Australian Plant Fossils

Here are some plant fossils that are on display at the Falls of the Ohio State Park in Clarksville, Indiana (right across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky). The seed plant leaf Dicroidium acutifolium from the Middle Triassic Period. It was found in Dinmore, Queensland, Australia.

A seed plant leaf fossil called Dicroidium odontopteroides from the Late Triassic Period. It is from Dinmore, Queensland, Australia.

Seed plant leaves fossil call Glossopteris sp. found in the Illawarra Coal Measures. It is from the Late Permian Period. The fossil was found in Dunedoo, New South Wales, Australia.

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.