Brevispirifer gregarius

While at the Falls of the Ohio State Park over the weekend I went on a special hike that they only do when the dam spillway is closed off letting the fossils beds to be exposed more than normal. It is an a fun and long (about 3 hours) hike that can at times be precarious. One gets to walk across the mossy spillway and along a narrow concrete ledge to falls section of the park.

This picture is of a brachiopod that marks zones in the limestone layers. It is called the Brevispirifer gregarius (Clapp, 1857).  It existed in the Jeffersonville Limestone during the Middle Devonian Period. The dark areas of the rock are from volcanic ash falls (metabentonites). I think this one might have been called Kawkawlin which I assume was the name of the volcano.

When I went on this hike one thing I was going to make sure of was to find this brachiopod since it is mentioned is so much literature describing the Falls of the Ohio near Louisville, Kentucky.

You can see another Brevispirifer brachiopod imprint next to this gastropod shell that has crystallized. It is a turrentiform called Palaeozygopleura hamiltoniea.

This last picture of a Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) that was almost driven to extinction because their beautiful white feathers were used in hats.

Modern Day Brachiopod Terebratalia transversa

UPDATED: The brachiopod shown in the picture was mislabelled in more ways then one. First the genus name shown is spelled wrong. It should be Laqueus but it does not stop there. Thanks to Howard for this correction. If you look at images of modern day brachiopods found off the coast of California, you will find this image is a closer match to a brachiopod called Terebratalia transversa (Sowerby, 1846). So the BIG lesson here is just because someone gives you something that is labeled, check its naming and visual reference!

This picture is of a modern day brachiopod found near Catalina Island off California at about a depth of 100 meters. It was found in 1985 and is called Lacqueas californicus.

Thanks to a member of Kentucky Paleontological Society for showing it to me at the Fossil Festival.

Fossils Seen At Fossil Festival

I was volunteering for the KYANA Geological Society on Saturday, September 19, 2009 at the Fossil Festival at the Falls of the Ohio State Park. The area next to ours was the Kentucky Paleontological Society of Lexington, Kentucky and their friendly members. One member had a case with a lot of very nice fossils in that he let me photograph. Here are some of those pictures.

This first picture is of an Archaeocrinus sp. crinoid from the Ordovician Period.


This next image is of a Climacograptus Graptolite found in the Clays Ferry Formation in Danville, Kentucky. It is from the Upper Ordovician Period.

These crinoid calyx are called Glyptocrinus. They existed in the Middle Ordovician Period. Found in the Lexington Limestone, Millersburg Member.

Here are some Glyptocrinus decadactylus crinoids from the Upper Ordovician Period. Notice on some of the calyx a Cyclonema gastropod attached. It is interesting that the snail remained attached but the arms broke away. I would think a traumatic event occurred that buried both the crinoid and the snail. The snail would instinctively detach from the crinoid and retreat into the safety of its shell. The crinoids were found in the Grant Lake Limestone of Maysville, Kentucky.

A Silurian Period cephalopod called Dawsonoceras found in the Upper Osgood Formation in Napoleon, Indiana. Some of the sinusoidal lines are still visible on the shell.

Here is a fossil of red algae shown in this polished crossection. It is from the Middle Ordovician Period. Found in the Lexington Limestone, Strodes Creek Member from Clark County, Kentucky.

Here is an almost intact Silurian Period Eucalyptocrinites crinoid found in Clark County, Indiana.

This might be an Eucalyptocrinites crinoid cup from the Silurian Period found in Clark County, Indiana. I forgot to photograph the label.