Thursday, February 17, 2011

Camarotoechia Brachiopod


The nice weather and the increased amount of daylight was enough reason for a little evening collecting.  Here is what might be a Camarotoechia brachiopod (Hall & Clarke 1893).   It is the first one I have found.  Fossil is from the Jeffersonville Limestone of Jefferson County, Kentucky.  Specimen dates to the Middle Devonian period.



Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Brachiopod Fossils for Sale


Pictured are 8 brachiopod fossils from the Paleozoic Era for sale. All were collected, cleaned and labeled by me. The fossils span about 140 million years of geological history representing the Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian periods.  The fossils were found in the United States in the states of Indiana and Kentucky.

UPDATE: This auction is over but some more are available that expire November 2, 2011.

Ordovician Orthorhynchula linneyi Brachiopod Kentucky

Ordovician Platystrophia Brachiopod Kentucky

Devonian Spirifera vericosa Indiana

Devonian Orthospirifer Indiana

Silurian Eospirifer eudora Indiana

Ordovician Sowerbyella brachiopods Kentucky

Ordovician Platystrophia Brachiopod Kentucky

Devonian Mucrospirifer Canada

Invertrypa Devonian Fossil Indiana

Devonian Athryis spiriferoides New York





The star of this collection is the Platystrophia ponderosa which has been cleaned and has great growth lines visible. This is one of the best I have found.




The Ordovician period is rounded out with small but detailed Dalmanella multisecta and Sowerbyella fossils found in the Kope Formation.


A well preserved Atrypa newsomensis and a small heart shaped Stegerhynchus brachiopods represent the Waldron Shale of the Silurian period.


Some of the larger brachiopods are found in the Devonian period which is represented by the Orthospirifer and Pseudoatrypa.  The last Devonian period brachiopod is the Athyris fultonensis which sort of has the oil lamp shell look.

I have tried to identify these fossils the best I could.  Hopefully, there are no mistakes.  All the fossils will be in individual bags with an identification label.  Ruler not included with fossils. The package with fossils weighs approximately 5 ounces.

Check out this eBay auction for this brachiopod collection with a bidding price starting at $2.99 with shipping to a location in the United States at $4.  Good luck to all bidders and I hope the winner appreciates these fossils as I have.

Monday, February 14, 2011

PALEOpalooza 2011 - get your fossil on!

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is hosting a fossil festival February 19 & 20, 2011 from 10 AM till 5 PM EST.  Meet Dr. Scott Sampson and Buddy the T. Rex of PBS's Dinosaur Train.
Academy of Natural Sciences
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Image by Mblumber/team youcanlookitup on Wikipedia
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
See work being done on the titanosaur fossils.

Examine the Dryptosaurus, a fossilized tyrannosaur skeleton found in New Jersey.  Staff paleontologists will be available to talk about the Academy's collection plus tour the Dinosaur Hall.  The Delaware Valley Paleontological Society will have fossils and displays to show as well.

Watch trilobite races, see floating dinosaur balloons, or create a dinosaur sculpture or fossil CD cover.

Learn more at the web page for this event.

Mosasaur at Academy of Natural Sciences - Philadelphia
Photo by Jon Voltaire B. Aquino
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 from Wikipedia
March 19, 2011 Ned Gilmore, collection manager of the Vertebrate Paleontology Department will host an adult field trip to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.  Participants get to keep the fossils they find. Limited to 20 people with trip fee of $40 for non-members or $35 for members.  Call 215-299-1060 to register.  Learn more at this web page.

The Academy of Natural Sciences has been around since 1812 helping people connect to nature.  So next year is their 200th anniversary!  One of their founders and first president has ties to Louisville, Kentucky.   Dr. Gerard Troost whose 200 year old mineral collection (1811) is housed at the Louisville Science Center.  Learn more about Dr. Troost and his accomplishments at this blog posting.