Sinum maculatum Snail

This shell appears to be a Brown Baby Ear Snail or Sinum maculatum (Say, 1831). 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.

 

Phacelocrinus longidactylus Crinoid Fossil

 

Images are of a Phacelocrinus longidactylus (McChesney, 1860) crinoid calyx fossil the dark mass on the calyx is a Platyceras snail fossil. It was found in the Glen Dean Formation of Grayson County, Kentucky USA. The fossil dates to the Mississippian Period. Thanks to Kenny for the images.

 

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.

Platyceras niagarense with Cornulites proprius

This post is of two fossils: the gastropod Platyceras (Platystoma) niagarense (Hall, 1852) with several worm tubes known as Cornulites proprius. 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.

Platyceras dumosum Snail Fossil (ex-museum specimen)

 

This fossil is a Platyceras dumosum (Conrad, 1840) spiny snail (gastropod). It was found at the Falls of the Ohio in Clark County, Indiana USA. Fossils cannot be collected at the Falls any more but this one came from a de-accessioned museum collection in Michigan. The layer it was found is called the Jeffersonville Limestone which dates to the Middle Devonian Period.

 Judging from by the color this fossil might have been collected over 100 years ago.

The genus Platyceras was named by Timothy Abbott Conrad (1803-1877) in Third Annual Report on the Palaeontological Department of the Survey. New York Geological Survey, Annual Report 4(1):199-207 1840.

Thanks to Dale for letting me take these pictures.

 

Spiny Platyceras dumosum Snail Fossil

 

This fossil appears to be a Platyceras dumosum (Conrad, 1840) spiny snail (gastropod). It was found in 2020 in Clark County, Indiana USA. The layer it was found is called the Jeffersonville Limestone which dates to the Middle Devonian Period.

The genus Platyceras was named by Timothy Abbott Conrad (1803-1877) in Third Annual Report on the Palaeontological Department of the Survey. New York Geological Survey, Annual Report 4(1):199-207 1840.

Thanks to Kenny for the picture.

Pyrite Snail with Worm Tubes Fossils

This snail fossil is quite a find but so much more with encrusted worm tubes, bryozoans and pyrite cubic shapes. The snail appears to be a Platystoma niagarense with four visible Cornulites propius worm tubes and maybe a encrusting trepostome bryozoan. The end of the largest worm tube is a golden colored pyrite. The snail shell appears to be composed pyrite as well. It was found in the Waldron Shale of Shelby County Indiana USA. The fossils date to the Middle Silurian Period.

Platyceras Snail Fossil

This fossil appears to be a Platyceras snail of a yet undetermined species. It was found in 2002 in a quarry in Clark County, Indiana USA. The layer it was found is called the Jeffersonville Limestone which dates to the Middle Devonian Period. It was part of the James Conkin collection. Thanks to Kenny for updating me about its species name.

Opal Gastropod Fossils

Pictured are some nice fossils found in New South Wales, Australia (Lightning Ridge?). These snails date to the Cretaceous Period.

Fossils were on display August 2016 in Natural History Museum of London, England.

Platyceras dumosum Spiny Snail

This fossil appears to be a Platyceras dumosum (Conrad, 1840) spiny snail. It was found in 2002 in a quarry in Clark County, Indiana USA. The layer it was found is called the Jeffersonville Limestone which dates to the Middle Devonian Period. It was part of the James Conkin collection.

Really Nice Spiny Snail Fossil

The other day I was sent a picture of a spiny fossil. It is a Platyceras dumosum (Conrad, 1840) gastropod fossil. The fossil was found in Devonian Period's Jeffersonville Limestone.

Thanks to Rusty for sending me this picture.

Platyceras bucculentum Snail Fossils

These fossils appear to be a Platyceras bucculentum gastropods. They were found in the Beechwood Limestone of Clark County, Indiana, USA. The fossils date to the Devonian Period.

Thanks to Kenny for the image.

Lettered Olive Shells

While in Charleston, South Carolina USA we stayed at Folly Beach (August 2017). During beach time, I tried to find shark teeth, phosphate fossils and shells.  Luckily, I found some the the state's official shell, the Oliva sayana aka lettered olive snail. Dr. Edmund Ravenel (1797-1871) named it this due to the patterns found shells reminded him of hieroglyphic symbols. The dark shell in the image might be a Pliocene fossil.

Platycerid Gastropod Fossil

Platycerid gastropod fossil found in Grayson County, Kentucky USA. It was in the Glen Dean Member. This snail roamed the ocean in the Mississippian Period. Thanks to Kenny for the images.

3D Printed Turritella Shell

Here are several images of a Turritella shell printed on a 3D printer. The design was created in modeling software. Link here: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:13668

It was printed with glow in the dark PLA filament from 3D Solutech: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ME7NHJ8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here is a link to my friend Dave's blog showing a Cretaceous Turritella fossil:
http://viewsofthemahantango.blogspot.com/2012/05/turritella-shell-mold-from-mt-laurel.html

Cretaceous Turritella fossil from Mississippi:
http://louisvillefossils.blogspot.com/2013/04/cretaceous-turritella-fossil.html

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.

Loxonema yandellana Gastropod Microfossil

The microfossil in this picture appears to be a Loxonema yandellana gastropod (snail). It was found in the Somerset Shale of the Salem Limestone of Meade County, Kentucky, USA. The creature existed in the Mississippian Period. Field of view in picture is about 2 mm.

Thanks to Kenny for the picture.

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

Pleuronotus decewi Gastropod Fossil

This fossil appears to be a Pleuronotus decewi (Conrad) gastropod. It was found in the Jeffersonville Limestone of Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA. The fossil dates to the Middle Devonian Period.

Thanks to Kenny for letting me take pictures of it.

Platyceras dumosum pileum Snail Fossil

Picture of what appears to be a Platyceras dumosum pileum gastropod fossil. It was found in the Devonian limestone of Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA. This fossil is some sort of spiny snail.

Thanks to my cousins Kenny and Chris for the pictures of this fossil!