French Harpoceras serpentinum Ammonite Fossil

The image shown is a Harpoceras serpentinum (Schlotheim , 1820) ammonite fossil. It dates to the Jurassic Period (Toarcien) and was found at Cheville (Sarthe) France. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

The species was named by German palaeontologist Ernst Friedrich, Baron von Schlotheim (1764-1832). He originally called it Ammonites serpentinus (Schlotheim , 1820). The name ammonite was derived from Egyptian deity Ammon who was represented by a symbol looking like a coiled ram horn.

French Hildoceras bifrons Ammonite Fossil

Above is an image of an Hildoceras bifrons (Bruguière, 1789) ammonite fossil. It dates to the Jurassic Period (Toarcien) and was found at La Verpilliere (Isère), France. It was displayed at Muséum National D'Historie Naturelle Jardin Des Plantes Paléontologie et Anatomie Comparée, Paris, France.  Image taken August 2009.

The species was named by French zoologist Jean Guillaume Bruguière (1749-1798). While the name ammonite was derived from Egyptian deity Ammon who was represented by a symbol looking like a coiled ram horn.  In medieval England, the fossil was seen by some as a petrified coiled snake. The genus of this ammonite is associated with St. Hilda of Whitby, Yorkshire, England. Legend has it she turned a plague of snakes to stone. As such an American palaeontologist Alpheus Hyatt (1838-1902) named an ammonite genus Hildoceras (Hyatt, 1876) after her. 

Oxinpes Foraminifera Fossil

Images taken from microscope of the foraminiferan fossil. This fossil was identified as an Oxinpes. It was found in the Beechwood Limestone just below the New Albany Shale. That layer dates to the Devonian Period. The locality was Clark County Indiana USA. This was a picture I took over 10 years ago from one of Dr. Conkins microscope slides. It was never used in publication and was a demonstration on how to use Adobe Photoshop to stack the microscope images, add the scale, and print directly to make a copy ready page for printing.