Emperoceras Ammonite

The Emperoceras sp. ammonite fossil displayed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (July 2011).  The creature existed in the Western Interior seas of the Upper Cretaceous (Mesozoic Era).

Visit the Carnegie museum web site:  http://www.carnegiemnh.org/

Onniella quadrata Brachiopod

These brachiopods are the Onniella (Dalmanella) quadrata of the Maquoketa Group of Eldorado, Iowa.  The animals lived in the Late Ordovician period.  These brachiopods are similar to the ones found east of Louisville, Kentucky in the Kope Formation.  See my posting about the Dalmanella multisecta: CLICK HERE

According to the write up on the Kope Formation on Wikipedia, it is part of the three formations that make up the Maquoketa Group. So the Iowa fossils appear to have some relationship with the Kentucky fossils.

These fossils were bought from eBay seller timfossil2001 who has some nice deals on Minnesota and Iowa fossils: http://www.ebay.com/sch/timfossil2001/m.html?item=370559137286&viewitem=&_trksid=p4340.l2562

Hormotoma Ordovician Snail

Snail fossils found in the Maquoketa formation of Eldorado, Iowa. This small snails crept the sea floor in the late Ordovician period.  The animals are of the genus Hormotoma.  Fossils are about 2 cm high. Two species found in the Maquoketa are H. trentonensis and H. major mentioned in Stratigraphy of Middle Ordovician Rocks in the Zinc-Lead District of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa by Allen F. Agnew, Allen V. Heyl, C.H. Behre, and E.J. Lyons, Geological Survey Professional Paper 274-K, 1956.

Since these are molds and no shell surface details are present, species identification would be difficult.

These fossils were bought from eBay seller timfossil2001 who has some nice deals on Minnesota and Iowa fossils: http://www.ebay.com/sch/timfossil2001/m.html?item=370559137286&viewitem=&_trksid=p4340.l2562