Clarke Quarry at Oxford, New York, USA. The specimen was presented to the New York State Museum by E.E. Davis, esq. of Norwich, New York. The plate is sized at approximately 14 by 10 inches (35.5 x 25.4 cm)
Sunday, May 2, 2021
Leptodesma marcellense Pelecypod Fossil
Here are a series of images drawn by Elvira Wood in 1901 which she used to show fossil pelecypod called Leptodesma marcellense (Hall). She described and illustrated it in the 1901 paper Marcellus (Stafford) Limestones of Lancaster, Erie Co. N.Y. on pages 190. Illustrations on plate 9 figures 16 and 17.
Sunday, December 13, 2020
A Clam Fossil and Its Friends
Pictured above is a hash plate from the Calloway Creek Formation of Spencer County Kentucky USA. The main fossil is a mostly intact Caritodens demissa (Conrad, 1842) clam fossil with some interesting fossils on or around it. Below is unidentified 4mm diameter bryozoan fossil on the clam fossil.
Near the bryozoan on the shell is the 1.5 mm cephalon of unidentified trilobite fossil seen below.
Off to the side of the shell is the pygidium of probably a Flexicalymene trilobite fossil about 5mm in size.
Thanks to Kenny for the pictures of his recent fossil find.
Pelecypod fossil originally described by Timothy Abbott Conrad in 1842 as Avicula demissa in "Observations of the Silurian and Devonian systems of the U.S., with descriptions of new organic remains" Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, v. 8, no. 2, p. 228-235.
Plate XIII figure 3
Find on Internet here:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/79280#page/260/mode/1up
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Cypricardina scitula Pelecypod Fossil
These are pictures of a clam fossil called Cypricardina scitula (Herrick). It existed in the Mississippian Period. The fossil was found in Carwood Formation of Washington County, Indiana USA. Thanks to Kenny for the pictures and nice find!































