Nitella leptosoma Charophyte

 

This is a drawing of an oogonium of the algae Nitella leptosoma (Nordstedt, 1880). It was from plate 3 of the book Australasian characeae by Otto Nordstedt Part 1 1891. The habitat of this plant is in bogs at Omatangi, near Tampo, New Zealand (about 600-900 meters above sea level).

Otto Nordstedt (1838-1924) was a Swedish botanist who obtained a medical degree from Lund University and later became a botanist specializing in algology. He became a professor at Lund University and retired at the age of 84. The book I scanned the above images from belonged to Dr. James Conkin (1924-2017) who was professor at the University of Louisville and studied charophyte fossils. At a recent geology meeting after giving a presentation about the Louisville fossil collectors Henry Nettelroth and Dr. James Knapp, his daughter presented this book to me. Below is image of what appears to be a Harrisichara (Grambast, 1957) charophyte fossil found by Dr. Conkin at Isle of Wright off the coast of England. See full posting about at this link.

 

Platyostoma niagarensis Snail Fossil

 

On a recent trip to Napoleon, Indiana USA, I found this gastropod fossil which might be a Platyostoma niagarensis (Hall, 1852). It dates to the Silurian Period  (Telychian to Sheinwoodian stage) in age.

According to Dr. James Thomka, professor at SUNY Plattsburgh, it is "from the mudstone lithofacies of the Massie Formation (long known as the "upper Osgood shale"), which is renowned for its 'cystoid' fauna."

 

Ceraurus? Trilobite Fossil

 

A few weekends ago, I was able to attend a field trip to Napoleon, Indiana USA. While there, I found this partial trilobite fossil which might be a Ceraurus (Chierurus) niagarensis (Hall, 1870). It dates to the Silurian Period  (Telychian to Sheinwoodian stage) in age. The fossil I was looking for this trip was that of the trilobite Spathacalymene nasuta (Ulrich, 1879).

According to Dr. James Thomka, professor at SUNY Plattsburgh, it is "from the mudstone lithofacies of the Massie Formation (long known as the "upper Osgood shale"), which is renowned for its 'cystoid' fauna."