Endothyra baileyi Foraminifera

Foraminifera fossils from the Salem Limestone of Washington County, Indiana. These creatures are called Endothyra baileyi and existed 360-325 million years ago (Mississippian Period).  Microfossils were studied quite a bit by the oil exploration industry so they could determine the rock layers drills had reached to help find fossil fuels.  I am not sure if they have the same importance today with the proliferation of advanced sensing technology.

Endothyra baileyi foraminifera (Webster's dictionary: "marine protozoans with calcareous shells full of tiny holes through which slender filaments project") described by James Hall in Transactions Albany Institute, volume IV, page 34 published in 1856.  The description is "Shell depressed, orbicular, sub-equally convex above and below, smooth, margin rounded, indented by the septa; spire depressed, involved; last volution slightly oblique, consisting of eight loculi; aperture contracted. The general form of this fossil is depressed, globular, with the involutions deviating slightly from the same plane. Not infrequently, however, the spire ascends in greater or less degree, and one of more loculi become visible beyond the single volution. Sometimes seven loculi only are visible in the volutions. The surface is smooth under the ordinary magnifier, and the outline is indented at the septa."

Listing found in Fauna of the Salem Limestone of Indiana section written by E.R. Cumings, J.W. Beede, E.B. Branson, and Essie A. Smith in the Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources Thirtieth Annual Report from 1905 on pages 1201-1202.

Thanks to Herb for the Salem Limestone sand.

Polychaete Annelid Worm

Hundreds of millions of years before the dinosaurs, there existed a ferocious creature. Terror filled victims lay in its path as it rampaged through a Paleozoic sea. Today all that is left is its jaws. Jaws that would rival later carnivores such as the Megalodon shark, Tyrannosaurus rex, and pit bull dogs (Canis familiaris). What beast could generate such carnage and fear? It turns out the polychaete annelid worm from the Ordovician Period. The annelid is a segmented protostome related to modern day leaches and earthworms.

Feast your eyes on such a destructive and potent weapons as these jaws.  Made of a of material so durable it almost appears made yesterday despite being over 400,000,000 years old.  The jaw consists of collagen (protein) fibers and traces of zinc.  Unlike the other fossils I collect that are molds in limestone or shale, or substitutions composed of quartz, calcite, aragonite (brown calcite?), or pyrite this material is apparently original.

Okay, I am exaggerating about this worm.  It appears to have eaten algae, plant leaves, and other worms. These jaws or scolecodonts were found in Ordovician limestone material from Kentucky.  A microscope was used to magnify the fossil at least 60 times its original size.  Very small but fun to find.

Thanks to Herb for the Ordovician gravel they were found in.

Salem Limestone Microfossils

Images for this post are microfossils from Washington County, Indiana that exist in the Salem Limestone.  This first fossil is worm called Spirorbis annulatus.  The drawing below is of one from Indiana Department of Geology and Natural Resources 13th Annual Report by W.S. Blatchley, 1905.  Can be found on Google Books HERE.

Images were taken with an Intel QX3 microscope which has three settings 10x, 60x and 200x.  This device is somewhat old so its resolution is 512 pixels wide and there is quite a bit of noise at 200x magnification.  It also has plastic lens so not the greatest but I got it for $50 years ago so not a bad deal.

This next fossil is what Salem Limestone is famous for... the foraminifera.  This one is called Endothyra baileyi (at least in the 1905 Indiana Geology Report).  This first image is of a set of drawings from that report.

 This next picture is one I took at 60x magnification.  I have found maybe 30 so far after looking about a measuring cup worth of sand material.

These next set of 1905 drawings are the gastropod Solenospira vermicula, S. turritella, and S. attenuata. 

I am not sure which species this gastropod is so I will just call it Solenospira sp.

This last image is of an elliptical crinoid stem piece that reminds me of a Platycrinites.  I found 3 so far.

Thanks to Herb for the Salem Limestone sand to study.