Straight Shelled Nautiloid Cephalopods

Here are some molds of cephalopod shells found in Ordovician rock off of Bardstown Road near Mt. Washington, Kentucky. Maybe they are of the genus Orthoceras (maybe an old name) or Treptoceras.

More information about cephalopods found in Kentucky can be found at: http://www.uky.edu/KGS/fossils/cephalopods.htm

Calcite or Quartz Brachiopod

Here is a Devonian brachiopod with its internal structure crystallized. The lophophore columns or feeding tubes have turned to calcite or quartz.

I am guessing it was genus Spirifera.

Star of David or Hexagonalis Crinoid

I like to call this the star of David crinoid piece even though it has 7 points. Maybe 4 mm wide from point to point on this piece. Looking on the internet I have not found anything that looks like it but it might not be crinoid stem but maybe a piece of a calyx.

The second picture shows the small rock that the little star fossil is embedded in.

Revised: At a KYANA fossil study session, I was shown a set of articles from the University of Kansas on crinoid stem classification. It had a series of shapes and names for them. One shape was a six pointed star labeled hexagonalis (hex - Greek for six and gonia - Greek for corner or angle). Since this shape has 7 corners, it could be called a heptagonalis (hepta - Greek for seven).

Also since there is a dot in the middle of the shape, you add a prefix to this word above so if the shape in the middle is a circle, cyclohexagonalis or cycloheptagonalis; if ellipse shape in middle then Ellipsahexagonalis or Ellipsoheptagonalis.