Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Devonian Tentaculites scalariformis?

This is a Tentaculites scalariformis (not sure about species) that lived in the Devonian period. It was found in Jeffersonville Limestone in Clark County, Indiana. I have been looking for another one of these for a while. This one is still in the rock with a lot of small brachiopods. The tip is quite small and fragile so it would be unwise to remove it from the rock.

Under magnification the tip still has its growth rings. The pictures show two side of the rock with one revealing much more of the creature's shell. The last picture has a different color because I was using a different light.




Monday, June 8, 2009

Unknown Devonian Fossil

Here is a fragment of a Devonian fossil found in Clark County, Indiana. It has a pentagon shape on one side and remnants of a series of tube like structures on the other. When I see 5 of something in a fossil, I think crinoid calyx. It is about 2 cm by 2 cm in size and the side with the holes has about 24 openings.




Sunday, June 7, 2009

Pennsylvania Cryptolithus Trilobite Fragments

More fossils from Pennsylvania. These trilobite fragments are quite nice. We have places east of Louisville that will yield Cryptolithus pieces but they tend just be the lace collar and genal spines and are black/dark gray. The following fossils have the glabella and the lace collar and are orange (iron?). The cephalon sizes range from 5-15 mm.

These Cryptolithus sp. were found in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania in the Martinsburg formation.

Update: The yellow-brown color is limonite (hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide).