Crawfordsville Indiana Crinoid Calyx Fossils

This picture is of crinoids from Crawfordsville, Indiana on display at Indiana State Museum. The four crinoid calyx that have been labeled and they are Aulocrinus bellus, Cyathocrinites multibrachiatus, Scytalocrinus robustus (Hall, 1861) and Agaricocrinus americanus. These crinoids are from the Edwardsville Formation (Valmeyeran series) and are from the Middle Mississippian Period.

Visit to Indiana State Museum - Part 2

Over the new year's holiday I was able to spend some time at the Indiana State Museum.  This is the second part of an early entry describing that visit.  The fossil area is where I spent a good deal of time.  I believe it was called the "Ancient Seas" of Indiana.  Fossils were represented of the different time periods for Indiana's geological history (Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, and Pennsylvanian).

The following picture shows a very large Isotelus trilobite in a display area for Ordovician Period fossils.

This model of a maybe an Ordovician or Silurian Period sea scorpion called an Eurypterid.

 

This next picture shows fossils from Indiana's Mississippian Period.  Look at the size that fan shaped sponge!

This Mississippian Period display area shows numerous examples of the world famous Crawfordsville crinoid fossils.

This last display in the invertebrate fossil area is of fossils found in the Pennsylvanian Period areas of Indiana.

Next to the fossil area is a Foucault pendulum which proves that the earth is rotating.  At this point, I was not aware of its name but a helpful museum volunteer educated me about this device.  As it turns out, the Louisville Science Center has one as well but since I do not volunteer in the lobby area, I never studied it.  One thing I was most impressed with at the Indiana State Museum was the quality of their volunteers.  They were knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and very good at promoting their museum.

This last image is of a Mastodont skeleton found buried on an Indiana farm.

 

The rest of this very large museum was full artifacts from human occupation of Indiana and how they shaped the history of the state of Indiana.  If you get a chance, I strongly recommend a visit if in the Indianapolis, Indiana area.

Cryptolithus Trilobite Information

TIME PERIOD:
Creature existed in the Ordovician Period (about 488 to 443 million years ago) defined by the English geologist Charles Lapworth in 1879 after the Welsh tribe called Ordovices.  This period occurred in the Paleozoic Era (consists of: Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous (in U.S. Mississippian/Pennsylvanian), and Permian Periods).

CLASSIFICATION:
The taxonomy of the Cryptolithus tessellatus
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Bilateria
Branch: Protostomia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Trilobita
Order: Asaphida
Family: Trinucleideae
Genus: Cryptolithus

HABITAT:
I found two papers North American Biogeography and Taxonomy of Cryptolithus(Trilobita, Ordovician) by Fredrick C. Shaw and Pierre J. Lespérance, Journal of Paleontology 68(4), 1994, pp. 808-823 and Viola Group (Ordovician Oklahoma) Cryptolithinid Trilobites: Biogeography and Taxonomy by Fredrick C. Shaw, Journal of Paleontology 65(6), 1991, pp. 919-935 that describe the Cryptolithus in more scientific detail.


They describe the habitat as being water of at least 30 meters (approximately 98 feet) in depth with muddy sediment.  The trilobite was thought to be blind and a bottom feeder.  In addition, it was isolated for millions of years in a cool water shelf like environment.

The Cryptolithus (Green, 1832) trilobite remains I find east of the Louisville, Kentucky area are in what is called the Kope Formation.  I find small brachiopods, cepholopods, and crinoid stems with the Cryptolithus fossils.

One might also check out the website: www.trilobites.info for more information.